14 Delicious Polish Recipes That Are Actually Super Simple To Make (2024)

FAQs

What is the most popular dish in Poland? ›

Pierogi. Pierogi are filled dumplings containing either meat, vegetables, cheese, fruit or chocolate. Pierogi is undoubtedly Poland's most famous and simple comfort food.

Bigos stew is the national dish of Poland. It can be made with any kind of meat from pork to rabbit or venison, but should always have spicy Polish sausage.

Among popular Polish national dishes are bigos [ˈbiɡɔs], pierogi [pʲɛˈrɔɡʲi], kiełbasa, kotlet schabowy [ˈkɔtlɛt sxaˈbɔvɨ] (pork loin breaded cutlet), gołąbki [ɡɔˈwɔ̃pkʲi] (stuffed cabbage leaves), zrazy [ˈzrazɨ] (roulade), zupa ogórkowa [ˈzupa ɔɡurˈkɔva] (sour cucumber soup), zupa grzybowa [ˈzupa ɡʐɨˈbɔva] (mushroom ...

The most popular Polish breakfast food are open-face sandwiches featuring slices of hard cheese, cold cuts, tomatoes and cucumbers. Also eaten are different style eggs (soft and hard boiled, fried, scrambled, etc.), pot cheese with radish and chives or honey or jam served with fresh bread and rolls.

Pork accounts for the largest share of meat consumption in Poland and is also the most commonly used for meat products. Thanks to its universality, pork is used in a variety of dishes, and the culinary tradition of Poles further favours its consumption.

Dinner eaten at home has traditionally been the main meal of the day in Poland. At present, particularly in big cities, dinner is often supplanted by lunch eaten at a canteen or bistro near the workplace or by fast-food take-aways.

A map of Polish specialities

Today's Christmas dinner usually opens with cold plates, including varieties of soused herring, followed by borscht or mushroom soup, and then the hot dishes: often carp, pierogi stuffed with sauerkraut and mushrooms, and croquettes.

Eating starts when everybody takes a seat at the table and the host says 'Smacznego! ' (Polish for 'enjoy your meal! ').

Borscht, or beet soup, are on the menu, along with mashed potato–stuffed dumplings called pierogi. You'll also find cabbage every which way, from stuffed rolls to a speedy egg noodle and bacon sauté. Kielbasa, the king of smoked sausages, is also a must.

What sweets to bring from Poland? ›

Iconic Polish sweets

Krówki, malaga, tiki-taki, kasztanki, michałki, ptasie mleczko. Read more about them here.

What, then, did they eat? Minimalism and monotony are the key words that characterised the peasant menu. The pillars of their diet included floury dishes, groats, cereals, potatoes, and milk.

In contrast with much of the English-speaking world, a traditional daily menu in Poland comprises five meals, not three. Furthermore, these meals feature a variety of unfamiliar food staples, and even if one encounters all sorts of trendy diets in Poland, there is still a solid core of traditionalists.

Families will usually gather on Sundays to have lunch with immediate and extended family members. Polish society is young and well-educated, with a strong sense of initiative and creativity.

Pierogi. There's no way we could leave out the most iconic Polish food, even if it isn't the most popular meal in Poland. These tasty dumplings are usually stuffed with meat, mushrooms and sauerkraut, and occasionally seasonal berries, buckwheat, sweet cottage cheese, or friend onions.

The dish doesn't have any Russian origins at all. They actually arrived from Ruthenia, a prewar region of Poland, which is now part of Ukraine. Indeed, before 1945, Ukrainians used to call this particular variety of pierogi… 'Polish pierogi'.

Prices in Poland are not considered cheap for Polish people. In big cities like Warsaw, Krakow or Wroclaw, rent prices have skyrocketed over the last few years which has made it more expensive to live. As a traveler from the United States, you will most likely find Poland inexpensive with a few exceptions.