18 Famous Lithuanian Dishes From Traditional Foods

Cepelinai is an iconic Lithuanian dish made by stuffing potato dumplings with spiced minced pork or cheese curds. Locals serve it with plenty of sour cream and rich sauces.

In the past, cepelinai was called didzkukuliai (“dumplings”). But when this dumpling dish became popular in Lithuania in the early 20th century, people renamed it cepelinai (“zeppelin”) due to the similar shapes between them.

Today, this type of bouncy, chewy, and flavorful dumpling is considered the crown jewel of Lithuanian recipes.

Šaltibarščiai is a common Lithuanian beet soup with a beautiful purple color. Similar to borscht in many Slavic countries, it is often served cold as an appetizer or a main dish.

Besides beets, šaltibarščiai includes various herbs. This attractive soup is commonly enjoyed in summer as a sign that warm weather is coming.

The best accompaniments for šaltibarščiai are fried or boiled potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, and grated cucumbers

Kugelis, also known as bulviu plokstainis (“flat potato dish”), is a traditional potato pudding dish in Lithuanian cuisine. Its core ingredients are grated potatoes, eggs, onions, bacon, milk, and spices.

Kugelis is baked until it achieves a crispy, golden brown exterior and a soft, creamy interior. This hearty and spicy potato pudding is suitable for celebratory meals, such as Christmas, Easter, and birthdays.

To enhance the flavor of kugelis, Lithuanians often serve it with sour cream, lingonberry jam, or applesauce.

Bigusas, also known as bigos or hunter’s stew, is a hearty cabbage stew deeply rooted in both Lithuanian and Polish cuisine. It dates back to medieval times and is often served hot with boiled potatoes, rye bread, or wine.

Bigusas consists of sauerkraut, fresh cabbage, chopped meat (such as pork, beef, game meat) or smoked sausage, onions, carrots, and simple spices. These ingredients result in a rich, savory, and flavorful stew.

As a comforting one-pot dish, bigusas is especially popular during cold winters and festive occasions, like Christmas and weddings.

Bulviniai blynai, or potato pancakes, is a beloved dish in Lithuania. It is made by mixing grated potatoes with eggs, flour, and simple seasoning, then deep-frying the pancakes until golden and crispy on the outside.

While potato pancakes possibly appeared first in Eastern Europe, they are now a favorite breakfast dish with many Lithuanian families. Locals often consume bulviniai blynai with plenty of sour cream, applesauce, or lingonberry.

In addition, bulviniai blynai is also a common sight during festive occasions like Kūčios (Christmas Eve) and Užgavėnės (Shrove Tuesday), the latter featuring pancakes as a must-have dish.

Varškėčiai refers to Lithuanian cottage cheese dumplings or pancakes, which are a classic dessert and snack in the country. It is also a well-liked breakfast choice for many Lithuanian children.

Varškėčiai is made from a simple dough consisting of flour, eggs, and sometimes potatoes. The dough is rolled out, filled with a sweetened cottage cheese mixture, and boiled until the dumplings float to the top.

As a versatile dish, tangy varškėčiai goes well with various toppings, including sour cream, jam, melted butter, or fresh berries.

Balandėliai, literally “little doves” or “lovebirds,” is a type of Lithuanian cabbage roll stuffed with minced pork or beef, cooked rice, eggs, onions, and herbs. People believe that the fierce Tatars brought this dish to Lithuania in the 14th or 15th century.

As the name balandėliai suggests fidelity, this Lithuanian roll is a popular dish at weddings, though locals also prepare it for other holiday meals. Sour cream is a typical condiment for balandėliai.

Skilandis is a classic Lithuanian sausage originating from the Dzukija region. It is prepared by stuffing a mixture of minced pork, garlic, salt, and pepper into a pig’s bladder or stomach and smoking it for several days.

While skilandis has a few things in common with haggis, Scotland’s famous dish, the Lithuanian specialty is dry smoked and left to mature to develop a distinctly smokey, savory taste and a long shelf life.

Suitable for serving either cold or grilled, skilandis is customarily cut into thin slices and served with rye bread, mustard, and pickles.

Zrazai, known elsewhere as zrary, is a well-known beef roll or roulade dish in Lithuania and Poland. Influenced by classic French cuisine, it appeared between the 17th century and the 19th century.

The preparation of zrazai involves tenderizing beef slices and rolling them around a savory filling. Potatoes, eggs, vegetables, and mushrooms are classic choices.

Next, people secure zrazai rolls with toothpicks or string, then braise or simmer them in a flavorful broth or sauce. The rolls are typically served with this very broth, mashed potatoes, and kasha (roasted buckwheat grains).

