Culinary Specialities of Slovakia

Slovakia is a very diverse country. Slovak dishes also impress with their variety. The main ingredients used in Slovak cuisine are milk, potatoes, and sauerkraut. Milk is actually consumed both sweet and sour and processed into dairy products such as whey, quark (also known as Topfen), cream, bryndza (salty sheep’s cheese), and other types of sheep’s cheese. The cheese products can be enjoyed in restaurants, but can also be bought in a grocery store and prepared at home.

In this article, you can get to know Slovakia’s culinary specialities more closely and familiarise yourself with some traditional, but also many modern dishes before your trip.

• Typical starters: soups & fried cheese
• Hearty main courses: bryndzové halušky, pirohy & more
• Sweet desserts: Pressburg Kipferl & laskonky
• Drinks: Vinea, Kofola, beer, wine & Borovička
• Important travel info: vignette requirement in Slovakia

Starters

Sauerkraut soup (Kapustnica)

This sauerkraut soup is especially warming in the cold season and consists of onions, garlic, potatoes, mushrooms, sausage, sour cream, and of course sauerkraut. After onions and garlic are sautéed and topped up with water, sauerkraut, mushrooms, sour cream, and spices are stirred in. Finally, the potato cubes and sausage slices are added. After 10 minutes of cooking, the potatoes should be tender and the dish is ready.

Sour potato soup (Kyslá zemiaková polievka)

This sour potato soup is very creamy and contains mainly potatoes, mushrooms, sour cream, and dill. It is served with crispy bread. Only a few simple ingredients are used, yet the result is very flavourful.

Barley soup (Krupickova Polievka)

Barley soup is a thick soup that is especially suitable for the cold season. It is usually prepared with beef or pork, but can also be cooked as a vegetarian dish. It is served with dumplings and capers, sometimes also with mushrooms.

Fried cheese (Vyprážaný Syr)

Fried cheese is usually eaten as a starter or a simple snack. Blocks of cheese are coated in flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs and then deep-fried. Once they are golden brown, they can be served—usually with fries and remoulade.

Main courses

Probably the most typical national dish of Slovakia is potato dumplings with bryndza and bacon. The dish is so popular that there is even an annual competition representing the world championships in cooking and eating dumplings with sheep’s cheese.

Potato dumplings with bryndza and bacon (Bryndzové halušky)

For this popular national dish, the dumplings are made from potato dough by finely grating the potatoes and mixing them with salt and flour in a bowl until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl. The dumplings are then cut into small pieces or pressed through a coarse sieve and cooked in hot water. When they float to the surface, they are done and immediately mixed with the special sheep’s cheese (bryndza). On top comes fried bacon together with the rendered fat. Typically, it is served with buttermilk or sour milk. Alternatively, the dumplings can also be mixed with sautéed sauerkraut.

Potato flatbread (Lokše)

Lokše is a Slovak potato flatbread made from potatoes, flour, and salt. It can be enjoyed in many variations—sweet or savoury. For example, it can be filled with chocolate spread or cinnamon and sugar. It also works well as a side dish for hearty meals or can be filled with savoury ingredients. Lokše is versatile and goes with almost any dish.

Pierogi (Pirohy)

This dish consists of filled dumplings. The dough is made from flour, egg, salt, and warm water. The filling is often made from boiled and mashed potatoes with chives and cream cheese. The filled dumplings are cooked in boiling water and are ready once they rise to the surface. They are served with fried onions, chives, and sour cream. There are many variations: savoury with sheep’s cheese, bacon, or sauerkraut and mushrooms, or sweet with apples, cinnamon, sugar, or jam.

Potato pancakes (zemiakové placky)

Grated potato pancakes are very popular in Slovakia. They are similar to rösti, are fried until crispy, and then served with sour cream and chives.

Stew (Porkolt)

Porkolt refers to a stew made from beef or pork, braised in a dark beer and paprika sauce. Variations with chicken or rabbit are also possible. The stew is served with dumplings, noodles, or potatoes.

Desserts

Yeast pastry filled with poppy seeds (Pressburg Kipferl)

This is a yeast pastry typically filled with poppy seeds or nuts. The filled pieces of dough are shaped, baked, and then left to cool slightly. A traditional sweet speciality with a long history.

Delicate pastry (Laskonky)

This traditional pastry is very popular in both Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Two cookies are joined with a cream (usually based on homemade caramel) and then decorated with melted chocolate.

Poppy-seed pastry (Makové Šúľance)

This sweet dish is made from potato dough and mixed with plenty of melted butter and poppy seeds. It is served both as a dessert and as a sweet main course.

Drinks

Vinea

A very popular drink in Slovakia is a carbonated grape juice called Vinea, available in various flavours.

Kofola

Slovakia’s home-grown cola drink is called Kofola and typically contains carbonation and caffeine. This drink also comes in several flavours.

Borovička

A clear spirit with a juniper flavour, often enjoyed as an aperitif or digestif, and similar in taste to gin.

Beers

Beer is very popular in Slovakia. Well-known brands include Zlatý Bažant, Topvar, Šariš, and Steiger.

Wines

High-quality wines are produced in six Slovak wine regions. Particularly popular are Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Traminer, and Grüner Veltliner among white wines, as well as Blaufränkisch and Cabernet Sauvignon among red wines.

The Europamaut Team Wishes You a Pleasant Journey!

Slovak cuisine is varied and ranges from hearty to sweet dishes—there’s something for every taste. We wish you a pleasant trip to Slovakia and lots of joy exploring this diverse country, both culinary and cultural. You can find more information about tolls in Slovakia in our guide. Feel free to use our route planner to plan your trip optimally and have suitable toll products displayed. If you have any questions, you can reach us at any time by email.