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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Classic Irish Recipes: Emerald Isle Comfort Food at its Best (2)

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 difference between Colcannon and Champ? ›

It was sometimes made with stinging nettle rather than scallions. In some areas the dish is also called "poundies". Champ is similar to another Irish dish, colcannon, which uses kale or cabbage in place of scallions. Champ is popular in Ulster, whilst colcannon is more so in the other three provinces of Ireland.

What to serve with Irish soda bread? ›

Serving suggestions

Butter: This soda bread is best served warm with some salted butter. Serve it with Irish butter for a true Irish indulgence. Fruit: Eat it plain with a cup of your favorite sliced fruit. Cheese: Make a cheese board, and serve the bread alongside a variety of soft and hard cheeses.

What is Irish stew made of? ›

The epitome of comfort food, traditional Irish stew has only a few ingredients: mutton, onions and potatoes. In southern Ireland carrots are added, and some cooks venture so far as to add turnips. These days, young lamb often replaces mutton for a more delicate version.

What is the most iconic Irish dish? ›

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 are the 14 most well known Irish main dishes? ›

  • Beef and guinness pie. [Beef and guinness pie] ...
  • Shepherd's pie. Shepherd's pie. ...
  • Boxty. Boxty. ...
  • Irish stew. Irish stew. ...
  • Irish soda bread rolls. Irish soda bread rolls. ...
  • Potato and leek soup. Creamy potato and leek soup.
  • Smoked cod and cheddar pie. Smoked cod and cheddar pie.
  • Slow-cooked lamb shank pie. Slow-cooked lamb shank pie.
Mar 15, 2022

What is Boxty made of? ›

Boxty is a thick pancake of mashed and shredded potatoes, flour, baking soda, and buttermilk fried in butter or lard. These are traditionally formed into a circle and cut into quarters or triangles and are usually served as a side dish or appetizer. These are a great way to use up any leftover mashed potatoes.

What is an Irish potato called? ›

Solanum tuberosum (Irish Potato, Irish Potatoes, Pomme de Terre, Potato, Potatoes, White Potato, White Potatoes) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox.

What do the Irish call spring onions? ›

In Ireland, scallions are chopped and added to mashed potatoes, known as champ or as an added ingredient to Colcannon.

What does an Irish breakfast look like? ›

A traditional full Irish breakfast comprises bacon, sausage, eggs, potatoes, beans, soda bread or toast, tomatoes, mushrooms, and white or black pudding.

What is soda bread called in Ireland? ›

In Ulster, the wholemeal variety is usually known as wheaten bread and is normally sweetened, while the term "soda bread" is restricted to the white savoury form. In the southern provinces of Ireland, the wholemeal variety is usually known as brown bread and is almost identical to the Ulster wheaten.

What kind of bread do the Irish eat? ›

Irish soda bread is prepared without yeast. Traditionally it has just four ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, and buttermilk. The baking soda and buttermilk react to cause the dough to rise. In Ireland, soda bread is often made from stone-ground whole-wheat flour, though white flour versions are available.

What did the Irish eat instead of potatoes? ›

Grains, either as bread or porridge, were the other mainstay of the pre-potato Irish diet, and the most common was the humble oat, usually made into oatcakes and griddled (ovens hadn't really taken off yet).

What is a traditional Irish stew called? ›

Irish stew (Irish: Stobhach Gaelach) or Stobhach is a stew native to Ireland that is traditionally made with root vegetables and lamb or mutton, but also commonly with beef. As in all traditional folk dishes, the exact recipe is not consistent from time to time, or place to place.

What does Irish coddle mean? ›

The word “Coddle” derives from the French term caudle which means to boil gently, parboil or stew. Apparently, coddle dates back to the first Irish famine in the late 1700s where anything to hand got thrown into the pot.

What is the best food to eat in Ireland? ›

  1. 31 Irish Food and Drink You Must Try. Rabbie. ...
  2. Colcannon. cookieandkate. ...
  3. Champ. Potatoes are still a staple in the Irish diet. ...
  4. Irish Stew. simplyrecipesVerified. ...
  5. Lamb. Ireland is full of lush green pastures which are perfect for sheep-breeding. ...
  6. Full Irish Breakfast. ...
  7. Potato Farl/Potato Cake/Potato Bread. ...
  8. Black and White Pudding.
Sep 25, 2019

What is Ireland's national drink? ›

Over the last three centuries, Guinness has become a legendary part of Irish culture, celebrated as Ireland's national drink. And with over 8,000 years still left on the original St. James Gate brewery lease, there's still a lot more of 'the black stuff' to make and enjoy.

What do Irish eat for breakfast? ›

Full Irish Breakfast

There's typically eggs, sausage, hash browns, beans, and roasted tomatoes. You may also find slices of Irish soda bread.

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