We may earn affiliate commissions from websites we link to, at no cost to you. Click here for details.
Romania’s culinary tradition is a comforting fusion of local ingredients intertwined with influences from Balkan, Turkish, Serbian, German, and Hungarian cuisines.
Our list of the most popular foods from Romania includes unique ingredients, bold flavours, and unforgettable dishes.
In Romania, the culinary landscape is shaped by various staple foods cherished for generations.
Table of Contents
These staple foods form the foundation of Romanian cuisine, reflecting the country’s agricultural abundance, cultural diversity, and centuries-old culinary traditions.
Tochitura moldovenească is a traditional Moldovan dish. It is a hearty and flavourful pork stew typically made with various cuts of pork, such as pork belly, pork shoulder, and sausages, cooked together until tender.
The dish is often enhanced with garlic, onions, capsicum, and sometimes tomatoes, creating a rich and aromatic sauce.
It is served with a side of mămăligă (Romanian polenta) and a dollop of smântână (sour cream) on top.
Sarmale, or cabbage rolls, are a quintessential Romanian dish. They are made by wrapping minced meat (often a mixture of pork and beef), rice, onions, and spices in pickled cabbage leaves.
The filling is seasoned with herbs and seasonings such as thyme, dill, and paprika, giving sarmale a distinctive taste.
Once assembled, the cabbage rolls are simmered in a flavourful broth until tender. There are variations of this dish in other countries, too. For example, it’s called holubtsi in Ukrainian cuisine, and it is known as Sarma when it comes to Macedonian food.
The best cabbage rolls I’ve ever eaten were in Transnistria, the little-known disputed territory in Europe.
Sarmale is easily one of my favourite foods from Romania; I’m certain it will be one of yours, too.
Ciulama is a beloved dish in Romanian and Moldovan cuisine, featuring tender meat and mushrooms bathed in a creamy white roux sauce.
Varieties include ciulama de pui (chicken), ciulama de curcan (turkey), or ciulama de vițel (veal).
Typically accompanied by mămăligă or mujdei (spicy garlic sauce), Ciulama pleases the palate with its satisfying taste and textures.
Read more: Top 10 Things To See in Romania
Mămăligă is a beloved staple in Romanian cuisine, often considered the national dish of Romania.
It’s a type of cornmeal porridge or polenta, typically made by boiling coarse yellow cornmeal with water and salt until it reaches a thick, creamy consistency.
Mămăligă is a versatile side dish accompanying various meats, stews, or vegetables. Its hearty and comforting nature makes it a favourite choice in Romanian households, particularly during cold winters or festive occasions.
Papanasi are fried or boiled dumplings made from cottage cheese (brânză de vaci), semolina, eggs, sugar, and flour.
The dough is then formed into small balls, flattened slightly, and commonly deep-fried until golden brown, resulting in a crispy shell and a soft, light interior.
Once fried, papanași are traditionally served hot, either plain or with a dollop of sour cream and a generous drizzle of fruit jam, usually sour cherry or raspberry.
Get Connected with eSIM
Get connected easily on your travels—buy an eSIM! An eSIM works like an app: buy it, download it, and get connected in minutes! It’s easy, affordable, and convenient. Keep your original phone number, too!
Click below and view which eSIM data plan you need for your next adventure. Use our referral code: RACHEL5045, to get $3 off your first purchase!
Translating to “bean soup with pork knuckle,” this dish is a staple in Romanian cuisine, especially during the colder months.
The dish typically consists of white beans (fasole) cooked with a pork knuckle (ciolan) or smoked pork ribs to impart a rich, umami flavour to the soup. Additionally, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and bay leaves are added to enhance the taste.
Ciorba de fasole cu ciolan is known for its zesty and slightly sour flavour, achieved by adding a small amount of vinegar to the soup.
The soup is usually served hot, garnished with fresh parsley or dill, and accompanied by a slice of crusty bread.
It’s a vegetable spread made from roasted eggplants, capsicum, tomatoes, onions, and garlic, cooked down into a thick, savoury spread.
Vegetables are typically roasted or grilled until soft and charred, which adds depth and smokiness to the flavour. Then, they are peeled and chopped before being cooked together with onions and garlic until they break down into a thick, jam-like consistency.
Salt, pepper, and sometimes paprika or chilli flakes can be added to enhance the flavour.
Zacuscă is spread on bread or crackers as a snack or side dish alongside grilled meats.
Mici, or “mititei,” are small, cylindrical grilled sausages, a beloved dish in Romanian cuisine.
