Best Hangover Foods in the World
/granite-web-prod/a6/54/a654993857e44c07ad7ab0debc74fddb.jpeg)
Hangovers are a universal experience. So are hangover foods. Since the dawn of time, people have been mixing food ingredients to beat the regrets of a wild night out.
The results are varied. Some countries go for broth. Others take a less traditional approach. But whether it’s toast or sheep’s head, the most important thing is to drive away dehydration, headaches and nausea.
These dishes will cure the aftereffects of your drinking. They are the best hangover foods in the world.
30. Sheep’s Head Terrine
/granite-web-prod/7f/fc/7ffcb041dac84143811af2a04c2ad9ff.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: Iceland
Bottom line: Icelandic people don’t like to let things go to waste, and this is reflected in their cuisine. We applaud the sustainability of this effort and usually would be all for using every part of an animal.
But as much as our principles want to support Iceland’s hangover dish, our stomachs say otherwise. Just thinking about the process of making svioasulta, or sheep’s head terrine, makes us a bit nauseous — and that’s without the help of alcohol. You have to take the whole head, singe all the hair, cut the head in half, boil it in salt, then collect the meat as it comes off and cool it in the fridge.
Even if you’re not the one making the dish, there is something about terrine that is just not appetizing as a post-drunkenness meal.
29. Salted Herring
/granite-web-prod/b4/47/b447477f53e84157bf92dd429509dbe4.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: Netherlands
Bottom line: The Netherlands, like England, is not exactly known for its food. Unlike England, its hangover dish, Haring met uitjes, doesn’t help redeem it.
Rather than warm soup or something equally delicious, Dutch people go for salted herrings with onions. We’re all for trying out unusual dishes, but let’s be honest, this does not sound appetizing at any moment. Much less when you’re dealing with nausea.
Sorry, Netherlands, we can’t get behind you on this one.
28. Katerfruhstuck
/granite-web-prod/d3/50/d350604b07ee480582b5b56edf0fa19f.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: Germany
Bottom line: Germans don’t indulge when it comes to hangovers, they just do what gets the job done. Apparently, that’s pickled herring with pickled cucumber and onion on top of bread.
Is it the most delicious-sounding food you could want when you’re hungover? Definitely not. In fact, we feel like there are many other German dishes we’d rather eat, drunk or sober.
Germans swear by it, but we’d rather rely on some of the other dishes on this list.
27. Rassol
/granite-web-prod/b0/f3/b0f3a7059dfd4694a28e9be7bfc7e4c4.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: Russia
Bottom line: Russians are notorious for their high alcohol consumption, so you should trust when they tell you something works as an after-drinking pick-me-up.
Unfortunately, their best advice is to drink rassol, a pickled sauerkraut juice that is supposed to give you the electrolytes you flushed out of your body. Russians even make a soup from the juice, called rassolnik, and put beef and herbs in it to make this a bit more palatable.
We’d try this if our hangover was bad enough to warrant having a movie made about it. Otherwise, we’d rather be in pain.
26. Mince and Cheese Pie
/granite-web-prod/12/0c/120cc7b103de4249b724ef81f1990865.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: New Zealand
Bottom line: When Kiwis want to stop feeling like someone is hammering their head in, they go for an unusual combination.
The first part of this combination is mince and cheese pie. To that, they add a tall glass of chocolate milk with a pinch of salt. The mix of salt, sugar and meat is supposed to be a magic potion that’ll have you feeling as good as new.
We’re usually all for everything New Zealand, and we are fans of the pie, but we're not sure this is what we'd want to eat when we feel sick.
25. Pincho de Tortilla
/granite-web-prod/5b/75/5b75f687dc9c4859a1d66da0f0c98bd6.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: Spain
Bottom line: Spanish food is never boring, which is why this country foregoes soup as a preferred hangover cure. Instead, Spaniards go for small tortilla bites with potato and egg.
This food seems more like something you’d find as a party bite while you wait for the BBQ to be ready. That doesn’t mean it’s not delicious, though we’re not sure we want cold eggs and potatoes when our stomachs are already weakened.
We would probably stick with enjoying this dish at other moments, when the smell of eggs don’t make us nauseous.
24. Picocita
/granite-web-prod/64/05/640599f495a3443685cd755870e5345f.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: Guatemala
Bottom line: Guatemala takes your empty promises of never drinking again and shoves them in your face. Taking the hair of the dog’s lore very seriously, this country fights alcohol with alcohol.
