Holidays & Occasions Mother's Day 35 Special Southern Recipes To Make Together With Your Mama This Mother's Day (Even Virtually!) By Kaitlyn Yarborough Kaitlyn Yarborough Part of the Southern Living team since 2017, Kaitlyn Yarborough is a Georgia native living in Austin, Texas, who covers a wide variety of topics for both the magazine and website, focusing on culture and lifestyle content, as well as travel in the South.She earned a B.A. in Journalism at the University of Georgia. She hopes to inspire your travel bucket list with her features on road trips through Texas Hill Country, bourbon tours in Kentucky, and the best beach getaways on the Gulf Coast. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Published on May 6, 2020 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Antonis Achilleos No matter how old we get, there are certain recipes that just don't taste the same when we whip them up in the kitchen as they did when our mothers used to make them when we were young and would watch it all unfold, begging to grate the cheese or peel the potatoes. Anyone who has ever tried to master her grandmother's perfectly smooth and sweet caramel cake icing knows the struggle. Some of it is undoubtedly due to nostalgia. Of course it can't taste as good; a memory can't be mimicked. What you can do is make new memories surrounding yourself, your mama, and food by cooking a classic Southern recipe together in honor of Mother's Day, be it in the same kitchen or virtually over the iPhone or iPad. Since you've likely mastered the heirloom stuff like buttermilk biscuits and squash casserole, we've instead rounded up a super fun set of classic Southern recipes with a twist to ensure it's a memorable experience for both of you, whether you try a long-forgotten chocolate wacky cake, better-than-it-looks tomato gravy, or authentic andouille sausage jambalaya for the very first time. Here are 35 mother-daughter recipes to make this Mother's Day. 01 of 35 Heirloom Tomato Pie with Parmesan-Buttermilk Crust Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer Recipe: Heirloom Tomato Pie with Parmesan-Buttermilk Crust This is the only tomato pie recipe worth making with your treasured haul from the farmers' market. And trust us, the parmesan-buttermilk crust is so worth skipping the store-bought stuff. Seriously. 02 of 35 Jalapeno Cornbread Sticks Greg DuPree Recipe: Jalapeno Cornbread Sticks Cornbread is always welcome on the table, but make it feel brand-new by using an old-fashioned cast-iron corn stick pan and adding a major flavor kick with jalapenos and cheese. 03 of 35 Fresh Peach Coffee Cake with Pecan Streusel Photo: Iain Bagwell; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Fresh Peach Coffee Cake with Pecan Streusel This coffee cake uses fresh peaches and pecans to create delicious streusel-topped harmony that you'll both love to snack on all day long. It's just too good to walk past without having a bite. 04 of 35 Tomato Gravy Greg Dupree; Food Styling: Anna Hampton; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch Recipe: Tomato Gravy There's a good chance that neither of you have made this old-school Southern classic, and you'll be happy to have the experience together. It's usually served over biscuits, pork chops, or grits (fried fish optional). 05 of 35 Shrimp Étouffée Jennifer Causey; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Heather Chadduck Hillegas Recipe: Shrimp Étouffée Step outside your recipe box with this traditional Louisiana recipe that is basically a Cajun dream complete with fresh shrimp and a brothy sauce that'll make your mouth water from the smell alone. It's worth the first-time make. 06 of 35 Strawberry-Rhubarb Pretzel Pie Iain Bagwell; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Hadas Smirnoff Recipe: Strawberry-Rhubarb Pretzel Pie Pretzel pie is an essential part of summertime, especially when it's topped with rhubarbs, which are a longtime-beloved raspberry-colored legume in the South that pairs well with strawberries. 07 of 35 Wacky Cake Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Wacky Cake Also known as depression cake, this quirky old-school chocolate cake can be thrown together right there in the baking pan—no mixing bowl required! A layer of fudgy frosting and chopped toasted pecans gives you the money shot. 08 of 35 Old-Fashioned Chicken And Dumplings Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Old-Fashioned Chicken And Dumplings We're just putting this here to tantalize the taste buds and remind you that this ultra-comforting classic is always waiting in the wings to make cooking with your mama feel extra nostalgic. 