Europe is filled with so many incredible cuisines, each having centuries of evolving culinary techniques, traditions, and regional ingredients.
And Spain is filled with an incredible abundance of history and amazing dishes. With influences coming from Greece, the Byzantine Empire, and the Americas, there is so much to experience when you visit or try a recipe at home.
Spanish food has a lot wonderful flavors and really is fun to explore when I’m ordering tapas or getting a traditional Spanish dish at a restaurant. And I think you might agree too!
So if you’re traveling to Spain and you plan on trying their high end cuisine and rustic eateries, or you just want to improve your own cooking skills, then this list of Spanish dishes are here to help you out.
From paella to churros, these 15 dishes are something you shouldn’t miss when visiting Spain.
What is Typical Spanish Food
There is a lot of regional diversity in Spanish cuisine, but you’ll see ingredients such as olive oil, garlic, and spices like rosemary and thyme being widely used.
Fish and seafood are also a major part of their diets, but you will also find quite a few traditional Spanish dishes that include ham, veal, lamb, and chicken.
Spanish recipes see a lot of influences from the Moors, the Americas, and France, and have developed over hundreds of years. From poor farmer’s food becoming popular dishes to Norther African traders sharing new spices, typical Spanish food is complex and amazingly flavorful.
1. Jamón Ibérico
A guide on the food from Spain wouldn’t be complete without this one item.
Primarily being made with the meat of the famous black Iberian pig, jamón ibérico is one of the best (and easiest) things you can knock off this list of Spanish foods.
It’s a rich and delicious sliced dark cured ham which you can get at certain stores and enjoy as is or on some really good bread.
The pigs are allowed to roam and feed on acorns which gives their meat a very unique flavor. Also, you can get jamón ibérico that’s been cured for 12 months and some even up to 48 months.
So maybe before you spend any money, find a place that will allow you to do a tasting and see which cure time you like best.
Pro Tip: Look for jamón ibérico that has a waxy melty fat. If you rub it with your finger and it melts onto your finger like wax, then that means it’s good. 👌
2. Sopa De Ajo
Coming from the regions of Castile and León, sopa de ajo’s ingredients will depend on the family and their budget. But normally you’ll find bread, garlic, olive oil, spices, and even a poached egg.
It’s a Spanish recipe that’s been around for quiet awhile and was normally served as a lunch.
You can also find it being served in clay pots of different shapes, and it really is a dish you’ll want to explore as the recipe changes quite a bit depending on where you are in Spain.
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3. Arroz con Pollo (Spanish Chicken and Rice)
While the origins of this dish might be a little up in the air (some saying Puerto Rico), it’s believed that arroz con pollo came from Spain.
With the recipe being a Spanish pilaf, it looks to have it’s influences coming from countries in the east. The rice came from Asia and the saffron from Phoenician traders, which makes this a very old dish.
Also, the recipe above includes ingredients like like white wine, olives, garlic, and olive oil, which sounds incredibly healthy and tasty
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4. Basque Cheesecake
Traditional food in Spain is always full of surprises, and this is one of them.
Also known as cheesecake San Sebastian, this dessert reminds me a bit of a creme brûlée.
It has this incredibly creamy custardy inside with a burnt sugar caramelized outside.
I’ve made this a few times and it’s always satisfying and delicious! Also, I included the recipe I used down below, and Nagi gives some great tips from the 25 versions she’s tested.
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5. Fideuà
Being normally cooked in a paella dish, fideuà is a seafood recipe that originated in Valencia and is well loved.
It’s a thin pasta that’s mixed in with ingredients like cuttlefish, prawns, olive oil, saffron, garlic, tomatoes, and more.
The story goes that a young cook on a ship didn’t have enough rice for the entire crew, so he tested out noodles and it was a success! Now, it’s something that many enjoy in Spain.
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6. Gazpacho
Made with raw blended vegetables, Gazpacho is a cold soup that’s enjoyed on hotter days.
It’s an Andalusian recipe, and while it originated in the southern part of Spain, it’s also enjoyed in Portugal.
With ingredients like tomato, bread, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and other veggies, it’s a flavorful recipe to try during the summer.
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7. Migas
Migas sounds like the ultimate satisfying comfort food.
The Spanish take breadcrumbs and mix them up with ingredients like bacon, chorizo, garlic, and paprika.