Its cure, picocita, is really just cheap beer with a few ingredients added in. What makes it interesting is that those ingredients are salt, chile, chopped onions, vinegar mix, Worcestershire sauce and lime juice.
Picocita is best drunk straight from the can, which is usually covered by a brown paper bag, lest your fingers get too cold.
23. Tiger Toast
/granite-web-prod/62/36/62365d9a90164ebd968104c2ab9b256c.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: Australia
Bottom line: We all know Australia likes to take normal things and do them their own way. It’s one of the best things about the country.
This is how normal grilled cheese sandwiches became tiger toast. It’s made by adding stripes of cheese — hence the name — on top of Vegemite.
If you’re unfamiliar with this Australian staple food, Vegemite is a spread made from leftover brewer’s yeast that kind of tastes like beef bouillon. The fact that it plays a role in driving off hangovers is just pure poetry.
22. Lorne Sausage
/granite-web-prod/49/69/496955db8bd7472fa59130abdec41948.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: Scotland
Bottom line: When Scots go out to drink, they know they’ll be needing lorne sausage in the morning. This dish is of utmost national importance, and any Scot who openly bad-mouths it would probably be kicked off the land.
The dish is made with square beef sausage slabs that are put in between a roll of light bread known as a morning roll.
Lorne sausage sounds fine enough if there's nothing else around, but it's not the most enticing food for hangovers out there.
21. Breakfast Blaa
/granite-web-prod/50/63/5063d0a70af54e44bc082a79493ba12a.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: Ireland
Bottom line: Breakfast blaa is basically a sandwich, but it's much, much better, and can be eaten even when you’re perfectly sober.
Made with a soft bread roll named blaa, the dish is filled with black pudding (a type of blood sausage), sausage and bacon. It’s always a good choice for a strong breakfast that’ll leave you in a blissful food coma for the rest of the day. However, it is particularly satisfying after a night spent at an Irish pub.
Breakfast blaa is best accompanied by a rock shandy or, if you’re hardcore, a pint of Guinness stout.
20. Goulash Soup
/granite-web-prod/89/2c/892ce2b3b4d844f19db48a21f2c0c441.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: Austria
Bottom line: Austrians are practical people, so they often consume this hangover food while they’re drunk in order to avoid a hangover. It’s absolutely genius, and we wish we could have such a smart and proactive thought process while drunk.
Their dish of choice is, unsurprisingly, soup. Goulash soup, to be precise. This Hungarian soup is made with meat, vegetables and spices, particularly paprika.
It is popular around Central Europe, but Austrians have adopted it as their preventative dish. To put their own spin on it, they add wurstels, or Vienna sausages, to the broth.
19. Poutine
/granite-web-prod/32/14/32144cd4d212406b98db566aa099fcae.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: Canada
Bottom line: Made with French fries, curd cheese and gravy, poutine sounds like a North American hot mess of a dish you would only think of eating when you’re drunk beyond reason.
But don’t let your prejudices keep you from Canada’s signature dish, which is, against all odds, actually delectable. What makes it perfect for hangovers is its richness and the mix of strong flavors that blend in perfect harmony.
Add bacon for an even better experience. Your headache will thank you.
18. Congee
/granite-web-prod/51/4b/514b41a8eb2645dfa8a9fa6781a66742.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: Hong Kong
Bottom line: Congee is a sort of porridge that is usually eaten in the morning. It wasn’t made specifically for hangovers, but Hong Kongers quickly discovered its ability to soothe an upset stomach after a night of partying in the city.
The dish is popular throughout East Asia, but Hong Kong congee is particularly delicious. Perhaps because of its thicker texture, it just hits the right spot.
17. Fricasé
/granite-web-prod/a7/db/a7db577cbd2c4b6ba7859fdb86a396c9.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: Bolivia
Bottom line: This delicious pork stew is known to Bolivians for its restorative qualities. Like many hangover foods in Latin America, its nickname is "levanta muertos," which roughly translates to something that raises the dead back to life.
Cumin, garlic, bread and potato are added to the broth and the pork to make this dish. As you can guess, fricasé is popular at any time of day and is a lunchtime staple for office workers looking for a taste of home.
16. Luwombo
/granite-web-prod/e4/8e/e48e128477824a10bb129183994e17b0.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: Uganda
Bottom line: If you find yourself hungover in Uganda, chances are someone will tell you to look for some luwombo.
