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Alexander Meddings
Verified writer
GUIDED TOURFrom €45.00
Budapest Food Tour
Anyone who’s visited Budapest will have already discovered Lángos. Anyone who hasn’t is in for a treat.
Lángos rightly deserves its reputation among the best Hungarian street food. Fatty, carb-heavy, and unapologetically loaded in calories, lángos consists of a plate-sized disc of freshly deep-fried dough that’s crispy on the outside and fluffy from within.
Traditionally, this deep-fried disc of dough is smothered in garlic butter, sour cream, and cheese. But as its popularity is increasing, so too are its varieties.
What is Lángos?
Lángos (pronounced LANG-gosh) is Hungary’s ultimate deep-fried comfort food. It is essentially a plate-sized piece of dough that’s been deep-fried to perfection and slathered with cheese, cream and dairy products.
Traditionally, garlic butter, sour cream, and grated cheese would be your typical lángos toppings. Yet modern twists include everything from ham and bacon to more adventurous toppings like Nutella and fruits.
History of Lángos
Our word lángos comes from the Hungarian word for “flame” (láng) since the earliest examples of lángos were baked towards the front of a brick oven — close to the flames. During the Middle Ages, lángos was a convenient and quick meal for bakers as they could bake dough quickly, towards the beginning of their working day, while the oven was still heating up.
Over the centuries, Lángos evolved from an oven-baked meal to the deep-fried street food we are familiar with today. This transformation began in the eighteenth century when frying in oil became more common (though it’s interesting to note that Italy’s famous deep-fried pizza wouldn’t take off until the Second World War).
Since then, lángos has become a staple at fairs, food markets, and bizarrely even beaches across Hungary and its neighbouring countries (though we would strongly advise against swimming straight after eating one). Each region has its own spin on Lángos, but the essence remains the same—a delicious, devilishly indulgent deep-fried treat that’s impossible to resist.
Authentic Lángos Recipe
Ready to bring a taste of Hungary to your kitchen? Here’s an authentic Lángos recipe that’s easy to follow and guaranteed to satisfy your cravings.
Lángos Ingredients:
- 500g (about 4 cups) of all-purpose flour
- 25g (2 tablespoons) of fresh yeast or 1 packet (7g) of dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 300ml (1¼ cups) of warm milk
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 100ml (⅓ cup) of water
- Oil for frying
Toppings:
- Garlic butter (2 cloves of garlic mixed with 50g of melted butter)
- Sour cream
- Grated cheese (Edam or something similar)
- Optional: ham, bacon, vegetables, Nutella, fruits
Method
- In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in warm milk. Leave it to sit for about 10 minutes until it activates and becomes frothy.
- While the yeast is sitting, you can start to make the dough. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl and then add the yeast mixture and water, mixing until a soft dough forms. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until achieving a smooth and elastic texture.
- Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and leave the dough in a warm place to rise. This should take about an hour (until it has doubled in size).
- Once your dough has risen, remove it from the bowl and divide it into eight pieces. On a floured surface, flatten each piece into a disc about ½ inch thick. Heat oil in a deep pan (about an inch deep) over medium heat. Fry each disc until golden brown on both sides, about two or three minutes per side.
- Drain the lángos on paper towels, brush immediately with garlic butter, and top with sour cream and grated cheese. Enjoy your homemade lángos while it’s hot and crispy!
Where to Eat Lángos in Budapest
Some of our favourite places for lángos are Buadapest’s Central Market Hall or the Karavan Street Food Court (just next to Szimpla Kert Ruin Bar). But the best place to try lángos is on our Budapest Food Tour.
Lángos Around the World
Lángos isn’t just a Hungarian treasure—it’s a beloved treat across many countries. In Austria, especially in Vienna, Lángos is very popular as a fast food at fairs and in amusement parks like the Prater.
Lángos is known under several different names across Europe. In the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Croatia, it’s known as Langoš; in Serbia, it’s called Languš (although it’s commonly referred to as “Mekike”); Slovenians call it Langaš while Macedonians and Bulgarians, just to be different, call it Mekitsa. It’s also popular in Romania, especially in Transylvania, as Langoși.
Its Polish name is Langosz while in the UK, you can find it as Langos or the overtly descriptive yet under-imaginitive “Hungarian Fried Bread.”
What’s the Difference between Pizza and Lángos?
While pizza dough is typically baked in the oven, lángos dough is deep-fried in oil, giving it a texture that is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. This makes lángos more similar to pizza fritta (deep-fried pizza). However, while fried pizza is stuffed with ingredients like tomato sauce, mozzarella, and prosciutto, lángos is always topped.
Lángos also differs from pizza in the lactose-based ingredients in which it’s slathered. While pizza is baked with its base of tomato and/or cheese sauce, lángos is fried before being topped with cold ingredients that melt from the dough’s residual heat. Finally, while many people outside Italy slice their pizza up and share it, lángos is often served as a whole portion to be enjoyed individually.
Learn more about Italian Pizza
Join Our Budapest Food Tour
By far the best way to immerse yourself in the highlights of Hungarian cuisine is to join us on our Budapest Food Tour. Savour Lángos straight from the source, try classics like Nokedli dumplings and Flódni — a Jewish-Hungarian pastry — and treat your tastebuds to the fruity flavours of Pálinka and sweet wine from Tokaji, Hungary’s famed wine region.
Don’t just read about it. Book your Budapest Food Tour today and treat your tastebuds to something special.
Seeking out the best of Budapest’s famous nightlife? Booze your way through Budapest on our Budapest Tipsy Tour and meet fun, like-minded people as you explore the Hungarian capital.
Alexander Meddings is a professional copywriter and postgraduate in Roman history from the University of Oxford. After graduating with his MPhil, he moved to Florence and then Rome to carry out his research on the ground and pursue his passion at the source. He now works in travel, as a writer and content consultant, and in education as a university lecturer and translator.
