Most traditional Hungarian recipes have developed over many centuries and has its influences from the neighboring countries of Romania, Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Serbia, Italy, and Poland. It’s no wonder then that there are so many traditional Hungarian recipes that will make your mouth water!
Traditional Hungarian recipes have a wide array of flavors and spices. It’s traditional for every dish to have at least three. These ingredients are quite spicy and make these Hungarian foods both sweet and sour, so it leaves a fresh feeling in your mouth. As well as that they use paprika, dill, caraway, parsley, and loads of garlic too! Some dishes even use sauerkraut in them!
Hungarian Food and Cooking
Hungarian food is a mixture of old and new. Traditional Hungarian food, such as goose liver, cabbage, and pork sausages, are still widely popular. But there are also modern restaurants that have adopted continental cuisine.
Hungary has a long history of spices and herbs in its cooking traditions. Hungarian food is usually prepared with fresh ingredients and spices, often from the countryside. The dishes often have a rich taste and are full of flavor.
Hungarian food is famous for its variety, richness, and quality. Hungarian cuisine has been influenced by other European cuisines such as German and French, but also by Asian cultures such as Chinese or Indian.
Traditional Hungarian recipes are a mixture of the Hungarian food that people used to eat in the old times and the Hungarian food which are popular today. Hungarian dishes are usually simple, with many ingredients, and they have many variations.
Hungarians usually cook their food at home and they do not buy ready-made food from stores. They prefer to cook their own meals because they know what ingredients go well together and how to use them properly in their traditional Hungarian recipes.
Hungarian food is known for its rich, hearty flavors. Some dishes are typical of the regions around Budapest, while others are more widely known throughout the country.
Hungarian food is so diverse that it has been described as a “cultural mosaic”. The Hungarian word for food is “nyár” (literally meaning “summer”) and this is reflected in the wide range of seasonal ingredients used in cooking.
5 Most Popular Hungarian Dishes
Here are some traditional Hungarian recipes to give you an idea of how much the Hungarian cuisine varies from place to place and how diverse it truly is.
1. Hungarian Goulash
Hungarian goulash is a dish of meat and paprika sautéed in a sauce of paprika, sour cream, onions, and tomatoes. The sauce base is called “gulyas”, which means paprika in the Hungarian language. The dish originates from Hungary and the regions surrounding it: Austria, Slovakia, and especially southern Transylvania where it became popular during the second half of the 19th century.
2. Paprika Gomba
Paprika Gombas is a stew made from paprika chicken meat cooked with tomatoes, onions, celery leaves, and garlic cloves in a stock made from these ingredients as well as buttermilk or sour milk. It may also include other vegetables such as carrots or peas either added raw or boiled together with the chicken pieces for some time before serving (though not always).
3. Fisherman Soup
Fisherman’s soup is a thick, hearty fish soup with a creamy texture. It is often served as a first course in Hungary, especially on cold winter days.
The most common ingredient in fisherman’s soup is freshwater fish, but it can also include other ingredients such as ham hock or beef tripe. The broth is made from stockfish (sardines) and vegetables like onions, carrots, leeks, and potatoes.
4. Porkolt
Porkolt is a special Hungarian dish made from breaded pork (pork loin) and onion, seasoned with paprika and caraway seeds. It’s usually served with noodles or dumplings.
5. Lobster Goulash
Lobster goulash is a traditional Hungarian dish that’s popular in the summertime. It’s made with fresh lobsters and other kinds of seafood, including shrimp, crab, and mussels.
5 Most Often Asked Questions About Hungarian Food
Is Hungarian Food Healthy?
Yes! It is a very healthy cuisine and you can eat it every day. If you are on a diet, you can easily add more vegetables and fruits to your meals. Many traditional Hungarian recipes are low in calories and fat.
How Do I Cook Hungarian Food?
There are many different ways to cook Hungarian food. You can choose your favorite dish or make a recipe from scratch using fresh ingredients. Most people prefer to use some Traditional Hungarian recipes but there is no one right way to cook them! It all depends on the taste that you want to achieve with your meal!
What Does Hungarian Food Taste Like?
Hungarian food has quite a unique flavor for its ingredients, spices, and techniques used in cooking! The taste varies depending on what kind of meat or vegetables are used in the dish, how long it was cooked, etc. Some people love sweet dishes while others prefer sour ones! It all depends on your personal preference!
What is the Difference Between a “goulash” and a “goulash Soup”?
The word “goulash” comes from the Romanian word “ghiveci”, which means “soup”. This can be confusing for people who know only one word for “soup”. In Hungary, though, it refers only to the dish itself (not to any soup). A goulash can also be made with meat or without any meat at all – just vegetarian goulash. Goulash is usually served with bread and salad on the side.
What is Hungarian food like?
