Skip to Content

Three Sisters Soup Recipe (Cuyahoga Valley National Park)

By: Author Bram Reusen

Posted on Last updated:

Three sisters soup recipe inspired by: Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio (alternatively: New River Gorge National Park, West Virginia; Shenandoah National Park, Virginia; or Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee).

For this national park-inspired recipe, we’re using several traditional ingredients from the Americas to make a healthy, nutritious and delicious soup. This three sisters soup recipe is rooted in Native American cuisine, a dish that’s been prepared by various Tribes all across the United States for centuries.

From the Iroquois in the northeast and the Chickasaw in the south to the Pawnee and Mandan on the Great Plains and the Navajo in the southwest, Native Americans were cultivating crops for hundreds of years before the first Europeans arrived.

What Are the Three Sisters?

Three sisters soup cooking on stovetop

In their (semi-)agricultural societies, Native Americans invented and perfected a system known as companion planting.

In this crop growing technique, three main crops are grown together in the same plot of land. Those crops are corn, beans and squash—known collectively as “the three sisters.” All three crops support and benefit from each other, increasing productivity and yield.

  • Corn: stalks support the bean vines so they can grow upward.
  • Beans: add nitrogen to the soil, which feeds the corn and squash; stabilize cornstalks in windy weather.
  • Squash: prevent the growing of weeds, their wide leaves providing shade and keeping the soil moist; prickly hairs of some varieties may also keep animals like racoons and deer at bay.

Together, the three sisters provide a well-balanced meal that includes a wide variety of micro- and macro-nutrients.

In this three sisters soup recipe, you’ll find all nine essential amino acids (proteins), some essential fatty acids and complex carbohydrates, as well as many vitamins and minerals.

As you’ll see below, in addition to corn, beans and squash, I’ve also used a few other ingredients that were domesticated and originally grown in the Americas, such as tomatoes, sweet potatoes and bell peppers.

Three sisters soup ingredients

Cuyahoga Valley Three Sisters Soup

  • Prep time: 30 minutes
  • Cook time: 45 minutes
  • Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Servings: 8

While this three sisters soup recipe could be associated with many different national parks in America, I’ve chosen Ohio’s Cuyahoga Valley National Park for two main reasons.

One, the Cuyahoga Valley region used to be home to people of the Hopewell Culture, who were renowned for their mound building skills. They also established extensive trade networks and grew a variety of crops, including squash and corn.

Later on, the Cuyahoga Valley was home to the Whittlesey people, who also grew fields of corn, beans and squash. It’s quite likely that they practiced companion planting. Perhaps they even made a type of three sisters soup, too.

Two, Cuyahoga Valley National Park is one of the only national parks that encompass still-working farms. In addition to preserving and restoring natural features, the park also protects the area’s pastoral landscape, which includes cultural resources like historic farms.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park’s Countryside Initiative Program is unique in the National Park Service system, supporting more than a dozen locally owned farms. You can literally buy your three sisters soup recipe ingredients within Cuyahoga Valley National Park—that’s just awesome.

Three sisters soup pot cooking

This Cuyahoga Valley three sisters soup recipe contains affiliate links. You can read more about our Terms of Use / Disclosure here.

Necessary Kitchen Tools

Three sisters soup recipe with corn, beans and squash in white bowl
Yield: 8 servings

Cuyahoga Valley Three Sisters Soup Recipe

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Combining several original North American ingredients, including the "three sisters" (corn, beans and squash), this healthy vegetable soup is inspired by Ohio's Cuyahoga Valley National Park, which is still home to working farms.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 1 zucchini, diced
  • 1 yellow squash, diced
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 5 garlic gloves, minced
  • 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup sweet potatoes, diced
  • 1 cup tomatoes, diced
  • 1 roasted bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 cups corn (frozen or fresh)
  • 6 cups chicken broth
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 1 tablespoon thyme
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon chipotle powder
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • Parsley, chopped for garnish
  • Salt and pepper

Instructions

  1. Heat the oil in the soup pot over medium-high heat.
  2. Add the onions and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and continue stirring until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
  3. Add the sweet potatoes, chipotle powder, cumin, smoked paprika and oregano. Stir until potatoes are covered, well mixed and fragrant, about 2 minutes.
  4. Pour in the chicken broth, tomatoes and roasted bell pepper. Add thyme, stir and bring to a soft boil.
  5. Add the zucchini and yellow squash, corn and beans—the three sisters—and let simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.
  6. Three sisters soup is ready when sweet potatoes and other ingredients are soft.
  7. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  8. Serve soup topped with chopped parsley and, if preferred, some shredded parmesan cheese. Cut some slices of fresh baguette for dipping—amazing!



Notes

Note 1: You could easily make this a vegetarian or vegan three sisters soup by using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.

Note 2: While I used zucchini and yellow squash (summer squash) in this recipe, you can also substitute these for butternut squash, acorn squash and/or pumpkin (winter squash) depending on the season.

Note 3: Many types of beans work in this hearty, healthy soup. Black, cannellini, kidney, pinto, black-eyed peas… they’re all delicious and nutritious.

Nutrition Information

Yield

8

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 463Total Fat 6.5gSaturated Fat 1.1gCholesterol 0mgSodium 597mgCarbohydrates 77.5gFiber 18gSugar 6.3gProtein 27.4g

A general nutrition calculator was used to determine the nutritional information of this recipe, which is meant solely as an indication of the dish's nutritional values. Depending on specific ingredients, quantities used and/or serving size, the ultimate dish you end up making may have different nutritional aspects. Please consider the information provided here only as guidance and not as an absolute fact.

© Bram
Cuisine: Soups and Stews / Category: Recipes

Check out more national park-inspired recipes here!

If You Decide to Make This Delicious Cuyahoga Valley National Park-Inspired Three Sisters Soup at Home, Feel Free to Tell Everyone About It Below! Happy Cooking!
Three sisters soup with corn, beans and squash in white bowl

More National Parks Soup Recipes

Skip to Recipe