Nicaraguan gastronomy is very varied and colorful.
One topic that we Nicaraguans love is food and if you are a tourist don't miss all the recommendations we have for you, because Nicaragua is flavor and in this article we will talk about typical Nicaraguan food.
One of the main characteristics of Nicaraguan food is that it is based mainly on corn in its variety of options.
Corn is present in Nicaraguan food from main courses to desserts and soft drinks prepared with this ingredient. It is no coincidence that the country is labeled as "tierra del maíz".
Although Nicaragua has a great gastronomic variety, most Nicaraguan families eat rice and beans every day. Served as a main meal in breakfast, lunch and dinner.
One of Nicaragua's most characteristic foods is the "gallo pinto", which tries to cook red beans with rice. The Gallopinto is the most typical and representative dish of the country, of every 10 families 9 consume gallo pinto in one of its times of lunch, mainly at breakfast or dinner. It is often accompanied by cheese, cream, fried eggs, grilled meat, slices of bananas or ripe fried bananas.
Another peculiarity of Nicaraguan food is the preparation of corn-based drinks such as: chicha, pinolillo, pinolillo... learn more here Drinks typical of Nicaragua.
Natural beverages
Who doesn't like a delicious juice in the morning?
Nicaragua, being a tropical country, enjoys a great variety of fruits with a lot of flavor, also when accompanying the meals there are many typical drinks that are to the order of the day in practically any dining room or restaurant in the country.
Many different fruit drinks are prepared, usually from seasonal fruit. Among them are mango, papaya, pineapple, tamarind, pitahaya, oranges....
Each region of Nicaragua has its own special food dishes. Being in the Pacific the best known and most elaborate. From which we leave you a list of what you can't miss on your visit to Nicaragua.
Plates of typical Nicaraguan food:
Nacatamales:
The nacatamal is a very typical food in Nicaragua and is made from a corn dough which is softened with lard and ground vegetables such as tomato, onion, chiltoma and garlic that give it an exquisite flavor, this is prepared in banana leaf and is added marinated pork meat, potato, rice.
The nacatamal is a meal that is eaten mainly in the Pacific accompanied by a cup of coffee and bread and is considered the favorite meal for breakfast on Sunday. In recent years, varieties have been made according to the taste of the people and now they are made with chicken meat and there are even vegetarians.
Vigorón:
Vigoron is one of the typical foods for which Nicaragua is known, it is made with cooked cassava, chicarron (a well roasted fried pork stew) and cabbage salad with tomato and chili.
The vigoron can be served with a glass of cocoa or cocoa soda. These are consumed mainly in the city of Granada, where you can find it in the central park and the market.
You cannot visit the great Sultana without tasting a delicious plate of Vigoron. In the Atlantic area of the country east has a variety because instead of pork they use meat from wild animals such as the ranger and the mountain pig.
Baho
Typical Nicaraguan food, made with beef meat preferably salted overnight and seasoned with abundant onions and tomatoes, cassava, green plantain, ripe banana.
Which is steamed and covered for cooking with banana leaf which gives it a very particular flavor, served with cabbage salad with tomato and carrot.
This food is very typical in the central and peaceful area of the country, in the Atlantic area has a difference is that it is made from coconut milk and can be substituted beef by fish, is known as RONDON
Sopa de queso :
This is a very typical Nicaraguan meal, also known as doughnut soup or curd soup.
It is mainly consumed in the pacific area during Easter week. It is made from corn dough and grated or curd cheese, which is used to make cakes or doughnuts which are fried and then put into the soup.
In some regions of the country, such as León, they usually add jocote.
Fritanga
This is a great variety of food that you can find every day at night in any corner of Managua, in the fritangas you can find meat roast beef, chicken or pork, which you can accompany with a delicious gallopinto, tortilla or slices of banana or ripe, you can also find tacos that are made with beef or shredded chicken wrapped in tortilla you can also find tacos that are made with beef or chicken wrapped in tortilla.
In a fritanga you can't miss a delicious enchilada consisting of an omelette filled with rice with shredded meat and chili, this is fried and accompanied by salad.
In the fritangas you can also find a variety of sausages, potato cakes, fried cheese with slices of green or ripe banana. You can't visit Nicaragua without enjoying a delicious fritanga with a soft drink, soft drink or a cold beer.
Quesillo :
If you travel to the western region of León or Chinandega you should not pass by La Paz Centro and Nagarote where you can delight in some delicious cheeses with tiste.
This is a typical food of the region, it is not known for sure if it is native to La Paz Centro or Nagarote, although you can find it in other departments of the central or peaceful region.
The quesillo is a fast food, but its preparation requires several hours of work since once the milk has curdled, it is extracted from the vats and then put boiling water on it, and with gigantic grinders, a couple of women begin to shake it so that the heat of the water turns the curd into a semi melted or soft cheese.
This process has to be repeated three times, until the cheese takes the texture and the required point. While the cheese is still hot, the women begin to take it out and break it into small pieces and then form a kind of tortilla or braid.
This is a painful job, because women's hands have to endure the heat of the cheese, because if it gets cold you can't give it the stitch. While this happens, another group of women prepares tortillas and salads. Serve it, put the cheese on top of the hot tortilla and add the salad of finely chopped onion, salt and chili and then add sweet cream.
Typical meals of the central region
- Güirila
- Tamales
- Yoltamales
- Oven Thing
Typical lunch in the Atlantic region
Coconut milk is widely used, and coconut oil to prepare the dishes, the most recognized is the Rondón, a fish and seafood soup that they prepare exquisitely in the Atlantic area of Nicaragua.