Turkish cuisine is rich, diverse and full of flavor. Shaped by the country’s unique geography and historical influences, it offers an abundance of delicious dishes to try. This article provides an overview of what Turkish people eat on a typical day, across breakfast, lunch and dinner.
A Lavish Turkish Breakfast
For Turks, breakfast (kahvaltı) is the most important meal of the day. Rather than a quick bowl of cereal, Turkish breakfast is an expansive spread of various foods meant to power you through the day. Core breakfast items include:
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Eggs – Typically boiled, scrambled or as an omelet. Often accompanied by sucuk, a spicy Turkish beef sausage
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Cheese – Beyaz peynir (Turkish white cheese), kaşar cheese and feta cheese.
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Vegetables – Fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and olives are breakfast staples.
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Breads – Breads like simit (sesame-encrusted bagels), poğaça (savory pastry) and pide (flatbread).
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Jams, honey and kaymak – Sweet jams, honey and clotted cream kaymak are breakfast favorites.
Popular Turkish breakfast dishes include menemen (scrambled eggs with vegetables) börek (savory pastries), olives Turkish tea and Turkish coffee. It’s an indulgent start to the day.
Lunch – Köfte, Pide and More
Lunch (öğle yemeği) is often the main meal in Turkey. Turks may eat at home or at restaurants for lunch. Common lunchtime dishes include:
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Pide – Turkish pizza-like flatbread with cheese, meat or vegetable toppings.
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Köfte – Grilled meatballs made from lamb and bulgur wheat, seasoned with herbs.
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Güveç – Meat and vegetable stews cooked in a clay pot.
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Dolma – Vegetables like peppers, eggplant and zucchini stuffed with rice and herbs.
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Salads – Shepherd’s salad with tomatoes, onions and cucumbers is popular.
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Çorba – Hearty soups like lentil, tomato and yogurt-based çorba.
On weekends, leisurely Turkish breakfasts may extend into lunchtime as well.
Dinner – Grilled Meats, Salads and Dessert
In the evenings, Turkish dinners (akşam yemeği) tend to be relaxed multi-course meals centered around grilled meats, pilafs and salads, followed by sweet desserts and tea.
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Appetizers – Hot and cold meze like haydari (yogurt dip), sigara böreği (fried phyllo rolls) and dolma.
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Salads – Leafy greens, tomatoes, onions and peppers drizzled with fruity olive oil.
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Grilled meats – Lamb, chicken or beef kebabs and köfte are typical protein choices.
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Pilafs – Bulgur or rice pilafs flavored with onions and herbs.
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Börek – Buttery phyllo pastries with cheese, meat or spinach fillings.
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Desserts – Baklava, kunefe, sütlaç milk pudding, kadayıf and more.
Dinner is leisurely, focused on quality time with family and friends.
Top Turkish Snacks and Street Foods
Beyond main meals, snacking is a beloved tradition in Turkey. Some favorite Turkish street foods include:
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Simit – Bagel-like bread rings coated in sesame seeds, sold by street vendors.
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Döner kebab – Thin slices of meat carved from a vertical rotisserie, served in bread.
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Köfte – Grilled lamb meatballs tucked in a bread pocket or wrap.
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Börek – Phyllo pastries with cheese or meat, perfect on-the-go.
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Balık ekmek – Grilled fish sandwiches typically enjoyed by the sea.
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Midye dolma – Mussels stuffed with rice and herbs, doused in lemon.
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Lokma – Fried sweet dough balls soaked in syrup, a decadent treat.
Snacking is ingrained in Turkish food culture, with endless options to discover.
Traditional Turkish Beverages
To accompany all of this delicious food, Turks enjoy an array of flavorful beverages:
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Turkish coffee – Thick, strong coffee boiled in a cezve and served after meals.
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Turkish tea – Black tea is the national drink, served in petite tulip-shaped glasses.
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Ayran – Savory yogurt drink, perfect with kebabs and köfte.
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Boza – A mildly fermented wheat and tahini drink with a slightly tangy taste.
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Şalgam – Sour turnip juice turned pink by beetroot and spices.
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Sahlep – Hot orchid flour drink with cinnamon, enjoyed in winter.
