Food of Solomon Islands

The Solomon Islands eat mainly root crops such as sweet potato, taro, and cassava, with fish, coconut, greens, and tropical fruit. Food is often cooked in earth ovens, and puddings made from pounded nuts, root crops, and coconut cream are a specialty. Fresh fish and rice are daily foods.

National dish

Poi pudding

Staples

  • sweet potato, taro, cassava, fish, coconut, rice, greens

Signature flavors

  • coconut cream, ngali nuts, lime, ginger

Main dishes

Poi

Pounded root pudding with coconut cream.

Key ingredients: taro, coconut cream
Fish in coconut cream

Fresh fish simmered.

Key ingredients: fish, coconut cream
Kumara and taro

Boiled root crops.

Key ingredients: sweet potato, taro
Chicken and greens

Stew.

Key ingredients: chicken, greens
Grilled fish

Over coals with lime.

Key ingredients: fish, lime
Ngali nut pudding

Nut-based dish.

Key ingredients: ngali nuts, taro

Breakfast

Boiled cassava
Boiled cassava

With tea.

Key ingredients: cassava
Pancakes

With banana.

Key ingredients: flour, banana

Street food

Fried fish

Market snack.

Key ingredients: fish
Roasted corn

Grilled.

Key ingredients: corn

Desserts and sweets

Banana pudding

Sweet.

Key ingredients: banana, coconut
Coconut cake

Soft.

Key ingredients: coconut, flour

Drinks

Coconut water

Fresh.

Key ingredients: young coconut
Tea

Sweet.

Key ingredients: tea

Fruits and produce

Coconut
Coconut

Staple.

Key ingredients: milkFull guide →
Banana
Banana

Many kinds.

Key ingredients: eaten freshFull guide →
Papaya
Papaya

Sweet.

Key ingredients: eaten freshFull guide →
Pineapple
Pineapple

Juicy.

Key ingredients: eaten freshFull guide →
Ngali nut
Ngali nut

Prized nut, roasted.

Key ingredients: roasted

Dish guides from Solomon Islands

Banana
BananaFruits
Coconut
CoconutFruits
Papaya
PapayaFruits
Pineapple
PineappleFruits
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More cuisines of Melanesia

About this page

Descriptions written by Intercontinental Chef. Dishes are listed as commonly eaten today; many are shared across neighbouring countries.

Photo credits
  • Manihot esculenta - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-090: Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhlers Medizinal-Pflanzen, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Cocos nucifera - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-187: Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
  • 14-QWSTION-BANANATEX-STRIPPING-LAUSCHSICHT: BANANATEX, 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)
  • കൈതച്ചക്ക: Suniltg at Malayalam Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
  • Canarium indicum - Icica icicariba - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-171: Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)