Top 10 Cuban Recipes You Need to be Making Now has all the traditional Cuban recipes you need all in one place.
Classic Cuban recipes are rooted in family, tradition, and simple ingredients transformed with care. These are some of the dishes Abuela made week after week. These are meals that filled the house with aroma and brought everyone to the table. This carefully curated collection isn’t about teaching you how to cook each dish, but about introducing the core recipes that define Cuban home cooking and helping you choose what to make next.
There is so much to love about Cuban food. First, is the simplicity in it. Cuban food is humble and doesn’t require many ingredients. Second, it is layered with history and tradition and just the right hit of spice. The great thing about learning to cook Cuban food is how similar most of the dishes are. It gives you a good baseline for how things should look and taste as you take on new recipes.
We wanted to compile a list of our top 10 Cuban recipes that you need to be making right now. These recipes are not just quintessentially Cuban, but also so accessible and easy for you to do right at home. We divided the list into a couple categories: Classic Cuban Comfort Meals, Cuban Chicken Favorites, Cuban Sides and Staples.
Let’s jump right in:
Classic Cuban Comfort Meals
Ropa Vieja
Ropa Vieja is one of the most beloved Cuban dishes. It is shredded beef simmered in a rich tomato-based sauce. The meat becomes tender and very flavorful. It is traditionally served with rice and black beans. It is a true comfort food that represents the heart of Cuban home cooking.
Make it here → Cuban Ropa Vieja Recipe
Picadillo
Savory, slightly sweet, and endlessly versatile, Picadillo is one of the most beloved Cuban home-cooked meals. It’s often served over white rice (and a fried egg) and enjoyed as an everyday staple that never gets old. A great introduction to making Cuban food at home!
Make it Here → Abuela’s Picadillo
Boliche
Boliche is a special-occasion dish. It is a seasoned cut of beef that is stuffed and slow-cooked until tender. It’s most often served for holidays or Sunday dinners. Because it is a centerpiece meal brings everyone together around the table.
Make it here → Cuban Boliche
Classic Cuban Chicken Favorites
Fricase de Pollo
Fricasé de Pollo is a comforting Cuban chicken stew made with tender pieces of chicken simmered in a flavorful tomato-based sauce. It’s a dish often cooked for family dinners. The aroma alone signals that something comforting and familiar is on the way to the table.
Make it here → Fricasé de Pollo Recipe
Arroz con Pollo
Arroz con Pollo is a one-pot classic that brings together seasoned chicken and yellow rice for a meal that feels festive and familiar. It’s often made for gatherings because it feeds a large crowd and tastes even better the next day.
Cuban Arroz Con Pollo can be an intimidating dish to someone who just started cooking. However it is actually easier than it seems. It is also very forgiving of mistakes. Which means that if anything goes wrong you can make adjustments and still get a great result. So we highly recommend you give it a try.
Make it Here → Arroz Con Pollo
Cuban Beef Classics
Vaca Frita
Crispy, shredded beef with garlic and lime, Vaca Frita is a dish all about texture and flavor. It’s a great dish to learn how to make. Vaca Frita has so much flavor. The shredded beef gets crispy as it cooks, and brings great texture to the plate.
Make it Here → Cuban Vaca Frita
Bistec de Palomilla
Thin, quickly seared, and finished with onions and citrus, Bistec de Palomilla is a defining Cuban steak dish. It’s known for bold flavor and fast cooking, which makes it a go-to dinner in many Cuban households.
Make it Here → Bistec de Palomilla
Cuban Sides and Staples
Tostones
Tostones are a Cuban staple, served alongside countless meals. They are crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, which makes for a perfect bite. Made from green plantains, they’re the perfect salty contrast to rich stews, grilled meats, or saucy dishes.
Make it here → Tostones
Frijoles Negro
Slow-simmered with spices and aromatics, Cuban black beans are a staple on nearly every Cuban table. Black beans are served alongside countless dishes. They are comforting but more than that, they are essential. Therefore, this could be a great recipe to master.
Make it Here → Cuban Black Beans
Sopa de Chicharo
Potaje de Chicharos are hearty, humble, and deeply satisfying. This is a classic Cuban split pea stew recipe that is built for comfort. It’s the kind of dish that simmers quietly on the stove and fills the house with warmth, especially on cooler days.
Make it here → Potaje de Chicharos Cubanos
Bonus Round:
Cuban Sofrito
Sofrito is the flavor base behind many classic Cuban dishes. Sofrito is what allows for the Cuban flavor to shine through.
Make it here → Cuban Sofrito Recipe
Flan
Smooth, creamy, and topped with a layer of caramel, flan is one of the most iconic Cuban desserts. Usually, it’s served at the end of big family meals. It is something sweet that feels elegant, familiar, and comforting all at once.
Make it here → Flan Recipe
Arroz Blanco
Although it can be deemed basic, we disagree. White rice is the foundation of cuban cooking. Nearly every classic dish starts here, soaking up sauces and balancing bold flavors.
Make it here → Arroz Blanco Recipe
What Makes a Recipe “Classic” in Cuban Cooking?
Classic Cuban recipes aren’t about trends. Cuban food is rooted in deep tradition. These are dishes passed down through generations. Cuban recipes are grounded in our roots, and adjusted slightly from one kitchen to the next. Together, they tell the story of Cuban home cooking.
There you have it, a list of our top ten essential Cuban dishes. This list was tough to make.
We know we are missing a few key recipes. Additionally we have included a few more recipes that we think could have been on this list. Therefore, we may need to make a top 20 list, so stay tuned!
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