Use the regional background below as a starting point for exploring the food, rather than expecting one dish to represent every household. Food traditions differ within a country and continue to change through travel, migration, and everyday cooking.

In this storyOverviewChristmas dishesEaster breakfastRegional cuisinesSide dishes and saladsDesserts and sweetsLists of common Polish dishes found on a national level

Overview

Polish cuisine (kuchnia polska) is a style of food preparation from Poland. A dish cooked in the Polish fashion is denoted by the term à la polonaise. It evolved over the centuries to be eclectic, shaped by ten centuries of regional agricultural practices, historical trade routes, religious observance, and cultural exchange. It is rich in meat, especially pork, chicken and game, in addition to a wide range of vegetables, legume, grains, mushrooms as well as herbs, and makes extensive use of butter, cream, eggs, and seasoning.

Among popular Polish national dishes are bigos , pierogi , kiełbasa, kotlet schabowy (pork loin breaded cutlet), gołąbki (stuffed cabbage leaves), zrazy (roulade), zupa ogórkowa (sour cucumber soup), zupa grzybowa (mushroom soup), zupa pomidorowa (tomato soup), rosół (meat broth), żurek (sour rye soup), flaki (tripe soup), and red beetroot soup barszcz . Traditional dishes often demand lengthy preparation. Many Poles take time to serve and enjoy their festive meals, especially Christmas Eve dinner (Wigilia) on December 24, or Easter breakfast, both of which could take several days to prepare.

A traditional Polish dinner is composed of three courses, beginning with a soup such as rosół broth or tomato soup. In restaurants, soups can be followed by an appetizer such as herring (prepared with either cream, oil, or in aspic), or other cured meats and chopped raw vegetable salads. The main course usually includes meat, such as a roast, breaded pork cutlet, or chicken, with a coleslaw-like surówka , shredded root vegetables with lemon and sugar (carrot, celeriac, cooked beetroot), sauerkraut, or mizeria salad. The side dishes are usually boiled potatoes, kasza, or less commonly, rice. Meals often conclude with a dessert of either a fruit compote, makowiec, a poppy seed pastry, napoleonka mille-feuille, or sernik (cheesecake).

Internationally, if a Polish culinary tradition is used in other cuisines, it is referred to as à la polonaise, from the French, meaning 'Polish-style.' In French cuisine, this term is used for techniques like using butter instead of cooking oil; frying vegetables with buttered breadcrumbs; using minced parsley and boiled eggs (Polonaise garnish); and adding horseradish, lemon juice, or sour cream to sauces like velouté.

Christmas dishes

Traditional Christmas Eve dinner called Wigilia is meat free, though with fish and usually consists of barszcz (borscht) with uszka (small dumplings)—a classic Polish Christmas Eve starter—followed by dishes such as fried carp or cod with apple, leeks and raw salads. Traditionally, carp (fried or Jewish style) provides a main component of the Christmas Eve meal across Poland. Other popular dishes, eaten on ensuing days, include pickled matjas herring, rollmops, pierogi with sauerkraut and forest mushrooms, fish soup, kielbasa, hams, bigos (savory stew of cabbage and meat), and vegetable salads. Among popular desserts are gingerbread, cheesecake, various fruits such as oranges, poppy seed cake, makowiec (makówki in Silesia), fruit kompot, and kluski with poppyseed and gingerbread. Regional dishes include żurek, siemieniotka (in Silesia), and kołduny, stuffed dumplings with mushrooms or meat from the eastern regions.

Easter breakfast

A typical Easter breakfast often consists of cold-cuts served with horseradish sauce and beetroot salads, breads, bigos, żurek, kiełbasa, smoked salmon or herring, marinated vegetable salads, Easter salad (chopped boiled eggs, green peas, ćwikła, carrot, apple, potato, parsley, and mayonnaise), coffee, tea and cakes (such as chocolate cake), makowiec, mazurek, and sernik.

Regional cuisines

Poland has a number of unique regional cuisines with differences in preparation and ingredients. For an extensive list of the dishes typical of Galicia, Kresy, Podlaskie, Masovia (including Warsaw), Masuria, Pomerania, Silesia, Lesser Poland, the Tatra Mountains, and Greater Poland, see the List of Polish cuisine dishes.

Side dishes and salads

KaszaCooked groats; most popular are groats of buckwheat, barley, millet, and wheat.

MizeriaTraditional Polish salad made with sliced cucumbers, sour cream, and spices; served as a side.

Surówka z jabłka i marchewkiCarrot salad made with peeled and grated carrots, apples, oil, and lemon juice.

Surówka z ogórków i pomidorówSalad made with cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and oil or sour cream.

Ziemniaki gotowaneSimple boiled potatoes sprinkled with dill.

Tłuczone ziemniakiMashed potatoes.

Surówka z białej kapustySalad with shredded cabbage, carrots, and spices, often with grated apples.

Surówka z kiszonej kapustySalad with sauerkraut, carrots, parsley, apples, and lemon juice.

Sałatka warzywna or JarzynowaSalad of cooked vegetables such as parsley root, carrot, potatoes, celery root, pickled cucumbers in brine, and hard-cooked eggs in mayonnaise and mustard. Also often contains corn, peas, apple, onion, leek, or even red kidney beans. A traditional Polish side dish.

Kapusta zasmażanaSauerkraut or white cabbage pan-fried with onions and spices, often with fried bacon.

Kapusta na gęstoBraised white cabbage with onions, dill, and double cream.

SurówkaAny salad made of raw vegetables with drizzle of vinegar, oil, sour cream, or yoghurt.

SałatkaAny salad made of cooked vegetables, usually with mayonnaise.

Desserts and sweets

BezaType of sweet meringue in biscuit form, occasionally with topping.

MakowiecSweet poppy-seed swiss roll, with raisins, dried fruits, and walnuts.

PączekClosed donuts filled with rose petal jam, other fruit conserves, custard, chocolate, or quark with sugar.

PiernikiSoft gingerbread biscuit forms of pryanik, unfilled or filled with marmalade of different fruit flavours, and sometimes covered with chocolate.

Sernik (cheesecake)One of the most popular desserts in Poland. It is a cake made primarily of twaróg, a type of fresh cheese similar to quark. It can be baked or refrigerated. It might be flavoured with vanilla, lemon peel, or orange peel. Sometimes raisins or various fresh fruits are added. Commonly topped with a chocolate topping or sprinkled with coconut-flakes or nuts. It is very popular to garnish it with a sweet jelly topping with a variety of fresh fruits when it is unbaked.

MazurekPie baked particularly at Christmas Eve and Easter, made with shortcrust pastry. There are variations with different fillings, such as walnut paste, dulce de leche or ganache with dried fruits, candied fruit, and nuts.

ChałkaSweet white wheat bread of Jewish origin (challah).

Kogel mogel (eggnog)Made from egg yolks, sugar, and flavourings such as honey, vanilla, or cocoa. Traditional for Polish Jews.

KrówkiPolish fudge; soft milk toffee candies.

NapoleonkaPolish type of cream pie made of two layers of puff pastry, filled with vanilla pastry cream, usually sprinkled with powdered sugar. A close relative of the French millefeuille. An alternative but less popular version is kremówka, often filled with whipped cream instead of custard cream.

KeksCake with candied and dried fruit.

Lists of common Polish dishes found on a national level

List of common Polish soups

Common main courses

Common desserts

Common beverages

Common folk medicine

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