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Traditional Lithuanian Dishes

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About Lithuanian Cuisine

Lithuanians like to eat a lot and enjoy good food. Our traditional cuisine is pretty simple but has a variety of interesting dishes. Rye, potatoes, various meat, beet root, mushrooms and diary products are often used when preparing Lithuanian food. You can find some of the most popular traditional Lithuanian foods, dishes and drinks on the page below.

Didžkukuliai or Cepelinai: the National Dish

Photo credit: Aula Restoranas

Didžkukuliai, more often known as cepelinai is probably the most popular Lithuanian dish. While it's considered an old traditional meal now, potatoes were brought to Lithuania in 17th century and only became widely used for food in the beginning of 19th century.

Cepelinai are big, Zeppelin-shaped (that's where they get their name from) dumplings made from potatoes stuffed with meat. They are usually served with sour cream, spirgai or mushrooms. Some restaurants serve a vegetarian version of the cepelinai made with a curd filling instead of meat. As you can imagine, it's a rather filling meal with enough calories to make any light eater or dieter run for the hills.

Juoda Duona - Black (Rye) Bread

Photo credit: Vilniaus Duona

Duona (bread) is probably the oldest traditional Lithuanian food that has been the center of Lithuanian cuisine for hundreds of years. It played a role in various agrarian rituals and still is sometimes used in wedding ceremonies. Bread was shown great respect and viewed as holy.

Lithuanian dark rye bread is delicious, heavy, fragrant and can remain fresh for a long time. It can be eaten during breakfast, lunch or dinner. However, it isn't as popular these days as it was in old times.

Šaltibarščiai - Cold Borscht (Beetroot Soup)

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Šaltibarščiai is a popular summer soup. It's made from cooked shredded beets, cucumber, dill and green onions. All the vegetables are put into a pot and cold soured milk or kefir is added. Šaltibarščiai are usually served with hot boiled or fried potatoes on the side. Sometimes a sliced hard-boiled egg is added into the plate as well. It's a great meal on a hot summer day.

Other Traditional Lithuanian Dishes & Foods

Balandeliai
Photo credit: giedrius_v

Balandėliai

Balandėliai ("little doves") are made from cabbage leaves stuffed with a minced meat, rice and onion filling. They can be served with sour cream or tomato sauce. Note: since rice is not grown in Lithuania, pearl barley had been used instead in the traditional recipes.


Bulviniai blynai
Photo credit: Neringa Blogas

Bulviniai blynai

Bulviniai blynai, or potato pancakes are one of the many Lithuanian dishes made from potatoes. They are usually served with sour cream, sometimes with mushrooms. They are oh-so-very tasty, never mind the extra calories.


Gira
Photo credit: EkologiskiProduktai

Gira

Gira is a fermented drink made from black rye bread. It is considered a soft drink but contains some alcohol (0.05-1.5%) due to natural fermentation process. Gira has a unique flavor, contains a lot of vitamin B and is a great drink for a hot day. It is known as "kvass" in Russia and is popular in other countries of Eastern Europe as well.


Skilandis
Photo credit: Alina Zienowicz

Skilandis

Skilandis is a pig stomach stuffed with minced meat, cold-smoked and matured for some time. It is one of the many smoked meat products that are popular in Lithuania, such as smoked and dried ham or smoked sausage (dešra).


Lasiniai
Photo credit: EkologiskiProduktai

Lašiniai

Lašiniai are slabs of pork underskin fat with skin, often eaten as an appetizer with bread and/or onions. Lithuanian lašiniai are a smoked product while the Russian and Ukrainian version salo is usually salted.


Kuciukai

Aguonų pienas and kūčiukai

Kūčiukai are small pastries made from leavened dough. They are traditionally consumed on the Christmas Eve with aguonų pienas. Aguonpienis, or "poppy milk" is made by soaking poppy seeds in water for a day and then crushing them until a white liquid comes out. It is then diluted with some cold water and sweetened with honey or sugar.

Lithuanian Traditional Foods Recipe Book

Lithuanian Traditional Foods

Lithuanian Traditional Foods

by: B. Imbrasiene, Birute Imbrasiene

Amazon Price: $541.45 (as of 02/18/2012)Buy Now

This book presents over 300 recipes for traditional Lithuanian cooking at its best, with plenty of inspiration from local culinary traditions. Lithuanian cuisine is known for its simplicity; it is the product itself which above all gives the dish its flavor, followed by various additional ingredients and seasoning. More than just a cookbook, it also includes some history and a cultural context for most recipes.

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Chadrew

If I had my own restaurant I'd serve traditional Lithuanian food. Sure, you can find cepelinai pretty much anywhere, but not all traditional dishes are... more »

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Lithuania Travel Guide 

Lithuania, 5th (Bradt Travel Guide)

Lithuania, 5th (Bradt Travel Guide)

by: Gordon McLachlan

Amazon Price: $10.06 (as of 02/18/2012)Buy Now

If you feel like sampling that traditional Lithuanian food first-hand, why not plan a vacation in this small European country. The Bradt Travel guide will surely come in handy as it contains a lot of useful advice and an extensive list of places of interest.

Buy it at the Book Depository with free worldwide shipping.

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