The islands of the Caribbean are renowned not only for their beaches, breathtaking landscapes, internationally known musical traditions (reggae, salsa, calypso, reggaeton, and more) but also for their rich and diverse culinary heritage. The region’s national dishes are a testament to the centuries-long fusion of African, East Indian, European, and indigenous Caribbean influences, resulting in a remarkable tapestry of flavors and cooking techniques.
Reviewing sites including Endless Caribbean, Caribbean & Co., Taste Atlas, National Dish, and Barbados.org, 24/7 Tempo has identified the national dish on 30 different Caribbean islands, including sovereign countries, overseas territories and special municipalities, members of the British Commonwealth, and constituent parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. (Each country’s population came from the World Bank and is for 2022 except otherwise noted.)
While each island has its own food specialties, certain ingredients and preparations are commonplace: Soups and stews are popular. While some national dishes involve beef, pork and chicken are more often seen, and the quintessential meat in many places is goat.
Starches in the Caribbean diet include rice (typically combined with beans or peas, the latter usually meaning pigeon peas, a green pea relative), breadfruit, and yams, as well as cornmeal – commonly used to make a polenta-like dish of African origin called fungi (also fungee and, in the French-speaking Caribbean, fangui) or cou-cou.
Other common ingredients include plantains, green bananas (known as green figs on St. Lucia and several other islands), a variety of leafy greens known collectively as callaloo, and a West African fruit called ackee (the national fruit of Jamaica, poisonous unless properly prepared). A wide variety of aromatic spices are employed in various dishes, with heat often provided by habanero-like Scotch bonnet chiles. (Learn where the world’s bananas come from.)
Local waters provide fish and shellfish, with conch appearing in numerous island specialties, and jackfish, flying fish, grouper, and other varieties also used. Perhaps counterintuitively in this island region, however, the most popular seafood by far is saltfish – salt cod, or bacalao – preserved cod originally imported to the Caribbean from northern Europe by sugarcane plantation owners as a cheap and unspoilable form of protein to feed their enslaved workers. (Salt cod is a better choice than these fish and shellfish, which are considered the worst seafood to eat.)
Another European import is the national dish of Cuba, ropa vieja (literally “old clothes,” a reference to the shredded appearance of the meat), based on a dish developed by Sephardic Jews in medieval Spain and later exported to the Philippines, Latin America, and the Caribbean by Spanish colonizers.
And then there’s keshi yena, the national dish of Aruba and Curaçao, a rounded mound of cheese filled with spiced meat. Though it now appears on upscale restaurant menus in refined form, it originated with enslaved people in the Dutch West Indies, who made it by repurposing the hollowed-out shells of the cannonball-sized Edam cheeses imported by Dutch colonists.
Anguilla: Pigeon peas and rice
> Ingredients: Pigeon peas, rice, onions, garlic, thyme, scallions, peppers, coconut milk, and various spices
> Population: 15,857
> Political status: British overseas territory
Antigua and Barbuda: Fungi and pepperpot
> Ingredients: Cornmeal, okra, meat (such as beef, pork, or chicken), tomatoes, onions, garlic, peppers, and a blend of spices
> Population: 93,763
> Political status: Sovereign country
Aruba: Keshi yena
> Ingredients: Cheese stuffed with spiced meat (such as chicken or beef), vegetables (such as bell peppers and onions), raisins, olives, and various spices
> Population: 106,445
> Political status: Constituent part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Bahamas: Cracked conch with peas and rice
> Ingredients: Conch meat, pigeon peas or kidney beans, rice, onions, garlic, thyme, Scotch bonnet peppers, and various seasonings
> Population: 409,984
> Political status: Sovereign country
Barbados: Cou-cou and flying fish
> Ingredients: Cornmeal, okra, flying fish, onions, garlic, thyme, tomatoes, peppers, and various seasonings
> Population: 281,635
> Political status: Sovereign country
Bonaire: Stoba kabritu (stewed goat)
> Ingredients: Goat meat, onions, garlic, thyme, peppers, tomatoes, allspice, and other herbs and spices
> Population: 22,573
> Political status: Netherlands special municipality
British Virgin Islands: Fish and fungi
> Ingredients: Cod or mackerel, cornmeal, okra, onions, garlic, thyme, peppers, tomatoes, and various seasonings
> Population: 31,305
> Political status: British overseas territory
Cayman Islands: Turtle meat
> Ingredients: Farmed turtle meat (sea turtles are protected, and consuming them is illegal in many places), onions, garlic, thyme, peppers, tomatoes, and various seasonings
> Population: 68,706
> Political status: British overseas territory
Cuba: Ropa vieja
> Ingredients: Beef, onions, garlic, bell peppers, tomatoes, cumin, oregano, and other spices
> Population: 11,212,191
