Typical Honduran food

La typical food of Honduras It is the result of synthesizing the indigenous Mayan and Aztec component with the Spanish influence. On the one hand, there are ingredients and recipes from those pre-Columbian peoples. And, on the other, the use of products and dishes from Spain.

These two components were later joined by the african influence. As a result, Honduran gastronomy is forceful and very varied, but always delicious. So that you know its tastiest dishes, we are going to talk to you in this article about the typical food of Honduras.

The ingredients

As we have just explained to you, the gastronomy of the Central American country is based on ingredients that were already used by pre-Hispanic peoples. These peoples settled in Honduras used many vegetables. Among them, the cassava, the pumpkin, the tomato, the potato or the sweet potato. But, above all, the beans and, even more, the corn. This was part of most of his dishes. In fact, even then tortillas and tamales were made to fill.

They also consumed fruits such as pineapple, guava, avocado or papaya. And, as for the drinks, his favorites were coffee, chocolate and atole. This name is given to a liquid obtained by cooking corn and then sweetened with sugar, vanilla, cinnamon or other species.

With the arrival of the Spaniards, products such as pork and chicken, vegetables like chickpeas and fruits like oranges and lemons. They also brought rice, wheat and olive oil to the New Continent. Even the grape and, therefore, the wine, arrived in America with the Hispanics.

All these ingredients and products have shaped the typical food of Honduras. Logically, each region of the country has its own dishes. But we are going to talk to you now about those that are consumed throughout the nation.

Snail soup and other broths

La snail soup It is one of the national dishes of Honduras. Despite its name, it is not made with land snails, but with medium or large sea snails. Likewise, despite being called that, it is not a soup itself, but rather a whole stew.

If we mention its ingredients, you will understand. Because, in addition to snails, it contains onion, coconut milk, white yucca, green plantain, sweet chili, coriander, garlic, achiote, celery, pepper and cumin. In any case, it is a delicious dish. It looks quite like the seafood soup Honduran style. This one has shrimp, fish, crabs, but also yucca, banana and coconut milk.

Along with these two recipes, the Central American country has many other soup recipes. Among others, we advise you to try the one with tripe, which is made with cow's stomach and leg; the capirotada soup, which resembles the onion and cheese from France; the carob consommé or the bean soup with pork ribs.

On the other hand, although it is not a soup either, but rather a hearty stew, we want to talk to you about the covered in coconut milk. It has beef and pork, chorizo ​​and yucca, tomato, green plantains, onion or chili. But also seafood such as shrimp and crabs. All this is cooked in water and, logically, coconut milk.

The baleada and other tortillas and tamales

La shot It is another of the quintessential dishes of Honduras. It is a wheat flour tortilla that is filled and folded in half. Its diameter is about twenty centimeters and inside it basically contains red beans and grated cheese. However, bananas, avocado, some kind of meat and even a fried egg are also usually added.

So popular is this recipe in Honduras that, since 2018, the National Baleada Day. And it even has its own legend. This says that in San Pedro Sula there was a woman who sold these tortillas. She had survived a shooting and people, when she went to buy them, she said, "let's go to the shooting."

But it is not the only recipe of this type that is made in the Central American country. The nacatamales are owned by Nicaragua, but have been adopted by the Hondurans. They are prepared by wrapping a dough made with corn, rice, meat and assorted vegetables in banana leaves.

Similar are the mountains, which also have a dough, although in this case made of pork, milk, vegetables, ripe chili and tomatoes. It is also wrapped in banana leaves. Finally, the bean catrachas They are corn tortillas to which beans and grated cheese are added.

Chuco chicken and other meats

We now pass on our tour of the typical food of Honduras to meats. It is very popular in the Central American country covered olancano, from which a soup is even extracted. It carries several types of meat, specifically, pork, beef and different sausages. These ingredients are salted the night before. They are then cooked in water to remove excess salt. And the dish is prepared in a fountain adding yucca, plantain, chili onion, cilantro, garlic and coconut milk, among other ingredients.

Equally widely consumed in Honduras is the chuco chicken or with slices. It is marinated, floured and fried poultry meat to which onion, cilantro, sweet chili and fried green plantain are added. The name tajadas is due to the latter, since it is divided into elongated pieces.

As you can see, cassava is one of the basic ingredients of Honduran cuisine. It is also combined with chicharrón. The latter is the frying of the fat and skin of the pig or other animals. The yucca with pork rinds It has both ingredients, but also onion, various types of chiles, tomatoes and vinegar or lemon.

Breads and similar stuffed recipes

In Honduras different types of bread are consumed. Some are like in Spain, while, in other cases, they are native creations. For example, him coco pan y the banana one, the marquesote, the donuts or the cakes. But perhaps the most typical is the cassava cassava. It is an unleavened bread made, once again, with cassava flour, which is roasted on a griddle or griddle. This recipe is of pre-Columbian origin.

On the other hand, although it is not bread itself, but corn or rice tortillas, we are talking here about the buds. Because, at first glance, they look like a stuffed bun, specifically with cheese, pork rinds, squash, loroco and beans. It is also a Mayan recipe and, as a curiosity, we will tell you that it is even more deeply rooted in El Salvador that Honduras. In fact, Salvadorans consider it their national dish, and if you visit the country, you won't be long in seeing pupuserías.

Fish and seafood

Fish also have a fundamental role in the typical cuisine of Honduras. The fried mojarra with slices carries the fish of this name accompanied by green bananas, radishes, carrots, cucumber, sweet chili or cabbage. For his part, the wrapped fish It is called that because it is placed inside banana leaves and then roasted. It is then served accompanied by white rice, beans, and even chickpeas.

It's also delicious Lake Yojoa style fried fish. It is made very simply, since it is enough to fry the fish coated in flour. Green plantain is then sliced ​​and fried as well to serve as a side dish.

There is no shortage, as in other countries of Latin America, ceviches in Honduras. One of the tastiest is the shrimp. It is made with this shellfish bathed in lemon juice and accompanied by chili peppers, onion, ground garlic and coriander. It is then wrapped in a tortilla and savored. It's delicious.

With the same shellfish the Shrimp Creole. This recipe is prepared by adding butter, garlic, tomato sauce, onion, achiote, green chili and coriander. All this is fried in a frying pan and an exquisite dish is left. Also fried are the coconut shrimp, in this case previously coated in this grated fruit.

Finally, the curil cocktail It is a cold recipe that is prepared with the so-called bivalve mollusk. Onion, garlic, hot chili, tomatoes, pepper and a sauce called English are added.

Desserts and pastries

We end our tour of typical Honduran food by telling you about some desserts. The tustaca It is a delicious cake made with corn flour, butter and salt and covered with honey or caramel. It is usually taken with coffee at breakfast or snack.

El totopole It is also made with cornmeal, but it is more like a cookie. It is so simple to make that you only need to add butter and grated panela. For their part, the riots They fascinate children as they are popcorn bound together by hardened honey. More elaborate is sweet sapodilla, which is prepared with this fruit, but also has lemons, orange juice, cloves, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, water and a little rum. Similar are the coyoles in honey, as these are also a common type of fruit in Honduras.

Before we told you that cassava is widely used in Honduran cuisine. And we can tell you the same about the banana. This is used for everything, even to create delicious desserts. It is the case of the banana pie, the banana bread or bananas in glory.

In conclusion, we have shown you some of the tastiest recipes that make up the typical food of Honduras. Many are shared with their neighbors El Salvador, Nicaragua o Guatemala, but many others are purely indigenous. Don't you feel like trying these delicacies?