Soul food was invented by African Americans.
Who exactly it was that invented soul food is not known.
soul food, the foods and techniques associated with the African American cuisine of the United States.
The term was first used in print in 1964 during the rise of “Black pride,” when many aspects of African American culture—including soul music—were celebrated for their contribution to the American way of life.
One of the earliest written uses of the term is found in The Autobiography of Malcolm X, which was published in 1965.
LeRoi Jones (Amiri Baraka) published an article entitled "Soul Food" and was one of the key proponents for establishing the food as a part of the Black American identity.
The expression "soul food" originated in the mid-1960s, when "soul" was a common word used to describe African-American culture. At its core, soul food is down-home cooking that's been passed down through many generations, with its roots in the rural South.
Unfortunately "soul food" has become shorthand for all African-American cooking, but it's really the food of the interior Deep South, that landlocked area of mainly Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama—essentially what used to be called the Cotton Belt and the Black Belt.
Traditional soul food cooking is seen as one of the ways enslaved Africans passed their traditions to their descendants once they were brought to the US, and is a cultural creation stemming from slavery and Native American and European influences.
Since the typical soul food diet involves large amounts of meat, fat, and sugar, there is a large risk of health related illnesses such as obesity, heart disease, and stroke resulting from eating this type of diet.