🇹🇷 The food of Turkey
100 dishes from Turkey, best known first, across 31 cities and regions.
Turkish cooking blends Central Asian roots with Mediterranean and Middle Eastern touches, shaped by centuries of Ottoman influence. Meals are built around vegetables, grains, and bread, with moderate use of spices and a wide range of dairy, especially yogurt and cheese. Regional differences are marked, from olive oil-rich Aegean dishes to spicy southeastern kebabs.
- Yogurt is central, even giving its name to the English word.
- Olive oil dominates cooking in western Turkey.
- Baklava and künefe are signature Turkish desserts.
- Menemen is a classic Turkish breakfast dish.
- Anchovies are a staple in the Black Sea region.
The cooking of Turkey
Turkish cuisine draws from a long history, combining Central Asian, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern traditions, especially through the legacy of the Ottoman Empire. The food is known for its balance—spices are used with restraint, and vegetables, grains, and legumes are central. Olive oil is a key ingredient in the west, while the southeast is famous for its kebabs and sweet pastries. Yogurt and cheese are common, and many dishes are named after their place of origin. Meals are often home-cooked, starting with soup and followed by vegetable or meat dishes, usually with rice or bread.
Staple foods in Turkey
Bread, rice, and bulgur are everyday basics, often served with vegetables or legumes. Lamb, chicken, and beef are the main meats, though fish is common along the Black Sea. Eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, onions, and pulses like lentils and beans appear in many dishes. Olive oil and yogurt are widely used, and nuts such as pistachios and walnuts are important, especially in desserts.
Breakfast in Turkey 16 dishes
A Turkish breakfast is varied and generous, featuring cheeses, olives, eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, jams, honey, and kaymak (clotted cream). Breads like simit and börek are common, along with spicy sausage (sucuk) and cured beef (pastırma). Menemen, an egg dish with tomatoes and peppers, is a specialty. Tea is always served.
Sweets and drinks in Turkey
Baklava, kadayıf, and künefe are well-known desserts, often made with nuts and syrup. Yogurt is used in drinks like ayran, a salty, tangy beverage. Fruit, both fresh and dried, is common in side dishes or desserts, but fresh fruit is rarely found in sweets. Helva, made from semolina or tahini, is enjoyed year-round, with lighter versions in summer.
From region to region in Turkey
Regional cooking varies widely. The Aegean and Mediterranean coasts use olive oil and fresh vegetables, while the Black Sea region relies on fish, especially anchovies, and maize. The southeast is known for spicy kebabs, meze, and syrupy desserts. Central Anatolia features dishes like mantı (meat-filled dumplings) and gözleme (stuffed flatbread). Cheese varieties and preparation styles also differ by region.
The facts in this overview come from the Wikipedia article "Turkish cuisine", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Thali rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
Cities and regions of Turkey
Kebabكَبَاب
🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 moreGrilled or roasted meat, often on skewers, found across the Middle East and beyond
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Pilaf
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan and 5 moreRice cooked in stock with spices, meat or vegetables, with each grain kept separate
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Moussakaμουσακάς
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreBaked casserole of eggplant or potato, often layered with meat and sauce
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Freekehفريكة
🇵🇸 Palestine and 5 moreRoasted green durum wheat grains, a staple across the eastern Mediterranean
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
MeatballMeat
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreGround meat shaped into balls and cooked by frying, baking, or braising in sauce
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Börek
🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 moreFlaky pastry filled with cheese, meat or vegetables, baked or fried
Pie or savoury pastry, Breakfast, Lunch
Doner kebab
🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 moreMeat roasted on a vertical spit, sliced and served in bread or on a plate
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
MantiMeat
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan and 5 moreSpiced meat dumplings wrapped in thin dough, steamed, boiled or baked
Dumpling, Lunch, Dinner
Kibbehكبة
🇸🇾 Syria and 5 moreSpiced ground meat and bulgur shaped, stuffed, and fried, baked or served raw
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
LahmacunMeat
🇸🇾 Syria and 3 moreThin flatbread baked with a topping of minced meat, vegetables and herbs
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Imam BayıldıVeganİmam bayıldı
🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 moreAubergine stuffed with onion, garlic and tomato, simmered in olive oil
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Baked potato
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreWhole potato baked and topped with butter, cheese, beans or other fillings
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
KeşkekMeat
🇹🇷 Turkey and 3 moreA ceremonial wheat and meat stew shared across Turkey, Armenia, and the region
Stew or curry, Lunch, Dinner
HaleemMeat
🇮🇳 India and 7 moreA slow-cooked stew of wheat, lentils, meat and spices
Stew or curry, Breakfast, Lunch
Sarma
🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 moreLeaves wrapped around a filling of rice, minced meat and spices
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Gözleme
🇹🇷 TurkeyTurkish flatbread turnover filled with meat, cheese, or vegetables
Main dish, Breakfast, Lunch
İskender kebapMeat
🇹🇷 TurkeyThinly sliced grilled meat over bread, topped with tomato sauce, butter, and yogurt
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Roast gooseMeat
🇨🇳 China and 4 moreWhole goose roasted until the skin is crisp and the meat tender
Main dish, Dinner
Tavë KosiMeat
🇦🇱 Albania and 4 moreAlbanian casserole of lamb, rice and tangy yogurt baked until golden
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Adana kebabıMeat
🇹🇷 Turkey and 2 moreHand-minced lamb kebab grilled on skewers, named for the city of Adana
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
MandiMeatمندي
🇾🇪 Yemen and 5 moreMeat and spiced rice cooked together in an underground pit
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Shish taoukMeat
🇹🇷 Turkey and 3 moreChicken pieces marinated, skewered and grilled over a fire
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
KarnıyarıkMeat
🇹🇷 TurkeyEggplant filled with a savoury mixture of ground meat, vegetables and herbs
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Stuffed squash
🇹🇷 Turkey and 5 moreSquash or zucchini filled with rice and sometimes meat, simmered or baked
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Yakhni
🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreA family of meat and vegetable stews from Iran, the Middle East and the Balkans
Stew or curry, Lunch, Dinner
Tharidثريد
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 5 moreFlatbread soaked in broth or stew, a staple of Arab cooking
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Bamia
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreStew of okra and meat, enjoyed across many regions
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Türlü
🇹🇷 Turkey and 4 moreA baked stew of mixed vegetables, sometimes with meat, from Turkey and the Balkans
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
SumaghiyyehMeatالسماقية
🇵🇸 Palestine and 3 moreA tangy Palestinian stew with sumac, chard, beef and chickpeas
Stew or curry, Lunch, Dinner
Qutab
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan and 2 moreThin dough folded around savory or vegetable fillings and cooked on a griddle
Main dish, Snacks, Lunch
TantuniMeat
🇹🇷 TurkeySpiced beef or lamb stir-fried and wrapped in flatbread from southern Turkey
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Kumpir
🇹🇷 Turkey and 1 moreBaked potato split and filled with cheese, butter and assorted toppings
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Kuru fasulye
🇹🇷 Turkey and 1 moreTurkish white bean stew with tomato, onion and olive oil
Stew or curry, Lunch, Dinner
Cağ kebabıMeat
🇹🇷 TurkeyHorizontally roasted marinated lamb kebab from Erzurum, Turkey
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
BeytiMeat
🇹🇷 TurkeyGrilled lamb or beef wrapped in flatbread, topped with tomato sauce and yogurt
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
İnegöl meatballsMeatİnegöl köfte
🇹🇷 TurkeyGrilled Turkish meatballs from İnegöl, made with only meat, onion and salt
Main dish, Lunch, Dinner
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Imam Bayıldı: AlexanderVanLoon, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tantuni: Joquee, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Keşkek: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tharid: Miansari66, CC0, source
- İskender kebap: Adriao, CC BY 3.0, source
- Sumaghiyyeh: Peteravivangel, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Tavë Kosi: fugzu, CC BY 2.0, source
- Roast goose: Jürgen Howaldt, CC BY-SA 2.0 de, source
- Kebab: Lesya Dolyk, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Pilaf: Mizu basyo at Japanese Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Moussaka: Fotograf: Dieter Mueller ( dino1948 ) Kamera: de:Nikon 885, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Baked potato: Kjetil Ree, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Freekeh: Kristen Taylor, CC BY 2.0, source
- Kibbeh: Bazel, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Haleem: Miansari66, Public domain, source
- Sarma: Garrett Ziegler, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Gözleme: Maderibeyza, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Adana kebabı: Garrett Ziegler, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Meatball: Myself, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Börek: Silar, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Doner kebab: AleGranholm, CC BY 2.0, source
- Shish taouk: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mandi: Miansari66, CC0, source
- Manti: Peretz Partensky, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Karnıyarık: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lahmacun: No machine-readable author provided. Rainer Zenz assumed (based on cop, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Stuffed squash: Bazel, Public domain, source
- Yakhni: АннаМариа (original image); derived version by Off-shell, CC BY 4.0, source
- Türlü: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kumpir: Atilim Gunes Baydin, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bamia: Tamorlan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kuru fasulye: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cağ kebabı: Eaeeae, CC BY 3.0, source
- İnegöl meatballs: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Beyti: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, source