The Christmas markets in Vienna are magical. Ever since my first visit to the city during the festive holidays, back in 2009, I felt that Vienna is where you can truly find the Christmas spirit. The city is decorated with so many lights, making it sparkle at night. There are large chandeliers leading the way from St Stephan’s Cathedral to the Rathaus Christmas market, street decorations, Christmas trees and wooden huts selling hot drinks along the way.
This year I travelled to Vienna to re-discover that warm, Christmasy feeling that makes the city so wonderful during this time of the year. I flew to Vienna at the end of November, just after the main Christmas markets opened – and that was a great time as the markets weren’t yet too crowded so I could enjoy them fully without large amounts of people around. This time, I was on a mission: to eat my way through the city and create this Vienna Christmas markets food guide.
What to Eat At the Christmas Markets in Vienna?
One of the main reasons why people visit the Christmas markets in Vienna is the traditional food and drinks offer. There is no better way to face the cold and the snow than with a cup of Glühwein warming up your hands, and a hearty dish filling your belly.
All the options for food in the Christmas markets in Vienna can be overwhelming. So many dishes to taste, so little time to try them all. So, in this article, I want to showcase my favourite traditional dishes that I tasted in the Christmas markets.
Ofenerdäpfel
Every single Christmas market I visited in Vienna had at least one stand selling baked potatoes. There are two classic versions, the simple one with butter and chives, and the one with sour cream and parsley. However, there are plenty of other versions, such as chilli con carne, ham and cheese, and even vegetarian tofu with pan-fried vegetables.
Überbackene Brote
This is a very popular street food in the Vienna Christmas markets. I have seen it very often and was always attracted to the stand by the alluring scent it spread in the air as it was coming out of the oven. The smell actually comes from the special cheese melting in the oven, which is either Tilsiter or Bergkäse – an Alpine variety made in the heart of the Austrian mountains.
Translated word by word, this dish’s name means baked bread. It consists of a slice of dark bread topped with different things such as meat or vegetables, finished with a lot of cheese, just like a raclette. It’s a proper delight that literally calls your name as soon as its scent reaches your nose.
Schinkenfleckerl
Schinkenfleckerl consists of a special kind of noodles, called “fleckerl” with ham and a cream sauce, baked with lots of cheese. The fleckerl is a type of noodle made with egg, that has a rectangular shape and slightly ruffled edges. You can think of them as more or less a tagliatelle style of noodles shredded into rough pieces.
The dish is flavoured with butter, nutmeg, and pepper before the ham is added and the entire casserole is covered with cheese and baked until crispy on top.
For a vegetarian alternative, you can try the traditional fleckerl with cabbage. There is also another great version with feta cheese and spinach version too.
Suppe
Is there anything better than a hot bowl of soup on a very cold winter day in Austria? Yes! A hot soup inside a bread bowl, which you can eat once you finish slurping the delicious broth. There are several options when it comes to the soup, from vegetables to garlic cream, from pumpkin soup to a classic goulash filled with tender pieces of beef.
Whilst this is not a traditional Austrian dish, it is a fun novelty that will warm you up for sure when you visit the Christmas markets.
Grammelknödel
If you are looking for a traditional Austrian dish to try at the Christmas markets, you must taste the Grammelknödel. I have only seen it in the Christmas market from Schönbrunn, and it immediately caught my attention.
The Grammelknödel is a large dumpling made from potatoes, filled with a mixture of slow-cooked pork, onions, garlic, and herbs. The combination is unique, and I first stumbled upon it in St Gilgen, where after a hike, I went for lunch at an Alpine mountain hut. Whilst I opted for the käsespätzle, there were plenty of people around me ordering bread spread with the grammeln (the paste made from pig’s fat), accompanied by pickles.
This dish is usually served alongside sauerkraut, sometimes topped with chopped pieces of fried bacon.
Germknödel
Germknödel is the sweet version of the Austrian pork dumpling but with a different dough – yeast instead of potato. This treat is a yeast dough dumpling filled with cloves and cinnamon spiced plum jam and served with a delicious warm vanilla sauce and poppy seeds on top. This is a steamed dessert and tastes absolutely delicious.
Mohnnudeln
Mohnnudeln is a sweet take on a noodle dish. The dough for the noodles is made from potatoes, similar to a long gnocchi. The noodles are boiled and then fried alongside melted butter and ground poppy seeds. The finished dish is served with plenty of powdered sugar on top and it’s a wonderful delight. This dish made me think of another Eastern European classic, the plum dumplings which are boiled or steamed, made from potatoes and filled with whole fruits.
Wilderer Pfandl
I tasted the Wilderer Pfnadl at a stall in the Schönbrunn Christmas market. After a long day in the cold, I was very hungry and the description of a “traditional dish with potatoes, roast pork and fresh vegetables” called my name.
The dish was served with a side of sauerkraut, a little bit of horseradish, and a dollop of garlic sauce on top. It was delicious and very filling!
The potatoes are cooked separately and then added to the giant pan where the pork and vegetables are roasting, to become crispy. I loved the crunch and tanginess of the sauerkraut on the side. And the garlic sauce brought a touch of freshness to the gentle sweet taste of the potatoes and pork. Definitely one of my favourite foods in the Vienna Christmas markets.
Erdäpfelrösti
These crunchy potato pancakes are a staple of the Viennese Christmas markets. They come with a large selection of toppings, from the classic salt and garlic sauce to cheese and spinach, sour cream and ham, and even apple sauce and jam. There is a mixed version as well, where you can add your preferred toppings.
