In Turkey, breakfast isn’t just a meal. It’s an event you get to enjoy each and every day. Similar to brunch, kahvalti, as it’s known, features a wide assortment of breakfast items. It’s not uncommon for it to take up the entire table to feed the whole family. Lavish spreads of meats, cheeses, bread, and jams are just a taste of what you can expect. There are numerous hot dishes, too, like sucuklu yumurta, which is all about eggs and sausage. Set the table and enjoy a family-style buffet with these authentic Turkish breakfast ideas. After all, breakfast in Turkey is all about sharing a quality meal with family.
1. Menemen (Turkish Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes)
Menemen is the proper way to do a Turkish vegetarian breakfast. It’s a savory scramble with a bold medley of juicy tomatoes, tender bell peppers, and onions. Add a pinch of Aleppo pepper and chili flakes if you want more heat. Hearty and wholesome, menemen is a fantastic way to kick off the day. It’s perfect if you want a meat-free meal that’s also an easy skillet recipe.
2. Pide (Turkish Flatbread Pizza)
If you love stuffed bread, you’ll be ecstatic noshing on pide. This extravagant carb-loaded feast is as much of a sight to behold as it is to eat! For the meat route, a savory filling of ground beef, bell peppers, and tomatoes is a hearty choice. For the veggie version, it’s all about eggs, parsley, and cheese. It’s not the quickest breakfast, but it will be the star of your weekend brunch.
3. Turkish Boyoz
Love buttery pastries? I have just the thing for you. Turkish boyoz is a rich, flaky pastry that melts in your mouth. It’s a bit of a process, but once you sink your teeth in, it’s worth it.
4. Turkish Melted Cheese and Cornmeal (Mıhlama)
In the south, they have cheesy grits. In Turkey, they have melted cheese and cornmeal. It starts by incorporating cornmeal with a dab of butter, then comes the water for cooking followed by a ton of Turkish cheese. The sharper the cheese, the better it is. You also want something aged rather than fresh. Very cheesy and rich, a comforting meal like this is hard to resist.
5. Kaymak
Another rich dish I think you’ll love is kaymak. Super creamy and full of milk fat, it’s an extravagant unripe cheese. You cook milk and heavy whipping cream low and slow, then pop it into the fridge for about a day. Add a pinch of salt and chill a bit longer. I love this smeared on crusty bread with cold cuts. It’s also divine with some pekmez, which is a type of Turkish molasses.
6. Turkish Borek
Borek is a Turkish delicacy common at pastry shops. It consists of phyllo sheets featuring layers of spinach, two types of cheese, onions, and fresh herbs. Top it off with nigella seeds for a pungent note. Oh, I almost forgot! The phyllo sheets also get brushed with a yogurt egg wash.
7. Katmer
Here’s another favorite that you can make with phyllo dough. It’s a quick 15-minute pastry with a sweet touch. You brush the phyllo sheets with butter, then layer clotted cream and ground pistachios in between. Sprinkle on as much sugar as you like. The hard part is deciding whether to have this with tea or coffee.
8. Gozleme (Turkish Stuffed Flatbread)
On lazy weekend mornings, my family and I love to have gozleme. It’s a type of flatbread that you can stuff with several different fillings. However, the cheesy spinach and potato version is what we make the most. You take a three-ingredient dough, add the vegetarian filling, then fry it up like a quesadilla. What’s even better is the flatbread is yeast-free, so it’s easy to work with.
9. Turkish Flatbread Bazlama
Bread lovers can appreciate the fluffy, soft texture of bazlama. It’s one of the most heavenly flatbreads you can make and it’s easier than it looks. I love eating it fresh out of the oven with a tiny bit of butter. You can also serve it with cheese and cold cuts for a more filling meal.
10. Homemade Turkish Simit
Every breakfast has a star and in Turkey that’s simit. For a second, forget what you know about bagels because simit can rival the best of them. This sesame-coated Turkish bagel is a popular street food that has a divine flavor and texture. Tear off a piece and dip it in jam or pair it with cheese. If you only have time for one Turkish breakfast food item, make it simit.
11. Acma
You probably realize by now that Turkey knows a thing or two about the art of bread. However, it wouldn’t be fair of me to not mention acma. It’s a soft Turkish bagel topped with sesame seeds. The texture is more similar to our version of a breakfast roll than a bagel. It’s also enough to serve a crowd, making it an excellent choice for a brunch or holiday.
