Traditional Canadian Food You Need to Try

Welcome to Canada, the land of the free and the home of fast food chains restaurants and unique traditional food only found in Canada. Canada doesn’t only have an abundance of fast food restaurants, it also serves up some pretty amazing traditional Canadian food that you’ll find only in Canada. Let’s take a look!

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Foodies search the globe over for the best traditional food offered in each Country. In this guide, I will introduce you to some traditional Canadian foods you will have to try when visiting Canada. Get ready to gain a few pounds, however, Canada offers a ton of activities to help you to stay fit while travelling our massive Country.

Traditional Canadian Food to Try When Visiting Canada

While Canada may not be the most powerful nation on earth, it definitely has a formidable culinary scene. It is definitely true that Canadians frequent fast food restaurants regularly, however Canadians can whip up some pretty awesome traditional food that can only be found in Canada. When travelling from Canada’s east coast to west coast, you will unearth many foods widely available only in Canada. You would be missing out when visiting Canada if you didn’t taste the best of Canada’s traditional food. Let’s get started!

Just One Tip: If you are travelling solo and you don’t feel comfortable eating alone, then you need to read 10 Tips to Make Eating Alone Easier

Poutine

I would be remiss if I didn’t begin with poutine as a traditional food for Canadians. Afterall, poutine has become known as the national food of Canada. This decadent dish originated in the Province of Quebec during the 1950’s. The original version of poutine was a plate of french fries doused with gravy and cheese curds. The dish has become so popular and loved that it has evolved over the years. It now can include many other ingredients, including onions, chili, and chicken, and anything else that you can think of. However, in my opinion, nothing beats the taste of the original poutine which is still available at every Canadian restaurant.

Tortierre – Canada’s Meat Pie

Torchiere is known as Canada’s Meat Pie. Like poutine, torchiere originated in the Province of Quebec and dates as far back as the 1700’s when Quebec was a French Settlement. Canadians save this dish of ground beef, onions, and savory seasonings for special occasions. It’s not often that you’ll find torchiere in a Canadian restaurant, but if you do, I highly recommend you snatch it up.

Butter Tarts

Nothing screams traditional Canadian food quite like butter tarts. These sweet tarts were said to have been created in Barrie, Ontario in the early 1900’s. The original butter tart consisted of a golden crisp tart shell filled with butter, sugar, and eggs. The creation of the tarts evolved to include pecans or almonds, and even in some cases bacon. Canada celebrates its butter tarts at festivals throughout the Country in the Spring of every year.

Pineapple Pizza

I’m sure it will surprise you to learn that the Pineapple Pizza was not created in Italy. Nor was it created in Hawaii. The sweat and savory pizza was created in Canada in 1962. Even though the Hawaiian pizza was created in Canada, there remains a great deal of debate whether or not pineapple should be a pizza topping.

Donairs

The story has it that donairs were originally invented in either Greece or Turkey. There is also a claim that they were invented in Germany. While the history of the donair is unclear, it is known that in the 1970’s a Canadian restaurateur from Halifax began creating his own version of the donair. The mouth-watering pita wrapped around spiced ground beef, tomatoes, and onions, topped with sweet garlic donair sauce has remained a fan favorite of Nova Scotia.

Peameal Bacon (Canadian Back Bacon)

Canadian back bacon is known by Canadians as bacon. This bacon cut from a boneless pork loin and rolled in cornmeal was developed in Toronto in the early 1900’s. Even though peameal bacon is a traditional Canadian food, it is most popular in Ontario. It is said that peameal bacon is a healthier choice to regular bacon.

Kraft Dinner

Kraft Dinner is a staple in every Canadian household with children. Kraft Dinner, not to be confused with mac and cheese, is a box of pasta with processed cheese. Cook it up and mix with butter and milk and you’ve got one of Canada’s traditional comfort foods. For less than $3.00 Kraft Dinner is an inexpensive quick meal that everyone loves. It is available in grocery stores Canada wide.

Canadian Maritimes Lobster

While lobster didn’t originate in Canada, it has become a staple in Canada’s Eastern Provinces of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland. Due to the abundance of lobster found in the Atlantic Ocean, Canada has become the supplier of over half the world’s lobster. Typically the lobster season in Canada is in the Spring and again in December. Although Canadian Maritimes Lobster is extremely popular in Eastern Canada, it is not widely consumed across the Country.

