Ukraine is home to many internationally renowned dishes. It is incredibly rich and varied: each region of Ukraine has its own popular foods and variations on Ukrainian classics. This cuisine is less well known than the usual Chinese and Mexican take-out options, but this food is steeped in history and delicious flavors that foodies will appreciate. If you’re ready to go on a culinary journey like no other, try these 12 Must-Have Traditional Ukrainian Dishes.
1.Paska
Prepared in the Ukraine at Easter, this sweet bread is usually brought to church on the holiday so that it can be blessed. A paska is shaped like a cylinder and made with yeast, milk, butter, sugar, and eggs, topped with creamy icing and sprinkles. Paska cheese, on the other hand, is made from cottage cheese.
2. Kyiv Chicken
One of the most beloved classics in Ukraine, this butter-breaded chicken dish calls for a chicken fillet to be crushed and wrapped around cold butter. The chicken is then covered with parsley, dill, mushrooms, pepper and grated cheese. It is dipped in an egg yolk mixture and fried, making it a stellar dish that all chicken lovers will enjoy.
3. Vareniki
Known around the world as pierogi, this is the Ukrainian version of these little savory dumplings from Poland. They are often filled with hearty potatoes, meat, cabbage, and mushrooms. For dessert, cherry varenyky, with a dollop of sour cream on top, are not uncommon.
4.Kapusniak
The star of this meal, like many other Eastern European dishes, is the sauerkraut. It is rinsed beforehand and gives Kapusniak its light color, and is usually cooked in a mushroom or meat broth along with carrots, onions, potatoes, and bay leaves with a garnish of chopped parsley and sour cream.
5. Holubtsi
If you’re not a fan of cabbage, you just haven’t been eating them well. Holubtsi, or cabbage rolls, are filled with minced meat, but the vegetarian alternative is buckwheat or plain rice. Boiled cabbage leaves wrap around the meat, along with carrots, onions, mushrooms, and rice. They are often served with a garnish of dill.
6.Pyrizhky
Wondering what Ukrainian comfort food is? These fluffy, boat-shaped cakes have sweet and savory fillings. Whether filled with ground beef and mushrooms or sweet apples, these snacks can be baked or fried. The dough is prepared, flattened and filled. As a final step, it’s pinched around the edges to seal in all that goodness.
7. Borsch
An adaptable meal for both carnivores and vegetarians, borscht is a hot or cold beetroot soup that is enriched in flavor with yogurt or sour cream. In Ukrainian culture, it is often served with garlic donuts. The meat-based borscht is cooked in a broth, while the meatless version only contains vegetables. You can make it vegan with non-dairy sour cream. In spring, this country has a tradition of making green borscht.
8. Destroyed
Potato pancakes are popular in Ukrainian cuisine and are one of the most versatile side or main dishes, especially on Sundays. In this country, Deruny, also known as potato pancakes, are often made with a sour cream sauce combined with mushrooms and fried onions.
9. Food stuffed with nuts
When Ukrainians reminisce about the carefree days of childhood, walnut-stuffed prunes make a great nostalgic keepsake. Often served at birthday parties and other celebrations, this unique and flavorful dish of walnut-stuffed prunes is often served. Finished with some sweetened condensed milk, it tastes like heaven.
10. Nalynsky
Sometimes referred to as blinchyky, this is the Ukrainian version of filled crepes. They can be filled with cottage cheese and fruit as a dessert, or as a savory main dish, stuffed with meat, salted fish or caviar. After the crepes are filled, they are baked in the oven or fried in butter.
11. Holodetes
Some would say that this is one of the best traditional Ukrainian dishes you can try, but many tourists are surprised by its strange nature. Still, don’t beat it until you try it! Holodets is a gelatinous dish made from frozen meat broth, which contains pieces of meat inside. Most commonly, it is made from the leg and hooves of a pig.
