Classic British Food and Recipes

Make classic British food and recipes, like fish and chips, bangers and mash, chicken tikka masala, Eton mess and more with recipes from Cooking Channel.

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Photo By: Matt Armendariz ©2012, Television Food Network, GP. All Rights Reserved

Photo By: Tara Donne

Photo By: Matt Armendariz ©2012, Television Food Network, GP. All Rights Reserved

Photo By: Matt Armendariz ©2012, Television Food Network, GP. All Rights Reserved

Photo By: Matt Armendariz ©2012, Television Food Network, GP. All Rights Reserved

Photo By: Matt Armendariz ©2012, Television Food Network, GP. All Rights Reserved

Photo By: Matt Armendariz ©2012, Television Food Network, GP. All Rights Reserved

Photo By: Matt Armendariz ©2012, Television Food Network, GP. All Rights Reserved

Photo By: Matt Armendariz ©2012, Television Food Network, GP. All Rights Reserved

Photo By: Matt Armendariz ©2012, Television Food Network, GP. All Rights Reserved

Photo By: Matt Armendariz ©2012, Television Food Network, GP. All Rights Reserved

Photo By: Matt Armendariz ©2012, Television Food Network, GP. All Rights Reserved

Photo By: Matt Armendariz ©2012, Television Food Network, GP. All Rights Reserved

Photo By: Jessica Brooks ©2016, Cooking Channel, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Fish and Chips with Mushy Peas

Mushy peas — peas that are boiled and then mashed with salt, pepper and, in this recipe, lemon zest and butter — are a popular British accompaniment to fish and chips. To ensure your fish fillets have a puffy, golden-brown coating, swish the fish through oil between two rounds of battering.

Get the Recipe: Fish and Chips with Mushy Peas

Siba's Sunday Trifle

Make this elegant dessert in less than an hour with time-saving shortcuts.

Get the Recipe: Siba's Sunday Trifle

Bubble and Squeak Cakes

Bubble and squeak — given its name due to the silly sounds it makes while cooking — was originally made from the leftover vegetables from a roast dinner. But the fried root vegetable and bacon cakes are so delicious, they're worthy of making from scratch. Top the savory assortment with a fried egg to make it a meal.

Get the Recipe: Bubble and Squeak Cakes

Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken Tikka Masala, an extremely popular British dish, represents the ubiquity of Indian cultural influence throughout England. In it, spicy chicken is served with a creamy gravy-like sauce and a heaping portion of steamed white rice.

Get the Recipe: Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala

Herbed Yorkshire Pudding

This savory pudding — a crusty, air-filled soufflé composed of batter and beef drippings — owes its name to Yorkshire county in Northern England, where it was often served alongside beef or as its own course at the traditional Sunday lunch. Tyler's pudding gains extra flavor from chives, thyme and parsley, and he recommends serving the classic English dish right away, as it will quickly deflate.

Get the Recipe: Herbed Yorkshire Pudding

Eton Mess

This traditional pudding composed of fresh, sugar-coated strawberries, crumbled meringues and whipped cream, may not sound appealing — but this is one mess you'll want to get into. Named after the esteemed Eton College (a British boarding school), where it is served during an annual cricket game, the simple dessert relies on well-whipped cream and plump, juicy berries. Nigella adds fresh pomegranate juice to encourage the fresh strawberries to ooze their summery juices.

Get the Recipe: Eton Mess

Scotch Egg with Curry Mayo

Transferring boiled eggs to a bowl of ice water after briefly cooking them ensures that the yolks maintain a mildly runny texture — not the crumbly consistency (and dull yellow color) of a thoroughly boiled egg. Wrap the chilled eggs in a homemade sausage patty, apply breading and then fry until a brown crispy layer forms. Serve with a hot curry dipping sauce for an authentic British pub experience.

Get the Recipe: Scotch Egg with Curry Mayo

Bangers and Mash

This delicious take on the classic British pub fare layers flavorful pork butt sausages (bangers) atop a simple Yukon gold potato mash. Pool a generous portion of gravy at the bottom of your plate and let the mashed potatoes soak up the dark liquid.

Get the Recipe: Bangers and Mash

Crumpets

These savory cakes with a distinctly porous and spongy texture are perfect for piling with butter and marmalade and pairing with a piping hot cup of tea.

Get the Recipe: Crumpets

Fish and Chips

Re-create the favorite British pub food in your own home by frying cod or haddock fillets in a few inches of oil and serving alongside chips (aka fries) and malt vinegar or tartar sauce. Be sure to cut potato slices that are as thick as your fingers — chips are much thicker than typical fries.

Get the Recipe: Fish and Chips

Piccalilli

Served as an accompaniment to cold meats or as part of a Ploughman's Lunch, tarty, tangy piccalilli is a relish of pickled vegetables and spices — particularly turmeric, which gives it an identifiable yellow color.