This mouth-watering dish is made by wrapping chicken and mushrooms in banana leaves and steaming them. The result is still heavy but not greasy. This helps your battered stomach and liver feel better without making you lethargic for the rest of the day.
Not all hangover foods achieve this balance, which is why luwombo rules in our book.
15. Kokorec
/granite-web-prod/b9/a0/b9a05c79a81d49699618378a09b4c393.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: Turkey
Bottom line: If you don’t want to go the Icelandic way with the sheep’s head (we won’t judge you), you may want to go for sheep intestines instead. That’s what Turkish people do when they’ve drunk a few too many.
Kokorec is made by chopping up and grilling the sheep intestines with peppers and tomatoes. If you’re in Istanbul, you’ll see street vendors all over the city serving this late at night to hungry drunk people.
Intestines are a bit chewy, but they’re also fatty in the best way possible.
14. Yassa (Jassa)
/granite-web-prod/11/a0/11a06b66fc9e41f39d80f5cfb66000fe.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: Senegal
Bottom line: Picture this. Chicken marinated in spices and then turned into stew. That is what visitors to Senegal are treated with after drinking.
The citrusy stew is different from other hangover soups because of its tanginess, but it is just as effective at driving hangovers far, far away.
It’s also just absolutely delicious.
13. Leche de Tigre
/granite-web-prod/fd/80/fd8013eaf8e4414a97a69c5d2b4d919a.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: Peru
Bottom line: Leche de tigre, or tiger’s milk, is usually used to marinate and cook ceviche. Somewhere along the way, Peruvians realized that it’s also a great way to survive a hangover.
The drink is citrusy and somewhat spicy, but in a way that will have you scrunching up your face rather than sweating. Peruvian restaurants often offer it as a fancy cocktail dish on its own, but you drinking it in its simplest form will also work.
Some very committed Peruvians keep a batch in the fridge ready for their needs, whether that be making ceviche or being able to feel their face again.
12. Calentado
/granite-web-prod/9a/1b/9a1bce19c8c84cc889a807c7d1e6ce96.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: Colombia
Bottom line: Colombia’s holy grail of hangover food is actually caldo de costilla, or beef rib soup. But since there are so many hangover soups already, we’re taking this opportunity to highlight the genius of calentado.
Meaning "heated up," calentado is exactly what it sounds like: a dish made by mixing and heating up all the leftovers from the night before. That doesn’t mean you can throw in whatever is in your fridge. It usually has a mix of beans, rice, eggs, potatoes and chorizo. If you have an arepa lying around, even better.
Because it’s so hearty, it has become a popular dish for the morning after, with restaurants all over the country offering it on their menu. You’ll have trouble walking afterward, but your heart and soul will be restored.
11. Drunken Noodles
/granite-web-prod/95/0a/950a84e0b0f94e3082bf128f462f9bcc.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: Thailand
Bottom line: Thai people drop all the pretense that pad kee mao (drunken noodles) exist just for drunk people.
Stir-fried rice noodles are mixed with meat, soy sauce, vegetables, chilies and garlic. It tastes amazing, and the spice will jolt you back to life like electricity did to Frankenstein’s monster.
It’s great for when you wake up after partying in Bangkok and regret all your life choices.
10. Chicken Soup
/granite-web-prod/47/99/4799266c827b4e19b8269c3ea325d796.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: Slovakia
Bottom line: Slovakians don’t waste time looking for special ways to drive off hangovers. They go straight for the one dish everyone in the world knows is pure magic: chicken soup.
Whether it's a cold or a hangover, there is no question that chicken soup can cure just about anything. The mere mention of the dish has even sprung up a whole empire of motivational books with stories that are supposed to help you heal.
Yes, practically everyone uses this for hangovers, but Slovakians have made it their somewhat official hangover cure, while other countries give this honor to other dishes.
We really appreciate Slovakia’s practicality. Sometimes simple really is better.
9. Menudo
/granite-web-prod/07/3b/073b9697f5974035a3dfb7e63d864ff8.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: Mexico
Bottom line: Make a soup, and make it so spicy that it scares the hangover away.
This is Mexico’s flawless logic when it comes to menudo soup, which is made from tomato broth with chilies and tripe. The spice really does help. It makes you sweat off the toxins you purposefully accumulated in your poor liver and also wakes you up.
As for the tripe, it’s somewhat chewy but actually pretty delicious. Just eat up and enjoy being a full human being again.
