The Thanksgiving meal is remarkably consistent in its elements: the turkey, the stuffing, the sweet potatoes, the cranberry sauce. Barring ethical, health, or religious objections, it is pretty much the same meal for everyone, across latitudes and longitudes, and through the years of their lives. We stick with the basics and simply change the seasonings.
What Did the Pilgrims Eat at the First Thanksgiving?
But what about that first Thanksgiving in the fall of 1621 (historians don’t know the exact date, but place it sometime between September 21 and November 9), when British settlers hosted the first documented harvest celebration? What did they eat at the first Thanksgiving, and how similar is it to the traditional American Thanksgiving meal today?
Here’s how Edward Winslow described the first Thanksgiving feast in a letter to a friend:
“Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together after we had gathered the fruits of our labor. They four in one day killed as much fowl as, with a little help beside, served the company almost a week. At which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised our arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five deer, which we brought to the plantation and bestowed on our governor, and upon the captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want that we often wish you partakers of our plenty.”
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What They (Likely) Did Have at the First Thanksgiving
- Venison
- Fowl (geese and duck)
- Corn
- Nuts (walnuts, chestnuts, beechnuts)
- Shellfish
So venison was a major ingredient, as well as fowl, but that likely included geese and ducks. Turkeys are a possibility, but were not a common food in that time. Pilgrims grew onions and herbs. Cranberries and currants would have been growing wild in the area, and watercress may have still been available if the hard frosts had held off, but there’s no record of them having been served. In fact, the meal was probably quite meat-heavy.
Likewise, walnuts, chestnuts, and beechnuts were abundant, as were sunchokes. Shellfish were common, so they probably played a part, as did beans, pumpkins, squashes, andcorn (served in the form of bread or porridge), thanks to the Wampanoags.
What They (Definitely) Did Not Have at the First Thanksgiving
- A turkey centerpiece
- Potatoes (white or sweet)
- Bread stuffing or pie (wheat flour was rare)
- Sugar
- Aunt Lena’s green bean casserole
But how about bringing a little more truly traditional flavor back to your table? Back in 2003, we consulted with historians at Plimoth Plantation, the Wampanoag and English settlers living history museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and asked writer Jane Walsh to devise a menu that incorporated some of the foods that would have been served at the first Thanksgiving. We didn’t eliminate any favorites or try to go sugar-free. We skipped the venison. Really, like everyone else who will gather around a table on the fourth Thursday in November this year, we simply changed the seasonings.
Thanksgiving Recipes | Tradition with a Twist
Watercress-Currant Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette
Stuffing of Jerusalem Artichokes, Currants, and Grapes
Pumpkin Chiffon Pie with Sweet Walnut Crust
Historically-Inspired Thanksgiving Recipes
The Wampanoag and English settlers may not have had access to all of the ingredients included in these recipes, but by including pheasant, goose, or venison in your Thanksgiving menu, you’re at least paying tribute to a meat they likely enjoyed back in 1621. Chestnuts and native corn were common, too. Here are a few dishes to get you further inspired — both reader-submitted and from the Yankee recipe archives.
Venison Tenderloin
Roast Goose
Chestnut Croquettes
New England Succotash
This post was first published in 2012 and has been updated.
FAQs
So, to the question “What did the Pilgrims eat for Thanksgiving,” the answer is both surprising and expected. 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.
What did pilgrims eat on the first 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.
Was there really a first Thanksgiving dinner? ›
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 and natives actually eat together? ›
In 1621, those Pilgrims did hold a three-day feast, which was attended by members of the Wampanoag tribe. However, typically, when these settlers had what they referred to as "thanksgiving" observances, they actually fasted.
Was Swan eaten at the first Thanksgiving? ›
Turkey was not the centerpiece of the meal, as it is today, explains Wall. Though it is possible the colonists and American Indians cooked wild turkey, she suspects that goose or duck was the wildfowl of choice. In her research, she has found that swan and passenger pigeons would have been available as well.
Did the Pilgrims actually eat turkey on 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.
Did pilgrims eat alot of pie on the first Thanksgiving? ›
There was no pumpkin pie—they didn't have a baking oven in Plimoth Plantation—but there might have been pumpkin served other ways, since both the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag ate pumpkin and other indigenous squashes.
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 was the real first Thanksgiving like? ›
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.
What was missing from the first Thanksgiving dinner? ›
Turkey was not on the menu.
Instead, it is believed the pilgrims feasted on things such as lobster, rabbit, chicken, fish, squash, beans, chestnuts, hickory nuts, onions, leeks, dried fruits, maple syrup and honey, radishes, cabbage, carrots, eggs, and goat cheese.
So, to the question “What did the Pilgrims eat for Thanksgiving,” the answer is both surprising and expected. 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.
What president refused to declare Thanksgiving a holiday? ›
Thomas Jefferson was famously the only Founding Father and early president who refused to declare days of thanksgiving and fasting in the United States.
How much did Thanksgiving cost in 1950? ›
Here's what a Thanksgiving meal cost the year you were born
| Year | Total meal cost: | Inflation adjusted cost: |
|---|
| 1949 | $5.62 | $45.43 |
| 1950 | $5.91 | $47.25 |
| 1951 | $6.48 | $48.49 |
| 1952 | $6.52 | $47.82 |
68 more rowsNov 21, 2018
A few days later, President George Washington issued a proclamation naming Thursday, November 26, 1789 as a "Day of Publick Thanksgivin" - the first time Thanksgiving was celebrated under the new Constitution.
What did the Pilgrims eat for dessert? ›
According to some accounts, early English settlers in North America improvised by hollowing out pumpkins (which were plentiful), filling the shells with goat's milk, honey, and spices to make a custard, then they roasted the filled pumpkins whole in hot ash from the fire.
Was lobster served at 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.
What did the Pilgrims eat on the Mayflower? ›
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.
What did the Pilgrims eat every day in America? ›
Indian corn was part of almost every meal in Plymouth Colony. Along with Indian corn, the Pilgrims also grew some beans, pumpkins, wheat, barley, oats and peas in their fields. In the gardens near their houses, women grew many different kinds of herbs and vegetables, like parsley, lettuce, spinach, carrots and turnips.
What was not served at the Pilgrims Thanksgiving meal? ›
Potatoes—white or sweet—would not have been featured on the 1621 table, and neither would sweet corn. Bread-based stuffing was also not made, though the Pilgrims may have used herbs or nuts to stuff birds.
