Healthy Southern Recipes

Find healthy, delicious southern recipes, from the food and nutrition experts at EatingWell.

Staff Picks

BBQ Chicken Skillet Pizza

Rating: Unrated
2
Upgrade chicken-BBQ pizza with this Alabama-style white sauce recipe made with mayo and a little vinegar. Using premade dough helps get dinner on the table quickly and easily.
By Adam Dolge

Slow-Cooker Jambalaya

Rating: Unrated
1
This hearty jambalaya is bursting with chicken, smoked turkey sausage, and shrimp. It takes just 25 minutes to prep in the morning and then your slow cooker will work its magic and deliver a tasty meal at the end of the day.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

One-Bowl Chocolate Cake

Rating: Unrated
20
This easy-to-make chocolate cake is dark, moist, rich--and only dirties one bowl! Not quite as easy as boxed cake mixes, but those often contain trans fats. Our simple “from scratch” recipe gives you a home-baked cake with healthful canola oil and whole-wheat flour.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Louisiana Gumbo

Rating: Unrated
8
Chock-full of shrimp, chicken, sausage, okra and tomatoes, this flavorful stew is a staple in Louisiana. Make it a meal and serve with Real Cornbread (see associated recipe).
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Nutty Pimiento Cheese Balls

Rating: Unrated
1
These bite-size pimiento cheese balls from Jamie and Bobby Deen are a huge hit with kids (of all ages). They're the perfect appetizer to bring to a summer picnic. Jamie and Bobby share a passion for great home-cooked food with a Southern flair with their celebrity-chef mom, Paula Deen. These brothers are following in their mom's footsteps with their own TV shows, books and website. Our favorite part of what they're up to: healthy makeovers of some of Paula's recipes! Recipe adapted from The Deen Bros. Get Fired Up, by Jamie & Bobby Deen and Melissa Clark (Ballantine Books, 2011).
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Lemony Lentil Soup with Collards

Rating: Unrated
5
You don't need broth for this lentil soup recipe--it's rich thanks to the browned bits in the bottom of the pan that meld into the soup, packing it with flavor. Ground coriander, from the seed of the cilantro plant, has a floral, citrusy flavor that dovetails nicely with the lemon.
By Joy Howard

Lemon Thins

Rating: Unrated
5
These lemon cookies are made healthier with whole-wheat pastry flour and they get their zippy flavor from fresh lemon zest and juice rather than lemon extract. This lemon cookie recipe would be the perfect accompaniment to afternoon tea.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Louisiana Chicken Drumsticks and Tomatoes

Get a taste of the south with this chicken drumstick recipe. Thyme, hot sauce and black pepper lend flavor to this perfect weeknight dinner option.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Southern Beefy Skillet

Rating: Unrated
1
Make this entire meal in one skillet! The beef soaks up the flavor from the vegetables and herbs, making it juicy and full of flavor.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Sausage Gumbo

Rating: Unrated
5
To keep it simple, we've opted for just the essential ingredients in this rendition of the hearty Creole favorite: sausage, okra, rice and a little spice.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Peach Custard Pie

Rating: Unrated
3
We use low-fat milk along with nonfat Greek yogurt in the creamy custard for this peach pie. The yogurt gives the custard a smooth texture without using cream or too many egg yolks. A slice is just as delicious served warm from the oven as it is chilled. For an added treat, serve topped with fresh blueberries.
By Jim Romanoff

Vegan Jambalaya

You won't miss the meat in this healthy jambalaya recipe. Vegan smoked sausage takes its place while the classic "trinity" of vegetables--onion, red bell pepper and celery--get a kick from jalapeño peppers. And everything is cooked in one skillet, which means cleanup is a breeze!
By Robin Bashinsky

Inspiration and Ideas

Best Southern Recipes

Best Southern Recipes

Despite its reputation, Southern food can certainly be healthy. These easy Southern recipes feature plenty of greens, beans and vegetables. Enjoy collard greens in creamy skillet mac and cheese or try new variations of Hoppin' John—a Southern favorite—for a bit of good luck. Download a FREE Cookbook of Healthier Comfort Food Recipes! Watch Video
Spicy Meatloaf with Collards

