Apart from spectacular beaches, alluring landscapes, sugary shores, and bewildering azure waters, Antigua and Barbuda also enchants with its cuisine. Indeed, the local gastronomy is an exciting mix of tantalising flavours, tastes, and aromas, and West African, British, and Spanish influences. From fresh local seafood to fungi, your palate has every reason to feel excited moments before tasting the most popular dishes mentioned below!
Pepperpot (Pepper Pot Soup)
Originally from Guyana, Pepperpot is a stew that has many variations, but it's always made with a combination of pigeon peas, vegetables, meat, and dumplings, whose mixture includes only flour and water! This traditional dish is usually served during the Christmas season, but you will find it on many menus around the country during this time of year as well.
Fungee and Pepper Roti
Most people think that this dish is some kind of pepper and mushroom stew. However, things are much more interesting than that because fungee is actually a type of cornmeal porridge often served with pepper sauce made from bell peppers, onions, and seasonings. Other recipes want fungee to be a polenta-like bread ball that consists of okra mixed with cornmeal. In any case, it is usually served as a side dish or as an accompaniment to other foods, while you can even see it being paired with pepper roti—a flatbread filled with boiled corned beef or fish that can be topped with stewed tomatoes, minced onions and/or gravy.
Saffron Rice
Saffron rice is a culinary delight that's native to Antigua & Barbuda. The dish is made with saffron, rice, onions, ginger paste, salt, chillies, and various spices like turmeric, garlic cloves, and cumin and is a popular side dish in the region and can be prepared with chicken, salt beef, pork or fish as well. Coconut milk may also be in the mix, while the rice can be seasoned with a variety of flavours, such as spinach, okra, bell pepper, celery, and/or carrot. And, don’t be surprised if you find pigeon peas or kidney beans in there, too! As you have probably realised yourself, saffron rice has as many recipes as the people that make it in Antigua and Barbuda!
Saltfish Fritters with Lobster Gravy
Saltfish is dried cod and can be found in many West Indian markets. It's an inexpensive and nutritious meal that's a staple of the Antiguan diet. To make lobster fritters, all you need is salt fish, flour, potatoes, onions, eggs, black pepper, and salt. That’s it! As for the lobster gravy, it is made from sauteed bacon lardons until crispy and with the addition of garlic, shallot, and lobster bisque. The end result? A mouth-watering dinner option.
Shawarma
Brought to Antigua and Barbuda from Lebanese and Syrian immigrants, it is now a beloved local dish made of any kind of meat, from veal and beef to turkey, chicken, mutton, or lamb. To prepare this flavoursome dish, a spit or vertical rotisserie is used to cook the meat, which is most commonly paired with salad or pita bread on the side.
Other Must-try Local Dishes
- Pork Chops with Bananas and Bacon – A dish consisting of bacon-wrapped grilled banana chunks and pork chops. The exotic local staple is usually sprinkled with lemon juice for extra flavour (before grilling) and seasoned with pepper, salt, cumin, and even butter.
- Black Angel Hair Fritters – An appetising option made with minced veggies, minced conch, blue crab meat, seasonings, baking powder, eggs, and, of course, black angel hair pasta (all deep-fried in oil, garnished with parsley and tomatoes, and paired with a curry sauce).
- Butter Bread – A local type of bread served with cheese (could also be sardines or salami – a type of local sausage) that seduces with its buttery and tender loaves.
- Roti – A typical Caribbean food option that is actually a wrap filled with vegetables, seafood, pork, beef, or chicken. What makes the local version stand out from the rest is the addition of curried sauce.
Popular Antigua & Barbuda Desserts
Ducana
This is a hugely popular dessert made with sweet potatoes and coconut. The dumpling-type sweet is often cooked in banana leaves and is a common staple food served with salted or stewed fish. If you love treating yourself to contrasting flavours, then Ducana’s fantastic mix of savoury and sweet tastes will cause a delicious explosion inside your mouth! The dish comes from way back when the Arawak Indians used to live in Antigua and Barbuda, who started the cultivation of sweet potatoes that are not brimming in the islands. Ducana can be enjoyed as both a snack (lightly fried and thinly sliced) or cold.