Made from a mixture of minced meats, typically beef, pork, and lamb, mici are seasoned with garlic, paprika, thyme, and other spices, typical to flavour many of the popular foods from Romania.
The preparation of mici involves shaping the seasoned meat mixture into small sausage-like shapes and then grilling them over an open flame or on a barbecue until they are cooked through and have a grilled exterior.
The result is juicy, delicious sausages with a barely charred crust.
They are typically served hot, accompanied by mustard, bread, hot chips, pickles, and sometimes a sour cream or ajvar (a roasted red pepper spread).
Rasol is a classic Romanian dish, particularly popular in the Maramureș region of the country.
Rasol is renowned for its hearty blend of meat and vegetables. Typically crafted with pork, beef, or poultry, the meat is boiled alongside a medley of vegetables like carrots, onions, potatoes, peppers, peas, or celery roots.
Once cooked, the tender meat is sliced and plated alongside the flavourful cooking liquid and vegetables.
This dish is a satisfying meal, often served with traditional accompaniments like horseradish sauce, sour cream, and mămăligă, elevating its rich flavors and textures.
This is one of the traditional foods from Romania that you should try.
Alivenci, a cherished dessert in Romanian cuisine, traces its roots to the Moldova region of Romania (distinct from the neighbouring nation, Moldova).
This savoury pie, crafted with cheese and corn flour, holds a special place in culinary tradition, passed down through generations.
Oppositions are sharply divided regarding tripe soup—it’s a dish that inspires either love or aversion.
This traditional Romanian food derives a potent smell yet boasts a silky texture, achieved through hours of meticulous preparation.
Apart from the beef tripe, this culinary masterpiece incorporates beef and pork legs simmered for several hours to yield the luscious soup base.
Interestingly, while tripe plays a role, the soup or broth has a satisfying flavour due to the medley of vegetables and fresh herbs.
The soup is served with a few dollops of sour cream, slices of hot peppers, and toasted bread.
Travel to Eat? Check out these 10 Best Countries for Food Lovers
If you’re not a fan of trying Tripe soup, this version (which uses beef or chicken meat instead of the lining of the animal’s stomach) might be easier to enjoy.
This robust soup is known for its rich and tangy flavour, typically achieved using a combination of sour ingredients such as bors (fermented wheat or barley bran) or lemon juice.
The base of Ciorba Radauteană is usually beef or chicken broth, to which various vegetables like carrots, potatoes, onions, and celery are added.
Additionally, it often includes meat, such as beef or chicken, simmered until tender.
Be sure to add a good dollop of sour cream (smântână) when serving; it makes all the difference.
Jumări is crispy, fried pork fat or pork rinds, and they’re one of the very satisfying foods from Romania that locals love!
Preparing jumari involves cutting pork fat into small pieces or strips and slowly rendering it over low heat to release the fat.
The remaining crispy pork rinds are seasoned with salt and typically served hot, offering a satisfying crunch and rich flavour.
Jumări are often enjoyed alongside other traditional foods from Romania, such as slănină (smoked pig fat), raw onions, homemade bread, and a shot of țuică (plum brandy), forming a comforting and hearty starter or accompaniment to a meal.
Essentially, plăcintă refers to a type of pastry or pie that can be sweet or savoury and filled with various ingredients. Delicious foods in Romania like this are the reason I return!
For sweet plăcintă, the filling might include fruits such as apples, cherries, or plums, sugar, cinnamon, and sometimes nuts or raisins.
These sweet fillings are often encased in a thin layer of dough and baked until golden brown, resulting in a delightful dessert or snack.
On the savoury side, plăcintă can be filled with cheese (brânză), cabbage, potatoes, pumpkin, or even meat.
Plăcintă is one of those super comforting foods in Romania; I recommend you tasty, both savoury and sweet if you get the chance.
Cozonac is a traditional Romanian sweet bread, typically enjoyed during holidays and festive occasions, especially Easter and Christmas.
It is a rich and indulgent bread like a brioche or sweet loaf, filled with nuts, raisins, cocoa, and sometimes rum.
Once baked, cozonac is often brushed with a syrup made from sugar and water to give it a shiny finish and add extra sweetness.
It is typically served sliced and enjoyed as is or with a cup of coffee or tea. This type of bread is popular in many European countries, particularly Slovakian cuisine and the foods from Poland.
Cârnați are traditional Romanian sausages made from a blend of ground pork, beef, or both, mixed with spices.
They are stuffed into casings, then grilled, fried, boiled, or smoked.