Kibinai is a traditional Lithuanian pastry originating from the ethnic Karaite people who migrated to the country in the Middle Ages. Also known as the Karaim, these people are followers of Karaite Judaism and originally came from Crimea.

Kibinai is a savory crescent-shaped pie that Karaim people eat as a snack on its own or with soups. While classic kibinai only contains mutton and onions, there are now more types of fillings for kibinai, such as lamb, chicken, cheese curd, jam, etc.

The best destination for kibinai in Lithuania is Trakai, a historic city in the southeastern region. A large Karaim community lives there and offers excellent kibinai.

Koldūnai is the Lithuanian version of kalduny (“sorcerer” or “magician”), a stuffed dumpling dish popular in many European countries. It is a tasty snack, appetizer, or main dish, especially when served with sour cream, fried bacon bits, or butter.

A typical koldūnai has a pocket of dough filled with minced pork or beef, onions, and spices, although mushrooms, cheese, and potatoes are also popular variations. The dumpling is then boiled until tender.

Chebureki is a beloved crescent-shaped turnover in Lithuanian cuisine. It is made of a single piece of unleavened dough folded over seasoned minced meat, spices, and onions and deep-fried in sunflower oil or corn oil.

If you ask Lithuanians about the country’s best street food, chebureki is certainly a popular candidate. This turnover is also a well-liked snack and entree that is often accompanied by a side of yogurt, sour cream, or spicy sauce.

Chebureki hails from Crimean Tatar cuisine and can be found in various restaurants and street food stalls in Eastern European and post-Soviet countries.

Kepta duona, literally “fried bread,” is a popular Lithuanian snack made by frying strips of dark rye bread in oil, seasoning them with garlic, and serving them with a mayonnaise and cheese dip.

Despite being high in fat, crunchy fried bread is a cheap and easy-to-make comfort food for many Lithuanians. Locals often enjoy it with beer while watching a game of basketball, the sport that is considered the second religion of Lithuania.

Žirniai su spirgučiais, literally “peas with cracklings,” is an ideal Lithuanian snack to serve with beer. Its main ingredients are yellow peas, which are allegedly sweeter and milder than green peas.

To prepare this simple snack, locals boil the peas until tender before frying them with smoked bacon and onions. While the cracklings may remind you of animal fat, žirniai su spirgučiais actually has a savory and nutty taste.

Sakotis, literally “branchy,” is a Lithuanian tree-like cake usually reserved for festive occasions. It is the local version of the spit cake, a beautiful and elaborately prepared cake for Christmas and weddings in many European countries.

The main ingredients of sakotis are just flour, butter, and other baking essentials. Basically, it is a large, hollow tree cake with various “spikes” around the edge; the “spikes” are crunchy and taste like cookies.

To make sakotis achieve its iconic shape, people pour the batter onto a rotating spit over an open flame or in a special oven. As the batter cooks, it forms thin layers resembling tree branches or “spikes.”

Sakotis comes in many sizes, from being small enough to fit in your hand to as high as 20 inches. Even better, you don’t have to go to a wedding to eat sakotis: bakeries and even airport gift shops usually have the cake for sale.

Grybukai, literally “little mushroom,” is a traditional Lithuanian Christmas cookie shaped like a mushroom, hence its name. It is usually made during the holiday season to celebrate Christmas and New Year.

The grybukai dough is typically made from flour, butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla or lemon zest. After molding the cookies into small mushroom caps and stems, people bake them, then decorate them with chocolate or icing to mimic the appearance of mushrooms.

Šimtalapis is a well-known Lithuanian cake brought by the Tatars to Lithuania many centuries ago. As its preparation method is rather time-consuming, it is often reserved for special occasions like Christmas or birthdays.

Šimtalapis means “hundred-leaf” or “hundred-layer” since the cake consists of thin crepe-like pancakes stacked atop each other with a sweet filling in between. Common filling ingredients include fruit preserves, raisins, cream, and poppy seed paste.

While šimtalapis is available throughout Lithuania, Alytus, a city in the southern region that has a thriving Tatar community, offers some of the best šimtalapis in the country.

Balta mišrainė is a sought-after salad in Lithuania, especially during the summer months. While its name translates to “white salad,” it sports many other hues, such as orange and yellow.

Balta mišrainė is a fresh mix of boiled potatoes, boiled eggs, carrots, peas, and mayonnaise. Fresh vegetables such as cucumbers and radishes are sometimes added to the salad.

Lithuanian white salad is a beloved appetizer and side dish at outdoor gatherings, picnics, and barbecues. This delicious salad offers a cool and refreshing complement to many rich and fatty dishes in the country.

Now that you know about the most common dishes in Lithuania, it’s time to explore the popular attributes of local cuisine.