Coconut Sugar Cake
This is one of the rare occasions when the name of a Caribbean food represents precisely what one should expect from their first bite of it! That heart-pleasing treat is made from plain sugar and coconut, while it gives an extra tinge to the palate with ginger pinches. You will find Coconut Sugar Cakes in various colours (created with food colourings), which adds an exciting note to the overall culinary experience!
Peanut Brittle
An authentic Antigua and Barbuda food that impresses with its simplicity and unexpected multi-varied taste! The tasty dessert includes caramelised peanuts and sugar and is shaped into eye-catching bars. However, many local stores also offer peanut brittle in the form of chunks so you get whatever form suits you the most.
Other tasty Antiguan and Barbudian sweets to pamper your taste buds with:
- Johnny Cakes – A core item in every Caribbean menu, this is a griddle-cooked, bread-like delight usually served with fillings, such as saltfish or cheese (could be anything you want, actually). The sandwich-like bread is made with water, milk, salt, sugar, and cornmeal and makes a great breakfast option.
- Bread Pudding – Influenced by British cuisine, it is an Antiguan comfort staple with a long list of ingredients that give it a superbly satisfying taste. Among others, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, milk, eggs, white bread, spicy rum sauce topping, and ginger are used in the mix.
- Fudge - A delicious blend of coconut milk, butter, and sugar has received a welcoming twist in Antigua and Barbuda, where the sweet is also flavoured with ponche kuba, pineapple, and tamarind!
Popular Drinks in Antigua & Barbuda
The most beloved type of drink is rum, which can also be sampled at the Antigua Distillery which offers an interactive rum-tasting tour to visitors. Rum punches are served at most restaurants and bars on both islands and are usually made from local rum, cane sugar, and lime juice, although it might be spiced up with ingredients like nutmeg. Besides rum, Wadadli Beer is also believed to have originated from Antigua and Barbuda and is a popular beer with a light and sweet flavour.
Apart from spectacular beaches, alluring landscapes, sugary shores, and bewildering azure waters, Antigua and Barbuda also enchants with its cuisine. Indeed, the local gastronomy is an exciting mix of tantalising flavours, tastes, and aromas, and West African, British, and Spanish influences. From fresh local seafood to fungi, your palate has every reason to feel excited moments before tasting the most popular dishes mentioned below!
Pepperpot (Pepper Pot Soup)
Originally from Guyana, Pepperpot is a stew that has many variations, but it's always made with a combination of pigeon peas, vegetables, meat, and dumplings, whose mixture includes only flour and water! This traditional dish is usually served during the Christmas season, but you will find it on many menus around the country during this time of year as well.
Fungee and Pepper Roti
Most people think that this dish is some kind of pepper and mushroom stew. However, things are much more interesting than that because fungee is actually a type of cornmeal porridge often served with pepper sauce made from bell peppers, onions, and seasonings. Other recipes want fungee to be a polenta-like bread ball that consists of okra mixed with cornmeal. In any case, it is usually served as a side dish or as an accompaniment to other foods, while you can even see it being paired with pepper roti—a flatbread filled with boiled corned beef or fish that can be topped with stewed tomatoes, minced onions and/or gravy.
Saffron Rice
Saffron rice is a culinary delight that's native to Antigua & Barbuda. The dish is made with saffron, rice, onions, ginger paste, salt, chillies, and various spices like turmeric, garlic cloves, and cumin and is a popular side dish in the region and can be prepared with chicken, salt beef, pork or fish as well. Coconut milk may also be in the mix, while the rice can be seasoned with a variety of flavours, such as spinach, okra, bell pepper, celery, and/or carrot. And, don’t be surprised if you find pigeon peas or kidney beans in there, too! As you have probably realised yourself, saffron rice has as many recipes as the people that make it in Antigua and Barbuda!
