Home Recipes Cooking Style Comfort Food
ByGrace Mannon
Taste of Home's Editorial Process
Updated: Feb. 05, 2024
It's said that the only thing Aretha Franklin loved as much as soul music was soul food.
via Aretha Franklin/Facebook
When she wasn’t singing her heart out, the Queen of Soul loved to cook and eat. These recipes are inspired by her favorite comfort cuisine, from homey meat loaf to old-fashioned banana pudding.
Peach Cobbler
Aretha’s peach cobbler recipe was a tried-and-true go-to for many of her fans! While she used canned peaches and refrigerated pie crusts, this recipe’s fresh peaches and hand-mixed topping create a wonderful cobbler if you have the time.
Get Our Recipe for Peach Cobbler
Pineapple Ham
The Queen of Soul’s Queen of Soul Ham recipe is classic, with maraschino cherries, pineapple rings, lots of brown sugar and yellow mustard. This copycat recipe would be perfect for a holiday.
Get Our Recipe for Brown Sugar Pineapple Ham
Banana Pudding
In her biography, Aretha mentioned loving banana pudding. But really, who doesn’t?! This recipe yields a great one with a made-from-scratch pudding mixture.
Get Our Recipe for Banana Pudding
Fried Chicken
Since the Queen of Soul loved soul food, fried chicken is something she must have relished. It can’t get much more crispy and satisfying than this!
Get Our Recipe for Crispy Fried Chicken
Way back in 1967, Aretha told Ebony magazine that her favorite food was chitlins. It’s hard to come by recipes for those anymore, but since she loved comfort food, this mac and cheese topped with crushed pork rinds would have undoubtedly made her day!
Cornbread
In the same interview, Aretha also mentioned hot water cornbread as a food she loved, and since she surely slathered it with butter, this version would have been a hit with her!
Get Our Recipe for Buttery Cornbread
Italian Chicken
Ms. Franklin shared her recipe for Chicken Italiano with Martha Stewart. It consists of chicken pieces from a whole bird, tomato sauce and fresh rosemary. It comes together quickly and easily, just like this recipe does.
Get Our Recipe for Italian Chicken
Thai Shrimp
Aretha could branch out too! Using peanut butter and soy sauce to flavor her Mmm Mmm Mmm Peanut Butter Shrimp gives it a decidedly Thai twist.
Get Our Recipe for Thai Shrimp Stir Fry
Ham-infused black-eyed peas are the epitome of soul food. Use a smoked ham hock or take the shortcut and use regular ham like this recipe does.
Baby Back Ribs
Barbecue ribs are also on the menu of her favorite foods as told to her biographer Mark Bego. We wonder if she kept moist towelettes in stock!
Get Our Recipe for Baby Back Ribs in the Oven
Homemade Ice Cream
We hear she loved homemade ice cream as well, but there’s no mention of a specific flavor. Was she on team chocolate or team vanilla, or did she prefer something else entirely, like rhubarb ice cream?
Get Our Recipe for Homemade Ice Cream
A bowl of shrimp and grits can make even the worst day seem pretty good. Aretha’s recipe smothers the shrimp in a very buttery tomato cream sauce.
Chili
Rumor had it that the accomplished singer had planned to start her own line of comfort foods. Chili was one of the items she was considering, and she would certainly approve of this version that’s cooked low and slow.
Get Our Recipe for Chunky Chili
Gumbo
Gumbo was also supposedly on Aretha’s product list. She’d probably opt for a classic recipe like this one with both chicken and sausage.
Get Our Recipe for Chicken and Andouille Gumbo
Aretha baked her chicken and dressing, another item with her new label, in a loaf pan, but we bet this traditional casserole would be OK with her.
Get Our Recipe for Swiss Chicken Casserole
Originally Published: February 02, 2022
Author
Grace Mannon
Grace is a full-time mom with a master’s degree in food science. She has worked for clients like a bakery, a baby food company and a snack food company. Now a Taste of Home contributor, she curates recipe collections and shares baking techniques. She loves to experiment in the kitchen and writes about her hits (and misses) on her blog, A Southern...
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