The 8 Tastiest Ukrainian Dishes

Ukrainian cuisine is unique, varied, but at the same time very specific. If you’ve never tried any Ukrainian dishes you should definitely try some when travelling to Ukraine. There’s a traditional dish for everyone. Meaty dishes for carnivores, traditional vegetarian and vegan dishes are widely available during lent, sweet cakes and desserts are finger-licking-good here too, so you’re bound to find a new favourite in Ukrainian cuisine.

1. Borshch

If you’ve ever heard of Ukrainian food this is probably the very first dish people mention. It’s a delicious beetroot based soup, but it also contains other vegetables like cabbage and potatoes and the classic version usually has beef in it, but there are variations with other types of meat and a vegetarian variation that’s very commonly served during lent. Borsch is also often served with pampushky which is like a savoury garlic bread bun.

2. Varenyky

Varenyky are Ukrainian dumplings. There are many variations of this dish and it can be made sweet or savoury. You also might’ve heard of pierogi, it’s essentially the same thing. The most classic varenyky are made with mashed potato filling, they’re then boiled and served with sour cream. Other popular variations of varenyky are made with cabbage filling, cottage cheese, and the most popular sweet ones are made with cherries, apples or blueberries. Sweet varenyky are usually served drizzled with honey instead of sour cream.

3. Deruny

Deruny are savoury pancakes made from grated potatoes, onions and eggs. They’re essentially hashbrowns, but so much better and way more flavourful. The classic deruny are made with just potatoes, but there are many other ways to make them that are popular around the country. People often add parsley and dill into the potato mix to add flavour, others like to add some mushrooms to the mix too.