Top 21 Traditional Turkish food to Try While Traveling in Turkey
Turkish food was something we needed to learn more about before our first trip to Turkey, Today, we firmly believe that it ranks among the best countries in the world for food, with the longevity, diversity, and legacy of an imperial kitchen serving as its defining characteristics.
However, the top 21 dishes in this gastronomic paradise will undoubtedly pique your interest and make an impression as you explore Turkey’s diverse culinary scene. There is a wide variety of treats beyond the well-known mountains of Turkish delight and the crunchy sound of juicy kebabs.
Taste the deep flavors of karnabahar tarator, a delicious mezze made with cauliflower, or the layers of flavor found in manti, Turkish dumplings flavored with yogurt and garlic.
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The top 21 foods to eat in Turkey are listed below.
1: Menemen
Menemen is a classic Turkish breakfast dish with scrambled eggs, tomatoes, green peppers, and spices cooked in olive oil. So, it is comparable to shakshouka, a well-known Maghrebi dish frequently consumed in Tunisia, Egypt, and Morocco, among other North African nations. Onions can also be used to make menemen, though this is controversial in Turkey. While some people think onions are best added when they’re not eaten for breakfast, others prefer it that way. Menemen is usually served with bread, just like shakshouka.
2: Simit Turkish Bread
One of the most well-liked Turkish dishes in Istanbul is simit. All over the city, these red street food carts are where you can find it being sold.
A type of Turkish bread resembling a bagel and covered in seeds is called a simit. Although poppy, flax, or sunflower seeds can also be used to coat it, sesame seeds are typically used to make it. So, a larger Turkish breakfast with fruit preserves, cheese, and traditional Turkish tea can be served with this crunchy and chewy snack, or you can eat it on its own.
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3: Pilav
The traditional side dish for any Turkish food is pilav. It does, however, come in a variety of formats. The word refers to various rice recipes in Turkey. A lot of them are Eastern in flavor (Indian rice is typically called pilav), and they are frequently seasoned with herbs and spices. Moreover, different kinds of rice are used in each recipe.
4:Acma
You should try ACMA as well if Simit sounds good to you. It’s a reference to a different ring-shaped Turkish bread that has been coated in nigella, sesame, or cumin seeds. However, they have a softer texture than simit, are frequently eaten for breakfast with hot Turkish tea, and are brushed with beaten egg yolks before baking.
5:Bazlama
A type of soft, leavened flatbread from Turkey is called bazlama. Often referred to as “village bread,” it is typically prepared over an open wood fire in a heavy pan. It resembles naan bread but is heavier and thicker—kind of like a large crumpet.
Fresh bazlama is usually used. It can be eaten as a sandwich when stuffed with different ingredients like cheese and fresh vegetables, or it can be eaten for breakfast with butter or olive oil.
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6:Turkish Snack Leblebi
A Turkish snack called leblebi is made with roasted chickpeas. You can eat them plain or seasoned with dried cloves, salt, and hot spices. They may even be coated in candy in certain circumstances.
In Turkey as well as other Middle Eastern nations like Iran, Syria, Lebanon, and Afghanistan, leblebi is a popular snack.
7:Meze Platters
Meze is a must-discussed topic when discussing traditional Turkish cuisine.
Meze, which translates to “appetizer,” is a family of small dishes that are typically served as starters or appetizers in Turkey, Greece, the Balkans, North Africa, and some regions of the Middle East. It does not refer to a single dish.
In Turkey, meze is usually served with purees, salads, meatballs, stuffed vegetables, pastries, dips, and cheeses. However, meze can be prepared with a variety of dishes, depending on where it is served.
So, in Turkey, meze platters are commonly consumed as appetizers or snacks and are available almost everywhere. It is served in most traditional Turkish restaurants.
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8: Pide
A particular kind of Turkish flatbread, shaped like a boat and baked in a brick or stone oven, is called pide. It can be topped with cheese, onion, pepper, tomato, sucuk (spicy Turkish sausage), and egg, and is sometimes referred to as Turkish pizza.
Pide is a staple of Turkish food and can be found in both sit-down restaurants and street food carts. It is considered a significant component of Turkish cuisine. It’s one of my favorite Turkish foods.
9: Borek
The term “borek” describes a group of stuffed pastries that are widely used in Ottoman cooking. It comes in a variety of shapes and sizes and can be filled with a wide range of items, including cheese, meat, potatoes, and vegetables. It is made with a thin, flaky dough similar to phyllo or yufka. Although some varieties can also be fried, they are usually baked.
