As a country that shares a border with America sometimes what’s authentically Canadian can get a little blurry – so we’re going to clear that up. Here are 8 iconic Canadian dishes – maybe a few more, why they matter, and the best places across Canada to experience them like a local.
Canada is our fav kind of food country – a place where fresh seafood meets deep-fried dough, where French influence collides with Indigenous traditions, and where nearly every meal deserves a side of maple syrup. Forget the stereotypes—Canada’s food scene is as diverse and exciting as its landscapes. From coast to coast, we’ve scoured the country for the most authentic Canadian foods and exactly where you can eat them like a local.
So if you’re hungry, this is Cerca Travel‘s “Canada’s best bites” (and where to find them without falling into tourist traps), here we go…
1. Poutine – The Undisputed Champion of Canadian Comfort Food
What It Is:
Crispy French fries, smothered in rich gravy, and topped with fresh, squeaky cheese curds—aka, Canada’s greatest culinary invention.
Poutine originated in rural Quebec in the 1950s, but the exact “who invented it” debate is still raging like a heated hockey rivalry. The most popular theory points to small snack bars in central Quebec, where customers started asking for cheese curds on top of their fries.
One of the leading origin stories comes from Le Roy Jucep in Drummondville, Quebec, which claims to be the first restaurant to officially put poutine on the menu in 1964. However, Warwick, Quebec, also claims to have created the dish in 1957 when a trucker supposedly asked a local diner owner to throw some cheese curds onto his fries. The owner reportedly said, “Ça va faire une maudite poutine!” (French for “That’s going to make a damn mess!”).
Where to Find It:
La Banquise (Montreal, QC) – Open 24/7, this legendary spot serves over 30 types of poutine.
Smoke’s Poutinerie (Multiple Locations) – Canada’s first poutine chain, offering crazy toppings like pulled pork and butter chicken.
Experience:
Fromagerie Lemaire (Quebec) – This Canadian dairy farm has been producing fresh cheese since 1956, check out one of their cheese counters and engage the cheesemonger to get all your questions answered (and some samples).
2. Butter Tarts
What It Is:
A gooey, buttery, caramel-like filling tucked inside a flaky pastry shell. Some people like it runny, some like it firm, but everyone agrees it’s dangerously addictive. It’s also one of Canada’s biggest food debates: raisins or no raisins. (As the story goes, raisins were present in the first published Butter Tart recipe…)
The butter tart dates back to the early 1700s, when French settlers arrived in what is now Quebec and Ontario. These settlers—many of them women—had to adapt European recipes using whatever ingredients were available in the harsh Canadian wilderness.
They took inspiration from:
Tarte au sucre (French sugar pie) – A dessert made with brown sugar or maple syrup.
Scottish and English Treacle Tarts – Sweet, syrupy pastries brought over by British immigrants.
Pecan Pie (pre-nut version) – Similar to early American sugar pies, but with fewer ingredients.
Since corn syrup and pecans weren’t readily available in early Canada, bakers used maple syrup or brown sugar mixed with butter, eggs, and cream to create a filling that was sweet, rich, and slightly caramelized when baked in a flaky pastry shell.
Where to Find It:
Doohers Bakery (Campbellford, ON) – Award-winning, buttery perfection. (No raisins in their version!)
The Butter Tart Festival (Midland, ON) – A dedicated festival for butter tart fanatics – usually held in June.
Butter Tart Experience:
Butter Tart Tour (Kawarthas Northumberland, Ontario) – Create your own itinerary to taste your way across Ontario, one bakery at a time.
3. Nanaimo Bars
What It Is:
A three-layered dessert masterpiece: crumbly chocolate base, velvety custard filling, and rich chocolate ganache on top. No baking required!
This one has a murky origin story – there are similar layered desserts to be found in the United States and Canada around the early 1900s. But at some point this particular version was christened the with the name Nanaimo. The bar’s biggest moment of fame came in 1986, when the city of Nanaimo hosted the Great Nanaimo Bar Competition to find the ultimate version of the recipe.
A local baking legend, Joyce Hardcastle, won the contest, and her recipe became the official “classic” Nanaimo Bar recipe we know today.
From that moment on, the Nanaimo Bar was cemented as a Canadian dessert icon, appearing in bakeries, coffee shops, and even on Canada Post stamps in 2019 as part of a Canadian dessert-themed stamp series.
Where to Find It:
Red’s Bakery (Nanaimo, BC)
Hearthstone Bakery (Nanaimo, BC) – Classic, Peanut Butter, and a monthly special (like Irish Cream or Candy Cane)
Nanaimo Bar Experience:
The Nanaimo Bar Trail (Nanaimo, BC) – Walk this foodie tour dedicated entirely to Nanaimo Bars – a great list of local bakeries with different Nanaimo styles.
4. Tourtière
What It Is:
Quebec’s Legendary Meat Pie: a flaky, golden-brown pie stuffed with a savory mix of spiced meat (usually pork, beef, or veal). Traditionally eaten on Christmas Eve, but honestly, it’s worth eating all year ’round.