And while it’s not widely known, migas really does look like something you should definitely put on your list for when you visit Spain.
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8. Paella Valenciana
Probably the most famous Spanish food out there, it originally came from Valencia and can either be made with rabbit and chicken or seafood.
It takes it’s name from the dish it’s cooked in and has ingredients like Valencia rice, tomato, saffron, olive oil, meat, green beans, and more.
And since it’s something widely made, but not always authentic, it’s good to find a restaurant that’ll serve you the traditional recipe.
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9. Tortilla de Patatas (Spanish Omelette)
Tortilla, literally meaning “small cake” is a potato omelette that I personally love. It’s hearty, flavorful, and great for getting your day started.
It was a traditional Spanish food that looks to have originally been created by poor farmer’s and their families. Mixing the different ingredients helped the eggs to stretch further and still provided them with a nutritious meal.
Also, Spanish omelettes are very different than what we Americans are familiar with.
They’re baked with potatoes, chorizo, onions, eggs, olive oil and other ingredients to make this a super filling and comforting breakfast.
And thankfully, you don’t need to travel to Spain to make this recipe; it’s something that can be easily replicated at home.
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10. Bacalao
Bacalao, or salted cod, is something you’ll see quite a bit of when you’re visiting the Iberian peninsula.
Trading with the vikings in the 10th century, the Spanish started to cook with cod. And because it came from such a long distance (Norway and even further out), it was salted to keep it preserved.
But you do need to soak the fish for quite a few hours to get rid of all the intense salt flavors.
And when you go to Spain, you’ll find it in dishes such as bacalao al pil-pil (traditional cod dish in a creamy emulsion sauce), bacalao a la vizcaína (cod served with a pepper based sauce), and buñuelos de bacalao (fried fritters using potato, cod, egg, and more).
Side Note: I include a recipe for bacalao al pil-pil down below, but since it’s in Spanish, you’ll want to use the Google Translate extension so you can easily follow along.
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11. Escalivada
Being a classic Spanish tapas dish, the bell peppers, onions, tomato, and aubergines (eggplant) are roasted with olive oil and garlic.
These smoky grilled vegetables come from the northern part of Spain, in a region that used to be apart of France. And if you ever want to have tapas at home, then I’d say this is a simple Spanish recipe you can easily try!
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12. Patatas Bravas
A Spanish tapas dish you’ll see quite a bit of outside of Spain.
Translating out as “brave potatoes” because of their spicy sauce, they’re perfectly crispy on the outside, incredibly soft and fluffy on the inside potatoes.
They’re one of my favorite things to order if I see it on a menu, and the sauce they come with is always satisfying.
Side Note: If you see it also coming with an aioli sauce, then this dish will actually be called, patatas mixtas.
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13. Churros
Churros are something you can’t escape no matter where you are in Spain and other Hispanic countries.
In Spain, you’ll normally see it just being dipped in a thick chocolate sauce, but in other countries like Peru, you’ll see it being stuffed with fillings like chocolate or even dulce de leche (my personal favorite).
But basically they’re deep fried fritters that have been coated in a sugar and are a fun snack for when you’re out exploring and want to stop for something sweet.
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14. Albondigas
Originally coming from the Arabic word al-búnduqah, which translates out as “hazelnut” (a euphemism for “ball”), they’re tasty looking meatballs in a tomato sauce.
Some can also be served in an almond sauce (or salsa de almendras), but both are enjoyed as a tapas or main dish.
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15. Croquetas
While there’s plenty of food in Spain that’s healthy, this definitely isn’t one of those dishes.
The Spanish take a delicious bechamel sauce and fry it in breadcrumbs. It’s incredibly rich, satisfying, and flavorful.
I enjoyed them at a Basque restaurants serving tapas, and they really are worth the order if you’re curious about trying them.
Other varieties might include bacalao, jamón, cheese, ground meat, or mushrooms.
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Grace Moser is the author and founder of Chasing Foxes, where she writes articles to help women create a life they love in big and small ways. She's been a full-time traveler since 2016 and loves sharing her experiences and exploring the world with her husband, Silas. Her lifestyle and travel advice can also be seen on sites such as Business Insider, Glamour, Newsweek, Huffpost, & Apartment Therapy.
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