09 of 35 Crispy Cheese Wafers Recipe: Crispy Cheese Wafers What makes these cheese straws stand out from the long list of slightly variated but all very cheesy recipes is the genius addition of rice cereal. It ensures that you turn out the most crispy, crunchy cheese straw batches you or your mother have ever made. 10 of 35 Nannie's Chow-Chow Relish Southern Living Recipe: Nannie's Chow-Chow Relish Only the real Southern cooks always have homemade chow-chow in the fridge. It's the most versatile of condiments, and we like to drop a heavy dollop of this perfect relish on everything from hot dogs to collard greens. 11 of 35 Fried Green Tomatoes Jennifer Davick Recipe: Fried Green Tomatoes You'll never forget the first time you cook perfectly crisp, golden fried green tomatoes—because it's about to happen right now. Say hello to the simple recipe that gets the job done. Pair with our Comeback Sauce. 12 of 35 Dr Pepper Texas Sheet Cake Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner Recipe: Dr Pepper Texas Sheet Cake We took crowd-pleasing Texas sheet cake and gave it an old-fashioned cola cake twist. Dr Pepper has the subtle flavoring of spices like ground cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, which is perfect for a sheet cake topped with chocolate frosting and pecans. 13 of 35 Deep-Dish Berry Cobbler Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Deep-Dish Berry Cobbler Everyone needs to try a new cobbler recipe every now and then. Put down the can of peaches! May we suggest you and mom try our triple-berry cobbler made in a deep-dish for more to love? 14 of 35 Homemade Blackberry Jelly Southern Living Recipe: Homemade Blackberry Jelly Once you make this simple recipe, you'll never go back to those bland, plasticky renditions in the grocery store. Here, homemade makes all the difference. Your biscuits are begging for it. 15 of 35 Bacon Deviled Eggs Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer Recipe: Bacon Deviled Eggs You've both made dozens of classic deviled eggs, to be sure. Spruce up the Sunday lunch with these smoky bacon-studded deviled eggs with tiny slices of pickled okra for extra texture and acidity. 16 of 35 Julie Yoste's Mississippi Roast Alison Miksch Recipe: Julie Yoste's Mississippi Roast This best-ever pot roast will change dinnertime forever. The secret ingredient that takes it to the next level? Pepperoncini peppers. 17 of 35 Marinated Watermelon and Tomato Salad Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Marinated Watermelon and Tomato Salad Southerners know that watermelon has way more potential than just being sliced for the cookout. Enter this summer side dish that pops on the plate and tastes even better. Watermelon, cherry tomatoes, goat cheese, and fresh herbs like basil and mint come together with a honeyed lime dressing that gives tangy sweetness similar to balsamic vinegar. 18 of 35 Angel Biscuits Alison Miksch; Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham Recipe: Angel Biscuits Maybe you've both perfected the buttermilk biscuit or want something decidedly lower maintenance. That's where light, fluffy cast-iron angel biscuits come in. 19 of 35 Marble Molasses Cake Jennifer Causey; Food Stylist: Rishon Hanners; Prop Stylist: Audrey Davis Recipe: Marble Molasses Cake Take things back with molasses, a sweet, dark syrup that Southerners have loved for centuries. This marbled loaf treat is delightfully airy in texture and reminiscent of both gingerbread and pound cake in taste. 20 of 35 Buttermilk-Pecan Pralines Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer Recipe: Buttermilk-Pecan Pralines You'll both feel oh-so accomplished after making this classic confection. Be warned: These mouthwatering pralines will fall flat if made on a very humid day. Otherwise, go forth and get to caramelizing. 21 of 35 Coconut-Banana Pudding Hector Manuel Sanchez Recipe: Coconut-Banana Pudding Put a twist on your favorite homemade banana pudding with just a tiny touch of coconut extract. After tasting how well the flavors of vanilla pudding, bananas, and coconut go together, you'll instantly wonder why you've never done it before. 