Spicy Meatloaf with Collards

Rating: Unrated
3
Plenty of dark leafy greens deliver the moisture needed to balance lean ground pork and beef in this spicy meatloaf recipe. Serve any leftovers with extra ketchup as meatloaf sandwiches.
Tomato-Corn Pie

Tomato-Corn Pie

Rating: Unrated
9
Seafood Stew

Seafood Stew

Rating: Unrated
2
Slow-Cooker Baby Back Ribs

Slow-Cooker Baby Back Ribs

Rating: Unrated
4
Cajun Salmon with Greek Yogurt Remoulade

Cajun Salmon with Greek Yogurt Remoulade

Rating: Unrated
1

Fried Chicken Salad with Buttermilk Dressing

Rating: Unrated
5

A blend of whole-wheat panko and fine cornmeal gives this healthy chicken recipe the perfect amount of crunch even though it's not deep fried. Making an easy homemade buttermilk ranch dressing recipe means you can skip bottled, which may have additives and stabilizers.

All Healthy Southern Recipes

Soup Beans

Rating: Unrated
2
Like poor people everywhere, mountain people in the South thrived for centuries on food that was indigenous, inexpensive and healthful. These days “soup beans” speak instant comfort to anyone who had familial connections from Appalachia, where every garden produced shelling beans that could be eaten fresh or grown to maturity for dry beans. Serve this thick, stew-like soup with cornbread, pickle relish and diced sweet onion.
By Sarah Fritschner

Jambalaya Stuffed Peppers

Rating: Unrated
1
In this healthy stuffed peppers recipe, a delicious jambalaya filling of chicken and Cajun spices gets baked inside of bell peppers. Traditional jambalaya is made with green bell peppers, but you can use green, yellow, or orange peppers (or a mix) for this dish. Look for bell peppers with even bottoms, so that they stand upright on their own.
By Abbie Gellman, M.S., RD, CDN

Tilapia Corn Chowder

Rating: Unrated
2
This light soup is a great way to slip fresh corn (and tilapia, of course!) into your late-summer menu. Make it a meal: Enjoy with a mixed green salad and oyster crackers.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Shrimp & Cheddar Grits

Rating: Unrated
8
The South's version of creamy polenta, grits are easy to make on a weeknight--especially when topped with quickly broiled shrimp and scallions. Use the sharpest Cheddar you can find for these cheesy grits. Serve with: Sautéed greens and a tall glass of iced tea.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Vegetarian Gumbo

Rating: Unrated
2
This flavorful vegan dinner is a veggie version of the Louisiana classic. It's chock-full of butternut squash, tomatoes, poblano peppers and okra, to name just a few. This vegetarian gumbo is a quick dinner packed with flavor and spice that's done in only 30 minutes. To make it a meal, serve it with cornbread drizzled with olive oil.
By Robin Bashinsky

Chicken-Fried Steak & Gravy

Rating: Unrated
10
Can you really make a chicken-fried steak that isn't loaded with saturated fat and salt? Absolutely. We skip the deep frying, but with rich country gravy as consolation, you won't miss it. Our pan-fried, crispy cube steak has less than one-third of the fat and about 80 percent less sodium.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Whole-Wheat Biscuits & Sausage Gravy

Homemade creamy sausage gravy over flaky biscuits is the perfect breakfast to start a weekend morning. A mixture of white whole-wheat flour and cake flour makes these Southern whole-wheat biscuits exceptionally tender. Cake flour has a lower protein content than all-purpose flour and is used for delicate cakes and biscuits. Look for unbleached cake flour, available at large supermarkets and natural-foosd stores.
By Carolyn Casner

Low-Country Boil

Rating: Unrated
6
One pot is all you need for this easy Low-Country boil. We added green beans to the classic combination of potatoes, corn, shrimp and sausage to boost the veggie servings for a healthier crowd-pleasing meal. Dump the whole potful out on newspaper and serve with melted butter for dipping and crusty bread to round it all off!
By Devon O'Brien

Pimiento-Cheese Patty Melt

A healthy pimiento-cheese spread makes an insanely delicious topping for this easy patty melt recipe. To keep the bread-to-burger ratio even (and calories in check), look for a smaller loaf of country bread or cut large slices in half.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Oven-Fried Chicken on a Stick

