The following highlights some of the popular Traditional Belizean Foods. If you manage to be in an Belizean restaurant or you are visiting Belize, I recommend the following:
1. Ceviche
Ceviche is a raw fish dish prepared with very fresh fish that is cooked in citrus juices. In Peru and Belize it is prepared with aji or other hot peppers and is complemented with additional seasonings that may include red onion, cilantro, garlic and salt. Ceviche is traditionally served with sweet potato, thick slices of corn on the cob, on a bed of lettuce, and can sometimes be accompanied by plantains or avocado.
2. Stew(ed) Chicken
One of the most popular meals in Belize is a chicken stew. It is served in practically every traditional food restaurant and home in this small country. This is a very healthy dish but the limes and hot sauce make it very tasty. Serve with corn or flour tortillas. Each person may want to spice it up with more hot sauce as they prefer.
3. Salbutes
Garnachas are a Belizean specialty that resembles Mexican nachos. This fast food favourite is traditionally sold by street vendors. It is composed of fried corn tortillas topped with refried beans, shredded cabbage, cheese and other garnishes.
4. Garnache
Garnache is a mixed race dish that is popular in Belize. An ordinary garnache consists of a fried corn tortilla with beans, lettuce and cheese. Other ingredients, such as grated carrots or chilies, may also be added. Garnache is typically eaten as a fast food or a street food, and is very popular with tourists and locals alike.
5. Fry Jacks
It is a fried bread, and when it is fried, the bread begins to swell, and in the empty space in the middle you put ham, cheese, or whatever typical Belizean food you are eating. The fry Jack can be understood as an accompaniment to other foods, although its delicious taste makes it the star of the show for many. Belizeans even prepare them as breakfast. The truth is that fry jack is very eclectic, as well as being breakfast or an accompaniment to main dishes, it can also accompany a coffee or a delicious local cocktail.
6. Cochinita Pibil
It is a traditional dish of the Mayan-Yucatecan culture, consisting of slow-roasted pork marinated in orange juice and spices such as annatto seed paste, garlic, allspice and onion, which is wrapped in a banana leaf before being cooked for several hours.
7. Tamales
The dish consists of a stew of chicken, onion, cilantro and the traditional achiote. All this becomes a dough that is placed inside banana leaves to be doubly cooked and heated. This gives it a special flavour that only tamales have. You must try it, also remember that, in many restaurants, if they are quite typical and local, you will find tamales under the name of “bollo”.
8. Rice and Beans
These beans, which can be red or black, are prepared with coconut milk! It is not an exotic dish for Belizeans, but it is the foundation of their diet. When you are tasting this delicious dish, to make it more genuine, do not forget to ask for a lime juice or a delicious Belizean rum. You cannot forget that, although with the same base in its ingredients, the dishes of beans with rice change in each zone, due to its harvesting territory or its particularities when prepared.
9. Fish Serre
It is a typical Belizean dish consisting of a lightly cooked fish soup with coconut milk, onion and spices. It is usually served with fried plantains and cassava bread wafers.
10. Chimole
Chimole is a typical Belizean dish of Mayan origin. The protagonist of the soup is the traditional “recado negro”, to which is added the traditional achiote, pepper, salt, vinegar, cumin, allspice, paprika and garlic. If you are curious to eat it and you can’t find it on the restaurant menu, remember that it can be under the name of “black dinner”.
If you found this list useful, here are some more Traditional Central American Foods to try out on my Pinterest channel.