Types of Traditional Serbian Street Food You Should Try

Europe

Serbia

Visiting Serbia had been on our bucket list for a while.

We had heard about Serbian street food, and how diverse and delicious it is, and were eager to get stuck in!

Serbian food perfectly reflects the country’s rich culinary traditions.

Here are some popular Serbian street foods we discovered on our trip.

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Sweet Treats

Sweet foods are always a popular choice for Serbian street food.

Seeing all the delicious pastries and pies on offer, it’s not hard to see why!

Some popular sweet treats are:

Kiflice: This is a crescent-shaped pastry that is filled with a variety of ingredients such as jam, or even ham or cheese. The jam kiflice are incredibly popular as a breakfast item or a snack to grab on the go.

Krofne: These are delicious doughnuts filled with different flavors of jam or chocolate. They are often deep-fried and dusted with powdered sugar to finish, which makes them a messy but delicious choice! Where we stayed the krofne was filled with custard, so that’s obviously the popular choice in that area.

Palačinke: These are thin crepes and are usually filled with Nutella, whipped cream, or fruit. There are always plenty of palačinke stalls to choose from as they are an incredibly popular snack amongst locals and tourists alike.

Baklava: These sweet pastries are made from layers of phyllo dough, chopped nuts, and honey. They are very common pastries sold at Serbian street food vendors. We bought some to take home to family as gifts.

Of these sweet choices, krofne are incredibly popular, and we saw lots of vendors selling these during our visit.

There are also many bakeries, known as pekara, that sell these. Many people will sit out the front of the bakery, catching up with friends and enjoying a snack.

We were told that in different parts of the Balkans, these snacks are the same but known by different names.

Palačinke Serbian street food — Palačinke

My daughter was fascinated by the palačinke, they looked very similar to French crepes, but the batter looked much thinner, and the fillings were either sweet or savory.

We watched these being made and it seemed simple. The batter consists of flour, eggs milk, and salt, and it’s then poured onto a hot griddle until browned on both sides.

My daughter loved hers filled with jam, but I noticed some of the locals were opting for the savory options of cheese and spinach!

We will definitely try making these at home.

The vendor outside our hotel offered jam, cheese, ham, and spinach fillings.

Here, they were rolled up like a burrito, but in other places we saw them just folded in half. Either way, they were delicious, and my daughter couldn’t get enough!

Palačinke was one of the foods we had read about before our trip, and we were very much excited to try them. Safe to say they did not disappoint.

My husband loves baklava and was most excited to try them on our trip. The range of different flavors and nut toppings is just incredible.

Each stall was packed with different baklavas, all with different toppings and fillings.

Even my son was a fan of baklava by the end of the trip, and he doesn’t normally like anything with nuts.

We had tried these previously on trips to Greece and Turkey, but honestly, nothing compared to the Serbian versions! Absolutely mouthwatering.

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Savory Bites

My daughter and I could easily have lived off the sweet pies and pastries available on our trip, but my husband and sons love more savory options, so we made it our quest to find Serbia’s best savory street food.

Here’s what we discovered:

Ćevapi: This is a type of sausage, usually made from beef, pork, and lamb. The sausage-like shapes are often seen served with flatbread, onions, and ajvar (red pepper and eggplant spread). We saw many vendors selling these. They smell amazing when cooking, you can smell a cevapi stall from a mile away!

Burek: A savory pastry made with phyllo dough and usually filled with meat, cheese, spinach, mushrooms, or potatoes. Meat and potatoes were the most popular choices we saw. We saw a range of different shapes, small squares or triangles, and watching the locals noticed most people choose this as a snack on the go or a light meal.

Pljeskavica: This is a grilled meat patty made from a mixture of beef, pork, and lamb. These were normally served on a bun with kajmak (a spreadable cheese) and onions. This was my husband’s favorite dish, and he wants to continue making these at home.

Pljeskavica is seen as a fast food by locals and the Balkan region, and it is often sold by street vendors and in fast food restaurants.

Pljeskavica Serbian street food — Pljeskavica

One street vendor told us that he makes these at home, and it’s a popular dish to make at barbeques and when entertaining guests.

He very kindly offered to give us his family recipe, which we were incredibly grateful for!

We noticed that many Serbians eat burek at breakfast (my sons looked forward to burek at breakfast every day). It can be served hot from the oven and is often accompanied by yogurt (our favorite!) sour cream or ajvar.

The Serbian waiters at our hotel explained that the burek is associated with Serbia’s traditions and cultural heritage.

It’s typically eaten with friends and family, especially at gatherings such as weddings, Christenings, and birthdays. It’s certainly delicious and we are looking forward to trying to make them at home.

Final Thoughts on Types of Traditional Serbian Street Food

A visit to Serbia to sample their incredible street food will leave you wishing you could stay forever.

The locals were so generous and kind explaining the incredible foods to us and allowing us to sample before buying. We left with our hearts full but our bellies even fuller!