The Very Best Scottish Recipes For Burns Night - Larder Love (2024)

FAQs

What do Scots eat on Burns Night? ›

Serve up a Scottish supper to remember with a classic smoked fish soup and the essential haggis, neeps and tatties - all rounded off with a traditional clootie dumpling. Delicious!

Traditionally, Burns Suppers are held on or around Robert Burns's birthday – 25 January – but they can be held at any time of year. They celebrate good fellowship and the works of our national poet, Robert Burns.

Main course. A cooked haggis Haggis, neeps and tatties on a plate. At the end of the poem, a whisky toast will be proposed to the haggis, and the company will sit down to the meal.

Haggis, neeps and tatties

You can't celebrate Burns Night without this classic Scottish dish! Serve haggis alongside 'neeps and tatties' aka potatoes and turnips and a whisky sauce.

In 1971, it became illegal to import haggis into the US from the UK due to a ban on food containing sheep lung, which constitutes 10–15% of the traditional recipe. The ban encompasses all lungs, as fluids such as stomach acid and phlegm may enter the lung during slaughter.

Held annually on 25 January, Burns Night conjures up images of cosying up around a fire, enjoying traditional Scottish fare and devouring a deliciously warming whisky.

While there is no formal greeting for Burns Night, people generally say “Sláinte Mhath” to one another. This is pronounced “slanj'-uh va” and translates as “Good Health!”. You can also say “Oidhche Bhlas Burns”, which means “Happy Burns Night”. These could be fun messages to include in your designs.

Men's Burns Night Attire

Highland Dress is traditionally worn by men at formal Burns suppers. Traditional highland wear for men consists of a tartan kilt with a sporran, a dress shirt with a bow tie or tie, a Prince Charlie jacket, and brogues with kilt socks and sgian dubh.

1. “Dare to be honest and fear no labor.” Taken from the anthology The Prose Work of Robert Burns, this quotation is not actually from a poem, but rather from an essay he wrote.

Cranachan. A classic Scottish dessert, cranachan is a beautiful medley of double cream, toasted oats, raspberries, honey and a great big slosh of whisky. It's the perfect ending to a Burns Night feast.

Which vegetable is traditional for Burns Night? ›

Our haggis is served alongside its traditional side dishes 'neeps and tatties', otherwise known as mashed potatoes and swede (though turnips are used interchangeably with swede).

What does haggis taste like? Haggis is like a crumbly sausage, with a coarse oaty texture and a warming peppery flavour. It's most commonly served with neeps (mashed turnip) and tatties (mashed potato) and washed down with a wee dram of your favourite whisky.

The meal traditionally features haggis, neeps and tatties (swede and potatoes) and a dram of whisky is non-negotiable. We've put together our perfect Burns Night menu below, but for more Burns Night menu ideas check out our collection of recipes.

Selkirk Grace is a poem commonly attributed to Robert Burns, a widely celebrated Scottish poet. It's often used on Burn's night as a giving of thanks before guests tuck into their Burn's night dinner.

Scottish Christmas food

Soup, smoked salmon, pâté and haggis are common starters. For the main course, roast turkey tends to be the most popular dish. But you might also be able to choose from options such as glazed ham, roast beef or goose.

It's most commonly served with neeps (mashed turnip) and tatties (mashed potato) and washed down with a wee dram of your favourite whisky. Haggis is a versatile ingredient – it can be used to make a stuffing for poultry and game, or fried up for breakfast like crumbled black pudding.

haggis, the national dish of Scotland, a type of pudding composed of the liver, heart, and lungs of a sheep (or other animal), minced and mixed with beef or mutton suet and oatmeal and seasoned with onion, cayenne pepper, and other spices. The mixture is packed into a sheep's stomach and boiled.

Scotland is blessed with a plentiful natural larder

Foods such as kale and porridge featured prominently ¬are now promoted as superfoods. In the past, those who could afford to would supplement this simple diet with milk and ale, butter, cheese and fish. In good times, people thrived on this limited but wholesome diet.