Classic Irish Recipes: Emerald Isle Comfort Food at its Best (2024)

Irish Recipes | RECIPES | St. Patrick's Day

ByStephanie Wilson

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Authentic, classic Irish recipes from the Emerald Isle, are comfort food at their very best.

Classic Irish Recipes: Emerald Isle Comfort Food at its Best (1)

We rounded up authentic Irish recipes — from corned beef and cabbage to colcannon, lamb stew and cream of potato soup, Irish soda bread, and scones… traditional recipes you’ll want to explore.

Ireland is filled with natural ingredients and generations of recipes and great cooks. Their traditional foods are filled with hearty vegetables and meat, accented with their famous butter.

RELATED: View more 31Daily St. Patrick’s Day recipes here→

Classic Irish Recipes

So go beyond the green cupcakes, and try some of these delicious classic Irish recipes the Emerald Isle has to offer.

Classic Irish Recipes, Emerald Isle Comfort Food at its Best

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Full Irish Breakfast Blaa

Photo Credit:donalskehan.com

"The full Irish breakfast is up there with Irish stew, colcannon and barmbrack and rightly so. We have some of the best sausage and rasher producers in the world so why shouldn’t we find joy in them sandwiched together in a light floury bap with a squidge of ketchup. This breakfast blaa is messy business but an instantly memorable breakfast."

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Mutton Casserole Recipe with Champ

Photo Credit:www.greatbritishchefs.com

"Hayden Groves shares a delicious mutton casserole recipe served with comforting champ potatoes, the perfect slow-cooking dish for the winter months."

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Bean and Sausage Stew

Photo Credit:www.saveur.com

“At Gubbeen Farm, a 250-acre plot of land in West Cork, an Irish twist on French cassoulet results in a flavorful, brothy stew of lima beans and thin Irish pork sausages.”

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Beef Stew And Dumplings Recipe

Photo Credit:www.greatbritishchefs.com

“There’s nothing quite like a comforting bowl of beef stew, especially when topped off with fluffy little dumpling pillows. Dominic Chapman makes sure the meat is meltingly tender in his recipe by braising it for several hours, and adds flavour with salty pancetta, star anise and plenty of hearty veg.”

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Irish Soda Bread with Buttermilk and Raisins

Irish Soda Bread, a national heritage… and a Wilson family favorite. Whether it be St. Patrick’s Day or any spring day. A delicious twist on thetraditional Irish Soda Bread.

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Traditional Irish Colcannon Recipe

A dreamy concoctionof potatoes, cabbage or kale, and cream. A favorite comfort food — any day of the year!

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Potato Topped Shepherd's Pie Recipe: Deliciously Irish

An easy comfort food, this Shepherd's Pie recipe is a delicious potato-topped ground lamb or beef casserole. Which is steeped in a flavorful sauce with vegetables that will bring to mind the beauty of Ireland.

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Irish Onion Soup with Reuben Cheese Toasties

Photo Credit:donalskehan.com

"An Irish twist on a classic French onion soup with an open faced reuben sandwich on the side would easily make a delicious meal on a cold dark night."

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Smoked Haddock and Cheddar Mash

Photo Credit:www.saveur.com

“The haddock and cheddar mash at Dublin’s The Winding Stair restaurant represents the best of Ireland: sea, dairy, and spud.”

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Perfect Comfort Food: Cream of Potato Soup

Easy to prepare in under 30 minutes, warm and creamy soup is a perfect antidote for cold, wintry nights, brisk fall afternoons, rainy spring days… or any other day as well.

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A Traditional Irish Lamb Stew

An all-time favorite Irish comfort food — this stew has bubbled over Irish fires for generations. Hearty and delicious!

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Irish Barmbrack

Photo Credit:donalskehan.com

"Barmbrack is a traditional Irish fruitcake which is also known as Irish Tea Cake depending on the time of year that you’re eating it! This recipe makes a really moist, fruit loaf which is packed with flavour from mixed spice and dried fruit."

