10 Pioneer Recipes We Need To Know
As I see the price of groceries continues to rise, I also see the need to know how to cook these 10 pioneer recipes. I am very concerned with the economy of our country, and the world for that matter. If this generation hasn’t learned to cook from scratch how can they teach their kids?
Getting takeout doesn’t cut it when teaching our family how to cook. And what about manners? Am I old-fashioned or what? Where have all the manners gone? There is something about having a conversation around a table. Okay, I will get off my soapbox. Let’s have fun with these 10 pioneer recipes!
Our ancestors didn’t have grocery stores around the corner like some of us have now. They had to cook from scratch because that was the only way they could survive. They could make meals with a few ingredients just to fill their bellies.
Related: 10 Pioneer Skills That We Need
Ingredients Needed For Recipes
- Flour
- Butter
- Sugar
- Rice
- Salt
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Potatoes
- Onions
- Parsley
- Eggs
- Salt and Pepper
- Shortening
- Milk
- Cream
- Sour Milk
- Cinnamon
- Honey
- Whole Wheat Flour
- Cabbage
- Chicken
- Pork Chops
- Apples
10 Pioneer Recipes
1. Potato Pancakes
I grew up eating potato pancakes, these look very similar to the ones my mom made for me growing up.
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon minced parsley
- 6 potatoes, grated (drained)
- shortening
-
Stir the flour with the salt, baking powder, and pepper. In another bowl combine the eggs, onions, and parsley. Put both mixtures in one bowl, add the potatoes. Make into patties and fry in 1/4 inch shortening until golden brown or browned to your choice.
2. Scottish Shortbread
I could almost call this Norwegian Shortbread, I grew up on homemade shortbread in a Norwegian family.
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 cups flour
-
Grab a bowl and cream the butter and sugar. Then add the flour. Press the mixture into greased 9 by 13-inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into squares while hot.
3. English Tea Biscuits
Has anyone made tea biscuits? This was a really popular pioneer recipe.
- 2 cups flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons shortening
- 3/4 cup milk
-
Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Cut in the shortening using a pastry cutter. Add the milk. Flour the countertop and place the dough on the counter. Roll and pat the dough out to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut the biscuits with a biscuit cutter. Place them in a greased pan and bake at 500 degrees for 10 minutes.
4. Crepes
I love making crepes, for dessert, or with chicken a la king. These are so easy to make and so versatile.
- 1-1/2 cups milk
- 1 cup flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon shortening
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
-
Grab a medium-sized bowl and combine the milk, flour, eggs, shortening, and salt. Heat greased skillet and spoon 3 tablespoons of the batter on the skillet. Roll the batter around the pan by tilting the pan. Cook one side until brown and flip the crepe over and cook the other side until lightly brown. Repeat until all the batter is used. Serve with fresh fruit, jam, and whipped cream.
5. Homemade Soda Crackers
If you find making bread is hard for you, try making crackers. These are really easy to make.
- 4 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cup sour milk
-
Grab a large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda. Add the milk and butter and mix until it’s a stiff dough. Flour the countertop, and punch the dough on the floured countertop, turning over a few times. Roll out very thin and cut into squares. Prick with a fork. Bake at 400 degrees until the edges ar lightly brown.
6. Homemade Graham Crackers
I can’t wait to try making these graham crackers. I have the freshly ground whole wheat flour, so these will be easy to make.
- 3 cups whole-wheat flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 6 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1/2 cup honey
-
Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Melt the honey and butter in a small saucepan. Combine both mixtures and mix together with your hands. Do not overmix. Grease a cookie sheet and roll the dough in the cookie sheet to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut squares and prick them with a fork. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.
7. Fried Cabbage
I’m starting to feel a bit old, because my mom made several of these recipes. I grew up on fried cabbage, did you?
- 1 head cabbage, chopped
- 1/2 pound bacon
- 1 medium chopped onion
- salt and pepper to taste
-
Cook the bacon in the frying pan you will use to cook the cabbage. Cook the bacon until crispy. Leave some bacon grease in the frying pan. Add the onion with the bacon in the pan. Next, add the cabbage and simmer in the frying pan until tender. Salt and Pepper to taste.
8. Wagon Fried Chicken
Who loves fried chicken? Oh my gosh, my mouth is watering! This recipe is a keeper, I promise! Don’t think about the grease!
- 3 eggs, beaten
- 1/2 cup milk
- salt and pepper
- 12 pieces of chicken
- 1-1/2 cups flour
- skillet with 2/3 full melted shortening
-
Beat the eggs with the milk. Salt and pepper the chicken really well. Dip each piece of chicken in the egg/milk mixture. Dredge the chicken in flour. Remove excess flour by shaking the chicken pieces. Place in the hot shortening and brown on each side over medium heat. Then flip the chicken pieces over and cook the other side until golden brown. Drain the grease on paper towels.
9. Pork Chops With Apples
This recipe is the reason I love cast iron pans! I swear everything tastes better cooked in cast iron, right?
- 6 pork chops
- 2 tablespoons shortening
- 3-4 unpeeled, apples, cored, and sliced
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons butter
-
Brown the pork chops in the shortening. Grease a baking pan and place the sliced apples in the bottom. Sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar. Put tiny bits of butter over the apples. Place the browned pork chops on top. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 90 minutes.
10. Grandma’s Rice Pudding
Mark grew up on rice pudding, but didn’t like it when his mom put raisins in it. Did you grow up with rice pudding? With or without raisins?
