Medieval peasants mainly ate stews of meat and vegetables, along with dairy products such as cheese, according to a study of old cooking pots.

Cooking included the use of fire: since stoves were not invented until the 18th century, people cooked directly over the fire. Most people cooked in simple pots, and soups and stews were, therefore, the most common dishes. In some dishes, fruits were mixed with meat, eggs, and fish.

In Europe there were typically two meals a day: dinner at mid-day and a lighter supper in the evening. The two-meal system remained consistent throughout the late Middle Ages.

The average peasant’s diet in Medieval times consisted largely of barley. They used barley to make a variety of different dishes, from coarse, dark breads to pancakes, porridge and soups. After a poor harvest, when grain was in short supply, people were forced to include beans, peas and even acorns in their bread.

Peasants tended to keep cows, so their diets consisted largely of dairy produce such as buttermilk, cheese, or curds and whey. Rich and poor alike ate a dish called pottage, a thick soup containing meat, vegetables, or bran.

Depending on which region they came from, they had access to a wide range of foods by growing, foraging, and even fishing. Many dishes were packed with nutrients and had everything that a balanced meal required. Peasant food wasn’t full of muck and grime; they were the epitome of a healthy diet.

English peasants in Medieval times lived on a combination of meat stews, leafy vegetables and dairy products which scientists say was healthier than modern diets. ‘It is certainly much healthier than the diet of processed foods many of us eat today.

Protein was usually provided legumes such as beans, peas or lentils, fish where available, or on very rare occasions, meat such as poultry, pork, or beef. Additional nutrients were provided by seasonal vegetables and fruits. The peasant’s diet rates high on modern nutrition standards.

For many peasants in Medieval England, disease and poor health were part of their daily life and medicines were both basic and often useless. Towns and cities were filthy and knowledge of hygiene was non-existent. The Black Death was to kill two thirds of England’s population between 1348 and 1350.

Barley bread, porridge, gruel and pasta, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Grain provided 65-70% of calories in the early 14th century.

Middle Ages (500–1500) In the European Middle Ages, breakfast was not usually considered a necessary and important meal, and was practically nonexistent during the earlier medieval period. In the 13th century, breakfast when eaten sometimes consisted of a piece of rye bread and a bit of cheese.

Medieval knights ate modest breakfasts of primarily bread and wine. Hot breakfasts were not yet popular and would not come along until modern times. The medieval knight rose early in the morning with the sunrise or close to dawn.

The findings demonstrated that stews (or pottages) of meat (beef and mutton) and vegetables such as cabbage and leek, were the mainstay of the medieval peasant diet. The research also showed that dairy products, likely the ‘green cheeses’ known to be eaten by the peasantry, also played an important role in their diet.

Cattle, sheep and goats required fodder, so were unlikely to be kept for meat, although they would be kept for milk in order to make butter and cheese. Chickens were also too valuable for peasants to eat, since they produced eggs. Peasants could, however, catch wild birds for consumption.

Knights often ate roasted meat (chicken, pig, rabbit, etc) and local vegetables like carrots, cabbage and onion.