The 20 most famous dishes of Cuba
Cuban cooking is Creole — Spanish blended with African and Caribbean — built on rice, black beans, plantain, cassava and garlicky sour-orange mojo.
1Ropa Vieja
Cuba's national dish: beef simmered and shredded into strands in a sauce of tomato, peppers and onion — the…
2Moros y Cristianos
Rice and black beans cooked together in one pot with sofrito, cumin and oregano.
3Picadillo a la Habanera
Ground beef cooked with tomato, olives, raisins and capers — sweet and savoury, served with rice.
4Lechón Asado
Meat slow-roasted after marinating in garlicky sour-orange mojo — the Christmas Eve feast. Traditionally…
5Sándwich Cubano
Cuban bread filled with roast meat, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard, pressed and toasted until crisp.
6Yuca con Mojo
Tender boiled cassava drenched in a sauce of garlic, olive oil, sour orange and onion.
7Tostones
Green plantain slices fried twice and smashed, dipped in garlic mojo.
8Ajiaco Cubano
A thick Cuban stew of meat, corn, cassava, plantain, squash and sweet potato — symbolising the island's mixed…
9Vaca Frita
Boiled, shredded beef marinated in mojo then pan-fried crisp with onions — "fried cow".
10Fricasé de Pollo
Chicken stewed in tomato sauce with potatoes, olives, raisins and capers — an everyday family dish.
11Tamal en Cazuela
Fresh corn porridge cooked in a pot with meat and sofrito — an easy alternative to wrapped tamales.
12Papa Rellena
Mashed potato balls stuffed with picadillo, crumbed and fried.
13Croquetas Cubanas
Crisp, creamy fingers of chicken or ham in thick béchamel, eaten in cafés with coffee.
14Flan Cubano
A dense flan of condensed and evaporated milk and eggs under dark caramel.
15Pastelitos de Guayaba
Puff pastry turnovers filled with guava paste and cream cheese, glazed with syrup and eaten with Cuban coffee.
16Boniatillo
A creamy dessert of mashed sweet potato with sugar, cinnamon, lemon zest and egg yolks.
17Café Cubano
Strong sweet espresso whose first drops are whipped with sugar into a creamy foam (espumita).
18Frita Cubana
A paprika-spiced Cuban burger served in a soft bun with onion and crispy shoestring potatoes.
19Plátanos Maduros
Very ripe plantain fried until caramelised outside and sweet and soft within — alongside every Cuban meal.
20Arroz Imperial
Layers of yellow chicken rice with mayonnaise and cheese, baked until golden — a Cuban party dish.