Turkish Foods: 19 Must-Try Dishes & Essential Vocabulary
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Is Turkish food the main reason why you want to visit Turkey? I can understand! Each corner of the country is full of different flavors, tastes, and spices, with the light, olive-oil-based dishes of the Aegean Coast, delicious kebabs of southeastern cities, and the cosmopolitan nature of Istanbul.
In this article, we’ll try to do justice to Turkish cuisine, but with such a rich culinary landscape, it’s impossible to cover everything. Instead, we’ll outline the must-try Turkish dishes throughout the country, with a bonus section covering the essential food vocabulary in Turkish.
Table of contents
19 Must-Try Turkish Dishes
Spoiler alert: there will be more than 19 Turkish dishes in this article, as most food names are umbrella terms.
Kebab is a famous example, so let’s start with it:
1. Kebab
Kebab is a general term for meat dishes cooked on a skewer over a charcoal fire. There are various types of kebabs in Turkish cuisine, so we could have even written an entire article just about kebabs!
Here are some popular kebab dishes you should try:
- Adana kebab: Originating from the Turkish city of Adana, this dish is made with ground lamb, tail fat, and spices. One of the many secrets of a good Adana kebab is zırh, a special type of knife that is used to grind the meat.
- Iskender kebab: Iskender kebab is one of the best of the best — it’s thin slices of döner meat served over pide (Turkish flatbread), topped with tomato sauce, yogurt, and butter.
- Shish kebab: In Turkish, şiş means “skewer.” And shish kebab consists of marinated chunks of meat (usually lamb or chicken) on skewers, grilled over charcoal for a smoky flavor.
2. Döner
Did you know that dönmek means “to turn” in Turkish? The word döner comes from this verb, as it’s a dish cooked on a vertical, turning rotisserie. Usually lamb or chicken, the perfect döner is thinly sliced, and served in a wrap with onions, tomato, and parsley.
3. Lahmacun
Often called “Turkish pizza,” lahmacun is a thin, crispy dough topped with minced meat (usually lamb or beef), tomato paste, and spices. To eat it the local way, add some fresh parsley and lemon, and then roll your lahmacun tightly.
4. Pide
In this case, pide is not Turkish flatbread, it’s a boat-shaped bread dish filled with toppings. There is a wide range of toppings you can choose from — meat, cheese, and eggs are some popular options.
5. Köfte
Köfte are meatballs made from ground beef or lamb. Similar to the word kebab, there are different types of köfte to try — deep fried, baked with some tomato sauce, or grilled on charcoal, for example.
6. Manti
Manti are a type of Turkish dumplings that are popular throughout the country. To make manti, a simple dough is prepared and rolled out into thin sheets. The filling, which typically consists of ground beef seasoned with salt and pepper, is then placed in small amounts on the dough.
The dough is then folded over the filling and pinched together at the edges to create small, square-shaped dumplings. This part requires a lot of patience, but once it’s done, all you have to do is boil the manti and serve them with yogurt and garlic sauce.
7. Börek
By now you’re used to it — börek is also one of those Turkish dishes with various versions. A savory pastry made with thin, flaky dough, its most common ingredients are meat, cheese, or spinach.
8. Dolma
Dolma comes from the verb dolmak, “to fill” or “to stuff.” To prepare a dolma dish, you first prepare a mixture of rice, onions, tomatoes, spices, and meat (optional). Then you put this mixture in pepper, eggplants, or zucchinis, cook it in a pot, and voilà!
9. Yaprak Sarma
Yaprak sarma is a type of dolma, but unlike other dolmas, where the filling is stuffed inside vegetables, it’s made by rolling the filling inside vine leaves. The name sarma comes from the Turkish verb sarmak, which means “to roll.”
Once you’ve carefully rolled the leaves around the filling, you tuck in the sides of the leaf to create neat, cigar-shaped rolls. Every household has a different recipe for this Turkish delicacy, so make sure to try as many as possible during your trip!
10. Karnıyarık
The name karnıyarık literally translates to “split belly.” Why? Because it’s an eggplant cut in half and stuffed with a mixture of ground meat, onions, tomatoes, and peppers!
11. İmam Bayıldı
Think of imam bayıldı as karnıyarık’s vegetarian sibling. This time, the eggplants are filled with a mixture of onions, tomatoes, and garlic, without any meat.
The name imam bayıldı means “the imam fainted” in English. There are various stories surrounding the origin of this name, but the most common one involves an imam (an Islamic religious leader) who was so impressed and overwhelmed by the dish’s incredible flavor that he actually fainted upon tasting it.
12. Menemen
Menemen is a popular Turkish breakfast dish made with eggs, tomatoes, peppers, and onions. It’s often served with bread so you can use it as a dip.
13. Bulgur Pilavi
A common side to many meat dishes on this list, bulgur pilavi is made from bulgur, tomatoes, onions, and tomato paste.
