10 Must-Try Traditional Tyrolean Dishes
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With the exception of Wiener Schnitzel, Austrian cuisine isn’t particularly well known around the world. But if you’re coming to Tyrol for your elopement, you shouldn’t miss out on trying some of the local cuisine.
The traditional dishes in Tirol have a one main thing in common – they are designed to be calorie-dense and fill you up after a hard day of being in the mountains. So what things shouldn’t you miss while you are here?
Savoury Dishes
You might find a running theme throughout a lot of Tyrolean food – it’s usually pretty heavy on the carbs and/or meat and cheese. Here are some of the best ones to try:
Käsespätzle
Käsespätzle (also called Kasspatzln) is Tyrol’s answer to mac & cheese – though most people think it’s much tastier. Spätzle or Spatzln are soft egg noodles, mixed with melted Alpine cheeses like Bergkäse or Emmental, and usually topped with crispy fried onions. Sometimes it may be served with a side salad (just to make it feel slightly healthier)!
Käsespätzle should be suitable for vegetarians.
Tiroler Gröstl
Tiroler Gröstl is a hearty, rustic dish from Austria’s Tyrol region, made by pan-frying boiled potatoes with crispy bacon or Speck and onions, often topped with a fried egg. Traditionally a way to use up leftovers, it has become a beloved comfort food known for its rich, savory flavors and crispy textures. Seasoned with salt, pepper, and sometimes caraway or marjoram, it’s often served with a side of green salad or cabbage salad. Some restaurants may also offer a Gemüse (vegetable) Gröstl which is a vegetarian alternative.
Knödel
Knödel are dumplings, most commonly made from leftover bread, eggs, milk, and herbs. They come in a number of different flavours and forms, the most common of which are:
- Serviettenknödel – this is usually a plain knödel with herbs, often cut into slices and served as a side with gloulash or other stews.
- Speckknödel – typically a tennis-ball sized dumpling with pieces of speck (cured ham)
- Spinatknödel – typically a tennis-ball sized dumpling made with spinach (vegetarian)
- Kasspressknödel – A slightly softer dumpling with melted alpine cheese inside that is pressed and fried to make it slightly crispy. Looks a bit like a patty and is often served in a clear broth (kasspressknödelsuppe) or with a salad. (vegetarian).
You can also get sweet knödel, but we’ll cover those in the dessert section.
Schlutzkrapfen
Schlutzkrapfen is Tyrol’s answer to ravioli. These semi-circle-shaped pasta pockets are made from a thin dough and filled with a savory mixture, usually consisting of spinach and ricotta or potatoes. In some areas of South Tyrol, beetroot is another common filling. They are most commonly served with melted butter and grated Parmesan. They are usually suitable for vegetarians.
Zillertaler Krapfen
A treat out of the Zillertal valley, Zillertal Krapfen are thin pastries filled with a mixture of potatoes, cheese, and onions, and then deep fried. They are usually suitable for vegetarians.
Jausenbrett’l
A Jausnbrett’l (also called Jausenbrett or Brettljause) is a traditional Tyrolean snack platter, commonly served on a wooden board and enjoyed as a light lunch or snack in a mountain hut. It typically features a variety of local foods such as cured meats, alpine cheeses, picked vegetables and bread.
Sweet Treats
Kaiserschmarrn
Kaiserschmarrn is a fluffy, shredded pancake that is a popular Austrian dessert. Made from a sweet batter of eggs, flour, sugar, and milk, it is cooked in a pan until golden brown, then split into small pieces. It is typically served with powdered sugar and a side of fruit compote, such as plum or apple sauce. Apparently Emperor Franz Joseph I loved this dish, which is why it’s called Kaiserschmarrn (meaning “Emperor’s mess”). While Kaiserschmarrn is technically a dessert, it’s common to find people eating it as a main dish in mountain restaurants, as portions are generally large and it is extremely filling (and did I mention delicious)!
Germknödel
Not to be confused with the savory knödel above, germknödel is a sweet dish commonly enjoyed in ski resorts. It’s a large, fluffy yeast dumpling filled with Powidl (a thick plum jam) and steamed until soft. Once cooked, it is traditionally topped with melted butter or vanilla sauce and generously sprinkled with a mix of poppy seeds and powdered sugar.
Marillenknödel
Another type of dumpling, marillenknödel are smaller, sweet dumplings made from topfen (a type of quark), with an apricot filling and covered in sweet breadcrumbs. Typically they are first boiled, then rolled in the sweet sugary breadcrumbs and cooked in melted butter.
