What Was Actually Served at the First Thanksgiving?
Exploring the authentic foods, flavors, and stories of the very first Thanksgiving feast and how it differs from today’s holiday meal.
The classic American Thanksgiving table—overflowing with roast turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie—bears little resemblance to the meal shared nearly four centuries ago by the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag people. To uncover what was actually eaten at the first Thanksgiving, we must venture into the scarce primary sources from 1621, factor in the ingredients available at the time, and dispel the culinary myths that have built up over generations.
Setting the Scene: The First Thanksgiving of 1621
The Thanksgiving tradition, as we know it, is rooted in the three-day feast held in the fall of 1621 at Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts. This meal was meant to celebrate the English settlers’ first successful harvest in the New World. Alongside about 50 remaining colonists sat at least 90 Wampanoag, the local Native Americans whose alliance was crucial for the colonists’ survival.
Unlike today’s scheduled holiday, the original gathering came earlier in the autumn, likely between late September and early November, synchronized with the harvest, not an arbitrary Thursday in November. At the time, Thanksgiving was a one-off celebration. It wasn’t until 1863, amid the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday, hoping to unite a fractured nation.
Piecing Together the Historical Menu
When we ask what was served, there’s surprisingly little surviving documentation. Only two written accounts from 1621 mention the event: a letter by Edward Winslow and a chronicle by William Bradford. These accounts, brief and inexact, provide the only firsthand descriptions.
- Freshly killed deer
- Assorted wildfowl (not specifically turkey)
- Caught fish, including cod and bass
- Flint corn (a native variety)
From these sources and knowledge of local ingredients and Native/English diets, historians reconstruct likely dishes. Here’s a closer look at what made it to that early table.
Wild Game and Fowl: The Centerpieces
At the literal and figurative center of the table were wild meats—a stark contrast to the contemporary centerpiece of roast turkey.
- Deer (Venison): The Wampanoag are said to have brought five deer to the feast, providing plentiful roasts and possibly stews.
- Wildfowl: While turkey is often associated with Thanksgiving, the records simply mention “fowl”—likely to include ducks, geese, possibly swans, and even passenger pigeons.
- Preparation: Birds may have been roasted over open flames or boiled, stuffed with onions, nuts, and perhaps herbs. Bread stuffing, as known today, wasn’t likely—instead, stuffing would have involved nuts and local plants.
Table: Comparison of Modern and 1621 Thanksgiving Centerpieces
| Food | 1621 Menu | Modern Menu |
|---|---|---|
| Bird | Ducks, geese, other wild fowl (maybe turkey) | Roast turkey (almost always) |
| Game | Venison (deer) | Rare, if ever served |
| Fish/Seafood | Cod, bass, eels, shellfish | Hardly ever served |
Abundance from River and Sea
Your modern Thanksgiving meal probably doesn’t include seafood, but in 1621, New England’s shores and rivers teemed with fish and shellfish—an essential part of diet and celebration.
- Fish: Cod and bass, caught nearby, were likely baked, roasted, or boiled.
- Eel: A valued source of protein and fat, eels were common in both English and Native diets.
- Shellfish: Mussels, clams, and perhaps lobster could have been collected by the shore and added to the feast, usually roasted over coals or baked in stews.
Vegetables, Grains, and Native Crops
Vegetarians would not have gone hungry. There was a rich bounty of plants cultivated or foraged by both the Wampanoag and colonists.
- Corn (Flint Corn): Eaten as porridge or bread (not the sweet, yellow corn on the cob we see today).
- Beans and Squash: Grown together in the Native “Three Sisters” manner. Planting beans and squash with corn was a Wampanoag innovation that helped the colonists survive.
- Other Indigenous Crops: Peas, pumpkins, Jerusalem artichokes, native nuts, and wild greens.
- Old World Vegetables: Colonists brought English crops like cabbage, carrots, onions, and turnips, which may have made limited appearances.
Pumpkins and Gourds: A False Pie Myth
The iconic pumpkin pie was not served at the first Thanksgiving. Yes, pumpkins and squashes were present, but in stews or roasted, perhaps sweetened with dried fruit like currants and seasoned with vinegar, instead of being baked into pies—since flour and sugar were rare. There were no established ovens for baking, and the essential ingredients for pie crust were scarce. Those stews were a far cry from modern desserts.
