22 Traditional Cuban Recipes That Will Wow Your Tastebuds (2024)

FAQs

What is Cuba's most traditional food? ›

However, ropa vieja is considered the national dish of Cuba, where residents hold a special affinity for it. The name ropa vieja translates to “old clothes,” likely because it's traditionally made with tough cuts of meat that break into long, thin fibers—resembling well-worn threads—when cooked.

1. Ropa Vieja. Perhaps one of the most popular dishes in Cuba, ropa vieja or “old clothes” (alluding to the meat), is a moreish mix of onions and bell peppers in a rich tomato sauce. The show stealer – shredded flank steak, stewed within the flavourful sauce.

○ Ropa vieja (translates as “old clothes”) – this is Cuba's national dish, called like that because the meat is shredded (like old clothes) into the rich tomato sauce.

Cuba's is not a culture built on breakfast. To be fair, there is a traditional Cuban breakfast: café con leche and pan tostado (not quite cookies, but almost). Imagine the most delicious piece of toast you've ever had, and that is pan tostado—Cuban bread slathered in butter and pressed flat in an electric grill.

It normally includes some form of stewed beef and tomatoes with a sofrito base. Originating in Spain, it is known today as one of the national dishes of Cuba. The name ropa vieja probably originates from the fact that it was often prepared using food left over from other meals.

Traditional and Common Meals

Traditionally, Cubans are meat lovers and consume some type of meat at almost every meal. The most popular meat is pork, which usually is served as lechon asado (roast pork), masas de puerco (fried pork chunks), or as pan con lechon (in a sandwich) (Boswell and Curtis, 1984).

It focuses on rice, black beans, pork or fish, as well as yucca or plantains and is mostly eaten between 11:30am to 12:30pm.

A typical lunch or dinner in Cuba consists of white rice or beans and rice, a salad made up of vegetables that are in season (i.e. cucumber, tomato, cabbage, avocados, etc.), some type of grilled, fried, or stewed meat and sometimes fish and a root vegetable or banana in some form (i.e. cassava, taro, potatoes, ...

Following the revolution of 1959, Cuba has achieved immense advances in health care. Today, its infant mortality rate if the lowest in Latin America and at par with industrialized countries. Its life expectancy is actually higher than that of the US.

Cooked, fluffy white rice is traditional and a great compliment to the strong marinated flavors of the Roast Pork. In Cuba, yellow rice hailed from Spain where the most expensive spice in the world—saffron—colored the rice yellow.

What Cuban food is similar to potato? ›

Yuca. Yuca is the root of the cassava plant. Its flavor is similar to potatoes, and it's one of the staple sides in Cuban cooking.

It's wise to avoid home-made soft drinks, and ice cream, or at least ask if either has been prepared with boiled water (agua hervida) before sampling.

Unlike Mexican cuisine, Cuban food is not spicy because it's a mix of Spanish, African, and other Caribbean cuisines. Chilies are not even grown in Cuba which is why 'heat' has never really been a key ingredient in Cuban cuisine.

During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, Ropa Vieja traveled across the oceans. It became famous in Cuba and the Caribbean. Each region added its distinct flavors and ingredients to the basic recipe. Ropa Vieja became a common dish in households.

Ropa Vieja is a Cuban dish made with shredded beef that has been slowly cooked with onions, peppers, olives, tomato sauce, and spices like cumin and oregano.

Cuban Picadillo consists of flavorful ground beef, spices, green olives, boiled egg and raisins cooked in a delicious tomato sauce, and then served over a bed of rice. This is the ideal weeknight meal because it can be made in under 30 minutes!