Traditional Hungarian recipes have been influenced by neighboring cultures for centuries. The Hungarian cuisine is rich in ingredients and spices as well as is very diverse in terms of cooking styles and methods. You will find that there are many different types of dishes in Hungary, from classic dishes like goulash or Paprikas to modern creations like gyros.
Hungarian Food and Cooking
30 Traditional Hungarian Recipes – Simply Put Delicious
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Hungarian Breakfast, Salad and Appetizer Recipes
1. Super Hot Sausage Stuffed Banana Peppers
Now per Papa Fantabulous, the traditional Hungarian recipe for the peppers was ‘Perfect!’ but my darling husband was sweating bullets 3 bites into it. He said it was “really hot honey but I can’t stop eating it as it’s THAT good!” So if you can’t handle hot stuff you could easily use all mild Italian sausage…. wuss *wink*
Also, the picture isn’t the prettiest – turns out these things really don’t photograph that well. But it’s just incentive for me to make them again, right?
2. Roasted Peppers
Roasted Peppers, the perfect Grilled Appetizer, peppers tossed with fresh parsley, garlic and olive oil, so easy and delicious, make this your next appetizer!
I think one of my favorite dishes Italian but is really a traditional Hungarian recipe must make appetizers, probably because a lot of them are made with vegetables, and bread is always served on the side. Nothing like dipping your bread in the olive oil that remains on the bottom of the bowl.
This Italian Grilled Pepper Appetizer is one of our favorites and it is Incredibly Delicious.
3. Hungarian Dip – Körözött
This Hungarian dip is perfect as an appetizer served with vegetable sticks, crackers, or crispbread or as an everyday bread spread for breakfast or with a hot bowl of soup for dinner. Serve as an appetizer with vegetables or on crackers, crispbread, or pumpernickel. Decorate with more paprika and herbs.
Or serve it as part of a light main meal with a creamy soup. The soup in the pictures is this Creamy Carrot Soup with Milk. You can also have the Korozott with Carrot Soup with Ginger, Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Soup, or any other creamy vegetable soup you like. Either way you use this traditional Hungarian recipe it will be a hit.
4. Easy Hungarian Meatball Appetizers Recipe
Are you searching for easy meatball appetizer recipes in 2022? On this site, you’ll discover how to make Hungarian meatball appetizers for the party in 8 steps at home.
Using my traditional Hungarian recipes improves your skills for cooking Hungarian meatballs with simple and tasty ingredients such as ground pork, paprika, and more.
5. Hungarian Cucumber Salad
Vinegar, sugar, salt and onion add gentle, versatile flavor to this quick-and-easy cucumber salad from a traditional Hungarian recipe. All it takes is a few extra minutes of marinating time to soften the bite of the onions and help the tangy seasonings infuse every bite of cucumber. Pair the salad with grilled hot dogs or pork chops in summertime, or serve as a cool contrast to roast chicken or poached salmon in colder months. Feel free to make this up to a day ahead and store it in the fridge—the salad will only get tangier and more delicious as it sits.
6. Roasted Cream Cheese Stuffed Peppers
Our first is a traditional Hungarian recipe is a fun appetizer version of stuffed peppers. They are the epitome of what food is about, throwing dainty fresh finger foods directly into the campfire. This is a recipe that is versatile enough for almost any setting.
This entire Hungarian recipe can be made with very few ingredients and requires only a bare minimum for utensils. The use of the roasting peppers brings out an otherwise unobtainable smokiness that will surely satisfy the need for munching during the always-too-long wait for dinner.
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7. Hungarian Breakfast Casserole
Recently we’ve had a number of questions about Hungarian recipes for breakfast dishes, and how to keep it from getting boring with bacon and eggs every day. Personally, I don’t really ever get tired of bacon and eggs (how can anyone get tired of bacon?) but I do sympathize with food boredom.
This week, E.J. was lamenting the lack of pulled pork to make another Pulled Pork & Apple casserole for breakfasts – and I just happened to have another pound of sausage left from the St. Paddy’s day so the Hungarian recipe for breakfast casserole was born.
8. Hungarian Salad
Great traditional Hungarian recipe for a salad to make when you have a good crop coming out of the garden. We make this year round but we are real cuke lovers in this family. Let it sit for a few days in the fridge and it’s even better! Great make-ahead dish for BBQs and parties.
9. Palascinta (Hungarian Breakfast Crepes)
Something sweet and comforting for breakfast will always start your day off with a smile.
As a little girl my mum would make these ritually as our weekend breakfast item. The house would fill with the smell of cinnamon and lemon and to this day, there’s something about these comforting, rolled up wonders that still makes me smile. For a traditional Hungarian recipe for breakfast you cant go wrong with these crepes.