However, one of our favorite Turkish dishes was börek, just like lahmacun. It is available in a wide range of regional varieties, including rose, pen, water, and palace boreks. Below is a picture of a potato börek, or patatesli.
Throughout the Balkans, the Caucasus, and North Africa, Börek enjoys widespread popularity in nations such as Croatia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Armenia, and Tunisia.
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10: Gozleme
Made from a thin, unleavened dough, gozleme is a savory Turkish pastry. It resembles bazlama, but it’s rolled thin and oiled or brushed with butter just a bit. It’s a well-liked breakfast or snack that can be sealed and cooked over a griddle with a variety of fillings, including cheese, meat, vegetables, and mushrooms. Similar to börek, gozleme comes in a wide range of regional variations. The gozleme type called kiymali, which is packed with minced meat, is shown below.
11:Dürüm Turkish Sandwiches
Turkish wraps called “dürüms,” which translates to “rolls,” are typically filled with doner meat and made with lavash or yufka bread. Found almost anywhere, it’s one of the most well-liked varieties of Turkish street food.
One of our favorite meals in Turkey was the dürüm. So, the best dürüm we ever had came from the well-known Dürümzade store in Istanbul, though we still enjoyed it a lot. In Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations episode set in Istanbul, it was described.
In Turkey, these vertical rotisseries are very common for serving doner kebabs. Therefore, the seasoned meat, which is usually lamb, beef, or chicken, is placed next to a vertical heating element in the form of an inverted cone and slowly rotated. After cooking, the outermost layer is wrapped in a dürüm or shaved off in thin pieces and served on a plate.
One of the most significant and influential foods in Turkish cuisine is the doner kebab. Similar foods like Greek gyros, Arab shawarmas, and Mexican tacos al pastor are said to have been influenced by it.
12: Islak Burger
The crude but delicious Islak burger exemplifies the very essence of Turkish drunken food. The term “wet burger” refers to these oily, greasy, and orange-tinged burgers that are dipped in a spicy tomato sauce and then steamed in a glass box resembling a Hamam.
Islak burgers are flavorful, chewy, and moist. They may not seem particularly appealing, but they taste strangely good, especially after a few beers. You can never have just one.
In Istanbul, one of the most well-liked locations to eat islak burgers is Kizilkayalar in Taksim Square. It’s a late-night drinker’s favorite and was mentioned in the No Reservations episode from Istanbul.
13:Balik Ekmek
The name Balik ekmek, which means “fish bread,” accurately characterizes this type of Turkish fish sandwich. Sandwiched between a bun with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and a squeeze of lemon is a grilled mackerel fillet.
The best place to eat Balika ekmek is by the sea. In Istanbul, there are several balik ekmek stalls on both sides of the Galata Bridge.
14: kofte Turkish meat and seafood
The term “kofte” describes a family of meatball or meatloaf dishes that are widely consumed in the Middle East, the Balkans, India, and Central Asia. So, in its most basic form, it is made with ground or minced meat—usually chicken, lamb, or beef—mixed with spices, herbs, and onions.
Therefore, A staple of Turkish cuisine is kofte. In Turkey, there are nearly 300 different types of kofte. Some of the most well-known are sulu kofte, which is soup, cig kofte, which is raw, and sis kofte, which is skewered.
15: Lamb Turkish Meat
The most common meat used in Turkish cuisine is lamb. So In Turkish, lamb is typically meant when someone refers to “meat. Therefore, lamb is a common ingredient in many meat dishes in Turkey, including kebabs, kofte, lahmacun, pide, ragout, and casserole. You saw a picture of a doner kebab earlier in this Turkish food guide. This is a tasty horizontal variation known as yatik döner or cağ kebabı. It is unique to the province of Erzurum and is made only with lamb.
16: Testi Kebap
The most intriguing Turkish food we tried in Cappadocia was testi kebap. An Anatolian specialty called testi, or pottery kebab, is made in a clay pot or jug. Typically, vegetables, potatoes, and garlic are combined with lamb, beef, or chicken.
After adding the ingredients to the pot and sealing it with bread dough. However, the mixture is cooked in its juices in a clay oven or tandoor for several hours. The jug is brought to your table and cracked open when it’s ready.
Testi kebap is the one Turkish dish you should try while visiting Cappadocia. For further details and images, see my article on pottery kebab.
17:Fresh Fish and Seafood
Turkey’s coastal regions are renowned for their profusion of seafood because the country is surrounded by four seas. Fresh fish is equally important in Turkish cuisine as lamb.
