07/31/2026
Have you ever tasted a dish that connects you to history and culture? Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) white corn soup is a traditional soup that’s bigger than the ingredients it uses—simple on the surface but deeply connected to the land it comes from.
Recipes vary widely by Tribe, region, and family tradition, but white corn soup has been a cherished dish for generations of family meals, ceremonies, and community gatherings. It’s a two-day preparation process that uses traditional methods and includes few ingredients. Some recipes only require water, dried white corn, beans, pork or turkey, and hardwood ashes for hulling.
Try your hand at making traditional white corn soup using the recipe featured in the CDC’s Traditional Foods in Native America (found on page 35), a publication used by IHS and Tribal nutrition programs:https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes-ndwp/media/Part-I-Traditional-Foods-in-Native-America-April-21.pdf
If you're interested in preparing other recipes that are faithful to a particular tradition, cookbooks by Indigenous authors and organizations, like the Iroquois White Corn Project, offer more white corn recipes rooted in specific cultural practices and histories: https://www.ganondagan.org/white-corn-project
Follow along as IHS continues to celebrate the history, cultural significance, and health benefits of traditional Indigenous foods in our campaign, Rooted in Culture: Native Foods of America.