12. Turkish Pogaca
If you love bread and cheese as much as I do, you’ll be head over heels in love with pogaca. Inside this egg-washed pastry is a filling of fresh parsley and feta. Meanwhile, the outside has a crunchy coating of poppy seeds. Sorry in advance if you’re trying to go low-carb, but this pastry is just too good to pass up.
13. Çilbir (Turkish Poached Eggs with Garlic Yogurt)
The very first traditional Turkish breakfast I tried was cilbir. And I have to tell you, I was sold after a single bite. I love poached eggs, but this dish takes them to a whole other level. It involves serving them up on a bed of Greek yogurt with a drizzle of Aleppo butter on top. Grab some warm flatbread, because you’ll want to sop up every last bite.
14. Turkish Suçuk with Eggs
Are you more of the type who prefers sausage with their eggs in the morning? Well, then say hello to sucuk with eggs. Sucuk is a dried beef sausage full of spices like cumin and paprika. Pair it with eggs and you have sucuklu yumurta. Fry some up and sprinkle on fresh herbs like dill or parsley. It’s a wonderful addition to your spread.
15. Cheese (Beyaz Peynir)
Cheese may sound more like an appetizer or snack, but serve it kahvalti style and it’s a meal. While you can take your pick from a wonderful assortment, beyaz peynir is a top choice. It’s a semi-soft brine cheese very popular in Turkey. I love it with flatbread, but it’s also good with crusty sourdough.
16. Turkish Tea In Tea Pot
No matter the spread, it wouldn’t be a proper Turkish breakfast without a pot of tea. Fill a teapot with hot water and toss in black tea leaves. You’ll want to pay attention to the time so you steep it just right.
17. Turkish Coffee
For many of us, coffee is a morning routine. But in Turkey, it’s a ritual. Turkish coffee is a luxury that involves boiling coffee on the stove with a spoonful of sugar. If you don’t have a Turkish pot, a small saucepan will do.
18. Sucuklu Yumurta
Sucuklu yumurta is a must for a Turkish breakfast. And this recipe shows you how to whip it up in under 15 minutes. You fry slices of beef sausage until it’s nice and crispy. Then fry some eggs with it until they’re done like you like them.
19. Cold Cuts (Sucuk)
If you want a little bit of this and a little bit of that, whip up a smorgasbord of cheese, bread, and cold cuts. Sucuk is a popular breakfast meat that features dried beef. It has a ton of spice, so it’s also very flavorful. Serve it up cold or fry it with some eggs. It’s delicious any way you go about it.
20. Pastirma (Dried Cured Beef)
Pastirma is another type of dried beef that you’ll want to add to the spread. It’s salt cured and sliced thin, making it great slapped on bread or eaten charcuterie style. You can also find versions of it made with goat or lamb, but beef is the most common meat.
21. Spinach & Eggs (Ispanaklı Yumurta)
Another popular vegetarian breakfast is spinach and eggs. It’s a quick one skillet meal full of nourishment and super easy to whip up. Tomato paste makes it robust and sweet paprika spruces it right up. When it comes to finding the right ratio of spinach, this dish is jam-packed. Throw in as much as you can when your onions turn translucent. Once the spinach wilts, you’ll make wells for the eggs and fry them up.
22. Pomegranate Juice
Load up on antioxidants with a fresh glass of pomegranate juice. Pomegranates are a very common ingredient in Turkish cuisine. They’re a tasty way to get an immune boost first thing in the morning. You toss the pomegranate arils into a blender and then strain out all the pulp. Deseeding pomegranates can be a little tricky, but cut the fruit into four segments, and you’ll have an easier time.
23. Nevzine
Turkey has some incredible savory breakfast dishes, but they like their sweets too. Nevzine is a prime example. This dessert is a common breakfast item that’s sort of like a cross between a cookie and a cake. It’s big on the tahini and dripping with pekmez, which is a thick grape syrup. It’s not complete, though, without ground walnuts in the dough.
24. Turkish Tahini & Molasses Spread (Tahini Pekmez)
Nevzine has me dreaming about this sweet spread. It’s a viscous molasses featuring only two ingredients: tahini and grape molasses. Smear it on toast and pair it with an assortment of cheese. You can even add it to your yogurt or try a dollop on your morning oats.
25. Honey
There is one Turkish breakfast condiment that you can’t go wrong with and that’s honey. Like in America, it’s a staple you find gracing the breakfast table. Drizzle it on yogurt or fresh homemade bread. It’s one of those items you have to have to round out your kahvalti spread. Click on a star to rate it!
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