As last week’s post about the best foods to eat in Australia was so well-received, I thought I’d publish another post all about the Greek foods that are worth travelling for. Why Greece? Well, I always travel with food in mind and although I’m not looking to splash out on a long-haul holiday this year, I’ve been considering travelling to Italy because I thought that, while I’m there, I could even catch a ferry to Greece or see if I could find a cheap flight over there and that way, I get to cross two countries off my travel bucket list!
As a keen carnivore, Greek foods really appeal to me because they are often rich in meat and seafood, not to mention cheese and olive oil – another of my favourite things! However, I feel like there’s much more to this mouthwatering Mediterranean cuisine that meets the eye, and so I decided to speak to some of my fellow travel bloggers to find out what foods they enjoy eating when they visit Greece.
Based on these conversations and some of my own personal recommendations, I’ve put together a list of eight traditional Greek foods worth trying if you ever visit Greece. Enjoy!
1. Moussaka
“One of my favorite Greek foods is Moussaka. It’s a traditional dish made with eggplant, potatoes, minced beef and a delicious milk-based sauce on top, called bechamel. You can find moussaka everywhere in Greece, as it is a very popular dish. Apart from my grandmother’s moussaka, I really enjoyed the one I had at the Meteora Taverna in Kalambaka. This family-run taverna makes many homemade traditional Greek dishes apart from its great moussaka.”
— Chrisoula Manika, Travel Passionate
2. Olive oil
“Olive oil is a typical food in Greece and on Crete, they take it very seriously. As this is Greece’s largest island, try to rent a car in Crete so you can fully explore the finest olive tree crops the region has to offer.
“It’s also very common for families to have their own olive tree garden, as the product is a core ingredient in many dishes. But you don’t use olive oil just as an add-on. Nope, on Crete, you can go olive oil tasting and then you simply have some bread – or better, rusk – with olive oil. The rusk itself doesn’t taste like much, but that’s the point. It’s merely the vessel for the olive oil, of which you’ll be surprised how many different tastes there are.”
— Sofie Couwenbergh, Wonderful Wanderings
3. Fresh seafood
4. Loukoumades
— Kate Parnell, Wanderlust Chronicles
5. Fava
— Nathan Aguilera, Foodie Flashpacker
6) Saganaki
If you are, like me, a turophile (a cheese fancier – LOL!) then you simply must try one of the best cheeses on this planet. I’m talking about Saganaki. Saganaki is a fried cheese dish that is prepared in a frying pan – not deep fried – and served hot, with a slice of lemon on the side. That’s it. Squeeze that lemon all over the cheese, cut off a slice, and go to cheesy heaven.
The unique thing about saganaki is that it’s often made from sheep or goats milk and even though it’s fried, it doesn’t melt. The cheese merely softens and heats through; each mouthful that follows is a salty blast of slightly chewy deliciousness. You can find Saganaki in pretty much every restaurant and taverna in Greece, as it’s a common appetizer.
The Greek word Saganaki actually means frying pan; and the aki stands for the size of the pan, which means small. This means that there a few Saganaki dishes available but if you ask for saganaki cheese, they will know exactly what you are talking about and promptly bring you this unforgettable dish. Enjoy!
— Megsy, Food Fun Travel
7. Souvlaki
Souvlaki is my own contribution and although I haven’t been to Greece before, I have been lucky enough to taste authentic souvlaki at the popular Cardiff-based Greek restaurant, The Hellenic Eatery. Last year, I even got to watch Shawna Guinn of Hangfire Smokehouse and Lisandros Hajigeorgis of Meat and Greek make Cypriotic pork souvlaki at Cowbridge Food Festival.
To make the perfect souvlaki, marinate chunks of meat (pork, chicken and lamb work well) in lemon juice, olive oil, fresh oregano, salt and garlic for several hours or ideally overnight, then slide the chunks onto skewers and cook the kebabs over a charcoal grill. Eat it straight from the skewer, or served inside homemade pitta bread. It tastes great with some fresh salad, tzatzkiki and a sprinkling of paprika. Souvlaki is so easy to make, and it would be the ideal party dish for your summer barbecues!
8. Gyros
Gyros is another personal contribution, but if we’re talking about the best traditional Greek foods, it wouldn’t be right to leave these out.
Gyros are similar to souvlaki, but whereas souvlaki consists of large chunks of meat, the meat used in gyros is slow-cooked on a vertical rotisserie and served in long, thin strips inside a warmed pitta bread. Pork, chicken and lamb are the most popular options, although beef is more common outside Greece. Gyros have also been likened to Turkish doner kebabs and Middle Eastern shawarmas.
Have you ever been to Greece? What are your favourite Greek foods? If you enjoyed this post, pin it below to read later!
Everything on this looks amazing! I actually have a recipe at home for Moussaka! I have been thinking about creating a vegan version of it in the future! LOVE Greek food!!!
I love moussaka. A friend of mine made one once and it took hours, but it was so worth it!
You don’t have to convince me one of my dreams is to visit Greece one day. I love the culture, the history and their food. Those loukoumades are a dream!
I would love to visit Greece – especially to eat all the amazing food 😀
These all look so good! One day I hope visit Greece and try all these yummy foods!
Me too. I’ve tried a few of these before but they’re bound to taste so much better in Greece!
Very interesting and informative – I have been to Greece on many occasions and, like you say Kacie, all the food tastes amazingly delicious – I would be obese if I lived there!!!!! Keep your lovely posts coming!
Aww thanks Maggie, so nice of you to take the time to comment. I am hoping to go to Greece for the first time soon, maybe this year! Thank you x
Like you, I have a strong focus on trying local food when I travel, in fact it’s sometimes a key reason for visiting the destination! Greek food is one of those real comfort cuisines for me, not least because of their delicious lamb dishes including moussaka and souvlaki! Yum!
I love lamb too! Definitely one of my favourite meats. I always think about what I’ll be able to eat when I’m booking a holiday, haha!
I would so love to have an authentic Greek gyro someday!
Me too. I made my own healthy version at home recently using turkey mince, but obviously it was far from the real thing! I need to go to Greece!
YUM! Love Greek food so much! One of my favourites is the Corfiot dish, Sofrito! Delicious!
I’ve heard of this dish but I haven’t tried myself – yet! Sounds delicious.
I love Greek food and make almost every week, love all the ingredients in the compilation.
Me too. I wish I got to it Greek food every week!
Greek food is the best! I love their little mezze plates, where you can have a taste of everything! I am a carnivore as well – and I love how the Greeks spice up their lamb dishes! Need to go to Greece soon! 😀
X Louise
You can’t go wrong with a good mezze! 🙂
Moussaka is one of my absolute favourite foods. I have made it a few times myself, but its very time consuming as I seem to remember i had to salt the aubergine and leave it for ages before frying them! Saganaki cheese was also one of my favourites!
I love moussaka too. I remember my friend made one once and it took hours – but it was worth every minute! 🙂
I’ve not had any of the beautiful dishes you have mentioned here. Would love to! 🙂
Thank you for this detailed post!
I bet you’d love them all 🙂