Recipes from the American South

A home cook’s guide to one of America’s most diverse – and delicious – cuisines, from James Beard Award-winning author and culinary historian Michael W. Twitty

‘Our cuisine, with its grits and black-eyed peas, crab cakes, red rice, and endless variations on the staple foods of the region, casts a spell that, if you’re lucky, gets passed down with snapping string beans at the table and chewing cane on the back porch.’ – Michael W. Twitty

In the introduction to this groundbreaking recipe collection, acclaimed historian Michael W. Twitty declares, ‘No one state or area can give you the breadth of the Southern story or fully set the Southern table.’ To answer this, Recipes from the American South journeys from the Louisiana Bayou to the Chesapeake Bay, showcasing more than 260 of the region’s most beloved dishes.

Across more than 400 pages, Twitty explores the broad culinary sweep that Southern history and its many cultures represent. Recipes for breads and biscuits, mains and sides, stews, sauces, and sweets feature insightful headnotes and clear, step-by-step instructions. Home cooks will discover both iconic dishes and lesser-known specialties: Chicken and Dumplings, She-crab Soup, Red Eye Gravy, Benne Seed Wafers, Hummingbird Cake, and Mint Juleps appear alongside Shrimp Pilau, Chorizo Dirty Rice, Sumac Lemonade, and Cajun Pig’s Ears Pastry.

A masterful storyteller, Twitty enriches his extensive recipe collection with lyrical, deeply researched essays that celebrate the region’s “multicultural gumbo” of influences from immigrants from across the globe. Vibrant food photography adds further color to the fascinating narrative.

Expansive, authoritative, and beautifully designed, Recipes from the American South is a classic cookbook in the making.

Review

‘An ambitious, sweeping survey of America’s most diverse and complex regional foodways…If you’re anything less than a scholar of Southern food, there will be myriad histories, flavors, and dishes to discover in these pages.' – Bon Appétit, Best Cookbooks for Fall 2025

‘This thoughtful and extensive cookbook cements the deep legacy of this cuisine on American foodways.’ – Eater, Best New Cookbooks of Fall 2025

'Each and every recipe is a lesson, as much about cooking technique as it is about culinary history.' – Epicurious, Standout Cookbooks for Fall 2025

‘This gorgeously designed tome [is] as much a pleasure to read as it is to behold.’ – Saveur, Best Cookbooks of Fall 2025

‘Twitty lends his well-researched and lyrical storytelling to complementary essays that explore the cultural influences that impact Southern cuisine.’ – Food Tank, Fall 2025 Reads for Food, Farming, and Our Future

‘No matter where you call home, you’re sure to learn something new about the South from this enlightening book.’ – Southern Living Magazine, Best Southern Cookbooks Of Fall 2025

‘Twitty serves up historical food for thought, all delivered with a comprehensive look at the dishes Southerners are making today.’ – The Local Palate, Essential New Southern Cookbooks

About the Author

Michael W. Twitty is an acclaimed culinary historian, and author of the two-times James Beard Award-winning book The Cooking Gene, as well as Rice and Koshersoul. He has written for many publications and been featured throughout print and broadcast media, including the Guardian, The New York Times, The Washington Post, PBS, and NPR’s The Splendid Table. He has given over 500 public talks and appeared in numerous series, including Taste the Nation and High on the Hog.