Rating: Unrated
2
Here's a fun way to serve oven-fried chicken for a picnic: put it on a stick. It's fabulous served with this homemade Vidalia onion and honey-mustard sauce, but it's also great with barbecue sauce or Frank's hot sauce. This is an easy recipe to double if you're serving a crowd.
By Virginia Willis

Summer Tomato, Onion & Cucumber Salad

Rating: Unrated
6
Fresh wedges of tomato, thinly sliced onion and sliced cucumber dressed simply with vinegar and oil makes the most simple salad possible--think of it as the Southern counterpart to the classic Italian tomato-and-mozzarella salad. It is best enjoyed at the height of summer, when tomatoes and cucumbers are fresh from the garden.
By Virginia Willis

Shrimp & Grits with Tomato

Sautéed garlicky cherry tomatoes add a pop of sweet and tangy flavor to this luscious cheesy shrimp and grits recipe.
By Adam Dolge

Southern BBQ Pork Bowls

Light mayonnaise and fat-free Greek yogurt help to keep this satisfying recipe low-fat.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

BBQ Tofu Sandwich

Rating: Unrated
6
Though vegetarian BBQ may be an oxymoron, once you take a bite of this delicious tofu sandwich topped with coleslaw and dill pickles you won't mind the contradiction. Serve with: Baked beans and corn on the cob.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Fried Flounder

This recipe from Mable Clarke, a South Carolina cook and activist, is the centerpiece for the monthly fish fry she started to save the Soapstone Baptist Church in her community. Juicy inside and crispy outside, it's what hundreds of people look forward to every month. Serve with lemon juice and a quick tartar sauce of mayonnaise, capers, relish and a touch of Tabasco.
By Mable Owens Clarke

Tomato Casserole

Rating: Unrated
1
Cook and activist Mable Clarke serves this craveable side dish at the monthly fish fry she started to save the Soapstone Baptist Church in South Carolina. While the cheese crackers may draw you in, it's the baked tomatoes that keep you coming back for more. When she's cooking for hundreds of guests at the fish fry, Clarke uses canned tomatoes and green chiles for this dish. Since you're likely not cooking for 400, we adapted the recipe to use fresh tomatoes.
By Mable Owens Clarke

Purple Sweet Potato Pie

Rating: Unrated
1
This purple version of classic sweet potato pie has a shot of brandy, which adds another layer of seasonal flavor. Serve with a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream.
By Cheryl Slocum

Collard Green & Black-Eyed Pea Soup

Rating: Unrated
8
Antioxidant-rich collard greens and fiber-packed black-eyed peas have a starring role in this nutritious soup. There's no need for loads of ham or salt pork--just a small amount of bacon gives it a wonderful smoky flavor. You can skip the bacon and substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth for a great vegetarian dish.
By Carolyn Malcoun

Black-Eyed Peas & Okra

Rating: Unrated
1
This bean and okra recipe is a classic Southern side dish perfect for potlucks. Adding the okra toward the end of cooking guarantees a tender--not mushy--texture.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Grits & Greens Casserole

Rating: Unrated
3
Here we've combined two favorite Southern side dishes--grits and greens--into one casserole; it's a natural choice to serve with Easter ham. Try omitting the bacon and using vegetable broth to make it a vegetarian dish.
By Katie Webster

Chipotle Mayonnaise

Use this chipotle-spiced mayonnaise to dress chicken salad or a corn and red pepper salad. Or serve alongside sliced papaya as an appetizer.
By Patsy Jamieson

Chicken à la King

Rating: Unrated
5
There's no need to feel guilty over this classic creamy combination of chicken, peppers and mushrooms. Our version uses low-fat milk and flour for thickening to make it plenty rich without all the saturated fat. Serve over whole-wheat egg noodles.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

BBQ Chicken Sandwich

Rating: Unrated
9
Toss leftover cooked chicken with barbecue sauce and crunchy carrots for a quick and healthy lunch.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Southern Kale

Kale becomes melt-in-your-mouth tender in this recipe. Assertive garlic and salty country ham stand up to kale's bold flavor.
By Sarah Fritschner
Load More
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.eatingwell.com