22 Traditional Latvian Food Dishes

Rupjmaize is a type of rye bread from Latvia, containing rye flour, malt, and caraway seeds, giving it a gently sweet and sour taste alongside a grassy aroma.

After being baked in an oven fire, Latvians serve rupjmaize with all kinds of dishes, for example, cheese, smoked fish, or cold meat.

Depending on the water temperature when added to the dough, rupjmaize comes in two variations, featuring common rye bread and flaked or frozen variety.

Saldskaaba maize is a type of sourdough rye bread in Latvia. This bread loaf is made with apple cider, caraway seeds, and coarse rye flour.

To nail the texture, the bread requires fermentation of up to 24 hours. The bread has a dense and moist texture and a tangy and aromatic flavor, perfect for pairing with butter, cheese, ham, or honey.

Aukstāzupa is a cold soup from Latvia that is made with beets, kefir, cucumbers, eggs, and sausage. Surprisingly, the soup has a bright pink color and a refreshing taste.

Often, locals serve it with bread and vinegar, and garnished with dill and scallions. It is a popular dish in summer, when beets are in season.

The defining component of aukstā zupa is the creamy and sharp-tasting kefir (fermented milk). After being cooked, the soup needs to be chilled carefully to reach an exceptional degree of thickness.

Rasols is a traditional Latvian salad made with potatoes, eggs, pickled cucumbers, sausage, and sour cream. Similar to a Russian potato salad, it can have different variations depending on the region and preference.

The potato salad mix is usually served as a cold appetizer or a side dish.

Kartupeļu Pankūkas are Latvian potato pancakes that are made with grated potatoes and eggs. They are fried in oil until golden and crispy, often served with sour cream and lingonberry sauce.

These crunchy bites are a simple and satisfying dish that can be eaten for breakfast or as a snack. Furthermore, this simple potato pancake also fits for pairing with sprats and caviar.

Skābeņu zupa is the Latvian take on tangy sorrel soup or green Borscht. Its aroma is achieved by using sorrel leaves, barley, onions, and potatoes for making the broth.

Commonly, a serving of this sour soup comes with halved hard-boiled eggs and a dollop of sour cream. Suitable for any season, skābeņu zupa offers warmth during the winter.

Alternatively, the soup serves as a refreshing cold dish in summer, thanks to the option of chilling it with ice.

Pelmeņi, literally “ear bread” or usually known as pelmeni, is a small dumpling in Latvia originating from Russia. These soft dumplings utilize unleavened dough to wrap around a filling of mushrooms and minced meat.

Latvian dumplings are pretty similar to the variety found in Russia. Plus, they often come with local sour cream on top of fried or steamed ones.

Pelēkie zirņi ar speķi is the national dish of Latvia of a stew made with gray peas, fried onions, and diced speck. It is usually served with kefir or rye bread during the winter and New Year’s Eve.

Often, the gray peas are soaked and then boiled until tender, combined with the crispy, savory speck, and often seasoned with salt and pepper to taste.

Bukstiņbiezputrau is a Latvian dish combining barley groats, potatoes, onions, milk, or cream into a comforting porridge. Enhanced with fried bacon, onions, and fresh dill, it’s a staple main course.

It’s customarily paired with bacon and fruit jam, like cranberry or lingonberry, balancing savory and sweet flavors.

Siļķe kažokā is a traditional Latvian dish that consists of layers of potatoes, carrots, beets, onions, herring, eggs, and sour cream.

The name means “herring in a fur coat” in Latvian. It is usually served cold as an appetizer or a side dish.

Latvian smoked meat is a delicacy created by smoking various types of meat, such as pork, beef, chicken, or fish, using alder wood and chips. The smoking process gives the meat a distinctive flavor and aroma, and preserves it longer.

Latvian smoked meat is often eaten with rye bread, cheese, or pickled vegetables. In the past, every Latvian family had its own smokehouse to cure meat.

Skābputra is a sour soup with a pure white color in Latvia, made using a mix of grain with sour milk and barley groats. The refreshing soup is popular during the summer, especially for Latvians who often work in the fields.

In some places, the sour soup has a much thicker broth thanks to the addition of rye flour.

