20 Most Traditional Polish Christmas Dinner Recipes

Want to make something different for Christmas eve dinner? Polish cuisine has some wonderful Christmas dishes for you to try! 

The rest of the world might be happy with roasted potatoes and Turkey. But the Poles take it to the next level with palatable pierogi and scrumptious sauerkraut. 

Wigilia, the traditional Polish Christmas Eve supper, is made out of twelve courses. It represents the twelve months of the year, the 12 apostles, and is also a sign of wealth! 

Today we’ll talk about our traditional Polish Christmas dinner, including authentic Polish courses, desserts, and hors d’Oeuvres. 

Most Polish Christmas dinners are clean, yummy, and vegetarian. But the braised fish fillet or rolled herring are a treat for the foodies! 

All About Wigilia – Your Polish Christmas Eve Dinner Menu!

The Christmas eve feast, or Wigilia, begins with our family having broken Oplatek, a Polish Christmas wafer. Polish Christmas dishes are meatless, honoring the tradition to fast on Christmas eve until the first star appears in the sky, signifying the birth of baby Jesus!

A traditional Polish Christmas eve supper can last for hours. You’ll be surprised by the amount of beetroot, cabbage, and split peas that are involved in some of these dishes! Keep reading to know more! 

1. Barszcz Czerwony – Beetroot Soup

Polish Christmas dinners start with a special type of beetroot soup, also known as red borscht, or barszcz czerwony. It has a sour base, which is prepared a few days ahead of the celebration. 

It’s then mixed with a wild mushroom broth or a vegetable broth, depending on your taste. Barszcz czerwony is traditionally served with dumplings stuffed with porcini and fried onion. 

These wild mushroom dumplings are called uszkami, which translates to “little ears,” because of the way they look. In the Tatra mountains, however, white borscht replaces uszka. Both dishes are delicious and kick off the grand Wigilia feast on the right note!

2. Christmas Eve Smazony Karp – Fried Carp

Smazony karp is the centerpiece of a Polish Christmas eve dinner. It’s one of the main meals in Wigilia and has an interesting tradition. Days before Christmas eve, Poles will visit the fish market and buy a live carp.  

The fish is then brought home and kept alive till it’s time to make Smazony Karp. In the old tradition, it was believed that carp staves off bad luck and brings success to the households.

Some Polish cooks cover the fish with breadcrumbs or dip it in the batter. A gravy is made from chopped onions, carrots, cloves, and bay leaf. Look at the Jewish-style carp recipe for inspiration!

• 

• 

3. Pierogi z kapustą i grzybami – Pierogi with Sauerkraut and Mushrooms

We’ve all heard about pierogi, the most popular Polish dish in the world. These tiny dumplings find their way to a Polish dinner table on Christmas eve, and basically every other day. It’s a must-have Polish recipe that is not only easy to cook but also tastes amazing! 

To make pierogi, you’re going to need forest mushrooms and sauerkraut. The dumplings are stuffed with two main ingredients and will often include farm cheese and potatoes for extra flavor.

You can make pierogi with fully fresh ingredients. Autumn would have just ended, and you’d have cans of dried wild mushrooms waiting to be chopped up and boiled with sauerkraut! 

4. Rolmopsy – Polish Rolled Herring

Our traditional Wigilia is incomplete without Rolmopsy, a pickled herring dish served with vegetable salad. During Christmas eve, Poles traditionally used unskinned Bismarck herring to make the rollmops. 

The herring fillets are salted and then soaked in water. After adding one layer of grainy mustard, roll them up with pickled onion. The next step of making rollmops is to marinate the fillets in bay leaves, chopped onion, peppercorns, and vinegar.

6. Polish Sauerkraut with Mushrooms

For a no-brainer dish, Poles like Sauerkraut, a finely sliced cabbage meal with mushrooms, dumplings, or bacon on the side. Some families cook sauerkraut with butter, and some with olive oil. 

We like our sauerkraut with mushrooms because it smells just like pierogi! 

There’s a meaty version of sauerkraut called bigos. It consists of meat, prunes, mushroom, and wine. Sauerkraut is a versatile dish, which can be topped with a variety of ingredients such as cheese, potatoes, and even ribs! 

7. Polish śledź – Creamed Herring Salad

This hors d’Oeuvres is underrated in American cuisine. However, it’s a popular recipe in Poland and all over Eastern Europe. Sledz, or creamed herring salad, is a festival meal. It’s enjoyed year-round at weddings and holidays. 

Creamed herring salad includes boiled potatoes, yogurt, dill pickle, and onions.  The herring is served cold in sour cream, with tart apples on the side. You can serve it pickled, smoked, fermented, and even raw! 

This incredible salad can be prepared in less than two hours. It tastes better with fresh scallions and red wine vinegar. Herring used for our Sledz recipe is not to be mistaken for matjas, which is the Dutch name for young virgin herring.

