With a diverse, extensive, and very regional cuisine, our list of foods to try in Turkey would be nearly endless. To avoid pages and pages of content (albeit droolworthy content) and in the hopes of creating a manageable list possible to get through in a single vacation, we’ve divided Turkey’s national cuisine into nine categories showcasing the best of its uniqueness and multifaceted flavor.
Breakfast/eggs
Turkish breakfast is one of the most memorable parts of many traveler’s journeys through Turkey. From the simplest spreads of bread, olives, and cheese, to endless portions of savory pastries, jams and spreads, fresh salads, and eggy delights, the Turkish breakfast is the ideal combination of healthy and filling, yet light, to power you through the country’s endless sights and sounds.
A basic Turkish breakfast consists of fresh bread, cheese, olives, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and greens, an egg or two and butter and jam. More elaborate versions include stuffed flatbreads and boreks (more on that later), fried vegetables, meze-style salads and dips, tahini and other sweet spreads. But our favorite specialties are always the eggs, and two incredible egg dishes in particular.
The first is Cilbir, a unique dish of garlicky yogurt topped with poached eggs and chili butter. Tang from the yogurt and heat from the chili combine with the unctuous egg yolk and butter to form an incredibly well-rounded dish whose only obligatory tablemate is lots of Turkish bread for dipping and mopping. Menemen is even more widespread and consists of a green pepper and tomato stew adorned with threads of scrambled egg. Usually spicy and sometimes cheesy, this shakshuka-adjacent dish is a quick favorite for breakfasts or any time of the day throughout the country. Of course, an honorable mention also goes to eggs with Sucuk (Turkish sausage) or Pastirma (Turkish pastrami).
Kebabs
If any one item of the Turkish table has permeated itself into world cuisine, it’s the kebab. From thin sheets of ‘doner’ to thick and juicy ‘adana’, there are kebabs of all shapes, sizes, and cooking methods. The word ‘kebab’ is rooted in the Akkadian verb ‘kababu’ meaning to fry or burn, and thus is used to refer to any sort of roasted or grilled meat.
Some of the more unique kebabs you must try include Iskender, pieces of doner kebab and chucks of pita covered in tomato sauce and melted butter with lots of yogurt on the side. Another similar kebab is called Beyti or Beyti Sarma, a classic ground meat ‘adana’ style kebab wrapped in flatbread and covered in tomato sauce and yogurt. Patlican (eggplant) and Sogan (onion) kebabs are also favorites and feature ground meat patties sandwiched between pieces of eggplant or small, whole onions and grilled or roasted to perfection for the perfect combination of juicy meat and smoky, charred veg. The extra adventurous among us might also go for the Turkish favorite ‘Ciger’ (liver) Kebab, pieces of well spiced and marinated liver skewered on a shish and grilled; don’t forget the onion and sumac salad!
Eggplant dishes
One of the defining parts of Turkish cuisine is the multitude of diverse eggplant recipes. While vegetable dishes abound throughout the country, the eggplant holds a special place in the culinary lineup. There’s ‘patlican dolma’, eggplant stuffed with flavorful rice or meat and ‘musakka’ layers of fried eggplant and other vegetables with saucy ground meat. Countless dishes and meze are made with the flesh of whole roasted eggplants, including creamy spreads with yogurt or tahini and salads with roasted peppers, tomatoes, onions, and herbs. There’s the aforementioned eggplant kebab, vegetarian eggplant stews, and even fried slices of eggplant best slathered in garlicky yogurt.
But there are a few extra special eggplant dishes worth mentioning here. The first is ‘Karniyarik’, whole fried eggplants split down the middle and stuffed with a spiced ground meat filling before a second cooking. The meatless version, called ‘Imam Bayildi’ is equally delicious with a filling of peppers, onions, tomato, and spices, and can be eaten either hot or cold. In our opinion however, the king of the world of eggplant dishes is ‘Hunkar Begendi’, a mixture of bechamel and roasted eggplant flesh topped with tender chucks of meat. Its close cousin is ‘Ali Nazik’, in which the roasted eggplant is mixed with yogurt instead of bechamel and often topped with ground meat instead of larger pieces.
Meze
Meze are small, cold plates usually consisting of vegetables, cheese or yogurt, seafood, or legumes meant to be shared. Whether as starters to a kebab feast or to accompany an evening music and raki, meze form an enormous part of Turkish cuisine, especially that of the coastal regions. Usually not written on a formal menu, the best way to order meze is to step up to the counter, gaze at the endless options and pick your favorites as the chef or server explains what they made fresh for that day.
Classic meze include things like ‘acili ezme’, a spicy dip of crushed tomatoes, chilies, and herbs, ‘haydari’, a spread of strained yogurt, briny cheese, garlic and dried mint, ‘shaksuka’, fried eggplant, green pepper, and potato in a flavorful tomato sauce, ‘barbunya pilaki’, saucy cranberry beans cooked with vegetables, and ‘atom’, strained yogurt topped with fiery fried, dried chili. Also be on the lookout for ‘fava’, pureed fava beans topped with raw onion and dill, ‘muhammara’, a spread of roasted red peppers and walnuts, ‘levrek marine’, raw sea bass usually ‘cooked’ in a tangy mustard sauce, ‘koz patlican’, burnt eggplant puree, and any of the inevitable seasonal vegetable dishes swimming in olive oil.
