Food is one of the best ways to travel and experience a foreign country. Yes, we live in a world where cuisine has traveled – but nothing beats tasting food in its country or place of origin. Where the natural ingredients are left to shine, delicacies tell stories of customs and recipes are passed down through generations. This is definitely the case with many traditional Polish dishes – and I’m about to dive into all the details.
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10 savory Polish dishes to try
Influenced by cuisines from many of its neighbors, Polish food is hearty, bold, generous and utterly delicious. At the core of traditional Polish foods are dishes with humble beginnings that champion sustainability – something many chefs around the world try to emulate. You’ll often find all parts of an animal are used such as in flaki. And when times are tough, locals have adapted their cooking habits with fantastic results; placki ziemniaczane is a good example.
Some of the best places to appreciate the most popular Polish dishes and drinks are at milk bars – roadside cafes found everywhere in Poland. Along with a choice of delicious traditional food, you’ll be able to sip kompot (an unsweetened mixed berry juice) or kefir (a soured milky culture that has set the world of healthy gut enthusiasts on fire.)
1. Zurek
With humble origins and a unique flavor, zurek could easily be named the national food of Poland. A creamy soup that’s mainly eaten at Easter, it has a lovely earthy flavour due to the use of fermented rye.
You’ll often find regional variations of zurek, with families putting their personal stamp on the dish. But the base ingredients in all of them are rye, potatoes, vegetables, bacon and a specialty Polish sausage that’s white with a touch of marjoram. It’s then served with a boiled egg. If you come across chlebie on a menu, it is the same soup. It just means you’ll be getting yours in bread instead of a bowl.
Origins of this Polish dish vary but all theories are humble in nature. Some versions say it started with farmers not cleaning out their pots before cooking the next meal, hence the fermentation. Others state it stemmed from villagers challenging a miserly baker who used to serve everything at his inn watered down.
Whatever the origins, this hearty soup is warming on a cold winter’s day in Poland. If you’re in the southern parts of the county, Smakolyki is just the place to warm yourself up with this hearty soup. Located within the heart of Krakow, the Polish restaurant has great views, is cozy and friendly but most importantly is known for its generous portions.
2. Pierogi
Pierogi is easily one of the most popular Polish dishes. It’s a stuffed dumpling with fillings of either meat or vegetables. Other common options include sauerkraut (a pickled cabbage loved in Poland), spinach, mushrooms, potatoes or fried onions, among others.
The fillings are stuffed into a thin pastry before either frying or boiling. Traditionally, they would be boiled and then served with butter and fried onion on top. However, fried versions have become more and more popular. They can also be eaten as a desert with interesting fillings like berries or raisins with sweet cottage cheese and even chocolate.
As with many foods passed down through generations, the origins of this famous Polish food are varied and murky. Two versions both link it to Saint Hyacinth, who with prayer after a storm managed to restore crops that had withered, and as gratitude villagers made them for him. Other versions say he fed villagers with the dish after an attack from Tatars that had led to famine.
The more plausible version could be linked to Marco Polo’s expeditions on the Silk Road, given that dumplings have a strong connection with China. Originally considered peasant food, they became wide spread in the 17th century and have since become a much-loved food with various versions served on different occasions. Poland’s milk bars are the best place to try them. In Warsaw, head to trendy Prasowy near the Old Town for some delicious pierogi at an affordable price.
3. Golabki
Golabki is a typical Polish dish that has spread around the world thanks to its basic ingredients: cabbage filled with minced beef or pork (or a mixture of the two), onions and rice. It’s then folded into cigar-like rolls before boiling. It’s then served with either bread or boiled potatoes with a creamy tomato sauce. Nothing screams winter comfort food more than this! And in the lighter spring or summer months, golabki are typically filled or served with spring vegetables.
The name (translating to little pigeons) may have come from an aristocratic dish served at feasts in the Ukraine. It was known as holubtsi and featured a stuffed pigeon wrapped in cabbage. It’s thought to have then found its way into Poland in the 19th century and has now become ingrained in Polish food culture.
4. Kotlet Schabowy
The Viennese may have the Vienna schnitzel – but the Polish have the kotlet schabowy. It’s often referred to just as schabowy. Made in very much the same way as the schnitzel, a pork cutlet is coated in breadcrumbs before being fried. The Polish version is thicker, though, and has a crunchy outside and moist center. It’s one of the most popular Polish dishes and you’ll often enjoy it alongside mashed potatoes and beetroots or a mix of carrots and peas.
5. Kotlet Mielony
Another famous Polish dish that takes influences from a country not too far away is kotlet mielony. Similar to Danish meatballs, it’s made with minced pork bound with eggs and breadcrumbs and flattened before frying. It’s then served with either boiled potatoes, sauerkraut or pickled beetroot in the summer months.
Are your taste buds tingling yet? You will, of course, find many variations of this popular Polish food going by names like sznycle or karminadle if you are in the Silesia region.
6. Kaszanka
The use of blood is very much a part of traditional Polish cuisine. A good example of a popular Polish food that uses it is the utterly delicious kaszanka sausage. Made with pig blood, pork offal, fat, liver and buckwheat stuffed into a pork intestine with onions and spices such as marjoram, it’s one of the must-try Polish dishes.
It will often be either fried, boiled or baked and served with, yes, a side of potatoes or sauerkraut. To have a truly authentic experience of this dish, why not head to the ski resort of Zakopane: a buckwheat-producing region of the country where you’ll find many street food stands selling it?
7. Placki Ziemniaczane
It goes without saying that potatoes, in every form, are very much a part of traditional Polish side dishes. A dish that elevates the humble potato to different levels is placki ziemniaczane: a potato pancake. Made with grated potatoes mixed with flour and egg for binding, it’s then pan-fried to perfection.
