Haggis – Scotland's national dish

While it may not win a beauty contest any time soon, this honest dish has fed Scotland for centuries. It’s perfect for cold nights, warm company, and hungry travellers.

What is haggis?

Haggis is a savoury mix of meat, oatmeal, onions, salt and spices, cooked slowly until it is warm and delicious. Traditionally, it was simmered in a sheep’s stomach which was a practical way of holding a meal together in the old days. But today it’s usually prepared in modern casings. Vegetarian versions are also widely available.

Where does haggis come from?

It is said that in days gone by hunters would mix offal, which couldn't be preserved, with cereal –  creating the first haggis. The first written mention of a haggis-type sausage comes from the ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes in 423 BC when he refers to one exploding!

How do you eat haggis?

Haggis served with neeps and tatties (turnips and potatoes) is the classic way to eat this Scottish favourite. But the country hasn’t stopped experimenting. You’ll find haggis in Balmoral chicken, crumbled over nachos, shaped into Scotch eggs, or folded into other culinary reinventions.

Where to taste haggis?

You’ll find haggis everywhere in Scotland. Local butchers, supermarkets, farm shops, and on the menus of pubs and restaurants across the country. Or you can try your luck haggis hunting in the Scottish hills. You might not get very far!

Burns night – 25 January

If you’re looking to see a haggis in all its glory, seek out a Burns Supper in January. Savour the moment when the room leans in, the poetry starts, and the knife meets the steaming haggis. This is theatre and dining all in one and a great winter celebration.

The ceremony is rooted in Burns’s famous Address to a Haggis and is one of Scotland’s most enduring traditions.

Enjoy a Burns Supper in Scotland

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!

Robert Burns, Address to a Haggis (1786)