The dish of the 'Three Sisters' — corn, beans, and squash, the trio Indigenous nations companion-planted because they nourish each other in the field. Simmered together with onion and herbs into a hearty, wholesome vegetable stew at the heart of North American Indigenous cooking.
The Three Sisters (corn, beans, squash) are the foundational companion crops of many Indigenous North American nations; stewed together they form a complete, nourishing meal.
Spoon up Three Sisters stew and it is hearty and wholesome, the corn sweet and popping, the beans creamy, the squash soft and faintly sweet, all bound in a gentle herby broth. Bite: comforting and complete, the three vegetables each distinct yet harmonious, naturally sweet and earthy. The ancient, nourishing one-pot of Indigenous North America.
The three crops complete each other nutritionally just as they did in the field — corn for carbohydrate, beans for protein, squash for vitamins. Simmering melds them while mashed squash thickens the broth; the dish needs no meat to be satisfying, the Indigenous principle of the Three Sisters on the plate.
Variations
With wild rice. With bison. With sunflower seeds. With hominy. Spicier. As a thick succotash.
On the Palate
Where Three Sisters Stew sits in the Native American flavor cloud
Get the squash to two textures — most cooked soft and whole, a little mashed against the pot — because that mash is what thickens the broth into a stew instead of a watery soup.
Ingredients
Serves 6How it's made
8 steps · 25 min active + 35 min waiting
- 120 min
Soak and cook 200 g beans until tender (or use cooked beans).
- 25 min
Soften chopped onion in a little oil in a pot.
Watch outOnion should turn translucent and smell sweet, not brown.
- 34 min
Add cubed squash and cook a few minutes.
- 43 min
Add corn kernels, the beans, and water or broth to cover.
- 52 min
Season with salt, herbs, and a little dried chili.
- 625 min
Simmer 25 min until the squash is soft and the stew thickens.
Watch outSquash yields to a spoon and the liquid has visibly thickened.
- 73 min
Mash a little squash against the pot to thicken further.
Watch outThe mashed bit dissolves and the stew turns glossy and cohesive.
- 82 min
Serve hot, with cornbread or fry bread.