8. Kapusta z Grochem – Polish Cabbage with Peas

Stuffed cabbage dumpling or pierogi has already made it to the twelve meals in wigilia. Kapusta is one of our traditional Christmas eve dishes served in Poland. To make this dish, you only need two cans of split peas and four cups of sauerkraut. 

Finish with three tablespoons of butter and a bouillon cube, and watch the magic happen! This is a simple Christmas dish but flavorful nonetheless. You can taste the caramelized onion and a sweet hint of butter with every bite! 

• 

• 

9. Makowiec – Poppy Seed Rolls

Next to Kolaczki cookies, makowiec is a much-loved traditional Christmas dessert. It’s a sweet poppy seed roll made of ground poppy seeds, raisins, orange peel, and honey. 

The chocolaty swirls are actually the poppy seed filling. With every bite, you get a taste of poppy seeds and lemon zest. 

From the ingredients, it may look like a frosted yeast cake. But it takes a seasoned baker to master poppyseed cake and its hypnotic rolls. Add sweet poppy seed cream in layers to make your Christmas eve truly wonderful!

• 

• 

10. Piernik – Gingerbread

The tradition to bake gingerbreads goes back to the 12th century. Polish cuisine has always been full of piquant spices, including nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger. 

Piernik is the Polish word for gingerbread. The Poles make the dough with flour, eggs, sugar, honey, lard, and a heavenly mix of gingerbread spices. 

Children like to eat freshly baked Gingerbread cookies, or pierniczki, throughout the Christmas week.

• 

• 

12. Kutia – Sweet Polish Pudding

It’s a hearty mix of dried fruits, wheat berries, cooked poppy seeds, and nuts. Traditionally, the ingredients include various nuts such as walnuts and almonds.

Kutia pairs well with port wine, but it tastes the best when you add raisins, cranberries, and freshly squeezed orange juice.

You can eat kutia on Christmas day instead of gingerbread cookies or poppy seed cakes. 

13. Christmas Eve Kolaczki Cookies

With all the herring, carp, and sauerkraut, Kolaczki cookies give you a sweet escape. This dish can be made with a cream cheese dough with apricot fillings. These cookies are incredibly popular during Christmas, as is the traditionally cooked wheat pudding. 

14. Butter-Basted Trout Fillet

You can consider this trout fillet recipe if you want to try Christmas meals similar to Smazony Karp. It’s a delectable meal topped with butter sauce and parsley.

15. Matjas – Soused Herring in Linseed Oil

If you like seafood as the main meal, matjas can be one of the most popular dishes for you! Linseed oil or sunflower oil opens up the flavors of soused matjas. 

These herring recipes are traditionally served with rye bread and topped with red onion, chives, or green apple and honey. If you’re up for a challenge this Christmas eve, recreate this traditional meal from Poland.

16. Traditional Sour Mushroom Soup

The broth for this sour mushroom soup is made from dried mushroom, vegetable stock, and pearl barley. You can add a bit of sour cream to enhance its taste and texture. The soup tastes better with traditional kluski noodles. 

17. Polish Egg Noodles with Poppy Seeds

An aromatic sauce with honey, candied orange, butter, and raisins create the velvety texture of Polish egg noodles. It takes only thirty minutes to cook this wigilia special for an unexpected guest.

Remember to soak the ground poppy seeds in milk overnight. After tasting Polish egg noodles, you’ll crave this classic meal whenever you feel peckish! 

18. Sałatka Ziemniaczana – Potato Salad

Polish potato salad is nothing like the mashed potato we’re used to having at the side of a medium-rare steak. It includes pickled cucumbers, green olives, onion, pepper, and eggs. 

If you’re of Polish descent, you’ll know that Christmas eve ends with a midnight mass. Why go to bed hungry when you can make this simple potato salad? Heat up some sour rye soup and go to town on wigilia leftovers! 

19. Christmas Eve Gołąbki- Cabbage Rolls

We can’t imagine a Polish Christmas without fresh cabbage rolls. Most Poles don’t care that it’s not in their 12-course wigilia menu. Golabki is an incredible side dish, and they’ll make it any day of the year. 

Traditional Polish families like to start their day with a Christmas-special breakfast. It includes pierniczki, scrambled eggs, smoked salmon served with horseradish sauce, and marinated salad. 

20. Polish Beverage with Vanilla Bean

Although not a part of wigilia, honey-spiced vodka is a traditional Polish beverage. Cloves, cinnamon, vanilla bean, nutmeg, and honey come together to make this spice-infused drink.

Kudos to you if you don’t touch alcohol. In that case, you can always try the traditional Polish kompot, a recipe that is ridiculously straightforward and takes only five minutes to make. 

Rounding Up

Now that you know about every meal on the Wigilia menu, try some of the dishes early on so that you can perfect them by Christmas! 

A Polish Christmas dinner is all about seafood, mushrooms, and gingerbread cookies. You’ll have the most fun marinating carp the Polish style or fermenting beets for your first ever Barszcz soup! All the best!