Turkish Breakfast Dishes You Must Try: A Delicious Morning Feast

03.04.2025 - 14:02

Turkish cuisine may be known for its kebabs and mezes, but there is one aspect of Turkish food culture that never fails to attract the attention of food lovers: Turkish breakfast.

The most common type of Turkish breakfast a visitor to Turkey would eat is serpme kahvaltı, which translates to 'breakfast spread', as the shared plates are spread out from each end of the table for leisurely sampling.

On a typical Turkish breakfast table you will find an assortment of cheeses, olives, jams, vegetables, breads and small plates of cured meats, all anchored around a delicious egg dish, creating a true morning feast. While the contents of a Turkish breakfast may vary, each serpme kahvaltı is always a mouth-watering sight.

Here are some of the standout dishes to try on your next Turkish breakfast adventure👇

Sucuklu Yumurta

Cured meats such as sausages are commonplace on many European breakfast tables, but none quite like Turkish sucuk. Made from beef and fermented with garlic and other spices, sucuk has a strong, well-seasoned flavour. Throw some sucuk into a pan with some butter and eggs cooked on a low heat and you have Turkish sucuklu yumurta, a hearty, protein-rich breakfast main course.

Menemen

If sucuklu yumurta is too heavy for an egg dish to be the centrepiece of your Turkish breakfast, try menemen. Menemen is a traditional Turkish breakfast dish consisting of eggs, tomatoes, green peppers and various fragrant spices cooked in oil, often served in a copper pan to be shared by everyone at the table. Cured meat, but more often white or kaşar cheese, is added for a heartier dish. The result is a smooth, rich, tomato-flavoured puree that can be spread on toasted bread or simit, Turkish bagels topped with toasted sesame seeds.

Çılbır

Another egg dish commonly found on Turkish breakfast tables is çılbır. In çılbır, poached eggs are served on a bed of garlic yoghurt, often topped with peppered butter. Çılbır was a favourite of the Ottoman sultans and its rich texture still makes it a popular part of any Turkish breakfast.

Pişi

While traditional bread is a given at any Turkish breakfast table, pişi is another star starch these days. Pişi is simply a fried dough made from flour, yeast, milk, eggs, butter, salt and sugar. It could simply be described as a savoury doughnut. Eaten with a variety of cheeses, jams (reçel) or hazelnut chocolate spread, it is a perfect combination of sweet and savoury flavours.

Kuymak

Another dish mainly eaten with bread, kuymak is a savoury mixture of cornmeal, butter and melted cheese. Kuymak is a common breakfast speciality in the Black Sea region of Turkey. To be sure that kuymak has been prepared properly, look for long strands of buttery cheese extending from your fork. One of the most decadent of all Turkish breakfast spreads, kuymak is perhaps the perfect solution for an empty stomach.

Turkish tea

In Turkey, more tea is consumed than in any other country in the world, and it starts at breakfast. Black tea is far more common than any other type of tea, and in Turkey it's made in something called a çaydanlık, which separates a concentrated form of tea from boiled water. It's strong but never bitter, and studies have shown that Turkish tea helps regulate blood vessels and the heart, reducing the risk of stroke or heart attack. It's served in beautiful fluted glass cups, which add to the aesthetics of the breakfast.

Acuka

Although it varies from region to region, acuka generally consists of some form of tomato paste and nuts, often walnuts and spicesi It is part of breakfast all over the country. Keep in mind that there's often a bit of a kick to it, so be careful!

Jam And Marmalade

Most regions in Turkey have a variety of jams that they're most famous for, so wherever you are, you'll find different locally made products that are all equally natural and wonderful. Often there's no sugar added at all, so the flavour of the fruit can stand on its own!

Bal Kaymak

It's a luxury at most breakfasts, but an absolute must. The clotted cream of the 'kaymak' is as good as you'll find anywhere in the world, and Turkish honey is also renowned as one of the best, with hundreds of different varieties on offer (depending on the flowers they're pollinated from), all 100% natural of course. Honey straight from the comb is very common in Turkey, with locals going to the shop and buying an entire comb rather than a jar.

Source: Taste Atlas

As Turkish cuisine spreads around the world, more and more people are discovering the appeal of the classic Turkish breakfast.

Although known for its photogenic spread of cheeses and fresh produce, the Turkish breakfast also includes some unique traditional dishes that you should not miss while in Turkey.