Preparing to host your dumb supper for Samhain but are unsure what dumb supper recipes to cook?
As October draws to a close, it’s time to prepare for Samhain. Samhain calls us to remember our ancestors. So, it’s important to consider what to feed your guests at the silent meal where the living and the dead are invited to sit together.
In this blog, I’ll give you 5 delicious dumb supper recipes that you can cook for your festival with the dead. These are simple, seasonal, and symbolic dishes that you, your guests, and your ancestors will enjoy.
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What Is a Dumb Supper?
In my article from last year, I went over all the components for hosting the perfect Samhain dumb supper. I provided activities, decor ideas, and suggestions for food. So let’s just recap what the significance of this festival is before we get to the dumb supper recipes.
Honoring Ancestors Through Silence
A dumb supper is a sacred, silent meal. Guests gather and hold space for the dead when the veil is thin and the dead walk among us. It is a time to remember ancestors and to honor them.
Why Food Holds Symbolic Power at Samhain
Food is central to any festival that celebrates the wheel of the year. But food also connects us to our ancestors through a reverence for agriculture. Eating seasonal food like root vegetables, apples, grains, and cider ties us to the land and to those who plowed it before us. Serving seasonal, natural ingredients grounds us in tradition and the cycles of nature. I discussed the importance of agriculture and its link to our ancestors in my County Fair and Sacred Bread articles. You can check out my Seasonal and Ancestral Recipes Pinterest Board for some Autumn comfort food recipes.
Choosing Foods for a Dumb Supper
Seasonal and Local Ingredients
Samhain falls at the end of harvest, so the dumb supper table should reflect abundance and seasonality. Apples, pumpkins, gourds, parsnips, carrots, barley, oats, and herbs like rosemary and sage all carry both flavor and symbolism.
Symbolism of Traditional Dumb Supper Foods
- Apples: immortality, wisdom, and the otherworld.
- Pomegranates: descent into the underworld, transformation. A Symbol of Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld.
- Bread and cakes: community, remembrance, and offering. Make this from a sourdough starter if you can.
- Root vegetables: grounding, nourishment from the earth’s depths.
- Seasonal Meats: Pork, Lamb, or Beef represent the animals that are typically slaughtered in October to prepare for winter.
Cooking with Ancestral Connection
Beyond seasonal foods, include recipes passed down through your family. Favorite recipes passed down from grandparents. Dishes that reflect your cultural heritage. Invite guests to bring their own meals if you plan for your dumb supper to be in potluck format. My article about Generation planets in astrology can help connect you to past ancestry.
Dumb Supper Recipes to Try This Season
These are some seasonal dumb supper recipes that focus on natural ingredients. A main course, two sides, a dessert, and a seasonal drink. The symbolism of death and darkness permeates this season. Natural ingredients are key, and you can check out my article about Natural Living Kitchen for how to create a natural kitchen. If you are featuring a potluck style meal, pick only one or two of these deumb supper recipes in addition to a family recipe.
Dumb Supper Recipes: Main Course
Cider-Braised Pork Shoulder With Autumn Vegetables
Ingredients:
- 3-4 LB pork shoulder (bone in for best flavor)
- 2 Tbsp Tallow or Ghee
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 parsnips, chopped
- 2 tart apples, sliced
- 2 cups unsweetened apple cider (preferably fresh-pressed)
- 2 sprigs of Thyme
- 2 Bay Leaves
- Salt & Pepper
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 325.
- Heat tallow in a Dutch oven and brown the pork on all sides, then set aside.
- Add onions, carrots and parsnips and cook until golden.
- Return the pork to the pot and add cider, herbs, salt and pepper. Scatter apples on top.
- Cover and braise in the oven for 3-3 ½ hours or until tender.
- Serve, pouring the juices over meat and veggies.
Dumb Supper Recipes: Braised Red Cabbage with Apples
Ingredients:
- 1 small red cabbage, shredded
- 2 tart apples
- 2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
- 2 TBSP natural maple syrup
- 2 TBSP butter or ghee
- Salt & Pepper
Instructions:
- Heat butter in a large skillet and add apples and cabbage.
- Stir in vinegar and maple. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cover and simmer on low for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally until tender.
Dumb Supper Recipes: Ancient Grains Pilaf
Ingredients:
- 1 cup cooked Farro
- 1 cup cooked wild rice
- 1 cup mushrooms (crimini, shiitake, or wild seasonal)
- 2 TBSP duck fat or olive oil
- 1 shallot, minced
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions:
- Heat duck fat in a skillet and saute shallots and mushrooms until golden.
- Add grains, stir to combine and add salt and pepper.
- Serve
Dumb Supper Recipes for Dessert: Spiced Pear and Sourdough Discard Cake with Maple Glaze
Ingredients:
- 1 cup sourdough discard
- 1 cup whole-grain flour
- ½ cup raw cane sugar or maple sugar
- ½ cup butter, ghee, or coconut oil, melted
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup maple syrup or honey
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 2 ripe pears, diced
- ½ cup walnuts
For Glaze:
- 2 tbsp butter or ghee
- 2 TBSP maple syrup
- ½ cup powdered cane sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9-inch cake pan
- In a large bowl, whisk sourdough starter, eggs, melted butter, maple syrup, and sugar until smooth
- add flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt and stir until combined
- fold in pears and walnuts
- spread evenly in pan and bake for 30-40 minutes
- cool slightly and drizzle with glaze
Samhain dumb supper recipes for drink: Mulled Cider with Autumn Spices
Ingredients:
- 4 cups fresh apple cider
- 1 orange, sliced
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 4 cloves
- 1 star anise
- 1 TBSP maple syrup (optional for sweetness)
Instructions:
In a pot, combine ingredients and simmer gently (do not boil) for 30-40 minutes.
Dumb Supper Recipes: Setting the Table with Food as Offering
Now that you have a plan for dumb supper recipes, don’t forget to set the table with intention.
A Place for the Dead at the Table
Always set one extra plate at the dumb supper, a place of honor for the ancestors. Fill it with a little of each dish to symbolize their continued presence.
Food as Altar Decor
Apples, loaves of bread, small cakes, and gourds can be placed on the altar alongside photos, candles, and mementos.
Silence as the Final Ingredient
Eating in silence transforms food from ordinary nourishment into a ritual offering. This stillness opens space for memory, grief, and connection.
Why Cooking Dumb Supper Recipes Matters in Ancestral Rituals
Food as Memory and Connection
Every family has some comfort dishes. A grandmother’s pie, a mother’s stew, a cultural recipe from long ago. Preparing these for a dumb supper keeps their stories alive. For me, a pot of pinto beans simmering on the stove reminds me of my great grandmother.
Passing Down Ancestral Dumb Supper Recipes
Cooking with children during Samhain gives them tangible connections to family history and traditions. Each recipe becomes part of a lineage.
Seasonal Foods as Spiritual Homemaking
By honoring the harvest and eating what is naturally in season, we align our homes with the cycles of the earth and ground our spiritual practice in daily life. Learn about seasonal traditions on my seasonal family traditions Pinterest board.
Conclusion
Dumb Supper is a ritual act. It is a living bridge between the past and the present. Through seasonal dumb supper recipes, we invite our ancestors to the table and honor them with the fruits of the harvest.
As you sit in silence this Samhain, let your food be both offering and memory. May each bite carry you closer to the wisdom of the dead and the cycles of renewal they represent.
Let me know if you try any of these dumb supper recipes for your Samhain celebration. Connect in the comments, on Facebook, or subscribe to my newsletter.
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