Saltfish Fritters with Lobster Gravy
Saltfish is dried cod and can be found in many West Indian markets. It's an inexpensive and nutritious meal that's a staple of the Antiguan diet. To make lobster fritters, all you need is salt fish, flour, potatoes, onions, eggs, black pepper, and salt. That’s it! As for the lobster gravy, it is made from sauteed bacon lardons until crispy and with the addition of garlic, shallot, and lobster bisque. The end result? A mouth-watering dinner option.
Shawarma
Brought to Antigua and Barbuda from Lebanese and Syrian immigrants, it is now a beloved local dish made of any kind of meat, from veal and beef to turkey, chicken, mutton, or lamb. To prepare this flavoursome dish, a spit or vertical rotisserie is used to cook the meat, which is most commonly paired with salad or pita bread on the side.
Other Must-try Local Dishes
- Pork Chops with Bananas and Bacon – A dish consisting of bacon-wrapped grilled banana chunks and pork chops. The exotic local staple is usually sprinkled with lemon juice for extra flavour (before grilling) and seasoned with pepper, salt, cumin, and even butter.
- Black Angel Hair Fritters – An appetising option made with minced veggies, minced conch, blue crab meat, seasonings, baking powder, eggs, and, of course, black angel hair pasta (all deep-fried in oil, garnished with parsley and tomatoes, and paired with a curry sauce).
- Butter Bread – A local type of bread served with cheese (could also be sardines or salami – a type of local sausage) that seduces with its buttery and tender loaves.
- Roti – A typical Caribbean food option that is actually a wrap filled with vegetables, seafood, pork, beef, or chicken. What makes the local version stand out from the rest is the addition of curried sauce.
Popular Antigua & Barbuda Desserts
Ducana
This is a hugely popular dessert made with sweet potatoes and coconut. The dumpling-type sweet is often cooked in banana leaves and is a common staple food served with salted or stewed fish. If you love treating yourself to contrasting flavours, then Ducana’s fantastic mix of savoury and sweet tastes will cause a delicious explosion inside your mouth! The dish comes from way back when the Arawak Indians used to live in Antigua and Barbuda, who started the cultivation of sweet potatoes that are not brimming in the islands. Ducana can be enjoyed as both a snack (lightly fried and thinly sliced) or cold.
Coconut Sugar Cake
This is one of the rare occasions when the name of a Caribbean food represents precisely what one should expect from their first bite of it! That heart-pleasing treat is made from plain sugar and coconut, while it gives an extra tinge to the palate with ginger pinches. You will find Coconut Sugar Cakes in various colours (created with food colourings), which adds an exciting note to the overall culinary experience!
Peanut Brittle
An authentic Antigua and Barbuda food that impresses with its simplicity and unexpected multi-varied taste! The tasty dessert includes caramelised peanuts and sugar and is shaped into eye-catching bars. However, many local stores also offer peanut brittle in the form of chunks so you get whatever form suits you the most.
Other tasty Antiguan and Barbudian sweets to pamper your taste buds with:
- Johnny Cakes – A core item in every Caribbean menu, this is a griddle-cooked, bread-like delight usually served with fillings, such as saltfish or cheese (could be anything you want, actually). The sandwich-like bread is made with water, milk, salt, sugar, and cornmeal and makes a great breakfast option.
- Bread Pudding – Influenced by British cuisine, it is an Antiguan comfort staple with a long list of ingredients that give it a superbly satisfying taste. Among others, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, milk, eggs, white bread, spicy rum sauce topping, and ginger are used in the mix.
- Fudge - A delicious blend of coconut milk, butter, and sugar has received a welcoming twist in Antigua and Barbuda, where the sweet is also flavoured with ponche kuba, pineapple, and tamarind!
Popular Drinks in Antigua & Barbuda
The most beloved type of drink is rum, which can also be sampled at the Antigua Distillery which offers an interactive rum-tasting tour to visitors. Rum punches are served at most restaurants and bars on both islands and are usually made from local rum, cane sugar, and lime juice, although it might be spiced up with ingredients like nutmeg. Besides rum, Wadadli Beer is also believed to have originated from Antigua and Barbuda and is a popular beer with a light and sweet flavour.