Pilgrim Thanksgiving Recipes | What Did The Pilgrims Really Eat? (2024)

Take a tour back in time and try these pilgrim Thanksgiving recipes for some flavors of the past.

RELATED: 25 Classic Pioneer Woman Recipes For Thanksgiving

Ye Olde Pilgrim Thanksgiving Recipes to Enjoy Today

Pilgrim Food: What Did the Pilgrims Eat on Thanksgiving

I’ve always wondered, what did the pilgrims eat every day? As far as I know, things were prepared simpler back then… Leaving aesthetics much to be desired.

But hey, they only had so many ingredients, and definitely no supermarkets, so let’s give them some credit for creativity! I did a little research on “what do pilgrims eat?”

The Thanksgiving feast we know today is nothing like what the pilgrims had 391 years ago. Their pickings were much slimmer, but they were able to make a beautiful feast leaving them satisfied, full, and grateful.

1. Roasted Butternut Squash

Okay, so this may be a modern way to prepare this but I’m sure everyone will enjoy this roasted butternut squash.The leeks, bacon, and a smoky-sweet apple glaze bring the wonderful fall flavors together.

2. Stewed Pumpkin

Just gather all the ingredients and make this stewed pumpkin in just one pot. It's a standing dish perfect for fall and winter.

3. Hardtack

Have a taste of history by making these simple biscuits the civil war soldiers ate. Hardtack is so easy even your kids can make them, plus it's a survival food item you should know of just in case…

4. Turkey Sobaheg

In simpler terms, turkey stew.

Ingredients:

5. Boiled Bread Recipe

Yes, boiled bread. Before people had ovens, they had to boil their bread.

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup cornmeal
- 1/2 cup cornflour
- 1L slightly boiled water
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries, blueberries, and currants
- 1/2 cup crushed nuts
- Maple syrup to taste (optional)

Instructions:

Thoroughly mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Slowly add slightly boiled water a spoonful at a time.

When it becomes thick and sticky, shape round patties.

Return water to a slight rolling boil and drop in one or two patties, Make sure they do not stick to the bottom.

Remove the bread when they begin to float.

6. Curd Fritters Recipe

They did it a little differently in the past but here’s a modern take on this pilgrim recipe you can follow today.

7. Nasaump Recipe

This is something similar to oatmeal or porridge prepared by the Wampanoags.

Ingredients:

- 1 1/2 cups cornmeal
- 1 cup assorted berries
- 1/2 crushed walnuts, hazelnuts, and sunflower seeds
- 1L water
- maple syrup (optional)

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a pot of water and bring to a boil. Cook over medium heat and stir continuously for about 15 minutes.

8. Indian Meal Pudding

Need some classic pilgrim comfort food? Then try making this yummy Indian meal pudding recipe.

So named after the cornmeal the natives gave them upon arrival.

9. Easy Thanksgiving Pilgrim’s Hat Cookie Treats

Okay, so maybe the pilgrims didn’t eat these yummy Thanksgiving pilgrim's hat cookie treats but it's actually pretty easy, so it's sure to be a definite winner.

10. Mussel Stew

When the pilgrims arrived, one of the most abundant kinds of seafood they found are mussels. And this stew is easy to prepare.

Ingredients:

- 2 kls mussels
- 2 tbsp butter
- chopped parsley
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- salt andpepper

Instructions:

Scrub the mussels clean. In a large pot, place a cup of water and all ingredients aside from the mussels. Bring it to a boil. Add the mussels and let it a simmer until all of the mussels have opened fully.

Want to see what food the pilgrims probably ate for Thanksgiving? Check out this video from Top Tenz:

Our Thanksgiving menu today is already totally different, yet the festivities and the spirit still remain the same. No matter what is in store for your Thanksgiving menu this year, be sure to prepare it with a more grateful heart.

What do you think of these pilgrim Thanksgiving recipes? Will you give it a try? Let me know in the comment section below.

Up Next:

- 19 Paleo Recipes to Make This Thanksgiving | Healthy Thanksgiving Ideas
- 14 Homemade Stuffing Recipes For The Perfect Thanksgiving Feast
- Beekeeping In Winter: Preparing Beehives For The Cold Season

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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on November 5, 2019, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.

FAQs

Pilgrim Thanksgiving Recipes | What Did The Pilgrims Really Eat? ›

Turkey (probably), venison, seafood, and all of the vegetables that they had planted and harvested that year—onions, carrots, beans, spinach, lettuce, and other greens. Was it good? Most experts agree that it must have been delicious; otherwise, it wouldn't have become one of the most famous traditions of all time.

Explore More ›

What did the Pilgrims really eat for Thanksgiving? ›

There are only two surviving documents that reference the original Thanksgiving harvest meal. They describe a feast of freshly killed deer, assorted wildfowl, a bounty of cod and bass, and flint, a native variety of corn harvested by the Native Americans, which was eaten as corn bread and porridge.

