15 Fast French Recipes for Elegant Weeknight Meals (2024)

FAQs

What do the French eat for evening meal? ›

A French dinner would usually begin with a starter/appetizer such as escargot or even foie gras on toast. If you fancy recreating your own French starter, our collection of foie gras is a great place to start, take a look for yourself here. The main dish can be a combination of fish or meat with vegetables.

Steak-frites

This is often considered the most typical French dish. A piece of steak, often a rib eye (entrecôte) is pan fried in butter and served “saignant” or bloody with a mountain of chips. Hollandaise and béarnaise sauces are both served with steak-frites.

Here, we've gathered a sampling of our traditional French favorites: the wine-braised chicken stew coq au vin, the Provençal fish stew bouillabaisse, a vegetable-based take on French onion soup, and more. Pour yourself a glass of wine and enjoy cooking your way through these classics.

Considered a national dish of France, pot-au-feu has no definitive recipe, and many regions of France have their own versions.

France. The most consumed meat in France is pork. Like most of Europe, pork features in many French dishes. For example, cassoulet is a rich, slow-cooked casserole containing pork sausages, pork shoulder, and duck confit.

Pot-au-feu is the national dish of France. This essential version combines beef shank and rump roast with eight vegetables and a blend of herbs for an extra-comforting bowl.

An usual French lunch will include: an appetizer (une entrée), such as a mixed salad, soup, terrine or pâté; main course, (le plat principal), choice of beef, pork, chicken, or fish, with potatoes, rice, pasta and/or vegetables; cheese course (from a local selection) and/or a sweet.

We then discussed the three main meals in more detail, focusing on le petit-déjeuner (breakfast), le déjeuner (lunch), and le dîner (dinner).

What is the evening meal called in France? ›

We then discussed the three main meals in more detail, focusing on le petit-déjeuner (breakfast), le déjeuner (lunch), and le dîner (dinner).

In France, it is very common to eat dinner at 8 pm or even later! This is part of your French homestay experience and it won't take you long at all to get used to it. As you will soon find out, the French consider it important to sit down at the table and have a meal together as a family.

In the United States, you might have a handful of nuts or a granola bar around 2 to 3 p.m. But in France it's a croissant, a yogurt, cheese and crackers, or a piece of fruit around 4 p.m, often accompanied by a cup of tea or coffee. Think of it as bigger than a grab-and-go snack, yet smaller than a full meal.

“French people eat late because most standard job hours are 9 or 10 to 6, instead of 9 to 5 like in the States,” Alysa explains. “So, by the time everyone gets home, gets settled, and a meal is prepared, it's about 8 pm.”