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Easy Irish Cottage Pie

This Irish Cottage Pie recipe is an easy and tasty comfort food meal everyone loves. This family favorite is made with ground beef (mince) and vegetables baked in a delicious gravy filling topped with pastry and baked until perfectly golden brown.

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IRISH SHORTBREAD

Photo Credit:www.thekitchykitchen.com

Ireland is famous for its butter, which makes buttery shortbread a perfect Irish comfort food. This recipe gets its lovely texture and subtle nuttiness from corn flour, which is just finely ground cornmeal.

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Ultra-Buttery Irish Scones

Photo Credit:www.epicurious.com

“These tender, flaky scones are all about the butter. And since the flavor of the butter really shines through, this is a good time to splurge on a high-quality Irish butter like Kerrygold. The extra flaky, buttery texture is achieved by using a technique borrowed from puff pastry—spreading butter onto the rolled-out dough and folding it in layers.”

Classic Irish Recipes: Emerald Isle Comfort Food at its Best (2024)

FAQs

What is the oldest Irish food? ›

Ancient Irish Cuisine: Oats. The oat has been around in Irish diets for a long, long time. Oats were easier to grow in colder climates than wheat. Oats were seen as poverty food, for the peasants, and wheat was a treat.

What is a stereotypical Irish meal? ›

Representative dishes include Irish stew, bacon and cabbage, boxty, brown bread (as it is referred to in the South) or soda bread (predominantly used in Ulster), coddle, and colcannon.

What is the most eaten dish in Ireland? ›

One of the most popular and iconic Irish foods is undoubtedly the traditional Irish stew. This hearty dish typically consists of tender chunks of meat (such as lamb or beef), potatoes, onions, carrots, and sometimes other vegetables like celery or parsnips.

What is the national dish of Ireland? ›

Irish Stew is a thick, hearty dish of mutton, potatoes, and onions and undisputedly the national dish of Ireland. Within the dish are many of the ingredients synonymous with the island, potatoes being one of the most recognized.

What are 3 traditional foods in Ireland? ›

15 Traditional Irish Foods and Dishes to Try on St. Patrick's Day
  • Bacon and Cabbage. ...
  • Irish Soda Bread. ...
  • Irish Stew. ...
  • Irish Coffe. ...
  • Corned Beef and Cabbage. ...
  • Colcannon.

What do Irish eat for breakfast? ›

All full Irish breakfasts include some or all of the following: Bacon, sausages, baked beans, eggs, mushrooms, grilled tomatoes, and perhaps some cooked leftover potatoes made into a hash or a bubble and squeak. There will also be toast, butter, marmalade, and lots of tea to drink.

What is the main meal of the day in Ireland? ›

The main meal of the day for locals is dinner, meaning making reservations is a good idea, especially if you're planning to dine during peak Irish dinner hours (from 8:00 p.m. onward).

What is Irish street food? ›

Fish and chips is also a popular choice, typically made with fresh fish that's been coated in a crispy batter, and served with chips (fries) and mushy peas. Other popular dishes include bangers and mash — made with pork sausages and creamy mashed potatoes — and boxty, a type of potato pancake.

What is Ireland's main dish? ›

An easy and flexible meal that's commonly considered the national dish of Ireland, says Amy Lawless, an Irish American and co-owner of The Dearborn in Chicago. Though generally made with mutton, onions, carrots, celery, and potatoes, Irish stew can also be created with beef or chicken, she explains.

Which meal is known as the full Irish? ›

A large cooked breakfast of meat (bacon, sausages and black and white puddings), eggs, vegetables and potato all fried in creamery butter, it is served with a generous helping of homemade Irish soda or brown bread for soakage and washed down with a strong cup of breakfast tea such as Barry or Lyons tea (depending where ...

What is traditional celtic food? ›

From Scotland's distinctive haggis, down through Manx kippers, Irish stew, Welsh cakes, Cornish pasties and on to the Breton galette crêpe, you'll find food here unlike any other in Western Europe. And the same goes for drinks. The most iconic is probably Scotch whisky (whiskey with an 'e' if you're in Ireland).

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