Pieczeń z mięsa mielonego is a traditional meatloaf made with ground meat, bread, chopped onions, garlic cloves, and eggs. Salt, pepper, and dried herbs are added to the ground meat mixture, which is then placed in a greased baking dish or a bread pan, and baked in the oven until nicely browned on the surface.
The meatloaf can also be stuffed with yellow cheese and wrapped in bacon slices for added flavor. Polish meatloaf is usually eaten warm for lunch, accompanied by baked potatoes and fresh salads.
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This traditional Polish dish consists of lean, uncured pork loin stuffed with ground pork or sausage and typically, either prunes or dried apricots, though apples can be used as well. The loin is then rolled, rubbed with a rich blend of herbs, and roasted until golden brown.
The perfect choice for a Sunday lunch, schab faszerowany is best enjoyed when paired with various salads and boiled potatoes sprinkled with dill.
This Polish meat roulade consists of minced meat filled with mushrooms. It can be baked with dried herbs, bacon slices, or grated yellow cheese on top. The meat roulade is usually eaten warm for lunch or dinner with a side of potatoes or buckwheat groats and fresh salads.
Chilled slices of this roulade go well in sandwiches and make for great party snacks.
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The name golonka refers to the pork hock, or pork knuckle, which is usually seared and slowly cooked until tender. Alternatively, it can also be grilled or braised in the oven. The dish comes in many regional varities, which may include fresh or smoked golonka, with the former being a more traditional choice.
It is usually served whole, on the bone, alongside boiled potatoes, cabbage, a variety of cooked vegetables, and horseradish or mustard sauce. This traditional dish is often compared to a similar delicacy eaten in Germany, known as Eisbain or Schweinshaxe.
MOST ICONIC Golonka
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Klopsiki are traditional Polish meatballs that are usually made with ground pork or beef, occasionally ground chicken or game, eggs, breadcrumbs or soaked bread, and a variety of spices and herbs. They can be pan-fried, cooked, or slowly braised in flavorful broths.
Fried varieties, known as mielony, are usually larger in size and flat, while the cooked klopsiki are smaller in size and typically round-shaped. Most varieties are typically served accompanied by sour cream, mushrooms, and tomato sauces, or incorporated in comforting Polish soups.
MOST ICONIC Klopsiki
Kotlet z indyka is a type of Polish meat cutlet consisting of a thin slice of breaded and fried turkey tenderloin. Polish turkey cutlets are prepared the same way as the traditional kotlet schabowy (pork cutlets) and kotlet z piersi kurczaka (chicken cutlets).
Turkey cutlets can also be stuffed with a filling of chopped ham, yellow cheese, and canned peppers before frying. Meat cutlets are a common dinner meal in many Polish households, usually accompanied by cabbage with dill, potatoes and groats, mashed potatoes, or boiled carrots.
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Żeberka wędzone are Polish-style smoked ribs. This meat specialty is typically made with pork ribs soaked in brine with spices like bay leaves, marjoram, peppercorns, allspice, salt, and garlic cloves. The marinated ribs are then either cold-smoked or hot-smoked and consumed warm or chilled.
Smoked pork ribs can be poached, paired with sauerkraut, or added to soups and stews for extra flavor.
Baranina or mutton is typical of traditional Polish cuisine, although it is rarely consumed today. Stewing, braising, grilling, and roasting are some of the traditional ways used for preparing different cuts of mutton. One of the most common mutton dishes is pieczeń barania, meaning mutton roast, which typically consists of a seasoned mutton shoulder that is studded with garlic and onions, and flavored with aromatic herbs such as marjoram or rosemary before it is roasted for a couple of hours.
Meat comes out tender and pinkish on the inside with a crispy skin on top, and it is usually paired with mashed potatoes, beets, and a vegetable salad on the side. In Poland, the term baranina may sometimes be used to refer to lamb meat, although the meat obtained from lambs is usually called jagnięcina.
The term zrazy encompasses a wide variety of traditional Polish meat dishes. It may refer to pounded and braised cutlets, but nowadays the name is used almost interchangeably for various types of stuffed meat rolls, known in Poland as zrazy zawijane.
Every variety of zrazy is usually made with beef, but pork or game are also occasionally used. One vital element for any zrazy is to use boneless meat and pound it until thin. Plain zrazy are usually seasoned, pan-fried, and served with an accompanying sauce.
MOST ICONIC Zrazy
TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “9 Worst Rated Polish Meat Dishes” list until March 26, 2025, 2,518 ratings were recorded, of which 2,040 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.