Bauerngröstl
Another great dish to have in the Christmas Markets from Vienna is the Bauerngröstl. Originally a recipe from South Tirol, this dish consists of slices of potatoes firstly boiled, and then cooked alongside a lot of onions, roast beef, herbs, and lots of butter.
Leberkäse
Leberkäse is another very popular food that you will find in the Christmas markets around Vienna. It looks like a meatloaf and it is made of a combination of finely chopped pork, bacon, and beef. It is served hot, topped with mustard inside a bread roll called Semmel. Sometimes, pickles or sauerkraut are added as well.
There are different types of Leberkäse, some made from wild boar, some from venison, some with minced chilli peppers, some with cheese, and some even made from horse meat. Traditionally, the Leberkäse was made from lean horse meat, and only later on from pork.
Bratwurst and Käsekrainer
Whilst the bratwurst is not a traditional Viennese Christmas market food, you will find a stand selling sausages in almost every market. If you want to try something different, go for a Käsekrainer. This sausage is filled with cheese, which oozes out with each bite.
The sausages are served either inside a bun or alongside a roll. You can then choose to top it with pickles, fried onions, and mustard.
Kaiserschmarrn
Kaiserschmarrn is my favourite Austrian dessert, a proper treat. I discovered it years ago and I always have a few packs at home. But it doesn’t compare with the one freshly made, in the Christmas markets in Vienna.
Kaiserschmarrn is baked inside a huge pan and it rises in the oven, becoming light and fluffy. It then gets torn into pieces using wooden spoons, and glazed with powdered sugar in a different pan. You may think it looks like shredded pancakes but it’s cooked very differently. It is usually served with plum compote and more recently, with apple sauce.
You can have Kaiserschmarrn with or without raisins – I prefer it with them in it as I love that little texture add-on. Plus, I love raisins.
Bauernkrapfen
If you are not counting calories and are looking for a truly indulgent dessert, you must try the Bauernkrapfen. This traditional sweet translates as “farmer’s donuts” and includes a friend dough hollow in the middle, filled with different delights, such as apricot jam, chocolate, or vanilla cream.
Bauernkrapfen can also be savoury, when the dough has no sugar in it, and it is topped with sauerkraut.
Besides Bauernkrapfen, which is cooked on the spot, you will also find stalls selling filled giant donuts, called Krapfen. Some of the most popular fillings include chocolate, vanilla custard, apricot jam, marzipan, and even eggnog.
Maroni
Roasted chestnuts are another beloved Christmas food in Austria. Typically you can buy them at every Christmas market and just snack on them as you stroll around. They are usually roasted on a typical black grill and are sold inside paper cones – which are great for warming up your hands.
Maroni are available between November and January at pretty much every street corner in Vienna.
Christmas Cookies
Among the many popular Austrian Christmas cookies, vanilla crescents and authentic Linzer cookies stand out as favourites. Linzer cookies, made from ground nuts and almonds, have a delightful filling of apricot or raspberry jam and are typical of Linz.
There are many other traditional Austrian cookies that you must try during the festive season, including rum balls, gingerbread, and coconut macaroons. Additionally, the classic Nut Corners (Nussecken) and Cinnamon Stars are also very popular in the Christmas markets.
Don’t miss the pretty pink Punschkrapferl, which may look pretty but are packed with rum.
What to Drink at the Vienna Christmas markets?
Punsch
Whilst most tourists who come to Vienna will order Glühwein, Punsch is the most traditional Christmas drink among the locals. Punsch is a bit hard to define, as there are so many different versions of it. It can be a mix of tea, spices, sugar and different spirits, such as rum or schnapps, but it can also be a version of Glühwein with extra spirits added.
There is a version of Punsch for children as well, which doesn’t contain alcohol. This is called Kinderpunsch.
Glühwein
Glühwein is the most typical winter drink in the Vienna Christmas markets, and there is a formula for the perfect taste. The wine should be dry, and infused with a selection of spices such as cinnamon, star anise, sugar, cloves, and lemon zest. The wine shouldn’t be boiled but heated up to a temperature of no more than 78 degrees Celsius, to avoid the evaporation of the alcohol.
Besides the classic Glühwein, which is red, there is also white mulled wine. This tastes less sweeter but it’s as fragrant as the red mulled wine.
Glühmost
Glühmost is a drink that was introduced to me by my friend Christina, a true Austrian, who said it’s a must at any Christmas market in Vienna. It is made from cider, mixed with apple juice, lemon juice and orange juice, and spiced with cinnamon, sugar, cloves, and star anise. Sometimes, honey is added to the mix as well.
Hot Chocolate
Another famous hot drink served at Christmas markets is hot chocolate. If you want to take it to the next level, order it with eggnog or rum. There are many different variations to that as well, such as white hot chocolate or hot chocolate with cherry schnapps (called Snow-white, after the Disney movie). The hot chocolate is traditionally topped with a generous amount of whipped cream.
For more similar articles, check out my articles below:
- The most beautiful Christmas markets in Vienna
- Traditional Austrian Christmas food
- Is Hallstatt worth visiting?
Like it? Pin it!
Disclaimer: Some of the links on this website are “affiliate links.” This means that if you click on the link and do a purchase, I will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost for you. This helps me keep my website running and continue to share my travelling knowledge with you. I thank you for booking your flights or hotels using the links on my website. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers.