What was the Pilgrims 1621 harvest meal? ›

The 1621 harvest celebration included plenty of wildfowl, and the Wampanoag and English occasionally stuffed birds and fish, typically with herbs, onions or, for the English, oats.

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How was food * Served * at the first Thanksgiving? ›

The first Thanksgiving banquet consisted of foods like venison, bean stew and hard biscuits. And while corn and pumpkin had their place on the table, they hardly resembled the cornbread stuffing and pumpkin pie we feast on today.

Did the Pilgrims eat sweet potatoes? ›

Potatoes—white or sweet—would not have been featured on the 1621 table, and neither would sweet corn.

Did the Pilgrims really eat turkey on Thanksgiving? ›

But there is no indication that turkey was served. For meat, the Wampanoag brought deer, and the Pilgrims provided wild “fowl.” Strictly speaking, that “fowl” could have been turkeys, which were native to the area, but historians think it was probably ducks or geese.

Keep Reading ›

Did they really eat turkey at the first Thanksgiving? ›

Did they eat turkey? We don't think so. The Wampanoag guests brought five deer with them, so venison was on the menu. The English brought fowl, "probably migrating waterfowl like ducks and geese, which were plentiful in autumn," says Beahrs.

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What was the Pilgrims biggest meal of the day? ›

In the middle of the day, everyone ate dinner, which was a largest meal of the day made up of several foods. There was probably a thick porridge or bread made from Indian corn and some kind of meat, fowl or fish. Supper was a smaller meal, often just leftovers from dinner.

Get More Info ›

How did the Pilgrims avoid starvation in 1621? ›

The Wampanoag people, the “People of the First Light,” are responsible for saving the Pilgrims from starvation and death during the harsh winter of 1620–21.

Read The Full Story ›

What are 3 foods that were eaten at the first Thanksgiving? ›

But according to the two only remaining historical records of the first Thanksgiving menu, that meal consisted of freshly killed deer, assorted wildfowl, cod, bass, and flint, and a native variety of corn harvested by the Native Americans, which was eaten as corn bread and porridge.

See Details ›

Which president refused to celebrate Thanksgiving? ›

Which president refused to recognize Thanksgiving? Thomas Jefferson was famously the only Founding Father and early president who refused to declare days of thanksgiving and fasting in the United States.

Did pilgrims have potatoes? ›

But to make a long story short, potatoes come from the high Andes of South America and weren't really cultivated in North America until the 1700s. So, no, cross it off your list—mashed potatoes are not an original Thanksgiving side dish.

Did they eat lobster at the first Thanksgiving? ›

While turkey is the staple for Thanksgiving today, it may not have been on the menu during what is considered the First Thanksgiving. The First Thanksgiving meal eaten by pilgrims in November 1621 included lobster. They also ate fruits and vegetables brought by Native Americans, mussels, bass, clams, and oysters.

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Did the Pilgrims have pickles? ›

Vinegar pickles and sugar were also occasionally used to preserve foods. As the years passed, the Pilgrims began to grow more food than they needed to eat.

What were cranberries called during Pilgrim times? ›

The Indians called the red berries "sasemineash" and also "pakimintzen." The Pilgrims gave this fruit the name "crane berry" because its pink blossom reminded them of the head of a crane, a large wading bird. Over the years its name has been shortened to cranberry.

Did pilgrims eat pumpkin pie? ›

Wine was not served during the meal; instead, most drank good old water. And finally – without flour or a stove – there were no breads or pumpkin pies. During their meals, the Pilgrims didn't use forks, and only ate with spoons, knives and their fingers.

See Details ›

What was the actual first Thanksgiving meal? ›

But according to the two only remaining historical records of the first Thanksgiving menu, that meal consisted of freshly killed deer, assorted wildfowl, cod, bass, and flint, and a native variety of corn harvested by the Native Americans, which was eaten as corn bread and porridge.

Why were potatoes not served at the first Thanksgiving? ›

The Wampanoag brought deer and there would have been lots of local seafood (mussels, lobster, bass) plus the fruits of the first pilgrim harvest, including pumpkin. No mashed potatoes, though. Potatoes had only been recently shipped back to Europe from South America.

What really happened at the first Thanksgiving feast in 1621? ›

Massasoit sent some of his own men to hunt deer for the feast and for three days, the English and native men, women, and children ate together. The meal consisted of deer, corn, shellfish, and roasted meat, different from today's traditional Thanksgiving feast. They played ball games, sang, and danced.

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What did the Pilgrims eat everyday? ›

Cooking and Food

During the Mayflower's voyage, the Pilgrims' main diet would have consisted primarily of a cracker-like biscuit ("hard tack"), salt pork, dried meats including cow tongue, various pickled foods, oatmeal and other cereal grains, and fish. The primary beverage for everyone, including children, was beer.