Traditional Canadian Sweets and Treats

You haven’t tasted the best of Canadian traditional food without trying Canada’s most favorite sweats and treats.

Maple Syrup

Maple syrup not only tastes delicious, it is part of Canada’s culture. This sweat maple syrup enriches the taste of pancakes, waffles, ice cream, and much more. Canada’s aboriginal people taught its earliest settlors how to harvest the sap from the trees. Although maple syrup is mostly harvested in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, it is a household staple across the Country. Find a Maple Syrup Festival near you.

Ketchup Chips

In the 1970’s Hostess gambled on the fact that Canadians loved ketchup so much that they created ketchup chips. The chips instantly became a hit in Canada. They have become a Canadian classic treat that can only be purchased in Canada. The crispy, ketchup covered potato chips are enjoyed across the Country by all.

Nanaimo Bars

The recipe for this sweet (very sweet) dessert first appeared in 1952. In 1985, the Mayor of Nanaimo, British Columbia launched a contest to find the best recipe for nanaimo bars which resulted in the Canadian recipe for Canada’s nanaimo bar as we know it today. This easy to make, no bake dessert consists of custard flavored butter, topped with a chocolate ganache, all carefully layered on top of a graham wafer crumb crust. Nanaimo bars quickly became a popular dessert across Canada.

Beaver Tail

This sweet pastry was developed in a small town just outside of Ottawa by Grant and Pam Hooker. The beaver tail, also known as the Canadian donut, is dough deep fried to a golden brown and garnished with a variety of toppings, including sugar, chocolate, and vanilla icing. The beaver tail was first offered for sale at the Killaloe Craft and Community Fair and can now be found at fairs across the Country. The beaver tail was named after Canada’s national symbol, the beaver.

Traditional Canadian Drinks

Ice Wine

Ice wine is a sweet wine which many accompany with sweet desserts. I personally find it a little too sweet for my taste buds, so I pair it with dry cheese. In order to produce ice wine, the climate must be hot during the summer months and cold throughout the winter months. Canada has the perfect weather which makes it the world’s largest supplier of ice wine. Due to the extra work involved in creating one bottle of ice wine, the cost far exceeds that of a regular bottle of wine. Canada’s ice wine is much more expensive than a regular bottle of wine.

PRO TIP: The Niagara Region of Ontario celebrates the “liquid gold” produced in Canada in at the Ice Wine Festival which is held in January every year in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Find out if you’ll be in Canada during this year’s Ice Wine Festival

Caesars

The conventional Canadian Caesar is a spicy blend of vodka, clamato juice, worcestershire sauce, celery salt, dash of hot sauce and pepper, and garnished with a celery stalk and lime wedge. Like poutine, many bars and restaurants have added its own twist by adding dill pickles and shrimp. When ordering this popular Canadian drink, you can request the bartender to hold the spice.

FUN FACT: Canadians drink Caesar’s in the morning after a night of heavy drinking. It is thought to help with hangovers.

Bagged Milk

While Canada definitely wasn’t the inventor of milk, it is the only Country where milk is sold in bags. It is possible to purchase milk in a carton in Canada, however, most families purchase it by the bag as it will last longer. The tip of the bad is cut and the bag is placed in a special milk container. Do not cut the entire bag open 🙂

Tim Horton’s Coffee

Tim Horton’s Coffee, fondly referred to as Tim’s or Timmies, was founded by the famour NHL hockey player, Tim Horton in 1964. In 2014 it partnered with Burger King and became a Canadian-USA owned Company. When on a road trip throughout Canada, you will find a Tim Hortons on every corner of every city. Canadians love their timmies to this day, which makes this Canadian coffee a chain a staple throughout Canada.

That’s a Wrap!

Since Canada is cold for 6 to 7 months of the year, the customary food of Canada offers Canadians warmth and comfort throughout the Winter months, hence has been fondly labelled “comfort food”. Wherever you are travelling in Canada, I recommend that you track down at least one of the traditional foods of Canada.

BON APPETIT 🙂

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