The best Russian foods – with recipes (2024)

Food & Drink

Explore the mouth-watering dishes Russia has to offer with these top 10 traditional Russian foods or make them yourself using the recipes included.

The best Russian foods – with recipes (1)

The best Russian foods – with recipes (2)

By Expatica

Updated 14-6-2024

The best Russian foods – with recipes (3)

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Only a few dishes of Russian cuisine have received international renown. But the inclusion of both hearty and finesse foods in Moscow equally serve the needs of comfort and gourmet dining.

When temperatures can drop to -30°C during Moscow’s winter, it’s no surprise that Russian food is typically hearty; potatoes, bread, pastry, and sour cream often feature as common ingredients. Yet delicate smoked fishes, thin papery crêpes and red and black caviar are equal contenders in Russian cuisine. You may feel French influences show through in several dishes, although the Russian versions stand on their own merit. Restaurants aren’t cheap in Moscow. But classic Russian dishes are just as good from street stalls and fast-food eateries as they are from high-end restaurants.

  • 1. Borsch / Borscht
  • 2. Blini
  • 3. Russian salad
  • 4. Smoked salmon or salted herring
  • 5. Shashlik/Shashlyik
  • 6. Russian dumplings
  • 7. Pirozhki
  • 8. Medovik
  • 9. Stroganoff
  • 10. Mushroom julienne
  • To drink

1. Borsch / Borscht

This beet and cabbage red soup is a delicious belly warmer, an ancient dish that is believed to have originated in Ukraine and later became popular in other Eastern European countries, including Russia. It comes with or without meat, potato, herbs (usually dill) and a dollop of smetana, sour cream. Accompanied with a piece of rye bread or garlic bread topped with melted cheese, this dish is hearty enough to serve as a meal, although it is usually eaten as a starter. Other common soups to try are ukha, a seasoned fish and vegetable broth, and schi, a cabbage-based broth.

The best Russian foods – with recipes (4)

Make your own borsch

2. Blini

Blini are Russia’s version of the thin French crêpe. They’re a staple food on most Russian menus, typically using buckwheat for savory fillings or white flour for sweet toppings. You’ll see accompaniments of smoked salmon, creamy mushrooms, sour cream, jams and condensed milk– to name a few– but the high-end, revered combination is a spoonful of red salmon or black sturgeon caviar. Another tasty pancake is the cottage cheese version called syrniki, a denser form of ricotta-pancakes, which are eaten for breakfast or dessert. They’re best with homemade jams made from Russia’s large array of berries. Condensed milk, honey, and sour cream are also common condiments.

Make your own blini

  • This blini recipe has photos to guide you;
  • Get some filling ideas from here.
  • Watch this video for easy and healthy cottage cheese pancakes, or
  • try this local recipe.

3. Russian salad

This hardly needs mentioning seeing as ‘Russian salad’ is one such dish that has spread internationally, and chances are you’ve tried a version in your home country. However, the Russian version is fresher with a light smattering of mayonnaise; that’s quite the opposite to the ratio of the soft-boiled, mayonnaise-heavy international versions. This could be due to the use of fresh cucumber or crunchy Russian pickles. The base of diced potato, peas, egg and mayonnaise/sour cream remains ubiquitous. In Moscow, however, it goes by the name Olivier salad. It takes its’ name from the chef Lucien Olivier who created the secret recipe there around the mid-1800s, although the original ingredients have been swapped for cheaper, more available Russian foods.You’ll also find a variation of similar cold Russian salads that will equally vie for your attention.

The best Russian foods – with recipes (5)

Make your own Russian salad

4. Smoked salmon or salted herring

Smoked, salted, and marinated river and saltwater fish feature widely in Russian food, and are expertly prepared to have a delicate and fresh flavor. On menus you’ll typically find marinated or smoked salmon served alone as a dish or with pancakes, and salted herring served in salads, a typical one colloquially named ‘herring under a fur coat’ or shuba, which covers salted herring with layers of grated boiled vegetables, beets, onions and mayonnaise. Tartareis is also commonly found on menus in Russia. Other common fish served in Moscow include trout, carp, zander, sturgeon and sterlet, also know as the Tsar fish.