Placki ziemniaczane is a crispy morsel of deliciousness worth crunching on its own as a snack. Used to replace bread when there were shortages in tough economic times, it’s a typical Polish food that accompanies many meals. You’ll often find it served with a topping of meat sauce, sour cream or goulash (another famous Polish stew).
8. Silesian Kluski
If you’re in Silesia, potatoes come in the form of the Silesian kluski: a dimpled potato dumpling that’s great at mopping up extra sauce on your plate. Polish food and drink often go together and these dumplings are best paired with a glass or two of beer. Head to Browar Mariacki in Katowice – a trendy brewery in the heart of the city where you can enjoy many of its various brews with typical Polish dishes like kluski.
9. Flaki
When it comes to stews, you’ve got famous Polish dishes like goulash as well as the less obvious. Let not the thought of a tripe stew put you off; flaki is a must-try Polish delicacy. Made with beef tripe, the dish became popular during the days of Poland’s King Jogelia who utterly loved it.
Dating as far back as the 14th century, flaki offers us a glimpse into the evolution of Polish foods. As times have evolved, so has the dish. In Warsaw, head to the Old Town neighborhood of Praga where you’ll find the cozy Pyzy Flaki Gorace which offers a version (plus lots of other traditional Polish dishes) to try.
10. Bigos
Now if there’s a dish that celebrates Polish traditional cuisine the most, bigos is it. Popular with the nobility in the 17th and 18th centuries, it’s what they carried on their hunting expeditions. It has since evolved from a dish that used chicken, even fish, and pickled fruits to the popular versions commonly eaten on special occasions today.
Quite easily Poland’s national dish, bigos is a hunter’s stew that celebrates the country’s love of sauerkraut and meat. To make it, beef, pork and often game are all added to a pot with shredded cabbage, sausages and a variety of veggies. It’s then simmered over hours, leaving a hearty and delicious stew.
For a truly special experience, head to the picturesque town of Wroclaw on the River Oder in western Poland. Here, together with a trained chef, you can decide exactly what you’d like in yours at Stol na Szwedzkiej.
And a few Polish sweets, too
We can’t talk about traditional Polish dishes without a mention of its sweets. There are plenty to sample – from the iconic sekacz, made with a thick batter poured over a rotating spit, to szarlotka, a Polish apple pie. All of them are moreish, indulgent and will leave you wanting to go back for more. Here are just some of the most popular options to add to your food list:
11. Racuchy
Pancakes are loved worldwide and the Polish version is known as racuchy. Made with a batter of flour, milk, eggs, sugar and salt that’s pan-fried, they are fluffy morsels encased in tasty crispiness. They’re most often eaten as a dessert, although savory versions are common at Christmas and form an integral part of the celebrations.
12. Makowiec
Probably one of Poland’s most famous and popular sweets is makowiec. Commonly made during the holiday season, it’s a form of Swiss roll with a poppy seed paste filling. Other fillings also popular during the festive period include minced walnuts and chestnuts. Try it at Odette Tea Room in Warsaw with an assortment of teas. Otherwise, head to Market Square in the Old Town to enjoy it with a steaming cup of coffee and a dose of people-watching.
13. Faworki
Given their name, it’s no surprise that faworki (or angel wings) are common in Poland during the festive seasons. Traditionally, they were served just before Lent began. They sometimes go by the name chrusciki, perhaps due to their brittleness. Other more romantic stories link them to the colorful ribbons medieval knights attached to their armor gifted by their female lovers or admirers.
Either way, faworki are made from a wheat, sour cream and egg yolk pastry that’s twisted and then deep-fried. Once cooked, they’re sprinkled with icing sugar. Light and crispy, you’ll find them hard to resist! Their origin is also through to have stemmed from the Romans whose early empire stretched throughout Europe. As a result, you’ll find variations of them in Italy and Hungary, too.
14. Mazurek
Yet another sweet Polish food associated with celebrations (mainly Easter) is mazurek. A thin cake, sometimes with two layers, it comes in many different forms, including glazed and decorated with marzipan. Perhaps the most common is that of a sponge made with twarog (a cottage cheese-like substance), egg yolks, raisins and nuts that is baked before decorating. Toppings include dried fruit, meringues or nuts. It’s both chewy and crispy and, yes, delightful to devour!
15. Kremowka
The masters of Viennoiseries have also lent their craft to sweet Polish dishes – this time in the form of the elegant and utterly enjoyable kremowka. This is Poland’s answer to the French mille-feuille: thin crispy baked layers of pastry enveloping a delicious filling.
In Poland, this cake s filled with a soft meringue made from a sweetened cream whipped with egg whites. It’s a heavenly cloud encased in crispiness which left Pope John Paul II craving a taste of home after he left Poland for the Vatican. Want to try it yourself? Every decent pastry shop in Warsaw boasts some version of it.
16. Kolocz Slaski
I’ll end this food extravaganza of traditional Polish dishes with a cake that has played (and still plays) a big role in the Polish way of life: the kolocz slaski. Commonly found in the Silesian region, it dates as far back as the 10th century when it was exclusively made by specially skilled women.
These women guarded the process of making it so tightly that no men were allowed into the room when it was made. Golden on the outside and topped with icing sugar, the fillings range from apple and poppyseed to cheese. The cake has much meaning to the Polish people and is often gifted to newlyweds before their nuptials to bless them with a family.
Curious about other European cuisines and food cultures? Savor a taste of traditional food in France and Germany. Or plan a trip to Italy to sample the best Italian street food – a must-do on your travel checklist!