10. Hungarian Egg Salad Recipe
This traditional Hungarian recipe for egg salad supposedly originated with a chef who cooked for European royalty before a stint at the National Casino in Budapest, Hungary. Odds are you won’t find this delicious dish on any Las Vegas or Atlantic City menu, but it is a sure bet for lunch or at the dinner hour.
Butter and sour cream lend a rich foundation to this Hungarian recipe, but it’s still lighter than a typical mayonnaise-based egg salad. And the anchovies add a hint of salt and briny depth. This is terrific served with lettuce and fresh vegetables as a salad, or with lettuce and tomato on toast as a sandwich.
15 Hungarian Lunch and Dinner Recipes
11. Hungarian Mushroom Soup
Rich and creamy, this Hungarian recipe for soup with mushrooms is loaded with flavors ranging from Hungarian sweet paprika to dill weed and even a splash of lemon. It’s a comforting vegetarian soup that’s perfect for the cooler months.
We like to enjoy a bowl of this soup with buttery popovers or slice of crusty dutch oven bread to mop up the broth!
12. Hungarian Cholent Slow Cooker Beef-Stew
Cholent is a Hungarian recipe for a Jewish stew of beef, beans, vegetables and grains, usually simmered overnight for 12 hours or more, and eaten for lunch on Sabbath. It was developed over the centuries to conform with Jewish laws that prohibit cooking on the Sabbath. Created from traditional Hungarian recipes for the slow cooker.
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13. Traditional Hungarian Fish Soup “Halászlé”
If you ever travel to Hungary, try the famous Hungarian recipe for fish soup or Halászlé! It is one of the most popular Hungarian appetizers. It is made from freshwater fish, as Hungary has no access to the sea but many standing waters. Try this authentic and healthy recipe now.
14. Potato Sausage (Bobrovecke Droby)
This Slovokian or Hungarian recipe for potato sausage or bobrovecke droby contains pork, bacon and onion and, of course, potatoes. Some cooks even add chopped ham.
The mixture can be stuffed into beef casings (for a larger sausage) or hog casings and then slowly boiled. It then can be quickly pan-fried to give it a more appealing color.
These step-by-step directions for making Polish sausage can be applied to this recipe.
After cooking your sausage, don’t throw away the cooking water. It makes a tasty addition to other dishes.
15. Halupki (Stuffed Cabbage)
This stuffed cabbage recipe, known as halupki, is made with beef, pork, and rice encased in cabbage and drizzled with a thin, sweet tomato sauce. My grandma Eugenia taught me how to make this Hungarian recipe for a comfort food classic. Every family has their own twist on this traditional dish. Enjoy with mashed potatoes just as we always do in my family!
16. Hungarian Tocsni Recipe
Very easy to prepare and it is really delicious. In the original Hungarian recipe version there is also some garlic and onion but believe me pure is the best and really tasty. It matches some joghurt or sour cream really well. This food has many different names in Hungary such as Lepcsanka, Bere and so on.
17. Hungarian Potato Soup
Krumplileves (Hungarian Recipe for Potato Soup) recipe for #FoodieExtravaganza! This simple soup only has a few ingredients and is the perfect comfort food for a chilly winter day.
For National Potato Lovers Day, I am sharing this recipe for Krumplileves (Hungarian Potato Soup)! Pieces of potato are simmered in a broth (or water) with bay leaves just until tender. At the end, a roux is mixed in with a little paprika.
Serve with white vinegar, some parsley, and a dollop of sour cream. It is especially delicious with a couple slices of rustic bread.
18. Authentic Hungarian Paprika Soup
Authentic Hungarian paprika soup has potato and paprika in it. My husband tells me the Hungarian recipe is called paprikás krumplileves in its native language. Which literally translates to paprika potato soup.
If you love paprika and want to create a super quick and easy Hungarian recipe for this delicious soup, then this is the recipe for you. And by now, you must know that I love soups as I already made broccoli soup, delicious leek and potato and carrot and ginger amongst others.
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19. Hungarian Cauliflower Soup
“A creamy, tangy, sustaining cream of cauliflower soup, adapted from Wm-Sonoma Kitchen Library”
Hungarian recipe for cauliflower soup with dumplings, also known as karfiolleves, is a quick, easy, frugal, pantry-friendly soup that’s simple to make but complex in taste. It’s made with lotsa spice and, quite frankly, is unlike any other soup you’ve experienced.
20. Hungarian Cabbage Noodles
Hungarian Recipe for cabbage noodles with caramelized cabbage and onions is the ultimate comfort food and definitely Hungarian recipe that is so much more than the sum of its parts. Cabbage and onions are slowly caramelized in butter until they become a mellow and fragrant, golden brown and then tossed into homemade egg noodles. So simple, but so sublime!
