15 Traditional Russian Foods You Must Try (2024)

Russia may not be the first to come to mind when you think of a food destination, but the country has plenty of delicious traditional dishes to try. Visitors to Russia are often surprised at the variety and flavors of Russian cuisine, which is influenced by Russia's connection to Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The most classic Russian recipes are made of veggies and wheat, such as soups, porridges, and stuffed dough.

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Borscht

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Borscht is a beet soup that originated in Ukraine and was quickly adopted as a Russian specialty. Beets may seem like a strange base for soup to many Westerners, but there are plenty of reasons that this hearty soup is one of Russia’s most famous dishes. It is full of meat and sautéed vegetables, including cabbage, carrots, onions, and potatoes. It can be served hot or cold and is best served with a dollop of fresh sour cream on top.

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Shchi

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Shchi is a typical cabbage soup made from either fresh or fermented cabbage. While different recipes call for various ingredients, shchi often contains potatoes, carrots, onions, and possibly some meat such as chicken. The cabbage can also be replaced with sauerkraut, called sour shchi.

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Solyanka

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Solyanka is a thick soup that is plentiful enough to be a meal in itself. This soup is made with various types of meat, including sausage, bacon, ham, and beef, as well as vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, onions, and potatoes. Chopped pickles and the traditional lemon slice garnish play an essential role in giving this recipe its sour flavor. It is often also made with fish and pickled cucumbers.

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Ukha

If you like seafood, try ukha, a fish soup with a clear broth. Many different kinds of fish can be used to make this soup, including bream, wels catfish, northern pike, and ruffe. The remaining ingredients are not unlike what you might find in a traditional chicken soup—think root vegetables, parsley, leeks, and dill.

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Pirozhki

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You may have already heard of pirozhki (also known as piroshki or pyrizhky). These little baked or fried puff pastries are packed with potatoes, meat, cabbage, or cheese. The stuffed pockets are popular all around Russia and Ukraine.

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Pelmeni

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Pelmeni is considered the national dish of Russia. They are pastry dumplings are typically filled with minced meat and wrapped in a thin, pasta-like dough. They can be served alone, slathered in butter and topped with sour cream, or in a soup broth. A favorite in Russia and Eastern Europe!

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Blini

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Blini is a wheat pancake rolled with various fillings: jam, cheese, sour cream, caviar, onions, or even chocolate syrup. It is Russia's equivalent of a crepe. At any restaurant where you aren't sure of any of the other dishes, blini are always a safe bet. Blini are such an important part of Russian cuisine that a festival called Maslenitsacelebrates the beginning of spring with them.

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Shashlik

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Russian kebabs are called shashlyk or shashlik. Like any kebab, they consist of cubed meat and veggies grilled on skewers. They have roots in the Caucasian Mountains, where 19th-century tribe members would prepare them over an open flame.

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Beef Stroganoff

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Beef stroganoff consists of sauteed beef strips served in a creamy sauce with mushrooms or tomatoes, often served with rice, noodles, or potatoes. This recipe has a long history, and many variations for its preparation exist, but its roots are in mid-19th-century Russia.

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Ikra

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Caviar, or ikra, is really something to get worked up about in Russia. Briny and sharp, it is often served on dark, crusty bread or with blini, which are like pancakes or crepes. Caviar on buttered bread is a popular zakuska.

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Smetana

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You can expect to find sour cream or smetana, accompanying almost any Russian traditional food—with crepes, soups, and even sometimes in dessert. This sour cream is fresh and melts into any warm dish, adding to its distinctive flavor. (You will likely often see it in beef stroganoff.)

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Vodka

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Russia is well-known for vodka, so you can expect to find many varieties throughout the country, such as Russian Standard Gold,Moskovskaya Osobaya, Kauffman, and Beluga Noble. Russian beverage menus can also include tea, mineral water, beer, and soda.

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Kvass

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Kvass is a refreshing fermented beverage with slight carbonation. Although it has a very slight alcohol content, it is not considered an alcoholic beverage. It is made from black or regular rye bread or dough and can be flavored with a variety of different things, ranging from honey to berries to herbs.

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Morozhenoe

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Russians love ice cream, called morozhenoe. It is common to find it on many restaurant menus with various toppings​ , like fruit, nuts, or chocolate. Unlike more traditional Western ice cream, morozhenoe is much creamier, thanks to the fresh milk and a higher ice ratio to dairy.

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Pashka

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Paskha is a festive dessert that is commonly made around Easter in Eastern Orthodox countries. This sweetened cheesecake dessert is decorated with Christian symbols as a part of the holiday feast.

15 Traditional Russian Foods You Must Try (2024)

FAQs

What is Russian daily food? ›

Everyday Russian Food consists of breakfast, lunch and dinner and includes various things. Most common are dumplings with different fillings in them like cabbage, meat of different kinds, potato, radish etc.

