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  • Top 10 Most Popular Ukrainian Foods

Top 10 Most Popular Ukrainian Foods

Posted on May 8th, 2019
by Kateryna Pilyarchuck
Categories:
  • Eastern European Cuisine
  • European Cuisines
Top 10 Most Popular Ukrainian Foods

Ukrainian foods belong to the Eastern European cuisine. Ukrainian borscht, varenyky, and salo might be familiar to many of you.

Indeed, traditional Ukrainian restaurants can’t help themselves cooking lots and lots of borscht and varenyky. Whenever they come up with a chef’s variation, they get drawn right back to the roots, because their clients say they want to taste authentic national food in its classic form.

Of course, regional varieties of the same dish differ a lot. If you visit ten families in Ukraine, you will try ten kinds of borscht, you can be sure. And why? Because every region in Ukraine has its own popular meals, many influenced by Turkish, Polish or Crimean Tatars cuisine.

But also because Ukrainians love to be great hosts. So here come the top 10 dishes you will experience in any part of Ukraine, on weekdays and holidays .

1. Paska (Easter Bread)

Paska (Easter Bread)
Photo Credit: Korena Vezerian

Even though borscht and salo are the most popular dishes in Ukraine and indeed well beyond its borders, the traditional Easter bread paska well earns first place.

Many Ukrainians are religious, so always greet guests with bread and salt, and paska is cooked in literally every kitchen before Easter. Every small or large market throughout the country sells paska on the holidays. According to tradition, when working the dough, the cook should whisper positive thoughts to achieve the most delicious result.

2. Borscht

Borscht

Borscht is a hot beetroot soup that satisfies both meat-eaters and vegetarians. This dish comes in  many shades of red depending on the kind of beet used. Deliciously flavored with sour cream or classic yogurt, borscht is usually served with garlic doughnuts.

Ukrainians savor Borscht on holidays, weekdays, and even for funeral wakes too. For meat eaters, cook the borscht in a broth; for vegetarians, keep to the vegetables. By the way, the Ukrainians even have a special spring borscht that is green.

3. Varenyky

Varenyky
Photo Credit: Proud of Ukraine

The preparation process for varenyky or pirohi is time-consuming. However, this is probably the most unpretentious recipe in terms of filling.

If you get the chance to visit a Ukrainian village or a food festival in the city, you will definitely have an opportunity to try out varenyky with the most incredible fillings – from the basic cottage cheese, mashed potatoes or sauerkraut to the more unique like olives, pumpkin, nettle or strawberries.

You can also buy it frozen at any supermarket in Ukraine, which takes just 10 minutes to prepare.

4. Holubtsi

Holubtsi
Photo Credit: Dreamstime

According to the classic recipe, holubtsi is cooked from boiled cabbage, where you take every other leaf to make a new roll filled with boiled rice and meat. A variation of the dish is to use boiled vine leaves for the rolls. The rice can also be substituted with the other cereals, mushrooms, Korean carrots, etc. Classic holubtsi can be found in many restaurants in Ukraine and on banquet menus too.

5. Holodets

Photo Credit: Ukrainian Recipes

One of Ukrainians’ favorite cold dishes and one of foreign guests’ most “please avoid it” foods is holodets or aspic. Traditionally, a day or two before an event a husband or wife goes to the market, chooses the best fresh pork leg, cleans and washes it at home, and boils it for hours (6-7 hours). Simply put, it’s a cold broth jellied due to the bones and cartilage.

6. Deruni (Potato Pancakes)

Deruni (Potato Pancakes)
Photo Credit: OlgaInTheKitchen

Deruni is particularly popular in the northern part of Ukraine. Most of the time, deruni are served with sour cream or baked yogurt. You can prepare a sour cream sauce with fried onions and mushrooms and pour it over the potato pancakes. In Ukraine, this is often a Sunday dish, served for breakfast or dinner.

7. Chicken Kyiv

Chicken Kyiv
Photo Credit: WholesomeYum

Once you’ve tried Chicken Kyiv for the first time, you will fall in love forever. This is an extremely popular dish in Ukrainian restaurants, as well as at schools and in government canteens too.

Chicken Kyiv is considered a culinary business card of the Ukrainian capital. It is also served in the restaurants in near and distant corners of the world.

Recipe link: https://www.chefspencil.com/recipe/chicken-kiev/

8. Olivier Potato Salad

Olivier Salad

The salads in Ukraine have traditionally been prepared from simple ingredients that are always at hand. The peasants of the area prefer a salad of fresh or salty cucumbers and sauerkraut with onions and oil. A popular salad with a greater number of ingredients is Olivier potato salad, the king of any Ukrainian feast (such as a New Year party, wedding or birthday).

9. Walnut Stuffed Prunes

Walnut Stuffed Prunes
Photo Credit: Let The Baking Begin!

What springs to mind when you look back on your childhood – your birthday party, friends all around, the cake with candles, and Mom setting out the desserts? One dish that reminds Ukrainians of these truly carefree days is walnut stuffed prunes. Ukraine is the country of walnuts and plums so the ingredients are easy to find and the dessert is easy to make. It tastes like ethereal.

