Southern cooking includes many different food traditions found across the southern United States. From barbecue and biscuits to grits, fried chicken, peach cobbler and Louisiana dishes, Southern food reflects the history, agriculture and cultures of many different communities.
In this cooking lesson, kids can explore foods from across the South, learn how recipes change from one region to another and prepare several traditional Southern-inspired dishes.
Food is a fun way to explore a region. As kids cook, encourage them to find the Southern United States on a map, discover ingredients grown in different areas and compare Southern food traditions with foods they eat at home.
Start with: Choose one recipe from this lesson, locate its region on a map and talk about the ingredients before you begin cooking.
The Southern United States is a large region with many different food traditions. Barbecue, soul food, Appalachian cooking, Lowcountry dishes and Louisiana Cajun and Creole cooking all have their own histories, ingredients and specialties.
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Use this lesson as more than a collection of recipes. Kids can practice cooking skills while learning about geography, regional ingredients and food traditions.
The Southern United States covers a large area, so there isn't one single type of Southern cooking. Geography, climate, locally grown foods and the people who settled and lived in each area all helped shape its food traditions.
The South is generally found across the southeastern and south-central United States. Depending on how the region is defined, it can include states along the Atlantic Coast, Gulf Coast and inland areas stretching west to Texas.
For this cooking lesson, have kids find several Southern states on a map, including:
Find the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. Then locate Louisiana and the Mississippi River. As you work through the recipes, see if kids can connect different foods and ingredients with areas of the South.
One way to introduce kids to Southern cooking is to look at the ingredients that appear again and again in regional recipes. Some are crops that grow well in the South, while others reflect the history and cultures of the people who created the region's food traditions.
Choose one ingredient kids have never tried before. Look at it, smell it and talk about how it grows or where it comes from. Then find a Southern recipe that uses it.
Southern cooking changes as you travel from one part of the region to another. These are broad examples rather than strict boundaries, but they can help kids see how geography and local ingredients influence food.
Ask kids to choose two Southern regions. What ingredients do they have in common? What foods are different? How might the coast, mountains, farms or climate affect what people cook?
Now it's time to cook. The recipes below introduce kids to several Southern food traditions, from hearty main dishes and side dishes to classic desserts and Louisiana-inspired favorites.
For beginners: Try baked grits or peach cobbler.
For a family dinner: Try barbecue beef or fried chicken.
For a Louisiana cooking lesson: Try Cajun catfish, jambalaya or red beans and rice soup.
For dessert: Compare peach cobbler and pecan pie.
Crispy fried chicken is a well-known Southern comfort food. In this version, chicken is soaked in seasoned buttermilk, coated with seasoned flour and fried until golden. Because this recipe uses hot oil, kids can help with the measuring, mixing and coating while an adult handles the frying.
Prep: 15 minutes | Marinate: 8-12 hours | Cook: 20-25 minutes | Yield: 4-6 servings
Chicken should reach an internal temperature of 165F. Kids can measure ingredients, mix the coating and help with setup, but an adult should always handle the hot oil and remove the cooked chicken from the skillet.
Turn the recipe into a Southern-inspired family meal by serving it with mashed potatoes, coleslaw, corn on the cob, biscuits or cooked greens.
Grits are made from ground corn and are a familiar food in many parts of the Southern United States. This baked version combines cooked grits with cheese, butter, milk and eggs for a light, savory casserole that can be served for breakfast, brunch or as a side dish.
Prep: 15 minutes | Cook: 65 minutes | Yield: 4-6 servings
Beating and folding in the egg white gives kids a chance to practice a useful baking technique. Use a spatula to gently lift the grits mixture over the egg white instead of stirring quickly.
Grits aren't the only Southern dish made from corn. Continue the lesson with spoon bread, or explore another favorite comfort food with homemade baked macaroni and cheese.
Grits, spoon bread and cornbread can all begin with corn, but they have very different textures. Ask kids which one is creamy, which is soft enough to eat with a spoon and which can usually be cut into pieces. Add the comparison to your Southern Cooking notes.
Barbecue is an important part of Southern food culture, but barbecue styles vary from one region to another. This easy slow cooker version cooks beef until tender, then combines the shredded meat with a homemade sweet and tangy barbecue sauce.
