Irish meals you won’t easily find in America

Irish food has finally gained international acclaim as being wholesome, healthy, and unique but we bet that these Irish dishes and recipes aren't quite as well known outside Ireland. 

See how many of these dishes you have tried and tell us about some of your own unique Irish foods if you have any!

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.

Coddle

Coddle is layers of roughly sliced pork sausages bacon, usually thinly sliced, somewhat fatty back bacon, with sliced potatoes, and onions. Lots of calories and contentment.

Black and white pudding

Black and white pudding is a type of blood sausage commonly eaten in Britain and Ireland. It is generally made from pork blood and a relatively high proportion of oatmeal and suet. White pudding leaves out the blood. An essential part of a true Irish breakfast.

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Black and white pudding

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. It's very popular in Cork.

Colcannon

While colcannon seems to be associated with St. Patrick's Day, some love the combination of potatoes, cabbage, onion, and bacon year-round, especially as a winter comfort food.

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Colcannon seems to be associated with St. Patrick's Day, but some love it all year-round

Spotted dog

Spotted dog is a fruity form of Irish soda bread. There are just six simple ingredients required: flour, bread soda, buttermilk, and salt with added fruit and sugar for the spotted effect.

Banana and sugar sandwiches

These were very popular years ago for kids and still prepared in rural parts of the country. Exactly what it says on the tin - bread, butter, chopped-up banana, and sugar sprinkled on.

Soda farl

Soda farls are a flat white soda bread, shaped into a round, cut into triangular quarters, and baked on a griddle. Farl is an old word for quarter. Bill Clinton famously ate one when in Belfast as president.

Spotted dick

Spotted dick is a pudding popular in Britain and Northern Ireland, containing dried fruit (usually currants or raisins) commonly served with custard. Spotted refers to the dried fruit (which resemble spots) and dick, well we won’t even hazard a guess at that.

Haggis

Considered the Scottish national dish, haggis is also popular in Northern Ireland and often made and exported from there. It is composed of sheep's pluck (heart, liver and lungs); minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally encased in the animal's stomach and simmered for approximately three hours. Great fuel to start your day.

*Originally published in August 2015. Updated in November 2024.