From Turkish coffee to fruity sherbets, beverages play an important complementary role.
This overview shows the diversity of Turkish cuisine across breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. While kebabs and rich Ottoman-origin dishes receive much acclaim, the foundations are fresh vegetables, grains, herbs and nuts. Meals are focused on quality time with loved ones, especially leisurely dinners. Beyond the main dishes, Turkish food culture is very much defined by its array of complementary salads, dips, pickles, breads and snacks. With centuries of influence from neighboring cultures woven in, Turkish cuisine offers a rich culinary tapestry for visitors to explore.
Dessert, coffee, and tea
One cant really talk about Turkish cuisine without touching upon the famous coffee, tea, and sweets. Turkish coffee isnt so much a type of coffee as it is a style of preparation that involves finely grinding the beans, boiling them with sugar, and serving it in a small, concentrated cup, grounds and all. (The grounds are not ingested.) But dont think that Turks are drinking this every morning on their way to work: regular coffee and espresso drinks are equally popular, so when Turkish people drink Türk khavesi, its often savored after a meal.
Far more ubiquitous is Turkish tea, or çay (chai). People offer you tea when you walk into a store, eat, or sit down at a streetside café. Basically, everywhere you go. When you ask for apple tea, never say yes because it’s fake and only meant to appeal to tourists. Order black tea instead. The best versions will be smooth and flavorful, so pleasant that no sugar is necessary. (Milk is out of the question!).
Candy shops and bakeries are everywhere, just in case youre in the mood for a sugary snack. I had a lot of baklava, and most of it wasn’t as fresh as I had hoped, even at stores that were supposed to have the best in town. But I loved how different the phyllo, nut, and honey pastries were everywhere: they were round, square, and triangular, filled with walnuts and topped with pistachios.
I was surprised to learn that many people in the US have never heard of Turkish delight, or lokum. In the UK, it’s a very popular treat. You can get these gummy gelées in flavors like pistachio, rose, lemon, and bergamot. They are made with cubed starch and sugar, and then powdered sugar is sprinkled on top (see picture at far left). They made lokum (pronounced “loh-KOOM”) the Ottoman way, which is by adding honey and rolling it into long logs with corners. The logs were then rolled in pistachios and other nuts and cut into pieces as needed, like a loaf of country bread.
Now that Ive made myself sufficiently hungry, Im going to go hunt down a sweet snack. Im pretty sure I still have some lokum saved especially for this occasion.
Why Don’t We Eat Turkey Eggs!
FAQ
What do Turkey people eat?
Do Turkish people eat beef?
What meat do they not eat in Turkey?
Do they eat pork in Turkey?
What foods are used in Turkey?
Vegetable or meat stew is typical home food. Turkish cuisine uses many vegetables, and some of the most used vegetables are zucchini, tomato, onion, eggplant, cauliflower, green beans, potatoes, spinach, chickpeas, garlic, and lentils. The most used meat in Turkey is lamb meat, followed by cattle and chicken meat.
Can one have turkey and carrots?
Eating turkey and carrots is part of healthy habits. The turkey has meat like chicken and is another healthy poultry option. Carrots are rich in carotenoids, it is a source of vitamin A, fiber, potassium and vitamin B3.
How many traditional Turkish dishes are there?
There are probably hundreds of traditional Turkish dishes out there but this list primarily includes popular Turkish food that can be found in most places around the country (with a few exceptions).
Is Turkey a good place to eat?
Turkish cuisine is one of the world’s top cuisines, joining the ranks of French, Chinese, Italian, and the like. Like the country’s cultural mosaic, the food of Turkey is very colorful and contains countless different influences and tastes.
What vegetables can you eat in Turkey?
Aegean and Mediterranean regions are well known for their warm and sunny climate which allows growing vegetables year-round. Some of the most common vegetables grown and eaten in Turkey are zucchinis, eggplants, cauliflower, bell pepper, green beans, spinach, artichokes, carrots, and celery.
What are the best sweet foods of Turkey?
Baklava is a delicious and popular Turkish dessert and a hard one to match if we’re comparing the best sweet foods of Turkey that you must try. It is heavenly and made with filo pastry layers, chopped nuts, such as pistachios or walnuts, and sweetened with syrup or honey.