There are a lot of seafood restaurants in Istanbul for visitors to choose from. Since water envelops and divides it, a variety of fish are frequently available throughout the year. So, take a Bosphorus cruise and dine at one of Anadolu Kavagi’s many waterfront eateries to experience seafood cuisine. The majority of visitors disembark here for lunch or dinner since it’s the last stop on the cruise.
18: Hamsili Pilav
Don’t you just enjoy food that is painstakingly prepared? A popular oven-baked pilaf dish in the Black Sea region of Turkey, hamsili pilav is made with long-grain rice, anchovies, raisins, lemon juice, herbs, and spices.
The recipe calls for layering anchovies in a baking dish, covering it with the rice mixture, and then folding the anchovies over the rice to completely encase it. After that, the dish is baked in an oven and served with fresh dill sprigs and lemon wedges.
19: Cig Kofte
One of the most intriguing foods we tried in Turkey was ćiğ köfte. This is a raw meat dish from Turkey, typically served cold and can be made with lamb or beef and served as a meze.
In its classic version, çiğ köfte is made with bulgur, onions, tomatoes, fresh mint, parsley, and spices, along with finely ground, fatless raw beef that is kneaded into a thick mixture.
However, since 2009, the sale of genuine çiğ köfte, or the kind made with real raw meat, has been prohibited due to health concerns. Nowadays, the majority of çiğ köfte sold in stores is made mostly without meat and mostly with bulgur.
20: Kunefe Turkish Dessert
Among our all-time favorite desserts was this one. A crisp cheese-filled treat known as “kunefe” is composed of shredded kadayif dough, sweet syrup, and clotted cream. Popular in Turkey, Greece, the Balkans, and the South Caucasus, it’s a classic Middle Eastern dessert.
The cheese separates into these supple, oozy strings when served hot out of the oven. It’s one of my favorite Turkish dishes, and it tastes amazing.
21: Baklava
Baklava’s origins are a mystery to me, but it’s intriguing to know that Turkish Ottoman cuisine may be its source.
Baklava is a dense, sweet pastry filled with chopped nuts and kept together with honey or syrup. Therefore, it is made from layers of phyllo dough. Turkey and many other nations in the Middle East, the Balkans, the South Caucasus, Egypt, and Central Asia are big fans of it.
Summary
Turkish food is a diverse blend of flavors influenced by many historical cultures. So, Turkish cuisine is defined by the wide variety of ingredients and cooking methods it employs. Therefore, fresh vegetables, grains, meats, and spices are frequently used in its dishes. Kebabs, mezes (appetizers), börek (flaky pastry filled with cheese, meat, or vegetables), and gözleme (savory stuffed flatbread) are important ingredients. Staples include traditional meals like pilav (rice), dolma (stuffed vegetables), and köfte (meatballs). There’s a lot of yogurt, olive oil, and herbs like dill, mint, and parsley. So, A delightful way to end a meal is desserts like baklava, künefe, and Turkish food Turkish cuisine is a rich and varied culinary tradition that reflects a fusion of influences from the Mediterranean, Middle East, Central Asia, and Balkan regions.
Frequently Asked Question
What is Turkey’s national dish?
Kuru fasulye is frequently served with bulgur, rice, and cacık. So, many people refer to it as Turkey’s national dish. Kaymaz, Sivrihisar, hosts an annual kuru fasulye festival. Fasolada is its equivalent in Greek cooking.
Why is Turkish cuisine so delicious?
Of course, it’s the ingredients, Turkish cuisine is known for its abundance of fruits, nuts, and vegetables. Usually, a main course of fish, poultry, shellfish, lamb, or beef is combined with these ingredients. The country’s food has a unique, healthy flavor due to this mix of fruits and meat.
Is turkey a healthy food?
Popular meats like turkey are rich in B vitamins, phosphorus, zinc, selenium, and high-quality protein. Because of its abundant nutrient content, it may promote several health goals, including the development and maintenance of muscle. Processed varieties, on the other hand, should be avoided due to their high salt content.
What are the top three foods in Turkey?
These are arguably the most popular foods that every foodie in the world is familiar with. Doner kebab, shish kebab, yogurt, dolma, baklava, Turkish delight, and Turkish coffee. Which foods are typical in Turkey?
Is Turkish food spicy?
Turkish food is not spicy, despite popular belief, and is focused on freshness. Simple, light sauces and seasonings are often used so as not to overpower the natural flavor of the food. Every Turkish region has a distinct cuisine that is suited to the local conditions.
What language is spoken in Turkey?
90% of the people living in the nation speak Turkish as their first language. About 70 other languages and dialects are spoken, including Arabic, Greek, Ladino, Armenian, and several Caucasian and Kurdish dialects.
