11 Traditional Irish Foods to Enjoy This St. Patrick's Day (and Every Day After)

Shepherd’s pie is a dish that originated in Ireland and the UK but has made its way worldwide now. Traditional shepherd’s pie is made with ground lamb and vegetables and covered with mashed potatoes before being baked in a casserole dish.

Soda bread gets its name from the leavening agent used instead of yeast: baking soda. It’s a dense bread, usually made with dried fruits in it, that relies on buttermilk as a key ingredient.

Coddle is the result of throwing whatever leftover meat, vegetables, and potatoes you have together into a pot to make a stew. It’s most commonly made with sausage, chunky potatoes, and onions.

Irish stew is very similar to coddle, except it’s usually made with lamb. The lamb is combined with potatoes, onions, and other root vegetables to form a hearty stew.

Colcannon is a common side dish that’s especially popular around St. Patrick’s Day. It’s a mixture of potatoes and either cabbage or kale.

Barmbrack is somewhat similar to soda bread in that it’s a dense bread made with dried fruits. However, what makes it different is that it’s served on holidays with something hidden in the dough for those eating it to find. The person who finds it should have the luck of the Irish in the future.

Boxty is a very simple potato dish that’s quick to whip up. It’s mostly grated potatoes and mashed potatoes formed into patties and cooked on a griddle, similar to a potato pancake.

Bangers and mash is quite simply sausage and mashed potatoes. The bangers can be any sort of meat, and oftentimes, the dish is served with gravy.

Black pudding is blood sausage made with pork blood, pork, spices, and usually oats to act as a binding ingredient.

White pudding is just like black pudding but made without the blood.

Brown bread gets its taste and color from the wheat flour. It’s a bread similar to soda bread in that it doesn’t use yeast and is a bit dense.