14. Kisir
Another bulgur dish, kisir is a type of salad. It’s made with fine bulgur, pomegranate molasses, lettuce, parsley, and a special type of pepper called isot from Urfa, a southeastern Turkish city.
15. Kuru Fasulye and Pilav
The ultimate Turkish food duo — kuru fasulye and pilav. Kuru fasulye is Turkish for dry white beans. For this dish, the beans are stewed with tomato paste, oil, onions, and in most households, some meat.
Kuru fasulye is traditionally served with rice, pilav in Turkish, so this dish is usually called kuru fasulye and pilav.
16. Midye Dolma
Many people think döner is the most common Turkish street food, but actually, midye dolma is more common as a street food in Turkey. These are mussels filled with rice, onions, and spices, often served with lemon wedges. You’ll find them in many coastal cities.
17. Gözleme
This savory flatbread is made from a simple dough of flour, water, and salt, which is then rolled out thin and filled with a variety of delicious ingredients, such as cheese, potatoes, spinach, and minced meat.
18. Baklava
A world-famous dessert, baklava has layers of phyllo dough, sweetened with butter, chopped nuts, and syrup. The southeastern city of Gaziantep is particularly known for its delicious pistachio baklava.
19. Simit
A circular bread, similar to a bagel or pretzel, simit is common in bakeries, street carts, and cafes across Turkey. Simit sellers, known as simitçi, are a common sight on the streets of Turkish cities, carrying trays of fresh simit to be enjoyed as a snack or for breakfast.
Essential Turkish Food Vocabulary for Language Learners
Now that you know the most common Turkish foods, it’s time to build your vocabulary! We’ll start with the basic food names and move forward with ordering food in a Turkish restaurant.
Turkish Food Vocabulary
Here is a list of Turkish meal names and the ingredients of the Turkish foods we covered!
| English | Turkish | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| “Breakfast” | Kahvaltı | |
| “Lunch” | Öğle Yemeği | |
| “Dinner” | Akşam Yemeği | |
| “Meat” | Et | |
| “Tavuk” | Tavuk | |
| “Fish” | Balık | |
| “Vegetable” | Sebze | |
| “Fruit” | Meyve | |
| “Bread” | Ekmek | |
| “Spice” | Baharat | |
| “Salt” | Tuz | |
| “Black pepper” | Karabiber | |
| “Olive oil” | Zeytinyağı | |
| “Lemon” | Limon | |
| “Tomato” | Domates | |
| “Onion” | Soğan | |
| “Tomato paste” | Domates salçası | |
| “Yoghurt” | Yoğurt | |
| “Cheese” | Peynir | |
| “Salad” | Salata |
Ordering Food in a Turkish Restaurant
And here are some phrases you need to know when ordering food in a Turkish restaurant:
| English | Turkish | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| “I’d like to make a reservation.” | Rezervasyon yapmak istiyorum. | |
| “Can I have the menu?” | Menüyü alabilir miyim? | |
| “One lahmacun, please.” | Bir lahmacun, lütfen. | |
| “Do you have vegetarian options?” | Vejetaryen seçenekleriniz var mı? | |
| “Can I have some bread, please?” | Ekmek alabilir miyim, lütfen? | |
| “Is this dish spicy?” | Bu yemek acılı mı? | |
| “Can I have the bill, please?” | Hesabı alabilir miyim? | |
| “Enjoy your meal” | Afiyet olsun |
FAQs
What is typical Turkish food?
Typical Turkish dishes depend a lot on the region — coastal areas feature light, vegetable dishes, while richer meat dishes are more common in the inland cities. As a tourist, be sure to look for local specialties in the Turkish city you end up visiting, and don’t skip out on classics like kebab dishes, pide, börek, dolma, and baklava. These are widely available throughout the country.
What is Turkey’s favorite food?
Turkey has so many favorite dishes. Some of the most popular ones include döner, kebabs, pide, and baklava.
What is Turkey’s national dish?
There’s no official national dish of Turkey, but you’ll find that some dishes are strongly associated with the city of their origin. So we can say that some cities have national dishes. For example, the city of Adana is very proud of its Adana kebab. Similarly, Bursa is where Iskender kebab comes from, and people often say it’s where you find the best Iskender.
Is Turkish food similar to Greek?
There are many similarities between Turkish and Greek cuisine, and it’s often a controversial topic where dishes like baklava, dolma, and börek come from!
What is commonly eaten in Turkey?
You’ll find a lot of kebab varieties, meat stews, vegetable dishes, and bread-based foods like pide, döner, and simit in Turkey.
This is Only the Beginning of Your Turkish Culinary Adventure
Now it’s time to visit Turkey and try these delicacies yourself! From the sizzling kebabs and savory pides, Turkish cuisine has something for everyone. Broaden your vocabulary with more Turkish words and study the common phrases on this list to order Turkish food with confidence!
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