Are Irish classics like colcannon and coddle still popular? New data has revealed the nation's favorite Irish recipes by county!
New data reveals Ireland's top dishes by county, with soda bread reigning in 15 regions. Cork is the county with the biggest demand for Irish food, including potato farls, crubeens, and goody.
Ireland is known for its hearty and wholesome cooking, with traditional recipes spanning generations and bringing families together. From colcannon to boxty, new research has unveiled the most popular Irish dishes across various regions in Ireland.
By analyzing Google searches, meal kit provider, HelloFresh Ireland, has identified some of the favorite Irish recipes by county across the country.
Preferences for traditional Irish staples vary significantly across the country. For instance, an Irish breakfast is the most sought-after dish in Galway with 4.7k Google searches each year. Colcannon takes the top spot in Kerry with 1.9k searches each year.
Overall, soda bread is the most popular Irish recipe, with 15 out of the 26 counties searching for this recipe the most.
Commenting on the results Hannah Duxbury, Head of Culinary at HelloFresh Ireland said “No matter what your favorite Irish flavors are, we’re home to some of the most comforting and hearty dishes.
“The trick to perfecting Irish cooking is to use fresh and simple ingredients with generous seasoning to bring the flavors together. I recommend always having parsley, thyme and rosemary stocked up in your cupboards for all your Irish favorites.”
Check out this map that pinpoints the most-searched-for dishes per county:
Ireland's favorite traditional dishes by county.
Check Ireland's most popular traditional dishes along with links to some delicious recipes below:
Irish soda bread is a type of quick bread traditionally made in Ireland. It uses baking soda as a leavening agent instead of yeast, which distinguishes it from other types of bread.
Traditional Irish stew, known as "stobhach gaelach" in Irish, is a hearty and simple dish that has been a staple in Irish cuisine for centuries. It is known for its use of basic ingredients that were commonly available to Irish families, making it a practical and nourishing meal.
- Boxty
Traditional Irish boxty is a type of potato pancake that has been a staple in Irish cuisine for centuries. It is particularly associated with the counties in the north and west of Ireland, such as Leitrim, Mayo, and Donegal. Boxty is made using both grated raw potatoes and mashed cooked potatoes, giving it a unique texture and flavor.
A traditional Irish breakfast, also known as a "full Irish breakfast," is a hearty meal typically enjoyed in the morning. It consists of a variety of components that together create a filling and satisfying start to the day.
Traditional Irish colcannon is a beloved dish made from mashed potatoes mixed with cabbage or kale, along with butter, milk or cream, and seasonings. It is a simple yet flavorful dish that has long been a staple in Irish cuisine.
- Coddle
Traditional Irish coddle is a hearty and comforting dish that has been enjoyed in Ireland, particularly in Dublin, for generations. It is a type of stew made from sausages, bacon, potatoes, and onions, and it is often slow-cooked to allow the flavors to meld together beautifully.
Traditional barmbrack, often simply called "brack," is a type of Irish sweet bread that is particularly associated with Halloween (Samhain) in Ireland. It is a yeast bread enriched with dried fruits and flavored with tea and spices. The bread is notable for the tradition of baking small objects into it, each with a different meaning for the person who finds it in their slice.
- Potato farls
Irish potato farls are a traditional type of potato bread that is a staple in Northern Irish cuisine. The word "farl" comes from the Gaelic word "fardel," meaning "four parts," as the dough is typically shaped into a round and then cut into quarters before cooking. These simple yet delicious flatbreads are made from mashed potatoes, flour, and a few other basic ingredients.
- White pudding
White pudding is a traditional Irish sausage made from pork meat, fat, suet, breadcrumbs, and a variety of spices. Unlike its counterpart, black pudding, which contains blood, white pudding does not include blood as an ingredient. It has a creamy-white appearance when cooked and is typically sliced and fried until crispy on the outside while remaining soft and savory inside.
The wholesome, hearty, and old-fashioned meal is certainly close to the Irish people’s heart. Bord Bia found that 64 percent of Irish adults consider bacon and cabbage the meal most synonymous with Ireland and that 30 percent of Irish people crave the dish while traveling abroad.
Irish apple cake is a rustic and comforting dessert that showcases the flavors of sweet apples combined with warm spices. It’s a popular treat in Ireland, especially during apple season in the autumn months.
- Champ
Champ is a potato specialty in Ireland and is one of my favorite side dishes. Delicious and easy, champ is made by warming chopped green onions in milk before mixing them through mashed potatoes. Topped with a knob of melting butter these onion-laced spuds ooze with buttery goodness.
- Crubeens
From the Irish crúibín, meaning "pig's trotter". These are an Irish food made of boiled pigs' feet. They are traditionally eaten by hand - quite a feat.
- Drisheen
Drisheen (from the word drisín / dríishin) is the Irish version of a black pudding though not a pudding but actually a sausage made from pigs' blood, onions, herbs, spices, oatmeal or barley. Very popular in Cork.
- Goody
Goody, also known as "goody pudding," is a traditional Irish dessert that has been enjoyed for generations. This simple and comforting dish is made from bread and milk, with sugar and spices added for flavor. It's often prepared using stale bread, making it a practical way to use up leftovers.
- Gur cake
Gur cake is a traditional Irish dessert that originated as a way to use up stale bread. It is particularly associated with Dublin and other parts of Ireland. Despite its name, gur cake doesn't actually contain gur (which is a type of raw sugar), but rather it's made with leftover bread crumbs or cake crumbs mixed with dried fruits and spices, then topped with a layer of thick, sweetened pastry or cake batter.
Shepherd's pie, or cottage pie, as it's known in Britain, is believed to have existed since around 1791, when potatoes became an available, affordable crop to the poor. This dish was a perfect way to stretch leftover roasted meat.
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