Like language, styles of music, and modes of dress, food is a top cultural marker. Every country has its national dishes, and each country's province, in turn, has its favourites. Where English cuisine is concerned, these foods reign supreme1. In fact, many of them are known the world over.
Fish and Chips
Ask anyone around the world about British cuisine, and they will most likely point to fish and chips as the typical English meal.
They aren’t wrong!
No matter where you are in the UK, fish and chips is standard pub fare. The greasy chips and the crisply battered fish are enough to send you to food heaven.
It's probably easier to go out for this dish, but you can also prepare it at home2.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Soak cut potatoes for 30 minutes, pat dry, and season. Toss with olive oil and seasonings; bake at 200 for 25-30 minutes, turning them over halfway through.
- Mix batter dry ingredients in a bowl; whisk in the liquid; keep mixing until batter is smooth; let rest for 15 minutes.
- Pat fish fillets dry; salt and pepper them. Dip them in batter; let the excess run off. Fry in oil (175°C) 4-5 minutes per side.
- Serve with dipping sauces; don't forget the mushy peas!
Bangers and Mash
This pub meal is a top comfort food dish3. Typically served with a side of peas and topped with onion gravy, it's just the thing to help keep you warm when the temperatures fall.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Peel and boil the potatoes; drain and mash.
- Combine gravy ingredients in a saucepan over low heat; keep stirring as the mixture simmers.
- Score sausage skins; fry in shallow oil until brown.
Steak and Kidney Pie
Many classic British recipes emerged from wartime and austerity periods; this dish is no exception. It's a combination of beef steak, kidney, fried onion, gravy, and topped with a buttery pastry.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Brown the meat and sauté the onions just till they're soft; combine them and sprinkle in the flour.
- When the meat is completely flour coated, pour in the beef stock; add seasonings and allow to simmer for up to 2 hours.
- Allow to cool completely while you roll out the pastry dough; line your baking pan with dough; pour in meat mixture. Top with dough and crimp edges down; cut a slit to allow for steam.
- Bake at 220°C for 30-40 minutes.
Shepherd’s Pie
Full disclosure: this traditional English food has ever been this wordsmith's hands-down favourite. Whether made with minced lamb, the classic recipe, or minced beef (called cottage pie), it's sure to satisfy.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Prepare filling: sauté carrots and onions until carrots are soft. Stir in cooked meat; season to taste.
- Season the mixture and sprinkle flour in; stir well. Pour broth over, stirring the whole while. Allow to simmer until the broth thickens.
- Transfer to baking dish, add a layer of frozen veg; top with mashed potatoes. Bake at 200°C for 20-25 minutes, until top crust is golden brown.
1. Add a layer of shredded cheese between the meat and veg.
2. Use a fork to dig grooves into the potato top for added texture.
3. For a tangier filling, add a bit of tomato paste while it simmers.
Yorkshire Pudding
Made to accompany other dishes,Yorkshire pudding is a baked pudding. The batter and the texture of Yorkshire pudding4 are like that of pancake, albeit with a crispy outside.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven and muffin or cupcake tin with fat in each cup (ideally, fat should be smoking hot.)
- Combine batter ingredients and whisk well; fill each bake tin cavity to the halfway mark.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes; let sit for 5. Serve alongside any meal or enjoy as a snack.
Toad in the Hole
Toad in the Hole wraps sausages in Yorkshire pudding batter. It’s one of those classic English dishes served at home and in restaurants, typically with gravy, potatoes, and some veggies.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven and baking tin with fat at 220–230°C (ideally, fat should be smoking hot.)
- Combine batter ingredients and whisk well; brown sausages in the heated fat.
- Pour batter over the sausages, bake for 20-25 minutes; let sit for 5. Serve alongside any meal or enjoy as a snack.
Sunday Roast
Sunday roast consists of roast meat such as chicken, beef, lamb, or pork. We typically serve this traditional English food with roasted potatoes, stuffing, and vegetables.
And if you want to go full English, serve your Sunday roast with some Yorkshire puddings; a mild calorie hike to the average Sunday roast.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Prepare your cut of meat according to taste.
- Parboil potatoes for 3-4 minutes; coat with beef fat or hot oil. Bake at 200°C for 40 minutes, until crisp.
- Sauté thinly sliced onion in drippings; coat them with flour. Add beef broth; let simmer until desired thickness.
Full English Breakfast
A classic Full English breakfast is a hallmark of English cuisine. Also called a fry-up, it includes bacon, sausages, eggs, baked beans, toasts, mushrooms, tomatoes, hash browns, and black puddings.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Inasmuch as possible, everything should be fried, including the veg and bread.
- Serve with coffee, tea, and/or juice.
Trifle
Trifle is a delightfully sweet and textured British dessert that features layers of pudding, with the whole covered with whipped cream. Trifles appear on the most respectable restaurants' menus, in coffee shop and tea house display cases, and practically every holiday dinner table5.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Prepare each of the layers: bake the cake (or unwrap store-bought cake/biscuits). Make the custard (follow instructions if using packaged mix); prep fruit (or thaw and rinse frozen fruit).
- Assemble your trifle: cut cake into squares, brush with sherry and a layer of jam, place at the bottom of the bowl. Add a layer of fruit, and then custard. Top that with a layer of whipped cream.
- Repeat this layer sequence for as much as your trifle bowl will hold (typically 3 layers).
- Smoothe out the top whipped cream layer; decorate with sliced fruit, sprinkles, or biscuit crumbs.
- Do NOT incorporate a layer of minced beef! 😱
Scones
Typical British scones are the ultimate English food, famous around the world. That part is established fact but there’s still a debate amongst us Brits as to whether the jam or the cream goes first.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C for gas ovens).
- In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients. Work the cold butter through until the ingredients resemble crumbles.
- In a saucepan, warm the wet ingredients; cut the liquid into the crumble mixture (dough should be sticky.)
- Turn onto a flour-covered surface; fold 2-3 times; work it down to around 4cm in height.
- Cut dough with a 5 cm floured cutter; place on a baking tray and brush with egg.
- Bake for 10 minutes, until golden brown. Serve with clotted cream and jam.
When studying traditional English recipes for Yorkshire pudding and other dishes, we can begin to appreciate the simplicity, utility, and history of English recipes. Why not try your hand at a few of them?
Where to Find Traditional English Recipes
- Otter. “What Is British Cuisine?” Tryotter, Otter, 6 Mar. 2024, www.tryotter.com/resource/wiki/what-is-british-cuisine. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
- Classic Fish and Chips. “Classic Fish and Chips Recipe.” Allrecipes, 2020, www.allrecipes.com/recipe/16580/classic-fish-and-chips/. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
- Andy. “Bangers and Mash.” Andy Cooks, 25 Nov. 2025, www.andy-cooks.com/blogs/recipes/bangers-and-mash. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
- Lemm, Elaine . “Discover the Fascinating Story of the Yorkshire Pudding.” The Spruce Eats, 16 Nov. 2019, www.thespruceeats.com/history-of-the-yorkshire-pudding-435209. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
- Davis, Amanda. “English Trifle.” Amanda’s Cookin’, 29 Oct. 2017, amandascookin.com/traditional-english-trifle/. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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