22+ Easy Traditional Irish Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the oldest Irish food? ›

Until the arrival of the potato in the 16th century, grains such as oats, wheat and barley, cooked either as porridge or bread, formed the staple of the Irish diet. The most common form of bread consisted of flatbread made from ground oats.

The National Dishes of Ireland

Irish Stew is a thick, hearty dish of mutton, potatoes, and onions and undisputedly the national dish of Ireland.

Irish Stew has been a national dish of Ireland for nearly two hundred years, and is a hearty meal appreciated for its ability to satisfying hunger. Potatoes are also added to all types of soups made with seafood or meats, including salmon, scallops, lobster, oysters, beef, lamb or pork.

A traditional full Irish breakfast comprises bacon, sausage, eggs, potatoes, beans, soda bread or toast, tomatoes, mushrooms, and white or black pudding. For those wondering, black pudding coagulates the pig's blood into a sausage form. The white pudding is simply a pork sausage, usually flat.

The national dish of Ireland is Irish stew! It's a delicious dish made with lamb or beef, potatoes, onions, and carrots. It's hearty, comforting, and perfect for a cosy meal. You can find it in many Irish homes and restaurants, especially on chilly days.

If you like sour cream, pancakes, clam chowder and that Yankee staple known as the New England boiled dinner, you can thank the Scotch-Irish settlers who sailed into Casco Bay nearly 300 years ago.

Over the last three centuries, Guinness has become a legendary part of Irish culture, celebrated as Ireland's national drink. And with over 8,000 years still left on the original St. James Gate brewery lease, there's still a lot more of 'the black stuff' to make and enjoy.

Ireland's primary potato variety of yore, the Irish Lumper, is a white potato that is more waxy than starchy, and so mashed potatoes made from these varieties fare better as smashed, rather than emulsified, providing ideal conditions for hearty mix-ins.

An easy and flexible meal that's commonly considered the national dish of Ireland, says Amy Lawless, an Irish American and co-owner of The Dearborn in Chicago. Though generally made with mutton, onions, carrots, celery, and potatoes, Irish stew can also be created with beef or chicken, she explains.

What is the most authentic Irish food? ›

1. Shepherd's Pie. A classic found on dinner tables throughout Ireland, shepherd's pie combines beef and vegetables in a crust of mashed potatoes. It's a traditional Irish food that gathers distinctly Irish ingredients in a single dish.

Carrot. After potatoes, carrots are without doubt the best-known and most popular root vegetable of all.

Ireland. Ireland's national animal is the Irish hare or mountain hare. The hare is not found anywhere else in the world. They are thought to have been in Ireland for millions of years and are found in fossils from the late Pleistocene.

While the Reuben sandwich itself doesn't have Irish roots (it was thought to be created in Omaha, Nebraska mid-poker game) the meat inside it – corned beef, does. Well, it kind of does. The Irish-corned beef relationship is considered to be much more Irish-American than it is purely Irish.

What is the difference between Colcannon and Champ? Both Irish dishes, Champ is mashed potatoes with chopped spring onions (scallions) and milk. Colcannon is Champ with the addition of cabbage and sometimes some herbs.

Meat in Ireland Food

Pork tops the list of Irish food. Mutton or lamb is also popular. Coddle is one unique Irish dish you may have never heard of. It is pork sausage, back bacon, potatoes and onions.

Of course, corned beef and cabbage still pops up on many a dinner table come St. Patrick's Day. According to The Complete Irish Pub Cookbook, traditionally, the brining liquid included is Saltpeter—a bactericide that helps produce that ultra-pigmented pink color.