80 Best Amish Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the most popular Amish food? ›

Traditional Amish food includes dishes like tasty roasted chicken, creamy mashed potatoes & gravy, seasoned vegetables, fresh bread, and homemade jam. The Amish are also known for excellent baked goods, especially pies, cookies, breads, cakes, and fry pies.

To truly appreciate Amish cuisine, it's essential to understand its foundations. Originating from the Swiss-German heritage, their dishes emphasize hearty ingredients, designed to fuel long hours of manual labor in the fields and homes. Grains, dairy, and locally sourced meats play a pivotal role in the Amish diet.

The Amish cook their dishes on a wood-burning stove or over an open fire. This cooking method brings out the natural flavors in all ingredients. Additionally, the cooks use cast iron pots and pans. These pots and pans retain heat better, giving their dishes that classic, home-cooked flavor everyone loves.

Alcohol consumption isn't prohibited in all Amish communities, and neither is it encouraged. It doesn't play a big role in Amish youth culture, either. However, it often becomes more of a feature during Rumspringa.

Although modern Amish people occasionally enjoy regular meals such as tacos or lasagne, most of their foods comprise fresh farm-grown vegetables with a high focus on dairy, meat, and eggs, too.

It's no surprise that outsiders are often curious about Amish everyday life, and their eating habits. Do the Amish drink coffee? The answer is yes, they certainly do! However, they don't use electric kettles or coffee machines as we do.

The Amish Have No Dietary Restrictions

Having no dietary restrictions means they can eat whatever their heart desires. While many Amish stick to a traditional Pennsylvania Dutch diet, we've seen Amish dine at Olive Garden and take their buggies through the Burger King drive thru line.

Homegrown produce is often a staple and features vegetables such as corn, beets, peas, and more. Many Amish families compliment their meals with cabbage and potatoes, using sauerkraut–a type of pickled cabbage–as a staple in many dishes.

What is Amish favorite food? ›

Amish people work the land without most of the modern technology used by farmers today. They need wholesome and filling foods that are also laden with energy. Their Swiss-German traditional fare of loaves of bread, pies, potatoes, and noodles caters to this need very well.

While we are on the topic, yes, the Amish are huge consumers of soda. To be honest, I've not met too many who are co*ke fans. It seems to be Pepsi and Mountain Dew that are popular among the Amish.

Root Cellars

These structures use the earth's natural properties to maintain controlled temperatures and steady humidity. The Amish store fruits, nuts, vegetables, and other types of food in root cellars. They also store canned goods in the root cellar to help them get through the winter months.

Are the Amish Allowed to Eat Pork? Because there are no food restrictions, or notions of pigs being unclean, the Amish can eat pork.

That said, some Amish, especially New Order, like Gloria and family, tend towards healthier diets where soda pop of any kind is a rarity. But among certain Old Order groups, “pop” has become a mainstay. This recipe comes to us from a Mennonite in Canada. You can bake the chicken in the recipe or baste it and grill it .

Amish baby formula is a raw milk formula that has been used for centuries by Amish families. It's made from cow's milk, whey, and goat's milk and does not include sugar or salt. Raw whole milk is essential for this recipe because it contains many vital nutrients that can't be found in store-bought pasteurized milk.