Get the Recipe: Piccalilli

Stotty Cake With Ploughman's Lunch

A Ploughman's Lunch — a snack or meal composed of cold ingredients like cheese, meats, butter, fruit, salads, spreads and crusty bread — is a popular item in British pubs, usually served with beer. In this recipe, the lunch is composed of piccalilli, an assortment of meats, cheeses, and fruits, and instead of the crusty bread, a stotty cake. This flat round loaf, common throughout Northern England, has a uniquely heavy consistency that makes it ever more satisfying.

Get the Recipe: Stotty Cake with Ploughman's Lunch

Berry Trifle

Tyler's take on the classic trifle layers blueberries, strawberries and raspberries with store-bought pound cake and a quick lemon cream — ready for guests in little more than 30 minutes.

Get the Recipe: Berry Trifle

Pork Pies

Fill 6-inch ramekins with dough and a pork butt, bacon, spice and apple-onion mixture to make a classic British pork pie. The tall, self-standing pies are crimped and finished with egg wash before being baked. Serve at room temperature with a side of mustard.

Get the Recipe: Pork Pies

Steamed Lemon Pudding with Treacle Sauce

Bake this pudding in a hot water bath (ramekins partially submerged in a water-filled roasting pan) for a gentler cooking process that will prevent it from becoming too dry. After you invert the pudding on a dessert plate, the lemon juice and golden syrup will have formed a glossy sweet-tart top layer.

Get the Recipe: Steamed Lemon Pudding with Treacle Sauce

Toad in the Hole with Mustard-Onion Gravy

Though this recipe sounds like a pit stop on a miniature golf course, it is a traditional dish that fuses many foods popular throughout British culinary history: sausages, Yorkshire pudding and gravy.

Get the Recipe: Toad in the Hole with Mustard-Onion Gravy

Eton Mess With Strawberries and Raspberries

Homemade meringue and toasted almonds add crunch and nutty flavor to this Eton mess, which has a slightly tart profile thanks to the inclusion of raspberries.

Get the Recipe: Eton Mess with Strawberries and Raspberries

Beef Pasties with Mint, Ginger and Peas

Reinvent the Cornish pasty — a crimped half-moon pastry filled with beef and root vegetables — by sourcing flavors found in Mexican empanadas and Indian samosas.

Get the Recipe: Beef Pasties with Mint, Ginger and Peas

Scones

Ready in just 30 minutes, Alton's take on scones — the classic British quick bread that's synonymous with teatime — contains currants or dried cranberries.

Get the Recipe: Scones

Strawberries With Clotted Cream

Embrace the British summertime (and Wimbledon-watching) favorite pairing — strawberries and cream — by slitting ripe berries and filling them with thick, rich clotted cream.

Get the Recipe: Strawberries Filled with "Clotted" Cream

Tarragon Chicken Salad Tea Sandwiches

Petite, crustless tea sandwiches are meant to accompany afternoon tea: just the sort of light but filling snack to stave off hunger until dinner.

Get the Recipe: Tarragon Chicken Salad Tea Sandwiches

Sticky Toffee Pudding

This steamed date sponge cake swimming in a rich toffee sauce is a classic British sweet. Top with whipped cream or ice cream and watch it disappear.

Get the Recipe: Sticky Toffee Pudding

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

Traditionally a minced meat and mashed potato casserole, Shepherd's Pie originates in rural Britain. Chuck's twist substitutes a mushroom, onion, carrot, celery, lentil and spaghetti squash mixture for the meat, and he tops his mashed potatoes with fried shallots.

Get the Recipe: Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

Raspberry Trifle

Nadia G. kicks up her trifle with layers of decadent custard, pound cake, raspberries and booze (sherry, to be exact). The only person who will know if you use store-bought pound cake is you.

Get the Recipe: Raspberry Trifle

Welsh Rarebit

In this ultimate British comfort food dish, a creamy beer-cheese sauce is pored over toasted rye bread.

Get the Recipe: Welsh Rarebit

Tri-Berry Trifle

Tiffani speeds up the process for her three-berry dessert with instant pudding mix and store-bought cake.

Get the Recipe: Tri-Berry Trifle

Earl Grey Tea Spritzer

Earl Grey tea, which gains its distinct flavor from the oil of the bergamot orange rind, is named after the second Earl Grey, British prime minister in the 1830s. Bobby turns the tea into a cool, refreshing drink with the addition of sparkling wine and lemon.

Get the Recipe: Earl Grey Spritzer

Yorkshire Gingerbread

This English-style gingerbread cake is dense, moist and thick — not anything like the crisp, crunchy cookies that compose holiday season houses.

Get the Recipe: Yorkshire Gingerbread