Prep: 15 minutes | Cook: 6-8 hours | Finish: 20 minutes | Yield: 6-8 servings
Kids can measure and whisk the barbecue sauce ingredients, prepare sandwich toppings and assemble their own sandwiches. An adult should drain the hot broth and shred the hot meat.
Serve the barbecue beef with foods such as coleslaw, baked beans, corn, macaroni and cheese or other favorite sides. Kids can choose two side dishes and design their own Southern-inspired dinner plate.
There isn't one single Southern barbecue style. Different areas use different meats, seasonings, cooking methods and sauces. As an extension activity, have older kids compare barbecue traditions from places such as the Carolinas, Memphis and Texas.
Southern desserts often make use of ingredients grown throughout the region. Peaches, pecans, sweet potatoes and seasonal fruits can all find their way into pies, cobblers and other baked treats.
The next two recipes are a fun way for kids to compare two different types of Southern desserts: a warm fruit cobbler and a traditional nut pie.
Sweet peaches and a simple biscuit-style topping make this warm peach cobbler an easy Southern dessert for kids to help prepare. It is also a good recipe for practicing measuring, mixing and cutting shortening into flour.
Prep: 20 minutes | Bake: 25 minutes | Yield: 6 servings
Kids can measure the spices and dry ingredients, practice cutting shortening into flour and spoon the topping over the peaches. An adult should handle the hot saucepan and oven.
Serve the cobbler warm on its own or add vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. If using frozen peaches, thaw and drain them first. Very juicy peaches may need an extra minute of cooking to help the filling thicken.
Find Georgia on your map and learn why the state is nicknamed the Peach State. Then find other Southern states where peaches are grown. Kids can add a peach beside those areas on their Southern cooking map.
Pecan pie combines a sweet filling with crunchy pecans inside a flaky pie crust. Pecans grow in several Southern states, making this dessert another fun way to connect cooking with agriculture and geography.
Prep: 15 minutes | Bake: 40-45 minutes | Yield: 8 slices
Kids can measure the ingredients, whisk the filling and stir in the pecans. Adults should handle the melted butter, oven and hot pie.
For a chocolate version, add 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips to the filling before adding the pecans. Continue with the recipe as directed.
Pecan trees grow across much of the southern United States. Find states such as Georgia and Texas on your map and compare where pecans grow with the areas where peaches are grown.
How are peach cobbler and pecan pie different? Compare the crust or topping, filling, texture and ingredients. Which recipe uses fruit? Which uses nuts? Which kitchen skills did you practice with each one?
Louisiana has some of the most distinctive food traditions in the Southern United States. Its cooking reflects many cultural influences and makes use of ingredients such as rice, seafood, sausage, peppers, onions, celery, beans and flavorful seasonings.
Two well-known Louisiana food traditions are Cajun cooking and Creole cooking. The two have influenced one another over time and share some ingredients and dishes, but they are not exactly the same.
Onion, celery and bell pepper are a common flavor base in many Louisiana dishes. As you make the recipes below, see which of these vegetables you can find in the ingredient lists.
Locate Louisiana, New Orleans, the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. How might rivers, wetlands and access to the Gulf influence the foods available in this part of the South?
Catfish is commonly eaten in the Southern United States, and this easy recipe coats it with cornmeal, bread crumbs and mild seasonings before broiling. Adjust the seasonings to make the fish as mild or flavorful as your family prefers.
Prep: 10 minutes | Cook: 15 minutes | Yield: 4 servings
You can substitute a mild Cajun seasoning for the chili powder and paprika. Start with a small amount when cooking for kids and add more seasoning at the table if desired.
Kids can measure and mix the coating ingredients and help coat the fish. An adult should handle the broiler and hot pan.
Serve with rice, coleslaw or cooked vegetables. Add lemon wedges for a fresh finish.
Jambalaya is a Louisiana rice dish with many variations. This easy family version combines sausage, rice, tomatoes, vegetables and mild seasonings in one skillet. Add shrimp if your family would like to try another common Louisiana ingredient.
Prep: 15 minutes | Cook: 15-20 minutes | Yield: 4 servings
Kids can measure the rice and seasonings, grate the carrot with supervision and help add ingredients to the skillet before it becomes hot. Adults should handle the stovetop cooking.
