19 Canadian Recipes Packed With Maple, Cheese Curds, and Comfort

Canadian cuisine resists a simple definition. Across a country that stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Arctic, cooking is shaped by regional ingredients, distinct landscapes, Indigenous foodways, French and British influences, and generations of immigrant communities. “I often heard Canada described as a mosaic (in contrast to America’s melting pot),” writes Gail Simmons, “a patchwork of food traditions and distinct identities, brought together by the common ingredients that Canada’s varied, at times extreme and inhospitable, landscapes offer.”

Any consideration of Canadian food begins with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities, whose foodways long predate the country. Berries, wild rice, corn, maple syrup, game, and seafood are among the ingredients with deep roots in Indigenous cooking, while contemporary Indigenous chefs and food producers continue to preserve traditions and create new expressions of them.

Immigration has added still more layers to the country’s cooking. French and English culinary traditions intersect with those brought by communities from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, and elsewhere, particularly in cities such as Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. “We define Canadian cuisine as a celebration of the country’s rich culinary heritage and diverse cultural influences,” says Zoran Kocovski, founder and owner of the Toronto restaurant, Sassafraz.

Then there are the dishes that have become Canadian touchstones. Writer Taras Grescoe begins to define the nation’s cuisine with a roll call of regional specialties: “Quebecois poutine and tourtière (a savory meat pie); Acadian rappie pie (made with grated potatoes); cod tongues and toutons (fried bread) from Newfoundland; Indigenous herring roe on kelp. And what about Schwartz’s smoked meat, St-Viateur bagels, all the glories of Montreal deli culture?” We’d add Nanaimo bars, the chocolate-and-custard layered confection named for the British Columbia city, and the Bloody Caesar, created in Calgary.

Maple syrup is so deeply embedded in Canadian culture that the 2011–2012 theft of thousands of barrels from Quebec’s strategic maple syrup reserve became known as the Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist. Taken together, these foods are only a starting point for a cuisine defined less by any single national dish than by its remarkable regional and cultural range.

The recipes in this collection offer a taste of that breadth. Alongside poutine, Nanaimo bars, and the Bloody Caesar, there are airy maple-bacon popovers, a summery Prince Edward Island potato salad with fresh corn and herbs, and a rye whiskey–based Toronto cocktail. Recipes from Canadian chefs including Susur Lee and Hugue Dufour round out the collection with velvety winter squash soup, quick-seared steaks with Montreal steak seasoning, and more. Whether you start with a familiar favorite or something new to you, these recipes offer plenty of ways to explore Canada’s expansive food traditions.