Typically enjoyed during Easter celebrations, Drob be Miel is a dish made from lamb offal, primarily liver, heart, and lungs, mixed with ground lamb meat and seasoned with herbs and spices.
To prepare Drob de Miel, the offal and ground meat are cooked together until tender, then mixed with sautéed onions, herbs such as parsley and dill, and sometimes rice or bread crumbs to bind the mixture.
This combination is then formed into a loaf shape and baked until golden brown.
Once cooked, Drob de Miel is usually served cold or at room temperature, sliced and garnished with hard-boiled eggs, parsley, and sometimes pickles.
Subscribe to our newsletter!
Expert travel tips, resources and exclusive discounts worldwide
Găluște cu prune is a traditional and cherished Romanian dessert, and one of the common foods in Romania.
These enjoyable treats consist of small dumplings made from a mixture of potatoes or dough, filled with pitted plums and a touch of sugar.
To prepare găluște cu prune, the potato or dough mixture is typically flattened into small rounds, each of which is wrapped around a plum and then sealed to encase the fruit completely.
The dumplings are boiled until tender and the plums have softened.
Once cooked, găluște cu prune is often served hot, sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, and occasionally accompanied by a dollop of sour cream or a drizzle of melted butter.
These dumplings are very popular in some other countries and a favourite dessert in Serbian cuisine, I even learned how to cook them in my Serbian Cooking Class in Belgrade.
A quintessential Romanian spirit crafted from plums, țuică is a hallmark of the country’s culinary heritage.
Whether served chilled during summer or warmed in winter, țuică holds a place of honour in Romanian culture. It’s a symbol of national pride, often shared during celebratory occasions like weddings and baptisms, and offered as an aperitif before meals.
The foods in Romania taste even better when they begin with a bit of țuică!
Welcoming guests into a new home often involves presenting them with a glass of țuică, a gesture of hospitality and friendship.
Pomana Porcului, or the Pork Feast, is an age-old tradition in Romanian culture. This has to be one of the most common foods in Romania and one that is earned!
It is a token of gratitude to those who helped in the pig slaughtering process, including relatives, neighbours, and friends and is hosted by the homeowner once the work is done.
The feast consists of frying various parts of the slaughtered pig, such as muscle, liver, bacon, ribs, and jaw, representing the entirety of the animal.
The pieces are cooked in fat and served alongside polenta and a glass of wine.
It’s a meal of honour and appreciation, celebrating the spirit of communal support and tradition.
And there you go! Twenty of the most popular foods from Romania.
Believe me, this underrated nation offers many more gastronomic delights. If you’re interested in trying to cook some of these common foods in Romania, check out these fantastic recipes from Delicious Romania for inspiration.
If you plan to explore the country, don’t miss these top 10 things to see in Romania.
You may also be interested in visiting these 10 cheapest countries in Europe to help you stay on budget.
✈️ Flights: We use Skyscanner to book cheap flights worldwide.
🏨 Accommodation: Booking.com is our preferred platform for booking hotels and accommodation.
🏥 Travel Insurance: We recommend Heymondo (Get 5% off Heymondo) & SafetyWing
🚌 Transportation: Trainline is the best website to reserve trains. We use Omio to book transport worldwide. For travel in Asia, we use 12Go.
🚘 Car Rental: We use DiscoverCars to book rental cars worldwide.
👫 Group Tours: G Adventures OR compare multi-day tours worldwide with Tourradar.
📸 Day Tours & Trips: GetYourGuide & Viator are the only two platforms you need.
📚 Lonely Planet: The Best Range of Travel Guides & Ebooks, and FREE Shipping! (use code RACHELDAVEY10 for a 10% discount)
🎒 Luggage: Osprey Farpoint 40L Backpack or Samsonite Luggage Range.
🛄 What to Pack: Don’t forget your Universal charger and a good power bank. To help you pack the essentials, here is our ULTIMATE Packing List for all Travellers.
🐶 Become a House Sitter: Join Trusted Housesitters and enjoy FREE accommodation worldwide. Use our invite to receive 25% off your new membership.
💰 Send Money Anywhere: WISE & Revolut are the best online accounts that let you send money, get paid, and spend money internationally. Both are so easy to use and way cheaper than any bank transfer.
📶 Stay Connected: Airalo eSIM allows you to get connected the moment you land at your destination, and you can avoid those expensive data roaming charges. We LOVE this product! Use promo code NOMAD15 for 15% off ALL eSIMs (new Airalo users only) OR use NOMAD10 for 10% off ALL eSIMs (for existing Airalo users)
✅ Check out our Travel Gear and Travel Resources for more valuable tips to save you money!
