Cherokee food: Corn on the cob
The Three Sisters
People who lived in the Cherokee nation were mostly farmers. They ate mainly corn and beans and squash (the “Three Sisters“) that they grew in their fields.
More about the Three Sisters
Cherokee history
All Native American articles
How did the Cherokee cook corn?
They made the corn into flat breads like tacos and tortillas and they made the beans into refried beans, soups and stews. They also made popcorn for special treats!
More about popcorn
History of corn
Cherokee people also grew and ate a lot of sweet potatoes and peanuts, and they grew sunflowers for their seeds.
History of sweet potatoes
Where do peanuts come from?
Why do people grow sunflowers?
Cherokee food: Cherokee people broiling fish
Did the Cherokee eat meat?
Cherokee people also ate a lot of meat, especially deer and rabbits and turkey, and a lot of fish and turtles.
History of turkeys
More about fishing
It’s possible that they were raising tame turkeys by about 1200 AD. They kept some small dogs and ate them, too. Cherokee people did not live entirely from farming and hunting like the Mississippians to their west, though – Cherokee people kept on getting a lot of their food from gathering as well.
What about the Mississippians?
They gathered shellfish, because they lived near the coast, but also blueberries, blackberries, acorns, chestnuts, and wild onions. This is probably mainly because of differences in the environment.
need more info
I’d be happy to answer your questions, if you ask them here or send me an email!
Thank you, I am doing a research project on the Cherokee and this answered all of my questions,
What are your sources for this information? As a Cherokee person I would like to read more.
I can’t verify any information on Cherokee growing peanuts or raising dogs for food (both things done in Mexico along with raising turkey which I haven’t seen talked about regarding Cherokee)
O’siyo, greetings. Let’s work together. Hmm… Anyone try calling the Cherokee nation. For better information?
Hi Paul! What did you feel was wrong about the information provided here? I have made some effort to consult Cherokee Nation websites and books.
how did they traditionally cook their stews? also do you have a simple recipe my 10 year old son could follow? he needs to make a traditional Cherokee food for his class project and im having a hard time finding on. .He also needs to know how they would have cooked it.thank you
Hi! Does it have to be a stew? Popcorn would be a lot easier and just as authentic. Or tortillas with refried beans and shredded turkey, tomatoes and green peppers would be authentic too. But if you really want to make a stew, you could do this Peruvian one, but use sweet potatoes and not regular potatoes (I don’t think the Cherokee had those yet). https://quatr.us/south-america/make-peruvian-peanut-stew.htm
Sup
People
I’m interested in the type of beans that the Cherokee Indians ate, especially the ones in western N.C., the area that I live in. Were they pintos, yellow eye, or some other type?
They would be basically pinto beans, but there are a lot of different kinds of beans and they had a lot of them. Yellow eye beans come from Europe and Asia, so they wouldn’t have had them.
Hey Karen! I was trying to find recipes for Cherokee food, but didn’t find it. Mabey you could add that section on? Otherwise, this website was very helpful.
Thanks!
Hi Iris! How authentic do you need it to be? I think eating corn tortillas with refried beans, green onions, and sliced tomatoes and zucchini would be pretty much what Cherokee people ate. You could have fish tacos too. If you want something simpler, Cherokee people ate popcorn and fresh or dried blueberries, too.
this stinked
Sorry you didn’t like it, Cooper! What were you trying to find out?