Tourtière dates back to the 1600s, when French settlers arrived in New France (now Quebec). These early colonists brought with them the European tradition of meat pies, which were common in France, England, and the Netherlands at the time.
However, since Quebec winters were harsh and long, settlers had to adapt their recipes based on the ingredients available. This meant using local game meat, pork, and warming spices instead of the fancier European fillings. Early versions of tourtière were often served at réveillon, the traditional Christmas Eve feast, and the dish quickly became a holiday staple in French-Canadian households.
Where to Find It:
Aux Anciens Canadiens (Quebec City, QC) – One of the oldest restaurants in Canada, serving a traditional, family-style tourtière: here’s the description: Lac St-Jean tourtière with game “caribou, deer, elk, beef, pork and homemade fruit ketchup
Montreal-Style Bagels
These hand-rolled, wood-fired bagels are smaller, denser, and slightly sweeter than their New York cousins. The Montreal-style bagel has its origins in the early 20th century, when Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe brought their baking traditions to Quebec. The first recorded bagel bakery in Montreal opened in the 1910s, and the style quickly developed its own unique identity.
Where to Find It:
St-Viateur Bagel (Montreal, QC) – A bagel institution. (Also ships to the U.S.)
6. Bannock
A traditional Indigenous bread, often served fried or baked. Before European contact, Indigenous peoples across Canada and the U.S. were already making variations of bannock-like bread using ingredients available in nature, such as, Cornmeal, Ground nuts & seeds, Dried berries, Water & natural leavening agents.
These early versions of bannock were often baked on hot stones, cooked over open fires, or wrapped around sticks and roasted. It was a portable, energy-rich food—perfect for nomadic lifestyles, long hunting trips, and survival in harsh climates.
The name “bannock” actually comes from the Scottish Gaelic word “bannach,” meaning a round, flat cake or bread. Scottish fur traders and settlers in the 18th and 19th centuries brought their own version of bannock to North America.
For many Indigenous nations, bannock became an essential survival food during colonial displacement and forced assimilation. As traditional food sources became scarce due to land loss, forced relocations, and government policies, wheat flour and lard (often provided by government rations) became key ingredients.
Despite its painful association with colonial oppression, bannock has remained a powerful symbol of resilience and cultural survival. Many Indigenous chefs and communities are reclaiming it today, celebrating bannock as a modern Indigenous comfort food.
Where to Find It:
Salmon n’ Bannock (Vancouver, BC) – Vancouver’s only Indigenous-owned restaurant. Order a plate of bannock with butter and jam. (Gluten-free available!) Or get a savory bannock with sautéed mushrooms and brie topped with bison gravy.
7. Peameal Bacon Sandwich
A Toronto classic featuring cornmeal-crusted pork loin on a bun. Peameal bacon isn’t your average American-style crispy bacon. Instead, it’s made from lean pork loin, which is brined in a salt cure (instead of being smoked),rolled in cornmeal (originally coated in crushed yellow peas—hence the name “peameal”), sliced and griddled until golden brown.
Peameal bacon was originally served as a breakfast dish, but it wasn’t long before local food vendors started stuffing it into sandwich buns.
The sandwich became a staple at Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market, where food stalls began grilling up peameal bacon and serving it on soft buns with mustard—a simple but perfect combo.
Where to Find It:
Carousel Bakery (Toronto, ON) – Home of the most famous peameal bacon sandwich.
8. Jiggs’ Dinner
A Newfoundland feast of salt beef, boiled potatoes, and cabbage. Jiggs’ Dinner dates back to the 18th and 19th centuries, when Newfoundland was a major hub for the cod fishing industry.
Jiggs’ Dinner is a boiled meal made with:
– Salt beef (or salt pork) – The heart of the dish, giving it a rich, salty flavor.
– Boiled vegetables – Usually potatoes, carrots, turnips, and cabbage.
– Peas pudding – A soft, mashed pudding made from yellow split peas.
– Figgy Duff (optional) – A sweet raisin pudding steamed in a cloth bag.
Where to Find It:
Fisherman’s Landing Restaurant (Newfoundland): This seaside home for seafood has received praise for its Jiggs’ Dinner, offering an authentic taste of Newfoundland’s culinary tradition. Note: served only on Wednesdays.
If you’re planning a Canadian foodie adventure, don’t stop at just these eight dishes. If you see them, check out:
Kraft Dinner – Canada’s favorite comfort food, aka mac & cheese on steroids.
Tire d’érable (Maple Taffy) – Hot maple syrup poured onto snow, then rolled onto a stick for a chewy, sweet treat.
Atlantic Lobster Rolls – Fresh, buttery lobster stuffed into a toasted bun, best eaten by the ocean in the Maritimes.
Pacific Salmon – Best enjoyed grilled, smoked, or in a world-class sushi joint in Vancouver.