Add quick-cooking shrimp for another version. If using brown rice instead of white rice, it will need additional broth and a longer cooking time.
This jambalaya includes onion and bell pepper. Compare it with other Louisiana recipes and see how often onion, celery and bell pepper appear together.
Red beans and rice is strongly associated with Louisiana cooking. This kid-friendly soup variation combines kidney beans, vegetables, rice and bacon in a mild broth for a hearty family meal.
Prep: 15 minutes | Cook: 25-30 minutes | Yield: 4-6 servings
Kids can wash the vegetables, measure the beans and seasonings and add the cooked rice. An adult should cook the bacon and handle the hot soup pot.
This version is intentionally mild. Older kids and adults can add Cajun seasoning or hot sauce at the table if they would like more heat.
Mardi Gras is especially associated with New Orleans and gives kids another way to explore Louisiana food traditions. Continue your cooking lesson with foods such as king cake, shrimp po' boys and dirty rice.

Add Louisiana to your Southern United States study. Kids can draw the state, mark New Orleans and the Mississippi River, list three ingredients used in Louisiana cooking and write down their favorite dish from this section.
After trying a few Southern recipes, extend the lesson with activities that help kids compare foods, ingredients and regions. These ideas work well for a family cooking day, homeschool regional study or classroom food lesson.
Let kids choose one food from each category to create their own menu.
Choose several ingredients or foods to sample, such as grits, pecans, peaches, cornbread or black-eyed peas. Have kids describe each food using words such as sweet, salty, crunchy, creamy, soft or chewy. Older kids can rank their favorites and explain why.
Look back through the recipes and find examples of frying, baking, broiling, slow cooking and stovetop cooking. Ask kids which methods use dry heat, which use liquid and which require the most adult help.
The Southern United States is just one food region within the country. Continue your study by exploring foods and traditions from other parts of the United States and comparing them with the Southern recipes on this page.
After exploring another American food region, make a comparison chart. What ingredients are common in each region? Which foods are influenced by the climate, coastlines, farms or people who settled there? Which cooking methods are similar or different?
Turn this cooking lesson into a geography and culture activity by adding a Southern United States page to your Cooking Around the World notebook.
Southern Cooking is a regional study within the United States. When kids compare it with another Cooking Around the World lesson, encourage them to notice that food can vary greatly within a single country as well as between different countries.
Do you have an International recipe or know a lot about a country we could add to our world studies section? You can create your own page.
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Kids can learn about United States geography, regional ingredients, agriculture and food traditions while practicing measuring, mixing, chopping, baking and other kitchen skills.
Southern cooking includes many food traditions found across the southern United States. Foods and cooking styles vary by region and include traditions connected with the Appalachian Mountains, Atlantic and Gulf coasts, Deep South, Louisiana and Texas.
Southern foods can include fried chicken, grits, cornbread, barbecue, greens, black-eyed peas, macaroni and cheese, peach cobbler, pecan pie and many other regional dishes.
Southern Baked Grits, Southern Peach Cobbler and Easy Family Jambalaya give kids plenty of measuring and mixing jobs. Younger children will need adult help with the stove and oven.
Common ingredients include corn and cornmeal, rice, beans, sweet potatoes, greens, okra, tomatoes, peaches, pecans, peanuts, buttermilk and seafood. Ingredients vary depending on the region.
No. The Southern United States covers a large area with many different food traditions. Coastal cooking, Appalachian food, barbecue traditions and Louisiana cooking can use different ingredients and preparation methods.
No. Cajun and Creole cooking are distinct Louisiana food traditions, although they have influenced one another and can share ingredients and dishes. Cajun food has strong roots in rural southern Louisiana, while Creole cooking is strongly associated with New Orleans and reflects several cultural influences.
Onion, celery and bell pepper are often called the Louisiana or Cajun-Creole "holy trinity." They are used as a flavor base in many Louisiana dishes.
Have kids locate Southern states, the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi River on a map. Then connect recipes and ingredients with different areas, such as peaches with Georgia or Louisiana dishes with the Gulf Coast and Mississippi River region.
Older kids can research a Southern food region, compare barbecue styles, plan a complete menu, calculate ingredient amounts, research the history of a dish or prepare one of the recipes with less adult assistance.
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