10. Nalesniki (Nalysnyky)

Nalesniki
Photo Credit: MealGarden

Thin pancakes called nalesniki are the most popular dish for Shrovetide. There are various fillings for these pancakes – from sweet cottage cheese or canned berries to fried mushrooms or bryndza. Traditionally, Ukrainians take wheat, buckwheat flour or cornmeal to prepare nalesniki. You eat nalesniki at the end of the main course before the dessert.

It is just incredible how we can share the world’s recipes, cook them in our kitchen to savor other traditions, and without even leaving home. Enjoy! Смачного [smuch-‘no-ho]!

Check out our guides on the most popular foods in other Eastern and Central European countries like Serbia, Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria.


Related: Popular Ukrainian Easter Dishes
Related: Most Popular Ukrainian Cakes
Related: 20 Popular Ukrainian Desserts

Most Popular Ukrainian Cakes

Kateryna Pilyarchuck

Kateryna is a Ukrainian linguist and university lecturer pursuing her PhD in linguistics with a focus on fashion discourse. Kateryna is a foodie, fashion lover and also an ardent traveler and a lifelong learner.

22 Comments Hide Comments

Olenka says:
March 2, 2022 at 6:12 am

We need to mention actually how many people (even Ukies) are Gluten intolerent. So we need to add some gluten free traditional recipes especially the nalysnyki. Thank you Olenka

Reply
Allison says:
February 27, 2022 at 1:58 pm

Yes, your right it needs to be

Reply
Dave says:
December 6, 2021 at 9:40 pm

Deruni cakes with sour cream and honey are to die for.

Reply
Alishka says:
December 6, 2021 at 7:28 pm

never tried Ukrainian Food before, btw thanks for sharing Most Popular Ukrainian Foods. Very excited to try Ukrainian recipes. Thanks for sharing these.

Reply
Vamika says:
December 3, 2021 at 8:15 pm

These Top 10 Most Popular Ukrainian Foods seems so delicious. My favorite one is “Holubtsi”,will try this one for sure. Thanks for sharing .

Reply
QHHT says:
November 17, 2021 at 1:38 pm

Wow, wonderful weblog format! How lengthy have you ever been running a blog for? you make blogging glance easy. The total glance of your site is wonderful, as well as the content!!

Reply
Yamini says:
November 2, 2021 at 6:50 pm

Never tried these “Ukrainian Foods” , but will surely gonna try .I am from India and I love to explore outer food. Now its time for Ukrainian food. Thanks for sharing.

Reply
super slot says:
September 20, 2021 at 1:46 pm

good

Reply
Caron says:
April 18, 2021 at 8:17 am

Question?
I grew on on holubtsi, made with rice, pork fat and chopped onions. At no time did we ever have any tomato juice or sauce. The use of tomatoes, was it based on Regions?

Reply
Brit says:
June 10, 2021 at 2:54 pm

I also grew on up on it and we never used any tomato either so I’m also quite curious on that. We also used dill in ours and bacon and ham for the meats.

Richard says:
December 6, 2021 at 4:58 pm

My mom made it both ways. Plain was cabbage filled with rice. My favorite was hamburger and rice with the tomato sauce. Both cooked in a roaster. The cabbage with the sauce from the bottom was the best. My friends mom which was Polish would make hamburger soup which was pretty much a “lazy” version with the tomato sauce and cabbage. Tasted exactly the same but less time consuming to make

Polina says:
March 4, 2021 at 12:20 am

I love food in Kyiv and they are very religious

Reply
Lucy says:
January 10, 2021 at 1:05 am

Blinchiki recipe needed here.

Reply
loooooooooolz says:
November 24, 2020 at 4:23 am

ya ne ochen

Reply
Lopppp says:
November 14, 2020 at 12:21 am

wowwwwwww i love this

Reply
True Ukrainian says:
October 20, 2020 at 7:51 pm

I’ve eaten them all, but I want to admit that Olivier salad originated in Russia, and was made by a Belgian. I guess they had problems with coming up with dishes by themselves…

Reply
Star ⭐️ says:
March 14, 2021 at 3:35 am

I’m sorry but you are very wrong here . Olivie it’s 💯 Ukrainian salad. Everyone else stole this salad from us Ukrainian. So stop writing lies 😡

Paulina says:
July 16, 2021 at 10:39 am

The Poles claim it also even though they call it Russian salad. They tried to steal everything from Poland so I believe it. But seriously, it is made in slightly different ways in Slavonic countries.

Peter J Krywczuk says:
August 26, 2020 at 7:10 am

Chicken Kyiv in not Ukrainian. Just saying.

Reply
Leenoy says:
May 16, 2020 at 7:38 pm

this food is quite interesting!

Reply
Brenda Zobell says:
April 1, 2020 at 4:50 am

I’m looking for the cabbage rolls that I bought at Christmas. They were delicious.

Reply
Sofiya Volobuyeva says:
April 30, 2020 at 10:38 am

Golubtsi!

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