Strudel
Strudel is another Austrian classic – thin layers of pasty with a delicious sweet filling, often served warm with either cream or vanilla sauce. The most common ones you’ll find are:
- Apfelstrudel (apple)
- Topfenstrudel (quark/sweet cheese) – think of this a bit like a cheesecake strudel…
- Mohn (poppy seeds) – ground poppy seeds, sugar, and milk, creating a slightly nutty, earthy, and sweet taste
In some places its also possible to find savoury strudels, such as vegetable to spinach and feta. If you’re curious to try some more unusual flavours, stop at the Strudel Cafe in Innsbruck.
Alcoholic Drinks
Schnapps
Schnapps to Austrians is what grappa is to Italians. It’s not just alcohol, it’s medicine. I remember my days as a ski instructor and turning up for work with a really bad cold, only to be told (by my BOSS) to have a schnapps as that was a cure for anything!
But day drinking aside, schapps is most commonly drunk after dinner as a digestive. Although served in a shot glass, rather than drinking it down in one go, it’s typically drunk slowly and savored.
Schnapps is traditionally made from leftover fruits, but these days the flavour choices are almost endless. You may even find that many of the huts or restaurants you visit make their own schnapps. Some of the most common flavours you’ll find include:
- Obstler (Fruit Schnapps) – One of the most common, typically made from apples and pears
- Marille (Apricot)
- Williamsbirne (Pear) – Sometimes referred to as just “Williams” or “Birne”
- Zwetschgen (Plum)
- Wacholder (Juniper)
- Himbeer (Raspberry)
- Hazlenuss (Hazlenut)
- Kirsch (Cherry)
- Zirben (Stone pine) – My personal favourite!
If you want to try lots of unique flavours, take a trip to the Tirol Geniessen shop in the centre of Innsbruck, where they offer free testing.
Alpine Gins
The popularity of gin is seeing a renaissance, and with that is the increase in small distilleries in Tirol, who make their gin from fresh mountain herbs (including mountain juniper) and other botanicals, including pine and larch to create distinct new flavours.
Hugo
Whilst this isn’t Tyrolean in its origin, this drink is popular in Tyrol. A “Hugo” is a spritzer with prosecco (or sekt, a sparkling white wine), soda water, elderflower syrup and fresh mint. If you find Aperol spritz too bitter, try a Hugo instead.
Beer
While neighboring Bavaria is more famous for its beers, Tirol has one local brewery that is particularly well known throughout Austria.
Zillertal Bier
This brewery is located in the Zillertal Valley in Tyrol and produces a range of beers, including the famous Zillertal Lager, known for its light, crisp, and refreshing taste. They also offer Zillertal Pils, which has a slightly more bitter finish, as well as wheat beers and specialty craft beers.
If you’re a beer lover, why not consider visiting their BrauKunstHaus.
Zirbiner
Zirbiner is a traditional sweet Austrian liqueur made from the cones of the Swiss pine (Zirbenkiefer or Zirbelkiefer), which grows in the Alpine regions. The young, red pine cones are harvested in early summer, then infused in high-proof alcohol, often with sugar, to create a unique, aromatic liqueur. It’s great served after dinner as a digestif. For those who prefer something less sweet, there is also a Zirben (pine) schnapps. You can tell the difference between the two by the colour. The liqueur is orange in colour while the scnapps is clear.
Non-Alcoholic Drinks
Many of the most popular non-alcoholic drinks you’ll find in Tyrol aren’t specifically from here. But for many folks from overseas, you might not be familiar with them, so I’ll go over the most common ones below:
Bergkräutertee
Bergkräutertee specifically refers to “mountain herbs tea”. Austrian’s love their herbal teas, and in Tirol you’ve got some great blends of different teas made from herbs collected from alpine pastures.
Almdudler
Almdudler is a sweet and refreshing fizzy soda made with a blend of alpine herbs and lemon. It’s specifically from Tyrol, but it is typically Austrian.
Buttermilch
Buttermilk is a drink made from the byproduct of butter-churning. It’s often drunk as a cooling, hydrating drink in the warmer months up at the huts in the high alpine pastures.
Apfelschorle
Order a plain apple juice and most places will look at you confused. It Tyrol, the most popular way to drink apple juice is as an “Apfelschorle” (also called Apfelsaft gespritzt). It’s just apple juice mixed with sparkling water.
Johannisbeerschorle
Similar to the Apfelschorle, a Johannisbeerschorle is blackcurrant juice with sparkling water.
Skiwasser
Popular through the German-speaking ski regions of the Alps, a “Skiwasser” (literally meaning “ski water”) is a fruity syrup (usually raspberry flavour) with water. In some places you may be able to choose if you want it with still or sparkling water. In others the default is sparkling water.
Hollunder
Hollunder syrup (also called Hollunderblüten or just “Holler”) is a syrup made from elderflower. It’s sweet and usually diluted with either still or sparkling water. In some places you may find homemade hollunder syrup which often has a hint of citrus too.
Spezi
Originally from Germany, Spezi is a mix of cola and orange soda. If you can’t decide between cola and Fanta, why not try Spezi!