Dolma/Sarma
Another characteristic technique of Turkish cooking is the preparation of ‘sarma’ or ‘dolma’ (stuffed dishes). The ingredients being stuffed are typically vegetables, the most common being peppers, eggplant, zucchini, grape leaves, or cabbage, but the list is nearly endless. Travelers might be lucky enough to spot coveted ‘dolmas’ like artichoke, zucchini blossoms, and onions. Another popular dolma (and one of our personal favorites) are the incredible stuffed mussels (Midye Dolma) sold from streets carts throughout coastal Turkey.
These stuffed dishes are flavored with a variety of different combinations of vegetables, spices, and herbs, but they come in two main forms: either stuffed with meat and rice or bulgur or with a vegetarian rice filling. Meat-filled dolma are always served warm and accompanied by yogurt, while the vegetarian versions can also be eaten cold and are often served with a wedge of lemon. All are delicious, but we are partial to the lightness (and meze-ability) of the meatless version.
Kofteler
While kofte is most often associated with meatballs or patties, the true meaning of the word actually refers to the technique of pounding in a mortar and pestle rather than any one ingredient. Thus, Turkish ‘kofte’ are a unique class of Turkish dishes consisting of both meat-centric and vegetarian options, their only similarity being a process of kneading or pounding.
Our favorites include ‘cig kofte’, a blend of fine bulgur, spices, and tomato and pepper paste kneaded until sticky and able to hold its shape. While cig kofte once contained raw meat, the selling of such koftes has been banned, so you’ll rarely see any meat-based cig kofte outside of private homes. The now-ubiquitous vegetarian version has become somewhat of a Turkish fast food, wrapped up with lettuce and sauce in flatbread. A similar dish is called ‘mercimek koftesi’ and is made of cooked red lentils, fine bulgur, and lots of flavor enhancing ingredients; served in lettuce leaves, be on the lookout for these hard-to-find delights as well. Others include the prolific meat koftes, potato koftes (patates koftesi), and the incredible fellah koftesi (saucy bulgur dumplings).
Soup
Soup was once, and in many places still is, an integral part of any homecooked Turkish meal. Called ‘corba’, Turkish soups are usually quite thin but flavorful, and often blended or containing much smaller pieces than soups in the West. In fact, in Turkey, you’ll even find entire restaurants dedicated only to soup, known as ‘Corbaci’. These often serve slow cooked offal soups touted as hangover cures; garnishes include garlicy vinegar, lemon, melted butter, and chili flakes alongside mountains of bread, raw onion, greens, and raw or pickled peppers. Tamer options like lentil soup are also often served.
Soups popular in home cooking include the smooth red lentil soup found everywhere, a version of lentil soup with tomato paste and spices (ezogelin), noodle soups (sehriye corbasi), chicken soup (tavuk suyu), yogurt soup with rice and dried mint (yayla corbasi), tomato soup (domates corbasi) and ‘tarhana corbasi’, a traditional soup made by mixing flour or bulgur, yogurt, vegetables, and spices, drying the mixture in the sun, and adding to boiling water for a unique winter speciality.
Desserts
Turkish desserts have become almost as famous as kebabs and our often grand, syrupy affairs full of pastry and nuts. Of course, there is baklava with its crisp layers of phyllo and pistachio, but kunefe is another favorite, crunchy ‘kadayif’ pastry stuffed with cheese and covered in syrup. One of our favorites is katmer, thin layers of fresh dough stuffed with nuts and clotted cream and drizzled with honey. Many desserts are also fried donut-style before being dunked in syrup such as halka tatlisi, lokma, and tulumba.
Another category of Turkish desserts is the dairy based specialties known as ‘sutlu tatlilar’. These are lighter than their syrup-soaked cousins and consist of treats such as ‘sutlac’, rice pudding and ‘kazandibi’, burnt milk pudding. Fruit desserts are also popular. Our favorites are ‘kabak tatlisi’, candied pumpkin, usually topped with tahini and walnuts, and ‘ayva tatlisi’, candied quince, served with a big dollop of clotted cream. Another specialty of meze restaurants in particular is ‘firinda helva’ or baked halva, a warm and gooey tahini-based delight.
Borek, Lahmacun, and Beyond
Turks eat more bread per capita than any other country on earth, but they don’t stop at simple bread. There is an entire world of dough-based dishes beloved throughout the country. The top of the list, for us at least, is Lahmacun, a round and thin flatbread baked together with a topping of ground meat, vegetables, and spices. While still hot and crispy, hungry diners add mixed salads and fresh greens and herbs, garnishing with a squeeze of lemon before wrapping it all up and devouring.
Borek is another integral part of Turkish cooking and refers to basically any dish consisting of dough stuffed with other ingredients. These fillings are often cheese, spinach or herbs, potato, or ground meat. The dough can be baked, fried, or cooked on a hot skillet, with multiple layers or just one. The options are endless but all tasty and can serve as breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack. Other doughy delights include the ubiquitous ‘simit’, Turkish bagel covered in sesame seeds, ‘pide’, crispy pita stuffed with all kinds of meats and cheeses, ‘gozleme’, stuffed flatbreads, and ‘pogaca’, soft breakfast rolls often adorned with olives, potato, or cheese.
