Traditional Polish foods
Bowl of beetroot soup, known as barszcz, with a slice of rye bread.
Polish people like to eat, drink, socialize, and have fun.
If you are fortunate enough to be invited to a local’s house for dinner or even a simple meal, just be sure to bring a healthy appetite! You’ll find plenty of delicious and savory dishes.
Here is a list of some traditional Polish foods.
Pierogi
A dumpling of dough stuffed with various ingredients such as vegetables, fruit, cheese, or meat. It is often served with a side of sour cream and onions.
Golabki
This dish consists of cabbage leaves stuffed with ground meat and seasoned rice. Golabki is usually baked and refried in a spicy or sweet-and-sour tomato sauce.
Barszcz
Beetroot soup is a common dish throughout Eastern Europe. The Polish version is known as ”barszcz” and consists of red beetroot, onions, garlic, and other vegetables such as carrots and celery or parsnip. Some recipes include bacon as well, which gives the soup its distinctive, “smoky” taste.
Bigos
A savory stew of cabbage and meat, there is no standard recipe, as recipes vary considerably from region to region and from family to family. Bigos is usually eaten with rye bread and potatoes.
Kotlet Schabowy
Kotlet Schabowy is a breaded pork chop that is usually served with boiled potatoes and cabbage stew.
Mizeria
A side salad with cucumbers, onions, sour cream, lemon juice, and salt. Some recipes also contain dill and sugar.
Nalesniki
Crepes stuffed with sweet or savory fillings.
Makowiec
Makowiec is a sweet bread roll that is typically served for Christmas and Easter. It contains a generous amount of ground poppy seeds, honey, orange peel, and raisins. The top of the roll is then glazed with powdered icing sugar.
Paczki
Paczki are deep-fried doughnuts that are filled with fruit and topped with sugar or icing. It is traditionally served in Poland on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday. In North America “Paczki Day” takes place the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, known as Fat Tuesday.
Chrusciki
Light fried pastry cookies that has been shaped into thin twisted ribbons and sprinkled with sugar.
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Category: Customs & Traditions, Facts & Information
About the Author (Author Profile)
Suzanne Urpecz, creator and editor of The Hungarian Girl. Click on my About page for more info.
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It was in the 1980′s when we tried to explore Polish cuisine in Krakow and around .We had some light vegetable soup and we liked it ..We had some bygos and we disliked it …when in restaurant we always asked for bryzol -some mushroom steak …
Great list. Platski is also a favourite. Sweet pierogi is often served with sweet cream or sour cream mixed with sugar. I’m happy that I am half-Polish and half-Hungarian, so I get to eat and make both foods.