Americas · Traditional

Guatemalan cuisine

Tamales, pepian, and Mayan influences.

Explore recipes Build a Guatemalan menu Wine pairings

Food history

Why Guatemalan cuisine is worth exploring

Guatemalan food tells the story of geography, trade, agriculture and family cooking. The cuisine has been shaped by the ingredients people could grow, preserve, carry and share, as well as by markets, festivals, migration and regional identity.

Why it is famous

Guatemalan cuisine is famous for dishes that feel strongly connected to place: everyday family recipes, celebration food, regional specialities and ingredients that give the cooking its recognisable character.

Regional food story

Guatemalan cuisine is not one single style. Treat the country page as a gateway into regional dishes, local ingredients, family recipes and occasion-led cooking.

How to cook it

Flavours, ingredients and menu ideas

Signature ingredients

Look for the ingredients that define Guatemalan cooking: staple grains or breads, seasonal vegetables, local herbs and spices, regional cheeses or dairy where relevant, preserved foods, seafood or meat traditions, and sweets linked to festivals or family gatherings.

Cooking style

The cooking style ranges from simple home dishes to more elaborate food for celebrations. Good Guatemalan recipes usually balance staple ingredients with texture, seasoning and a clear sense of occasion.

Build a menu

Build a Guatemalan menu by choosing a light starter, a signature main and a dessert that shows the country’s baking or sweet traditions. Add wine or drink pairings where the dish has enough richness, spice, acidity or sweetness to make the match useful.

Starters Mains Desserts

Cook by course

Guatemalan recipes

Start with a starter, choose a main, then finish with a dessert to build a complete country-inspired menu.

Starters

Guatemalan starters

Chuchitos

Chuchitos is a traditional Guatemalan starter built around bright appetising flavours, hand-held texture…

Starter 50 mins

Tamales Colorados

Tamales Colorados is a traditional Guatemalan starter built around bright appetising flavours, hand-held…

Starter 50 mins

Tostadas Guatemaltecas

Tostadas Guatemaltecas is a traditional Guatemalan starter built around bright appetising flavours, hand…

Starter 50 mins

Main courses

Guatemalan main courses

Fiambre Rojo

Fiambre Rojo is a traditional Guatemalan main built around slow-cooked meat, deep seasoning and the gene…

Main 1 hr 50 mins

Hilachas

Hilachas is a traditional Guatemalan main built around slow-cooked meat, deep seasoning and the generous…

Main 1 hr 50 mins

Jocon

Jocon is a traditional Guatemalan main built around slow-cooked meat, deep seasoning and the generous co…

Main 1 hr 50 mins

Kak Ik

Kak Ik is a traditional Guatemalan main built around slow-cooked meat, deep seasoning and the generous c…

Main 1 hr 50 mins

Pepian de Pollo

Pepian de Pollo is a traditional Guatemalan main built around bone-in poultry, aromatic sauce and the fa…

Main 1 hr 50 mins

Pollo en Crema

Pollo en Crema is a traditional Guatemalan main built around bone-in poultry, aromatic sauce and the fam…

Main 1 hr 50 mins

Revolcado

Revolcado is a traditional Guatemalan main built around slow-cooked meat, deep seasoning and the generou…

Main 1 hr 50 mins

Subanik

Subanik is a traditional Guatemalan main built around slow-cooked meat, deep seasoning and the generous…

Main 1 hr 50 mins

Tapado Garifuna

Tapado Garifuna is a traditional Guatemalan main built around slow-cooked meat, deep seasoning and the g…

Main 1 hr 50 mins

Desserts

Guatemalan desserts

Champurradas

Champurradas is a traditional Guatemalan dessert built around sweetness, texture, festival memory and th…

Dessert 1 hr 10 mins

Dulce de Jocote

Dulce de Jocote is a traditional Guatemalan dessert built around sweetness, texture, festival memory and…

Dessert 1 hr 10 mins

Rellenitos de Platano

Rellenitos de Platano is a traditional Guatemalan dessert built around sweetness, texture, festival memo…

Dessert 1 hr 10 mins

Wine and drink pairings

What to drink with Guatemalan food

When pairing wine with Guatemalan food, match the structure of the dish first: fresh whites for seafood and herbs, medium reds for tomato, spice or roast meat, sparkling wines for fried or salty starters, and sweet or fortified wines for desserts.

White

Pinot Grigio / Pinot Gris

Clean, easy-drinking white with pear, apple and citrus. Good for light starters, mild fish, salads and simple vegetable…

Grape: Pinot Grigio, Pinot Gris Region: Veneto, Friuli, Alsace, Oregon