Kotletes are the Latvian interpretation of meatballs, revolving around minced meat as the main ingredient for combining with breadcrumb, sour cream, and egg.

Once mixed, the mixture is shaped into a patty or round ball for frying. In Latvia, the dish is enjoyed during lunch and dinner, pairing with a wide range of specialties.

Karbonāde is a Latvian breaded pork chop specialty that consists of a thin pork cutlet coated in flour, eggs, and sometimes breadcrumbs. Once tenderized, people coat and fry the pork cutlet until golden brown.

For serving, a savory mushroom sauce and potatoes are best to enhance the overall flavor. As for accompaniment, rye bread, boiled potatoes, or pickled potatoes along with sour cream are prime candidates.

Putraimdesas is how Latvians interpret blood sausage made from pig blood, barley, and lard. The blood-soaked barley mixture is stuffed into a pig intestine or stomach and cooked.

This sausage provides a rich and hearty experience that is often served with potatoes, sauerkraut, or lingonberry jam.

Sklandrausis (literally “slope pie”) is a Latvian veggie-based dessert pie. Like other varieties of pies, sklandrausis has a crust pastry and a sweet filling.

People create the pie crust from a butter-mixed dark rye flour dough that they roll out and cut into small circles with the edges turned up. As for the filling, it combines boiled potatoes, carrots, along with sour cream.

The pie has a distinctly sweet flavor due to the liberal amount of carrot filling. It is a great treat to serve cold with tea, milk, or honey.

Debesmanna, also known as “cloudberries” or “cloudberry porridge,” is a Latvian sweet treat of fruit juice, usually cranberry or raspberry. It’s then thickened with potato starch or cornstarch.

The name literally translates to “heaven’s manna,” reflecting the light and fluffy texture of the desert, reminiscent of clouds. Its vibrant color and refreshing taste characterize this sweet, airy dessert.

Debesmanna is typically served cold and often accompanied by milk or a dollop of whipped cream on top. The treat possesses a contrast between the tartness of the berries and the sweetness of the sugar.

Jāņu Siers is a cheese from Latvia created using sour and fresh milk, flavored with caraway seeds, salt, and eggs. This cheese provides a firm, compact, and slightly grainy profile usually eaten on Jāņi, the summer solstice celebration.

It is one of the symbols of Latvian culture and has a protected status in the EU. On special occasions, the cheese is eaten to celebrate the Latvian Midsummer festival on the night of the 23rd and 24th.

Once curdled and pressed into a round wheel, the cheese needs a short time to mature and develop its flavor.

Rupjmaizes kārtojums is a layered dessert in Latvia consisting of layers of dark rye bread crumbs, whipped cream or cream cheese, and cranberry jam. Furthermore, the layers even come with dark chocolate, cinnamon, and fresh berries to diversify the flavors. It is a simple and delicious dish that is usually eaten on special occasions, such as Jāņi, the summer solstice celebration.

In Latvia, the layered treat is seen as a national specialty. Once assembled into a container, the dessert requires cold chilling to set the texture and prevent the layers from mixing together.

Kļockas is a cheese dessert from Latgale, a region of Latvia, known for its distinctive impact on national cuisine. This dessert is all about creating a yeast dough and filling it with fresh cottage cheese.

For cooking, people place the dough in a blend of milk and cream for a fragrant milky profile. Local residents frequently offer kļockas to guests as a hearty welcome.

Pīrāgi are Latvian bread rolls or pastries filled with bacon and onions. They are oblong or crescent-shaped and baked in the oven, reserved for special occasions and celebrations.

When it comes to filling, pīrāgi features different fillings, such as meat, cheese, or fish. Pīrāgi are cherished for their savory, slightly salty filling contrasted with the mildly sweet, fluffy exterior.

Maizes Zupa is a sweet Latvian dessert that makes full use of rye bread crumbs to combine with dried fruits, water, sugar, and starch. Ideally, the soup is a thick and sweet soup that is usually served cold with whipped cream or milk.

When making the soup, fermenting the bread is a crucial step to create the right flavor of maizes zupa. A simple way is to use dark beer for a sweetened profile infused into the bread pieces.

The soup is typically served cold or at room temperature, boasting a thick consistency similar to porridge.