Ukrainian cuisine is the collection of the various cooking traditions of the people of Ukraine, one of the largest and most populous European countries. It is heavily influenced by the rich dark soil (chornozem) from which its ingredients come, and often involves many components. Traditional Ukrainian dishes often experience a complex heating process – "at first they are fried or boiled, and then stewed or baked. This is the most distinctive feature of Ukrainian cuisine".

The national dish of Ukraine is red borscht, a well-known beet soup, of which many varieties exist. However, varenyky (boiled dumplings similar to pierogi) and a type of cabbage roll known as holubtsi are also national favourites, and are a common meal in traditional Ukrainian restaurants. These dishes indicate the regional similarities within Eastern European cuisine.

The cuisine emphasizes the importance of wheat in particular, and grain in general, as the country is often referred to as the "breadbasket of Europe". The majority of Ukrainian dishes descend from ancient peasant dishes based on plentiful grain resources such as rye, as well as staple vegetables such as potato, cabbages, mushrooms and beetroots. Ukrainian dishes incorporate both traditional Slavic techniques as well as other European techniques, a byproduct of years of foreign jurisdiction and influence. As there has been a significant Ukrainian diaspora over several centuries (for example, over a million Canadians have Ukrainian heritage), the cuisine is represented in European countries and those further afield, particularly Argentina, Brazil, and the United States.

Slavic tribes, which settled the territory of modern Ukraine during the early Middle Ages, cultivated cereals such as rye, wheat and barley. The main food of the inhabitants of Kyivan Rus' was bread, most commonly made from rye. The Ukrainian word for rye (жито) itself derives from the Slavic verb "to live", which demonstrates the importance of that culture for the historical population of Ukraine. Wheat bread during that era was predominantly consumed by the upper classes. Both leavened and unleavened bread was known in Rus', with the former produced with the addition of hops. Cereal dishes such as kasha, usually made from millet, were common among all groups of the population, and also played a ritual role (koliva). Buckwheat, as well as flax, hemp, melons, watermelons, beets, poppies, oats and peas were also cultivated in Rus' territories.

Another important part of the popular diet during the Rus' period consisted of vegetables, especially cabbage and turnips. A significant portion of harvested vegetables would be salted or pickled to extend their storage period. Other vegetables widespread in Rus' territories were carrots, dill, garlic and lentils. In the 13th century onions were introduced in the territory of modern Ukraine. Wild plants such as sorrel, goosefoot and berries such as raspberry, blackthorn, guelder-rose, brambles, and grapes, as well as mushrooms, were also widely consumed by the population. Grapes were also cultivated for the production of raisins and as a condiment, but they were only available to the upper classes. Nuts were valued for their oil.

To provide themselves with meat products, medieval Eastern Slavs engaged in animal husbandry and hunting. The latter activity was popular among both the noble elite and common people. Rus' people consumed the meat of various mammals and birds such as deer, elk, auroch, roe deer, bison, boar, hare, partridge, grouse, goose, pigeon, swan and crane. Swan meat was considered a delicacy and is mentioned in bylinas stemming from that time. Meat was usually boiled or roasted on an open fire, but with time, frying and braising in fat also became widespread. Different varieties of fish, including pike, carp, sander and common bream constituted another crucial element of the diet in Rus' times. To prolong their shelf life, fish products would normally be salted, smoked or dried. Caviar, especially from sturgeon, was also popular.

Milk products consumed in medieval Rus' included cheese and butter. Milk was also used in some pagan rituals. Colostrum was a popular treat among the population, despite a ban on its consumption introduced by the church. A popular speciality widespread in modern-day Ukraine during the Medieval era was kissel, which was first mentioned in the Laurentian codex under the year 997 as a drink consumed by inhabitants of Belgorod near Kyiv. Among other drinks present in Rus' chronicles are kvass and honey. Desserts such as sweetened bread, prianyky and berries with honey were also known in Ukrainian lands from Rus' times.

According to Ukrainian historian Oleksii Sokyrko, during the era of Polish-Lithuanian rule in the late medieval and early modern times the Ukrainian culinary tradition was developing as part of the general food culture of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In that period cereals and bread continued to form the base of the diet for most people in Ukraine, but legumes including peas and beans were also widely consumed, particularly in western regions such as Galicia. One of the first documented mentions of borshch, the symbol of modern Ukrainian cuisine, also comes from the times of Polish rule: travelling through Kyiv in 1584, Danzig merchant Martin Gruneweg mentioned the widespread consumption of borshch by the local population; according to him, the dish was cooked in almost every household and consumed daily as both food and drink. Another early mention of borshch in Ukrainian lands comes from Orthodox polemicist Ivan Vyshenskyi from Galicia, who described the dish as a typical peasant food. In the 18th century, after the incorporation of parts of Ukraine into the Russian Empire, borshch became popular at the imperial court in Saint Petersburg. It was also mentioned in Ivan Kotliarevsky's Eneida, the pioneering work of modern Ukrainian literature, on par with halushky, another popular traditional Ukrainian dish.