> Political status: Sovereign country
Curaçao: Keshi yena
> Ingredients: Cheese stuffed with spiced meat (such as chicken or beef), vegetables (such as bell peppers and onions), raisins, olives, and various spices
> Population: 165,528
> Political status: Constituent part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Dominica: Mountain chicken and callaloo soup
> Ingredients: “Mountain chicken” (frog), callaloo leaves or other leafy greens, onions, garlic, peppers, thyme, and various seasonings
> Population: 72,737
> Political status: Sovereign country
Dominican Republic: Sancocho
> Ingredients: Meat (such as chicken, beef, or pork), yuca (cassava), plantains, potatoes, corn, onions, garlic, peppers, cilantro, and various spices
> Population: 11,228,821
> Political status: Sovereign country
Grenada: Oil down
> Ingredients: breadfruit, meat (such as chicken or salt pork), onions, garlic, peppers, turmeric, coconut milk, and various vegetables
> Population: 125,438
> Political status: Sovereign country
Guadeloupe: Porc-colombo
> Ingredients: Pork, onions, garlic, thyme, peppers, tomatoes, lime juice, and Colombo powder (a spice blend which typically includes coriander, cumin, turmeric, and other spices)
> Population: 395,752
> Political status: French overseas department
Haiti: Rice and beans
> Ingredients: rice, beans (such as red beans or black-eyed peas), coconut milk, onions, garlic, thyme, scallions, peppers, and various seasonings
> Population: 11,584,996
> Political status: Sovereign country
Jamaica: Ackee and saltfish
> Ingredients: Ackee fruit, salt cod, onions, garlic, tomatoes, Scotch bonnet peppers, and various spices
> Population: 2,827,377
> Political status: Sovereign country
Martinique: Grilled snapper with sauce chien
> Ingredients: Snapper fish, onions, garlic, peppers, vinegar, lime juice, herbs (such as parsley and thyme), and spices for the sauce chien
> Population: 367,507
> Political status: French overseas department
Montserrat: Goat water
> Ingredients: Goat meat, onions, garlic, thyme, peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, yams, and various spices
> Population: 4,390
> Political status: British overseas territory
Puerto Rico: Arroz con gandules
> Ingredients: Rice, pigeon peas, sofrito (a mix of onions, garlic, peppers, and herbs), annatto oil, pork or ham, olives, capers, and various seasonings
> Population: 3,252,407
> Political status: United States commonwealth territory
Saba: Goat meat with peas and rice
> Ingredients: Goat meat, peas or pigeon peas, rice, onions, garlic, thyme, peppers, and various spices
> Population: 1,911
> Political status: Netherlands special municipality
Saint-Barthélemy (St. Bart’s): Fangui served with blaff
> Ingredients: Cornmeal, fish or shellfish, onions, garlic, peppers, lime juice, and various herbs and spices
> Population: 9,131 (2012)
> Political status: French overseas collectivity
Saint-Martin: Conch and dumplings
> Ingredients: Conch meat, flour, baking powder, water, onions, garlic, peppers, thyme, tomatoes, and various seasonings
> Population: 31,948 (2021)
> Political status: French overseas collectivity
St. Kitts and Nevis: Stewed saltfish with dumplings, spicy plantains, and breadfruit
> Ingredients: Salt cod, flour, baking powder, water, plantains, breadfruit, onions, garlic, thyme, tomatoes, Scotch bonnet peppers, and various seasonings
> Population: 47,606 (2021)
> Political status: British Commonwealth nation
St. Lucia: Green fig and saltfish
> Ingredients: Green bananas, salt cod, onions, garlic, thyme, peppers, tomatoes, and various seasonings
> Population: 179,651 (2021)
> Political status: British Commonwealth nation
St. Maarten: Conch and dumplings
> Ingredients: Conch, flour, baking powder, water, plantains, breadfruit, onions, garlic, thyme, tomatoes, Scotch bonnet peppers, and various seasonings
> Population: 42,846 (2021)
> Political status: Constituent part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
St. Martin: Callaloo soup
> Ingredients: Callaloo leaves or other leafy greens, onions, garlic, thyme, Scotch bonnet peppers, tomatoes, coconut milk, and various seasonings
> Population: 42,846 (2021)
> Political status: French overseas collectivity
St. Vincent and the Grenadines: Roasted breadfruit and jackfish
> Ingredients: Breadfruit, jackfish (also known as jack crevalle), onions, garlic, peppers, thyme, lime juice, and various spices
> Population: 104,332 (2021)
> Political status: British Commonwealth nation
Trinidad and Tobago: Crab and callaloo
> Ingredients: Crab meat, callaloo leaves or other leafy greens, onions, garlic, thyme, Scotch bonnet peppers, tomatoes, and various seasonings
> Population: 1,531,044
> Political status: Sovereign country
Turks and Caicos: Cracked conch
> Ingredients: Conch, onions, garlic, thyme, peppers, tomatoes, lime juice, and various spices
> Population: 45,114 (2021)
> Political status: British overseas territory
United States Virgin Islands: Fish and fungi
> Ingredients: Fish (such as snapper or grouper), cornmeal, okra, onions, garlic, thyme, peppers, tomatoes, and various seasonings
> Population: 99,465
> Political status: United States territory