Is Russian food spicy or not? ›

There is no chili in Russian food. Russian food is never spicy-hot in that way. However, many Russians love such flavourings as onions, garlic, horseradish, mustard, and even pepper, even though pepper is imported. When you put enough of those ingredients in a dish, it's spicy in its own way.

What do Russian eat the most? ›

What are the most popular Russian foods?
  • Borscht. Borscht is a vibrant, sour soup primarily made from beets, which give it a distinctive red color. ...
  • Pirozhki. ...
  • Pelmeni. ...
  • Beef Stroganoff. ...
  • Blini. ...
  • Shashlik. ...
  • Olivier Salad. ...
  • Golubtsy.
Mar 13, 2024

What do Russians eat for lunch? ›

Lunch always features soups and Russian dinners are similar to any Western cuisine, featuring a variety of fried meats and fish. Meals are served with rich salads (the recipe of the most popular salad is very simple: cucumbers + tomatoes +onions + sour cream/mayo), picketed vegetables, and boiled of fried potatoes.

What is the national soup of Russia? ›

Shchi. There's a soup called shchi (Russian: щи) that is a national dish of Russia. While commonly it is made of cabbages, dishes of the same name may be based on dock, spinach or nettle. The sauerkraut variant of cabbage soup is known to Russians as "sour shchi" ("кислые щи"), as opposed to fresh cabbage shchi.

What is traditional breakfast food in Russia? ›

Traditional Russian breakfast: whole-grain kasha (porridge). Oatmeal, millet, buckwheat (those “ancient grains” in the US organic stores), or semolina flour. Often cooked with milk. A sliver of butter is often added (you can do sunflower seed oil for lighter choice), sometimes also sugar or honey.

What is a common food or drink in Russia? ›

Russian cuisine

You will of course find a huge number of Russian restaurants in every town and city, commonly serving traditional dishes such as borsch, salads, dumplings, and meat and fish dishes. For those on a budget looking for nutritious and filling meals, the 'stolovaya' (cafeteria) is highly recommended.

What do Russians eat for dessert? ›

Russian desserts
  • Blini (blintz)
  • Chak-Chak.
  • Charlotte.
  • Chocolate-covered prune.
  • Curd snack.
  • Gogol mogol (kogel mogel)
  • Khvorost (angel wings)
  • Guryev porridge.

What is Russia's national drink? ›

Today, tea is consumed as an all-day beverage and it is considered the national drink of Russia due to its popularity. The Russians prefer their tea strong and sweet, and sometimes, served with mint or lemon, or sweetened with fruit jam.

What did Russians eat before potatoes? ›

In the 9th century the most common ingredients were turnip (репа), cabbage (капуста), radish (редька), peas (горох), cucumbers (огурцы). They were eaten raw, baked, steamed, salted, marinated. Potatoes did not appear until the 18th century, and tomatoes until the 19th century.

What food is unique to Russia? ›

Traditional Russian Dishes to Try
  • Pelmeni. When you think about Russian food, pelmeni are probably the first dish that comes to mind. ...
  • Solyanka. For those that love pickles, solyanka is a dream come true. ...
  • Shchi. Shchi is a deceptively simple soup with a complex taste. ...
  • Okroshka. ...
  • Sturgeon. ...
  • Russian Borscht. ...
  • Kholodets. ...
  • Blini.

What vegetable is Russia known for? ›

Cabbage, potatoes, and cold-tolerant greens are common in Russian and other Eastern European cuisines. Pickling cabbage (sauerkraut), cucumbers, tomatoes and other vegetables in brine is used to preserve vegetables for winter use. Pickled apples and some other fruit also used to be widely popular.

What is the signature food of Russia? ›

Pelmeni is considered the national dish of Russia. They are pastry dumplings are typically filled with minced meat and wrapped in a thin, pasta-like dough. They can be served alone, slathered in butter and topped with sour cream, or in a soup broth.

What snacks do Russians like? ›

What to eat in Russia? Top 3 Russian Snacks
  • Savory Pastry. Pirozhki. RUSSIA. shutterstock. Wanna try? Favorite? ...
  • Dessert. Pastila. Kolomna. Russia. shutterstock. Wanna try? ...
  • Snack. Sushki. RUSSIA. shutterstock. Sushki are traditional Russian snacks made from sweet dough, shaped into small rings.
Aug 15, 2024

What food does Russia produce the most? ›

How many different crops are grown in Russia?
  • The first place is taken by wheat. ...
  • Next comes sunflower with an area of about 152 thousand Hectares.
  • In terms of production, forage grasses are in second place – 148.6 thousand Hectares.
  • And the final culture in the four leaders – barley with an area of 87 thousand Hectares.

What is the most important meal of the day in Russia? ›

The second meal of the Russian day is taken about around 1 o'clock p.m. and is called obyed or dinner. This is the main meal of the day. Appetizers, or zakuski, highlight this meal.

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