22 of 35 Quick King Ranch Chicken Skillet Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Quick King Ranch Chicken Skillet This beloved Tex-Mex dish gets an easy skillet makeover that's worth making with Mom (virtually or not!) on any night, especially when paired with homemade guacamole, Austin Diner-Style Queso, and a margarita. In less than an hour and with the help of rotisserie chicken, you're golden. 23 of 35 Robby Melvin's Turnip Greens with Hot Water Cornbread Hector Manuel Sanchez Recipe: Robby Melvin's Turnip Greens with Hot Water Cornbread This is our kind of veggie plate—as in, still studded with smoked ham hock, because obviously. Greens without ham is like biscuits without butter. Not interested. Plus, quick skillet-fried cornbread is a game-changer to learn. 24 of 35 Field Peas in Herbed Broth Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer Recipe: Field Peas in Herbed Broth The scent wafting up from these herby, aromatic brothed peas is going to be enough to make you swoon. Serve alone with cornbread or as a side dish. 25 of 35 Country Ham Corn Cakes Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner Recipe: Country Ham Corn Cakes Only four ingredients will get these crispy cakes made with fresh corn and country ham on the table, which leaves plenty of time for you and mom to catch up and enjoy some quality time, stress-free. 26 of 35 Andouille Sausage Jambalaya with Shrimp Photo: Iain Bagwell Recipe: Andouille Sausage Jambalaya with Shrimp If you're not regularly a Cajun cook, get ready to wow the whole family with this authentic jambalaya recipe studded with spicy sausage, fresh shrimp, and tomatoes. Oh, and one more thing: You can make it in your slow-cooker. You're welcome. 27 of 35 Kentucky Bourbon Pie Antonis Achilleos Recipe: Kentucky Bourbon Pie Fashioned after George Kern's Derby Pie, this recipe combines chocolate, bourbon, and pecans for a souped-up version of pecan pie that's deliciously decadent and stops the show every time. 28 of 35 Key Lime Pound Cake Jen Causey Recipe: Key Lime Pound Cake Get a taste of the tropics with this glazed masterpiece that's a cross between Key lime pie and Southern pound cake. Consider cooking night with your mama made. 29 of 35 Lemon-Buttermilk Icebox Pie Hector Sanchez; Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas Recipe: Lemon-Buttermilk Icebox Pie We couldn't let this thing slide without buttermilk pie or icebox pie. How about a lemony, berry-topped treat that does both and is the perfect amount of sweet and tart? 30 of 35 Country Captain Chicken Photo: Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Country Captain Chicken You might not have heard of this regional delicacy before, but it's been a Junior League cookbook staple for decades. You brown chicken in butter or bacon fat before braising in tomato sauce riddled with aromatic spices such as curry powder, nutmeg, and plenty of pepper. 31 of 35 Oyster Stew Cedric Angeles; Prop Styling: Thom Driver Recipe: Oyster Stew A favorite seafood stew of the South, oyster stew is meant to be enjoyed with the memories of salty beach breezes in mind. It's a warm, comforting dinner made for casual summer nights. 32 of 35 Goat Cheese and Gouda Pimiento Cheese Photo: Jennifer Causey; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Goat Cheese and Gouda Pimiento Cheese Turn up the jazz factor on classic pimiento cheese by adding goat cheese and Gouda cheese to the grater lineup. You might never go back to the plain stuff again. 33 of 35 Pan-Fried Okra with Cornmeal Alison Miksch; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Pan-Fried Okra with Cornmeal This simple, six-ingredient recipe gives the crispiest okra without feeling super greasy. As the okra fries in the skillet, you sprinkle it with cornmeal for ultimate crunch. 34 of 35 Pineapple-Ginger Upside-Down Cake Antonis Achilleos Recipe: Pineapple-Ginger Upside-Down Cake The caramelized bottom of an upside-down cake is enough to make us go ga-ga. This rendition calls for zingy ginger and fresh pineapple—so basically this ain't your grandmother's pineapple upside-down cake. Grab mom and give it a go. 35 of 35 Hummingbird Cupcakes with Candied Pineapple Wedges Photo: Victor Protasio; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Hummingbird Cupcakes with Candied Pineapple Wedges Make your baking date even more fun with this whimsical take on beloved Hummingbird Cake. It has all the pineappley, nutty flavor in a cute little package topped with candied pineapple rings you can find at the grocery store. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit