• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

The Epicurean Traveler

A Blog For The Culinary Explorer

  • Destinations
    • Asia
    • Europe
      • Greece
      • Ireland
      • Italy
      • Switzerland
    • North America
      • Canada
      • Central America
        • Costa Rica
      • Mexico
      • USA
        • Colorado
        • Florida
        • Michigan
        • Minnesota
        • New York
        • Wisconsin
    • South America
      • Peru
  • Hotels & Resorts
  • Restaurants
  • Recipes
  • Beer, Wine & Spirits
  • Style
  • Show Search
Hide Search
Beef and Guinness Stew in Cork, Ireland

Seven Traditional Irish Foods To Taste In Ireland

Eleven years ago, I visited Dublin, and the most authentic culinary experience I had during that trip was whiskey tasting at the Jameson distillery. I was a very picky eater back then, so I missed out on eating traditional Irish food. That won’t be happening the next time around!

After more than a decade, I’ll be traveling again to Ireland at the end of this month. My two-week trip will take me to Dublin, Cork, Killarney, Galway, and the Beara Peninsula. I’m still planning my itinerary, but I’m also hoping to add day trips to Dingle, Cliffs of Moher, and the Aran Islands. If you’ve been to any of these destinations, I would love to hear about your experience. Feel free to leave a comment on this blog post telling me your favorite activities, restaurants, and pubs!

Since I’m gearing up for an Ireland trip, I was really excited to hear Lianne, who writes about Ireland travel at My Discover Ireland, wanted to contribute a guest post about traditional Irish food. So, let’s take a look at all the delicious and comforting foods I could be eating in Ireland soon!

Disclosure: This list of seven traditional Irish dishes contains some affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. When you click on one of these links to make a purchase, I may earn a small commission. Of course, this is at no extra cost to you, and I only recommend products and services I would use myself.

Seven Scrumptious Traditional Irish Dishes

Originally, traditional Irish recipes tended to be both wholesome and simple, with just basic Irish grown ingredients in most cases. During the 1800s, Irish dishes were hearty dishes that fed the poor. They didn’t contain any exotic ingredients, only what was readily available to the cooks at the time.

Over time, Irish chefs started to modify these Irish dishes, to make them a little more exciting, while still maintaining the Irish root of each dish. Traditional Irish gourmet food has become renowned around the world for being good, wholesome, comfort food.

So get ready to have your mouth watering as we count down through some of the best dishes Ireland has to offer.

Beef and Guinness Stew

This must be one of the most well-known Irish dishes. It is a perfect dish for a cold autumn day. Packed full of goodness with Irish grown vegetables, seasonings, beef and of course, the pièce de résistance, the Guinness gravy. You can serve this as a stew alone packed with whole potatoes. If you’re feeling a little more adventurous and want to take it one step further, you can use it as the filling for an impressive Irish stew pie.

Learn how to make traditional Irish stews and soups with The Irish Pub Cookbook!

Beef and Guinness Stew in Cork, Ireland

Bacon and Cabbage

Considered Ireland’s national dish, bacon and cabbage has a long history in Ireland. When this dish was made originally, the cabbage was always cooked in the bacon water. People could only hang one pot over the fire at a time, so when the bacon was almost cooked, they added the cabbage for the last half hour of cooking. The bacon water gives the cabbage a salty, unforgettable flavor, which is why many Irish people try to recreate this cooking method. If done correctly, this seemingly basic meal becomes a flavorsome masterpiece. This dish is best cooked using the loin, especially if it still has the rind on it, as it adds to the incredible salty flavor. It is typically served with potatoes and rich and creamy parsley sauce.

Dublin Coddle

Coddle is predominately a Dublin dish and is referred to as Dublin Coddle. It is a hearty and nutritious food that originated as an alternative to traditional Irish stew. Recipes vary from home to home in Dublin, but the staple of every coddle remains the same: sausage, bacon or rashers, lentils, onion and potatoes — every household has their own twist to this dish. It’s almost impossible to meet a person living outside of Dublin who has heard of coddle. Coddle is the ultimate comfort food and must be tried at least once.

Dublin Coddle Ingredients
Ingredients for the perfect Dublin Coddle

Boxty (Gaelic: Bacstai)

This traditional dish is an Irish twist on potato cakes. Boxty is mostly associated with the north midlands of Ireland in Connacht and Ulster. There are so many variations of this simple recipe, but all of them contain finely grated, raw potatoes served fried. With the modern taste buds being more diverse, some recipes have started to add spices or vegetables into the mix. However, the plain old griddled style is the original and seems to be the favorite among the Irish. Sometimes there is no beating the original.

Try this traditional Irish dish at home with the boxty recipe from Real Irish Food: 150 Classic Recipes from the Old Country!

Irish Barmbrack (Brack)

Traditionally, brack was a sweetened bread baked with sultanas and raisins to add flavor and texture to the regular bread. However, as the Irish palates grew, so did the recipe. It began to include peaches, apricots, prunes, and pumpkin pie spices. This dish has a bit of a myth to it, passed down through the Irish generations. At Halloween, brack traditionally contained various objects baked into the bread cake and was used to predict the fortune of those who found the items in their slice. This Halloween ritual has evolved slightly. The brack now only contains a ring — and the folklore is the person whose slice contains the ring will get married soon. So be careful deciding which slice you get!

Irish Barmbrack
Freshly baked Irish Barmbrack

Colcannon

This is probably as Irish as it gets. Colcannon is made from mashed potatoes and curly kale with a sprinkle of scallions, milk, butter and seasoning. If you are feeling brave, you can add some whole grain mustard to this dish to give it a bit of a bite. As the Irish are a superstitious bunch, there is another Halloween custom attached to this dish. It is well known to serve colcannon with silver coins wrapped in tin foil to symbolize good fortune for those who find the coins in their meal.

Serve colcannon on your dinner table using the recipe in Real Irish Food: 150 Classic Recipes from the Old Country!

Irish Soda Bread (Gaelic: Cáca Baile, translated directly means cake from home)

What makes Irish soda bread different from those around the world is the fact the buttermilk is replaced by live yogurt or even stout in the Irish recipe. The Irish recipe also uses soft wheat so the soda bread is basically made with a cake or pastry flour, which has lower levels of gluten than a bread flour and gives it a somewhat sweeter flavor. This bread is best served for supper, toasted with butter alongside a large cup of tea.

Want to make soda bread at home? Try the recipe in The Complete Irish Pub Cookbook!

Irish Soda Bread
Fresh out of the oven soda bread

All these delightfully delectable dishes can be recreated with very little work at home. However ideally, to really get the most out of Irish cuisine it should be tasted using Irish produce by the professionals of Irish cooking in Ireland.

The Restaurants Association of Ireland has recently revealed the number 1 place in Ireland to get some grub. So for foodie lovers out there, if you are planning a trip to Ireland, why not rent a car and travel to West Cork, winner of the 2017 “Foodie Destination” award. You won’t regret it!

Read More Posts Like This

  • Why Guinness Storehouse Should Be On Your Ireland Trip Itinerary
  • 15 Things You Should Know About Italian Coffee
  • Five Foods You Need To Taste While Traveling In China
  • Five Foods You Must Eat In Japan
  • Four Pakistani Foods You Have To Taste

Save this post to Pinterest to reference later!

7 Traditional Irish Foods To Taste In Ireland

All seven of the authentic Irish dishes that Lianne shared sound delicious to me, and I’d love to try an Irish stew while I’m in Ireland this fall. It sounds so hearty and comforting. These Irish foods would also be fun to revisit on St. Patrick’s Day. I often get together with friends to celebrate the March 17 holiday, and any of these would be a festive dish to pass at a St. Paddy’s party. Might have to get myself one of those cookbooks I linked to below!

Which traditional Irish foods would you like to try in Ireland?

Share This Post
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Share on StumbleUpon
StumbleUpon
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on Tumblr
Tumblr
Share on Reddit
Reddit
Buffer this page
Buffer
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin
Digg this
Digg
Email this to someone
email

Written by:
erinklema
Published on:
September 5, 2017
Thoughts:
9 Comments

Categories: Food, Guest Post, IrelandTags: Bacon and Cabbage, Beef and Guinness Stew, Boxty, Colcannon, Dublin Coddle, Ireland, Irish Barmbrack, Irish Food

Get My Travel Tips In Your Inbox

Enter your email address to receive my travel articles, packing lists, and foodie travel itinerary ideas in your email!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kelsey

    September 12, 2017 at 10:37 am

    These all look so delicious! xo

    Reply
  2. Jordan

    September 11, 2017 at 10:59 am

    What an awesome post! I pinned this for later because I have always wanted to go to Ireland and now I know what to eat there! Seriously cool, because food is very important to me ? I feel like the travel bug has bitten me hard now…

    Reply
  3. Life Of A Med School Wife

    September 11, 2017 at 9:37 am

    What a great post! My hubby is Irish, so we are dying to take a trip to Ireland.

    Reply
  4. Emily @ The Southern Belle Blogs

    September 11, 2017 at 9:08 am

    I want it all! Ireland has been one of my top travel destinations on my bucket list for years.

    Reply
  5. kage2015

    September 11, 2017 at 8:25 am

    We spent two weeks in Ireland this year and went to all the places you mentioned. The food was wonderful and we want to go back we enjoyed ourselves so much.

    Reply
  6. Lara Dunning

    September 10, 2017 at 2:14 pm

    This is a great refresher as I’ll be heading to Ireland soon. Years ago, I backpacked around the entire country for six weeks and tried a few of these dishes. Looking forward to tasting more! And, see you there too!

    Reply
  7. Kayla Manoe

    September 10, 2017 at 2:46 am

    Everything looks to hearty and delicious! I have had the Beef stew but thats it 😀 Would love to try the Soda Bread!

    Reply
  8. melody pittman

    September 9, 2017 at 11:53 pm

    I’ve only eaten a few of those but am a big fan of Irish soda bread with their decadent real butter. Yum! Not a Guinness stew fan but might be if it were meatless.

    Reply
  9. Doreen Pendgracs

    September 5, 2017 at 7:13 pm

    The Beef & Guinness Stew would definitely be my favourite!

    Reply

What do you think? Leave your comment here ... Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Welcome!

Hi, I'm Erin, and welcome to my culinary travel blog! I'm a proud Michigander sharing culinary adventures with you from the Midwest and beyond. Though I'm exploring the world one bite at a time, I'm confident I could live on pizza and red wine. I mean, if I really had to.

In Your Inbox

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Connect With Us

  • View theepicureantraveler’s profile on Facebook
  • View epctraveler’s profile on Twitter
  • View michiganepicure’s profile on Instagram
  • View erinklema’s profile on Pinterest

Note To Our Readers

As a resource for culinary travelers, we hope you continue to daydream about traveling and use this site to plan future trips. If you do travel at this time, please do so as safely as possible for yourself and others.

Recent Posts

  • Ditching Wings for Wheels: 5 Road-Trip Tips for Safer Travel
  • Detroit Holiday Events: 15 Festive Things To Do In Detroit At Christmastime
  • Travel Guide To Banda Neira Island — Indonesia’s Spice Hub
  • How To Choose The Perfect Coffee Beans
  • Michigan Apple Cider Sangria with Honeycrisp Apples and Leelanau Cellars Witches Brew

Popular Posts

Top 10 Things To Do In Toronto During Your Weekend Getaway
8 Beautiful Lavender Fields You Must See In Michigan
Five Tips For What To Wear In Colorado
Before Traveling To Peru Prepare For These Four Health Risks
Saugatuck, Michigan Trip: Four Things To Do In A Day
Lunch in Ann Arbor, Michigan - Five Spots Where You Should Eat (With Map)

Proud Member Of

Everywhere
CLEVER Badge

Footer

Copyright © 2021 · The Epicurean Traveler

Affiliate Disclosure

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Work With Us
  • Contact Us
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptReject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.