Food of Cuba
Cuban cooking blends Spanish, African and Caribbean influences into hearty, garlicky comfort food. Rice and beans, slow-roasted pork, root vegetables and plantains anchor the table, seasoned with sofrito, citrus and cumin rather than heat. Meals are generous and shared, with sweet pastries and strong coffee to finish.
- Main dishes (10)
- Breakfast (2)
- Street food (4)
- Soups (2)
- Salads (2)
- Breads (1)
- Desserts and sweets (5)
- Drinks (4)
- Fruits and produce (6)
Staples
- rice
- black beans
- pork
- plantains
- yuca
- beef
- sweet potato
- citrus
Signature flavors
- garlic
- cumin
- oregano
- sour orange
- bay leaf
- sofrito
Main dishes
Shredded beef simmered with peppers and tomato.
Key ingredients: flank steak, peppers, tomato, onionFull guide →
Pork marinated in sour orange and garlic and slow-roasted.
Key ingredients: pork, sour orange, garlic, oregano
Black beans and white rice cooked together.
Key ingredients: black beans, rice, onion, peppers
Yellow rice with chicken and peas.
Key ingredients: rice, chicken, saffron, peas
Ground beef with olives, raisins and tomato.
Key ingredients: ground beef, olives, raisins, tomato
Shredded flank steak pan-fried with onions and lime.
Key ingredients: flank steak, onion, limeChicken stewed in tomato sauce with potatoes.
Key ingredients: chicken, potatoes, tomato, olives
Twice-fried green plantain slices.
Key ingredients: green plantains, oil, saltBoiled cassava with garlic-citrus sauce.
Key ingredients: yuca, garlic, sour orange, olive oilRed beans and rice from the east of the island.
Key ingredients: red beans, rice, porkBreakfast
Buttered, pressed Cuban bread served with coffee.
Key ingredients: Cuban bread, butterFried eggs over rice and fried plantains.
Key ingredients: eggs, rice, plantains, tomato sauceStreet food
Roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese and pickles on pressed bread.
Key ingredients: pork, ham, Swiss, pickles, breadFull guide →
Crisp fried bites of ham or chicken in creamy filling.
Key ingredients: ham, bechamel, breadcrumbs
Pastry turnovers with meat or cheese.
Key ingredients: pastry, beef, cheeseFull guide →Roast pork sandwich with onions.
Key ingredients: pork, bread, onion, mojoSoups
A thick stew of root vegetables, corn and meat.
Key ingredients: malanga, yuca, corn, porkPlantain soup with garlic and pork.
Key ingredients: plantain, garlic, brothSalads
Avocado, tomato and onion with lime.
Key ingredients: avocado, tomato, onion, limeLettuce, tomato and radish with vinaigrette.
Key ingredients: lettuce, tomato, radish, vinegarBreads
Soft white loaf with a crisp crust.
Key ingredients: flour, lard, yeastDesserts and sweets
Creamy caramel custard.
Key ingredients: eggs, milk, caramelFull guide →
Sponge cake soaked in milk.
Key ingredients: sponge, milks, creamFull guide →
Flaky pastries filled with guava and cheese.
Key ingredients: puff pastry, guava, cream cheeseRice pudding with cinnamon.
Key ingredients: rice, milk, cinnamonSweet potato pudding with spices.
Key ingredients: sweet potato, sugar, cinnamonDrinks
Strong espresso sweetened with whipped sugar.
Key ingredients: espresso, sugar
Espresso cut with warm milk.
Key ingredients: espresso, milkFresh pressed sugarcane juice.
Key ingredients: sugarcane
A shake of mamey and milk.
Key ingredients: mamey, milk, sugarFruits and produce
Sweet seasonal fruit of summer.
Sweet orange-fleshed fruit.
Used in pastries and paste.
Full guide →
Called fruta bomba in Cuba.
Full guide →Cooking banana, fried, boiled or mashed.
A major crop, pressed into juice.
Dish guides from Cuba
More cuisines of Caribbean
- Anguilla
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Aruba
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- British Virgin Islands
- Caribbean Netherlands
- Cayman Islands
- Curaçao
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Grenada
- Guadeloupe
- Haiti
- Jamaica
- Martinique
- Montserrat
- Puerto Rico
- Saint Barthélemy
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Martin
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Sint Maarten
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- United States Virgin Islands
Descriptions written by Intercontinental Chef. Dishes are listed as commonly eaten today; many are shared across neighbouring countries.
- RealRopaVieja: TGrey89, CC0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Cochinillos-Mercado de la Cebada: Tamorlan, CC BY 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Ropa viecha 2: Sarang, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
- Arroz-con-Pollo: Kobako, CC BY-SA 2.5 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Picadillo and rice: Cary Bass, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Vaca frita at cuba nyc: Anthony Quintano, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Tostones: AMartiniouk, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Tampa Cuban sandwich: Zeng8r, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Croquetas Caseras (7068664101): Jonathan Pincas from Leon, Spain, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Tapa de empanadillitas: Tamorlan, CC BY 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Ajiaco: Mauricio Giraldo from Bogotá, Colombia, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Cuban sandwiches: Zeng8r at en.wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Pastel de Tres Leches: @joefoodie, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Cuban pastry, guava: https://www.flickr.com/photos/themarmot/, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Cuban coffee- 2013-04-05 14-30: User:Colinkb7, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Cortadito: Mangocity, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Licuado: El Gran Dee, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Mangos - single and halved: Ivar Leidus, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- ARS- Pouteria sapota: Unknown, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
- Guava pink fruit: Ivar Leidus, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Carica papaya - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-029: Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
- Saccharum officinarum - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-125: Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
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