# The tastiest traditional dishes of Spain

The Spanish dishes that keep showing up in food guides and must-try lists, from north to south. Savoury dishes only; desserts have their own list.

- 123 votes · 22 items
- Dec 31, 2025 · Pau Bravo Fernández
- https://even.best/en/l/10/the-tastiest-traditional-dishes-of-spain

## Top 20

1. **Spanish omelette (tortilla de patatas)** (12 · ▲12 ▼0) — Egg, potato and olive oil (onion or no onion is an eternal debate); the most homely and widespread dish in the country.
2. **Andalusian gazpacho** (10 · ▲11 ▼1) — Cold soup of tomato, pepper, cucumber, garlic, oil and vinegar, typical of the Andalusian summer.
3. **Paella valenciana** (8 · ▲10 ▼2) — Dry rice in a paella pan with chicken, rabbit, butter beans and green beans; the traditional recipe from the Valencian farmlands.
4. **Galician-style octopus (pulpo a la gallega)** (7 · ▲7 ▼0) — Octopus boiled in a copper pot, served on a wooden plate with paprika, coarse salt and olive oil; the star of Galician fairs.
5. **Roast suckling pig (cochinillo asado)** (7 · ▲7 ▼0) — Milk-fed piglet roasted in a wood oven, so tender that in Segovia it is carved with the edge of a plate.
6. **Cocido madrileño** (6 · ▲7 ▼1) — Chickpea stew with meat, pork fat, chorizo and vegetables, served in three courses: soup, chickpeas and meats.
7. **Bread with tomato (pa amb tomàquet)** (6 · ▲6 ▼0) — Bread rubbed with ripe tomato, olive oil and salt; the Catalan side for almost everything.
8. **Croquetas** (5 · ▲6 ▼1) — Fried breaded béchamel, usually with ham, chicken or salt cod; a classic in bars and homes.
9. **Garlic prawns (gambas al ajillo)** (5 · ▲6 ▼1) — Prawns in a clay dish with sizzling oil, garlic and chilli; made for dipping bread.
10. **Fabada asturiana** (5 · ▲5 ▼0) — Asturian white beans with 'compango': chorizo, Asturian black pudding, cured pork shoulder and pork belly.
11. **Iberian ham** (4 · ▲5 ▼1) — Cured leg of Iberian pig; acorn-fed ham from Guijuelo, Jabugo, Los Pedroches or Dehesa de Extremadura is the most prized.
12. **Bacalao al pil pil** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — Salt cod confit in oil with garlic and chilli whose gelatin emulsifies into a sauce; a gem of Basque cooking.
13. **Fideuà** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — Like a paella but with thin noodles and fish or seafood, born in Gandia; served with aioli.
14. **Salmorejo cordobés** (3 · ▲4 ▼1) — Cold cream of tomato, bread, garlic and olive oil, thicker than gazpacho, topped with boiled egg and ham.
15. **Padrón peppers** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — Small green peppers fried with coarse salt: 'some are hot and some are not'.
16. **Pisto manchego** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — Stewed tomato, pepper, onion and courgette, often topped with a fried egg.
17. **Lacón con grelos** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — Boiled cured pork shoulder with turnip greens, potatoes and chorizo, typical of the Galician carnival.
18. **Calçots with romesco sauce** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — Spring onions grilled over embers and dipped in romesco sauce; the stars of the calçotadas of Valls.
19. **Migas** (2 · ▲3 ▼1) — Day-old bread crumbled and fried with garlic, pork belly and chorizo; a shepherds' dish from Extremadura, Aragon and La Mancha.
20. **Patatas bravas** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Fried potatoes with spicy sauce (and sometimes aioli); the most ordered tapa in Madrid bars.
21. **Oxtail stew (rabo de toro)** (1 · ▲2 ▼1) — Oxtail slowly braised in red wine, typical of Córdoba.
22. **Papas arrugadas with mojo** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Small potatoes boiled in very salty water, with red or green mojo; the quintessential Canarian side dish.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.