8. Hungarian Pizza
/granite-web-prod/27/d0/27d076f52c794b98aafced1dc171cbd7.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: Hungary
Bottom line: We can see how langos got its nickname of Hungarian Pizza. The dough used to make it is the same. The difference is that lángos is deep-fried rather than baked, and the dough is often combined with mashed potatoes, sour cream or yogurt. Yes, that does sound amazing.
The dish is then topped with shredded cheese, mushrooms, jam and other toppings. It also can simply be eaten with a little bit of garlic butter.
It’s definitely heavy, but it’s one of Hungary’s best dishes. People love to eat it even without a hangover, which is more than we can say for other dishes on this list.
7. Shijimi Miso Soup
/granite-web-prod/f6/bb/f6bbc5d6ebd84e79810ee846cb5795c9.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: Japan
Bottom line: Miso soup is comforting, delicious and healthy — all the things you want from a hangover cure.
But Japanese people don’t get just any miso soup after a night of beer and sake. They go for the shijimi, or clam, variety. The idea is that the clams contain an amino acid that removes toxins from the liver, helping it go back to working properly.
So the next time you need an excuse to go for shijimi miso soup, just quote the science.
6. Onion Soup
/granite-web-prod/ec/12/ec123b533894430eb5f6a3e97142f23d.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: France
Bottom line: Onion soup is a staple dish of French cuisine and one that has been successfully exported around the world.
It makes sense, then, that French people would turn to it in their hour of need. The dish is certainly very tasty, and the mix of croutons, broth and cheese is exactly the kind of food that would motivate us to get out of bed.
5. Moqueca
/granite-web-prod/37/01/3701eeff1e6e44149591c24d502de6fc.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: Brazil
Bottom line: The Brazilian region of Bahia turns to fish after a night out. Moqueca is a tasty fish stew made with coconut milk, palm oil, coriander, garlic and onions.
Its richness helps you regain the will to live, and its taste makes you start planning to get it every single time you go out drinking. Fish doesn’t always go with hangovers, but in this case, it’s a perfect match.
4. Seven-Meat Soup
/granite-web-prod/45/a7/45a7acd528724dd9b6bd345f82ad714f.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: Dominican Republic
Bottom line: Dominicans understand a simple principle of drunkenness: Meat always helps.
And so the seven-meat soup was born to the great joy of everyone who is aware of its existence. As the name suggests, the sancocho de siete carnes is made with seven types of meats, usually consisting of beef, goat, chicken and different kinds of pork meat.
It’s as amazing as it sounds. And, yes, it really does help cure those alcohol-induced headaches.
3. English Breakfast
/granite-web-prod/f9/4d/f94de2448a3b42dd9bcc2e9e41b03cdd.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: England
Bottom line: If there’s a hangover food that has earned worldwide notoriety, it’s this British monstrosity. We use that word to describe its size, not its flavor.
Sure, the English aren’t really well-known for their food (except that which immigrants have brought onto the island), but this dish has saved many college students on a Sunday morning, and is actually delicious. It consists of bacon, eggs, sausage, tomatoes, baked beans and mushrooms.
Yes, you will probably not eat anything else the rest of the day, but the fat and protein the dish provides are just what the doctor ordered for getting over a bad hangover. Either that or quitting alcohol.
2. Pho
/granite-web-prod/51/b4/51b4370cde0f4383b2da751cac96cde6.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: Vietnam
Bottom line: We’re not sure if pho became a hangover food because it actually helps or simply because it’s the best dish for absolutely any occasion.
Vietnam’s most famous dish, pho is simple and cheap, but its flavor will have you calling your parents to thank them for bringing you into this world. It’s made with beef, noodles, basil, bean sprouts and lime. Restaurants will usually provide other ingredients on the side like sriracha so you can add to taste.
Remember spice helps sweat off the toxins, so this is highly recommended.
1. Haejangguk
/granite-web-prod/10/00/1000418142454ee9970a4af4c5376d4d.jpeg)
Where to find this hangover food: Korea
Bottom line: Koreans like to drink a lot. So it makes sense that they have developed multiple ways to beat the hangover before they go back to the office after a night of drinking. The most powerful of these secret weapons is haejangguk, literally, soup to cure hangovers.
There are several variations, but the most popular one is made with beef broth, pork, vegetables and congealed ox blood. This last ingredient makes some foreigners squeamish about it, which is pretty silly if you ask us.
Trust us, ox blood is much better than whatever it is McDonald’s chicken nuggets are made of. Forget about it, and enjoy this magical elixir.