Try a real Balkan breakfast with bread, feta, eggs, sausage, olives, and fresh vegetables. Simple, filling, and full of flavor, just like people eat at home.
Thereโs nothing fancy about a real Balkan breakfast - just good, fresh ingredients like bread, feta, eggs, sausage, olives, and vegetables, and maybe a dip like Ajvar or Zacusca or similar (depending on the country).
Not long ago, this kind of breakfast even went viral on TikTok. At first, some people laughed at the idea of calling a few slices of bread, cheese, and raw onions a breakfast, but once they tried it, they saw how good and real it actually was.
Itโs not about complicated recipes; itโs about sitting down to real food that fills you up and makes you feel at home. Even though Romania isnโt officially part of the Balkans, this is the kind of breakfast I grew up eating, and it still feels like home to me; actually, I eat a version of this breakfast almost every day.
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Recipe ingredients
Start simple with bread, cheese, onions (red, white, or green), and some sliced tomatoes or cucumbers. Even if you only have these, youโre still set for a really good breakfast.
Bread: White bread โ the bread we always had at home was soft and cut into very large, thick slices. But crusty bread, sourdough, baguette, or even breakfast rolls work just as well. Make this Sun-Dried Tomato Bread for breakfast; itโs amazing!
Cheese: Feta is the first choice. You can also use kashkaval, which is a semi-hard yellow cheese made from cowโs or sheepโs milk. Itโs mild and slightly salty, great for slicing or melting. You could replace kashkaval with mild cheddar (not aged) or young Gouda.
Then start adding other things:
Salami โ a dry-cured sausage popular all over the Balkans. And cabanossi, very popular in Romania. You can serve the cabanossi as it is, or better yet, cut it into large pieces and fry them briefly in a pan.
Eggs: Boiled, fried, scrambled eggs, poached, or omelet โ whatever you like.
Vegetables, according to the season:
- Spring: Radishes, green onions, cucumbers. Ideally, you would have shorter, thicker garden cucumbers with bumpy skin and fresh taste, common in this region. However, English cucumbers or small Persian cucumbers are great, too.
- Summer and autumn: Ripe, sweet tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers. The most typical peppers in this region are the long, pointed green ones. However, red, orange, or yellow bell peppers (not green) work just as well. If you have those sweet peppers, try the Feta Stuffed Peppers, too.
- Winter: Onions, black olives, and pickled vegetables like pickled green tomatoes, sour cucumbers, or any other pickles you like.
Dip: Something like ajvar or zacusca โ depending on where you are. Theyโre all versions of the same roasted eggplant, pepper, and tomato dip. Itโs honestly the best dip you can make.
Drinks: Coffee - my grandmaโs coffee was always cooked in a small kettle on the stovetop; it was black, strong, and unbearably sweet. If you donโt drink coffee, make an herbal tea like mint or chamomile.
How to make a Balkan breakfast?
Step #1: Start by boiling the eggs. For semi-soft yolks, cook them for about 6โ7 minutes. For hard-boiled eggs, boil them for 9โ10 minutes.
Step #2: While they cook, cut all the vegetables into slices or pieces.
Step #3: Cut feta and salami into thick slices. Cut the cabanossi into large chunks.
Step #4: Fry the cabanossi pieces for 3โ5 minutes until lightly crispy and heated through, turning often.
Tip: I make two small cuts at each end of the cabanossi, crossing each other like an X. This helps the sausage curl up when cooked, forming a flower-like shape.
Arrange the platter
Use a big plate or wooden board.
Place thick slices of bread in one corner or spread them out. Add the cheese nearby, sliced or in chunks. Put the boiled eggs next to the cheese.
Arrange the salami and cabanossi in small piles or slices. Then add fresh veggies like tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers in groups.
Place a small bowl of ajvar or zacusca on the side. Scatter olives around to fill empty spots or place them on a small plate, if thereโs still enough space for it. Donโt forget to place a small bowl of salt on the table.
Store the leftovers
Itโs best to eat the vegetables in one go, as they are nicest when fresh. You can store the rest of the ingredients in airtight containers in the fridge.
If you have leftover cabanossi, slice it and add it to soups or stews, like the Kid-Friendly Soup with Potatoes or the Potato Sausage Stew.
Balkan Breakfast
Equipment
- Large plate or wooden board
- Medium frying pan
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 1 long baguette thickly sliced, Note 1
- 1 onion red or white. or 4 green onions
- 2 tomatoes ripe and sweet
- 8 radishes
- 1 garden cucumber or ยฝ English cucumber
- 2 sweet green peppers or 1 large bell pepper red, orange or yellow
- 20 black olives
- 8 slices of feta cheese or kashkaval, Note 2
- 10 slices salami
- 2 cabanossi sausages about 9 oz/ 200 g
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 1 small bowl of ajvar or zacusca optional, Note 3
- a few sprigs of parsley optional
- fine sea salt
Instructions
Basic Balkan breakfast:
- Serve: A few slices of bread (depending on their size) with feta cheese, 2-3 slices of salami, a bit of onion, one tomato, or a few cucumber slices.
Deluxe Balkan breakfast:
- Eggs: Boil the eggs. For semi-soft yolks, cook them for about 6โ7 minutes. For hard-boiled eggs, boil them for 9โ10 minutes. You can also make fried, poached, scrambled eggs, or omelets. While the eggs cook, prepare the rest of the ingredients.4 eggs
- Bread: Cut the bread into thick slices.1 long baguette
- Vegetables: Cut the onion, tomatoes, and radishes into small wedges. Slice the cucumbers and the pepper. Place the olives in a small bowl.1 onion + 2 tomatoes + 8 radishes + 1 garden cucumber + 2 sweet green peppers + 20 black olives
- Cheese: Cut the feta or kashkaval into thick slices.8 slices of feta cheese
- Sausages: Cut the salami into thick slices. Cut the cabanossi into large pieces. Make two small cuts at each end, crossing like an X, so they curl up and form a flower shape when cooked.10 slices salami + 2 cabanossi sausages
- Cook cabanossi: Heat the oil in the pan and fry the cabanossi for 3โ5 minutes, turning often, until lightly crispy and heated through.1 teaspoon oil
Arrange Balkan breakfast:
- Place the small bowls with dip and olives on the board. You can also scatter the olives on the board at the end to fill any empty spaces.
- Place thick slices of bread in one corner or spread them out a little. Add the cheese close by. Peel and halve the boiled eggs and place them next to the cheese.
- Arrange the salami and cabanossi in small piles or slices.
- Add the fresh vegetables in groups around the board. Add a few parsley leaves if you like.a few sprigs of parsley
- Salt: Donโt forget a little bowl of fine sea salt on the table.
Notes
- Bread: You can also use several thick, large, and halved slices of white bread.
- Cheese: Every Balkan country has its own type of feta cheese made of sheep, cow, or goat milk โ use your favorite. Kashkaval is another regional type of cheese, a semi-hard yellow cheese made from cowโs or sheepโs milk. Itโs mild and slightly salty. You can replace it with mild cheddar (not aged) or young Gouda.
- The nutrition calculation doesn't include the dip.ย
- Winter version: Use pickles instead of fresh vegetables.
Cosma says
Just the way I know it! Maybe not so many things at once, they kind of take turns.
Adina says
I am glad you like it, Cosma.