Soviet cuisine, the common cuisine of the Soviet Union, was formed by the integration of the various national cuisines of the Soviet Union, in the course of the formation of the Soviet people. Generally, Soviet cuisine was shaped by Soviet eating habits and a limited availability of ingredients in most parts of USSR.

In the West, Soviet cuisine is frequently mistaken for Russian cuisine, though national Russian cuisine is quite different.

An everyday Soviet full course meal (lunch or dinner) consisted of three or four courses, typically referred to as "the first", "the second", "the third", and "the fourth". An optional salad was not "numbered". Of course, in a restaurant one could order anything one liked, in any order, but in a typical canteen, especially in a worker's or student's canteen, one would normally have received what was called a "combined lunch" ("kompleksny obed"). "The first" was a soup or broth, i.e., "liquid" food. "The second" was some kind of "solid" food: meat, fish, or poultry with a side dish, called "garnish" (Russian: гарнир}. Garnishes typically included potatoes in a variety of forms, buckwheat kasha, macaroni, etc. Bliny, baked dishes (Russian: запеканка zapekanka), or eggs could also be served as "the second". "The third" was something to drink: tea, coffee, kompot, milk, kefir, etc. "The fourth" was a dessert.