- 6 cups milk
- 3/4 cup white rice
- 1 cup cream
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
-
Bring the milk to a boil, add the rice and reduce the heat to simmer. Cook one hour, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat. Combine the cream, sugar, yolks, vanilla, and salt with the rice mixture. Sprinkle with cinnamon when serving.
Final Word
I hope today you print these 10 pioneer recipes to have ready to make when you need to cook with very few ingredients. We may need these recipes sooner than we think. Thanks for being prepared for the unexpected. May God bless this world. Stay safe and keep prepping, Linda
Other Pioneer Recipes by Linda
Copyright Images: Crepes Deposit photos_132686566_s-2019
I grew up with parents who survived and thrived during the Great Depression. My father lived on a farm so there was no shortage of food, although there might have been a shortage of things like flour and sugar. But, they always had home grown veggies and meat, milk, etc. My mother on the other hand lived a completely different life during the depression. Her father died in 1929 and there were still 7 children at home. My mother was 10 with 3 siblings younger and 3 older. Seven of her siblings were grown and either married or otherwise occupied.
Some things I grew up knowing how to do because of the way my parents lived during those times.
I remember something my mother always insisted upon when I learned how to bake was that the bowl should be clean when I removed the dough! If I left anything in the bowl – whether cake batter or bread dough – she said things like, “your little sister might not have a slice of bread.” Apparently when she was growing up and learning to bake from her mother, the bowl was scraped clean! Something to keep in mind. I still do that to this day! And, I taught my daughter this same thing.
Now, something else to keep in mind is, “Waste not Want not.” My daughter taught me a couple of things (she is pretty frugal!). She always puts vegetable scraps: peelings etc. into a large bag in the freezer and when it is full, she makes veggie broth. It is funny that she wanted to teach me how to make bone broth! I told her that I grew up making this! We just didn’t give it a name! A roast chicken or turkey for example was good for several meals! First meal – meat; second meal – ala king; third meal – soup! Even when she was growing up I did this and was able to stretch food to feed an army – not literally but you get the idea!
I guess I should get to the point here – it is not only necessary to know how to make the recipes or at least a number of these recipes but also know how to stretch what we have or will have.
I LOVE your posts, Linda. You are the only blog I consistently follow and respond to! I imagine you get really tired of reading my comments. I do tend to get a bit windy but then, you always post about things that are near and dear to my heart!
Hi Leanne, I LOVE LOVE LOVE your comments! Isn’t it funny when our kids teach us something? I love it! By the way, I have never heard that term “your little sister might not have a slice of bread.” Oh my gosh, that is such a good statement. It really does make me think about scraping my bowls even more now. Awesome!! Linda
I watched a video on another site where the gal was making bread. It was funny that she didn’t even get all of the flour mixed in! I was thinking that she might as well have not measured a thing since she wasn’t “using” everything she put in the bowl!!
Something else I thought of after reading your reply! My daughter does still leave a little cake or cookie batter in the bowl for the kiddos to “lick” the bowl. I know, I know, with eggs or uncooked flour, one shouldn’t do this but…
Hi Leanne, oh my gosh the flour has to be mixed in to make bread. Wow! I used to lick the beaters and the spatula. I’m more careful now. Linda
My parents both grew up during the depression. My Dad on a farm and my Mom smack dab in the middle of Brooklyn, NY. They both knew how to stretch a dollar and I sort-a-kinda picked up on that.
I also would lick the bowl and beaters clean. I still do (I’m 68 and healthy) and have not suffered one tiny bit from doing that. We did a lot of things back in the day that the younger generations would consider horrible. They are missing out a lot!
Hi Karl, I bet you learned a lot fro your parents!! I bet you did sort-a-kinda picked up on how to stretch a dollar! I love that statement!!! I have never seen Brooklyn, NY except on TV. I’m 69 and I still lick the beaters!!! Love it!! Linda
Just wondering because I’ve never seen a biscuit recipe with so little shortening. Is that “2 teaspoons of shortening ” right in the tea biscuit recipe?
Hi Elaine, thank you for asking. I have made typos before. I checked this recipe and it’s correct. It’s more of a cookie than a biscuit. Thanks again, Linda
These are great recipes!! Thank you!
Hi Alli, Thank you so much!! You will love these recipes! Linda
I love all of these recipes! Thank you sooo much for sharing! They are all so easy to make with few ingredients…..my favorite! :)❤️
Hi Camille, thank you so much! We may all be making these recipes sooner than later! Linda
So happy for all these recopies. My Mom was born in Scotland and raised in England. She told us of stories where the had to run from shelter to shelter to stay away from bombs. And their food was scarce . All of these recipes I was raised on. Short bread cookies are a part of my past and rice pudding, tea biscuits, we had tea and biscuits often. I have printed these recipes out so I can put them in my stash for my kids to carry on the tradition. Thank you
Hi Jerri, oh you made my day! Life is good if we can cook from scratch. I love traditions! Stay safe, Linda
I have another recipe to add to your list: it was served at Ushers Ferry, a pioneer park in Cedar Rapids, Ia. Very simple but delicious! I call it “Apple Scrapple” but I know that’s not the real name. Makes a great side dish or simple dessert. Cut 1/2# bacon into bite-size pieces and fry in cast iron skillet on medium. While bacon is cooking, slice one large onion into thin rings and add to bacon. Cut up to 3 apples into thin slices (peel on) and add to skillet. Stir until apples soften, then sprinkle about a tbs of brown sugar over all and cook until it melts. Our modern bacon is not as fatty as they used in the old days so there’s no need to drain the grease. Yum!
Hi Michelle, oh my gosh, I need to make this recipe! Thank you for the 5 stars, my friend! Yummy!!! Linda