What You Wouldn’t Find at the First Thanksgiving
- No mashed potatoes: White potatoes, native to South America, had not made their way to North America by 1621.
- No gravy: Without wheat mills, colonists couldn’t make flour for thickened gravies.
- No sweet potatoes: Not yet introduced from the Caribbean.
- No pies of any kind: Flour, butter, and sugar were rare and precious.
- No cranberry sauce: While native cranberries grew in the region, it would be 50 years before anyone wrote about cooking them with sugar. Cranberry “sauce” was impossible without sugar, which was prohibitively expensive at the time.
- No stuffing as we know it: Stuffing, if any, would have been made with nuts and wild onions, not bread and sausage.
Table: First Thanksgiving Foods – Fact vs. Myth
| Food | 1621 Menu | Myth Status |
|---|---|---|
| Mashed Potatoes | No | MYTH |
| Gravy | No | MYTH |
| Sweet Potato Casserole | No | MYTH |
| Stuffing (bread) | No | MYTH |
| Turkey | Possible, but not certain | MYTH/FACT |
| Pumpkin Pie | No | MYTH |
| Cranberry Sauce | No | MYTH |
The Role of the Wampanoag
It is vital to recognize that the Wampanoag people were not just guests, but also vital contributors and co-hosts. They brought much of the food, particularly venison. Their agricultural techniques, like the planting of corn, beans, and squash together, were central to the harvest being celebrated. Traditional Wampanoag foods and regional foraging expertise shaped the menu far more than English culinary preferences.
How Thanksgiving Became a Tradition
The original 1621 harvest feast was a singular event. Decades later, New Englanders adopted the idea of periodic, regional “thanksgivings.” The nationwide, annual Thanksgiving holiday emerged only centuries later:
- 1863: Abraham Lincoln, at the urging of Sarah Josepha Hale, proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday, envisioning it as a unifying post-war tradition.
- 1941: Congress set the official date, the fourth Thursday of November.
This holiday’s evolution, and the menu that defines it, reflect as much myth-making as historical memory.
A New Thanksgiving Perspective: Appreciating the Authentic History
The reality of the first Thanksgiving is richer and more complex than our table traditions suggest. Far from the uniformity of turkey and pie, it was a celebration marked by cultural exchange and improvisation, relying on the foods that the land and local knowledge provided.
This year, consider incorporating a few authentic elements into your meal, and reflect on the immense contributions of Native peoples. Their crops, culinary techniques, and generosity were the backbone of that pivotal feast.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: Was turkey actually eaten at the first Thanksgiving?
A: It is possible but not certain. Records mention “wildfowl,” which could include turkey, but also ducks, geese, and other birds. Turkey wasn’t singled out, nor was it likely the main focus of the meal.
Q: Were there mashed potatoes, gravy, or pies?
A: No. The colonists lacked potatoes, wheat flour for gravy and crusts, and sugar for sweetening. The typical trimmings enjoyed today were absent.
Q: What was the main protein at the first Thanksgiving?
A: Venison (deer) was a centerpiece, brought by the Wampanoag. Other key proteins included various wildfowl and seafood like fish and shellfish.
Q: Did the Wampanoag contribute to the meal?
A: Absolutely. The Wampanoag provided crucial foods such as venison and shared their knowledge of native crops and cooking methods, essential to the colonists’ survival and the feast itself.
Q: How has the Thanksgiving tradition evolved since 1621?
A: What began as a one-off harvest celebration became an annual New England tradition. The national holiday, with its now-iconic foods, was not established until the 19th and 20th centuries.
Key Takeaways for the Modern Table
- Most foods seen on the modern Thanksgiving table were not present at the original feast.
- The meal featured local, seasonal ingredients—game, seafood, native grains, and vegetables.
- The event was a rare, collaborative celebration between colonists and Native peoples.
- Many Thanksgiving traditions have emerged from myth, reinterpretation, and culinary evolution over time.
Reflecting on the origins of Thanksgiving might inspire new gratitude for the harvest, the land, and the spirit of sharing that first defined America’s quintessential holiday. The truth about the first Thanksgiving—humbler yet more remarkable than the legend—reminds us how history and culture mix on every plate.