Make your own smoked fish

5. Shashlik/Shashlyik

If semi-raw marinated fish doesn’t suit your tastes, these roasted meats and fish on skewers are hard not to like. As the name suggests, this dish is a form of shish kebab, although the Russian version is served with chunkier portions of lamb, beef, chicken or salmon, and served with an unleavened bread, Russian pickles and a sometimes spicy tomato sauce. If your travels take you to Moscow’s Izmailovskyflea market (and it’s certainly a top 10 thing to see), you’ll find a range of market stalls serving shashlik sticks right off the grill.

The best Russian foods – with recipes (6)

Make your own shashlik

  • Learn to marinate and grill shashlik with this recipe.
  • Experiment with a range of marinates and meats with this guide.
  • Add a dab of Russian ketchup as well.

6. Russian dumplings

What’s different about Russian dumplings (pelmeni) are the tasty herbs added to the packed meat fillings of lamb, pork, or beef and the thinness of the dough. You can also find fish (typically salmon) or creamy mushrooms as common fillers. When ordering them, servers ask if you want them solo (boiled) or served in a broth.

Make your own Russian dumplings

7. Pirozhki

One of the most ubiquitous Russian foods are mini pies (pirozhki), which use similar fillings and herbs to dumplings. The difference is that they’re encased in pastry and either pan-fried or oven-baked. Besides the typical meat or salmon fillings, however, you also get the additional choice of cabbage, potato, egg, cheese and even sweet fillings. Pirozhki make a great appetizer at a restaurant, as well as a quick bite from a street stall or bakery.

The best Russian foods – with recipes (7)

Make your own pirozhki

8. Medovik

The intricate-looking cake medovik involves alternating ultra-thin layers of honey sponge cake with sweetened (sour) cream. The thin layers are built-up to form the cake, from anywhere between five and 15 layers, topped off with a sprinkling of crushed sponge or nuts and left overnight to soften and absorb the cream. Fluffy and light to eat, but full-on in flavor and sweetness.

Make your own medovik

9. Stroganoff

Another Russian dish that is served on dinner tables worldwide, eating stroganoff from its Russian source is everything you would expect. It’s tastier, smoother and creamier than you’ve ever had at home. The credit goes in part to Russian sour cream, but Russia is also home to some of the best and widest variation of mushrooms. Coupled with interesting variations of hunting/game meats, you’ll definitely want to try this dish (again).

Make your own stroganoff

10. Mushroom julienne

With a similar taste to stroganoff but without meat, this creamy mushroom dish is on almost every menu as a hot appetizer. Combining some of Russia’s ubiquitous ingredients and a hint of French obsession, this Russian food is made with thinly sliced mushrooms, cheese, sour cream and cream and broiled/grilled for a crusty top, served in a dainty metal dish or bread crust. While this rich, small-serving dish may not impress foreigners with its basic ingredients, it’s a special dish in Russian cuisine. Indeed, mushrooms in any form are a must-try in Russia, where mushroom hunting could almost be considered a national pastime. When you’re full of the cream, try an assortment of pickled mushrooms instead.

The best Russian foods – with recipes (8)

Make your own mushroom julienne

  • A recipe from a Russian julienne fan;
  • or watch a video instead.
  • This recipe adds chicken for a twist.

To drink

Besides sipping vodka from a shot glass, you’ll also find an interesting range of teas and alcoholic warm drinks worth trying. Tea, surprisingly, is a very popular drink in Russia. It’s traditionally served from a samovar, which you might still find in some Russian food eateries. There are traditional drinks such as sbiten, a spicy hot drink flavored with wine or honey, or ormors, which is made of berry juice and birch tree juice, but you might not find these readily available on menus.