21. Hungarian Green Bean Soup Recipe
The Hungarian green bean soup recipe is what you need when you feel like enjoying a delicious soup. It is a simple recipe, and the cooking time is short, so it is ideal for those who do not want to spend too much time in the kitchen.
The Hungarian recipe for green bean soup can be cooked at any time during the year, both in summer when you find fresh green beans, and in winter when we can use frozen beans. I will show you the version with frozen green beans, cooked in Hungarian recipe style with paprika and with a little thickening, as we like the soup to be a little more consistent.
22. Hungarian Chicken Paprikash
Hungarian Chicken Paprikash is a traditional Hungarian recipe made from simple, real food ingredients. Succulent pieces of chicken are simmered in the most flavorful sauce, made with the best Hungarian Paprika with a cream base. Serve it with Nokedli noodles or parsley potatoes and you’ve got yourself a truly amazing comfort food that you’ll want to have over and over.
23. Hungarian Layered Potato – Rakott Krumpli
This traditional Hungarian recipe is culinary classic which is not difficult to assemble, but takes a little preparation and cooking time. As a popular family meal and children’s favorite, it makes a good dinner alone or stands as a second course after a lighter soup. Try with gherkins or pickled beetroot on the side.
The whole of Hungary would be nodding with an approval smile, forget goulash!
24. Hungarian Goulash
In this easy traditional Hungarian recipe for Goulash, tender chunks of beef, onions and tomatoes are simmered to tender perfection in a savory beef broth. YUM! While I most often simmer this on the stove, you can also make this easy Hungarian Goulash in the oven. A house filled with the aromas of this Hungarian recipe stew is probably the most comforting way to say goodbye to my patio until next summer!
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25. Sausage Leczo / Lecso (Hungarian Vegetable Stew)
Digging this recipe out of the family coffers was more difficult than I expected it to be. I finally had to reach out to my uncle and my dad’s cousin. And that’s when I realized that my dad’s half response was actually the real Hungarian recipe.
Leczo/lecso is a vegetable stew that is part of traditional Hungarian and European cuisine. My family always adds sausage to it but if you are looking for a vegetarian soup and leave it out, you will still have a delicious soup.
To make this stew, you put your vegetables in a big pot and let them cook down until the heat and steam creates a juicy broth right from the veggies.
5 Hungarian Dessert Recipes
26. Gerbeaud Cake
This traditional Hungarian recipe consists of several layers of shortcrust pastry which are slathered with a thick layer of apricot jam and walnut mixture and followed by an impressive layer of melted chocolate.
Shortcrust pastry layers are smothered with almond jam-walnut filling and covered with rich dark chocolate. This Hungarian Gerbeaud Cake is moist and so delicious! It makes a big batch and just like my Chocolate Eclairs, Gerbeaud Cake is perfect for potlucks, picnics or other special occasions.
27. Hungarian Walnut Torte
This traditional Hungarian recipe for walnut torte or dios torta (DEE-oosh TOORR-taw) is from Dorothy Bardoczi. Some people toast their walnuts before they grind them, but this recipe doesn’t call for it. Dorothy bakes this sponge cake in a tube pan, but we prefer to use three (8-inch) round cake pans.
28. Kakaós Csiga: Hungarian Chocolate Rolls
Kakaós csiga is a traditional Hungarian recipe often served for breakfast in Hungary. Traditionally made with laminated blundell pastry, this Hungarian recipe for chocolate rolls have crisp edges and soft, fluffy centers. Buttery, flaky dough encircles a rich chocolate swirl that hypnotizes with the promise of chocolate escapism.
Kakaós csiga are made with blundell pastry, a laminated dough similar to Danish pastry. Blundell pastry, or plunder dough, is like a cross between a croissant and a Danish pastry
29. Hungarian Raspberry-Cream Roulade (Malna Piskotatekercs) Recipe
For this traditional Hungarian reciepe for the perfect raspberry-whipped cream roll, also known as a roulade or Swiss roll, we used a Hungarian sponge cake recipe. The decadent filling consists of canned raspberry filling, whipped cream, cream cheese, and fresh raspberries. It can be made with any whole berry—raspberries, small wild strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, boysenberries. Larger fruits that require cutting are not recommended because the juices they exude will make the filling soupy.
30. Hungarian Plum Dumplings (Szilvás Gombóc)
Hungarian recipe for plum dumplings, known as szilvás gombóc, can be eaten as a dessert, a meatless main dish, or side dish.
Like Polish, Romanian, and Croatian plum dumplings, the traditional Hungarian recipe dough is made with freshly mashed potatoes that have been cooled. Don’t use leftover mashed potatoes for this recipe as you will typically have included things like salt, butter, or cream. You want the mashed potatoes to be just potatoes without any additions. You can mash them or use a ricer.
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