More commonly found are medovukha, a sweet drink made with fermented honey, and kvass, a drink usually made from black rye or rye bread– both with a low-alcoholic kick. You can also try making kvass at home with this recipe.

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The best Russian foods – with recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is Russia's most popular food? ›

What are the most popular Russian foods?
  • Pelmeni. ...
  • Beef Stroganoff. ...
  • Blini. ...
  • Shashlik. ...
  • Olivier Salad. ...
  • Golubtsy. ...
  • Solyanka. ...
  • Kasha. Kasha refers to a variety of grain dishes in Russian cuisine, often made with buckwheat.
Mar 13, 2024

Is Russian cuisine healthy? ›

Contemporary Russian cuisine is truly delicious. It is also healthy because it mostly relies on naturally grown ingredients. It is also very filling because Russian dishes have tons of vegetable oil, sour cream, and mayo.

What are the daily Russian meals? ›

The three meals of the day in Russia are zavtrak, obed and uzhin. With the exception of zavtrak, there are no exact English translations for these daily meals. For example, the second meal, obed, is served around 2 p.m. and can be called either "lunch" or "dinner" in English.

What are some common Russian meat dishes? ›

Meat dishes
NameDescription
PelmeniDumplings consisting of a meat filling wrapped in thin, pasta dough
Pozharsky cutletA breaded ground chicken patty
ShashlykA dish of skewered and grilled cubes of meat.
5 more rows

What is Russia's signature dish? ›

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 is Russia's favorite vegetable? ›

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.

How many meals a day do Russians eat? ›

Generally, Russian people have three meals a day: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In Russia, it doesn't take much time to cook breakfast or to eat it.

Do Russians eat a lot of potatoes? ›

I can certainly say that potatoes are the most popular side dish in Russia. It appeared only in 18th century, but because of its satiety it became “the second bread” in the 19th century. Now it's not easy to imagine Russian cuisine without potatoes… it's the most important ingredient of almost all soups.

What is a typical Russian lunch? ›

Lunchtime is the highlight of the day for most Russians. The classic Russian lunch includes a vegetable or meat salad, steaming hot soup, and a main course.

What is a common breakfast in Russia? ›

Traditional Russian breakfast features their famous big & thin pancakes (Blini), cottage cheese pancakes (Syrniki), buckwheat porridge (Kasha), and more goodness!

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 do Russians eat in summer? ›

Not much is more refreshing than a bowl of okroshka on a hot summer day. Okroshka is made from either a milk base (buttermilk or kefir) or a kvass base (a traditional drink made of fermented bread). Add a bunch of vegetables and some meat, and okroshka is a refreshing meal ready for the hotter months.

What is the staple food of Russia? ›

Just like in much of the world Potatoes are a staple food in Russia along with a number of other foods.

What meat is most popular in Russia? ›

The most popular meats in Russia are pork, beef, chicken and lamb. However you can also sometimes find on the menu rabbit, duck, goose and in some specialist restaurants even wild boar, moose, venison and bear. In restaurants you normally need to choose a side dish separately to your main.

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.
Jul 15, 2024

What is a common food or drink in Russia? ›

Traditionally, the national cuisine consists of soup, porridge, pancakes, pies, pickles. It was not born under the arches of palaces but in the houses of ordinary, poor people who needed to feed a large family. That is why traditional Russian dishes are usually made with the most affordable ingredients.

What is a common Russian snack? ›

Sushki are traditional Russian snacks made from sweet dough, shaped into small rings. They consist of flour, eggs, water, sugar, and salt. The name sushki is derived from the Russian word sushit, meaning to dry, referring to the rock-hard texture of these rings.

Does Russia have Mcdonalds? ›

The first McDonald's in the country had a grand opening on Moscow's Pushkin Square on 31 January 1990 with approximately 38,000 customers waiting in hours long lines, breaking company records at the time.

What is a Russians favorite drink? ›

Russians like to drink vodka for many occasions; it can be a commemoration or a huge celebration. Russians usually express their sadness and happiness with vodka.

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