The most iconic Australian foods
The top 3 according to 2,161 votes from people: Meat pie · Vegemite on toast · Lamington. (Updated Mar 24, 2026.)
The foods Australians claim as their own, from the footy meat pie to Vegemite on toast, picked from the ABC's Australia Day list and Aussie food guides.
Top 15
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1
Meat pie
Hand-sized pie of minced beef and gravy, eaten with tomato sauce at the footy; Australians eat about 12 a year each.
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2
Vegemite on toast
Yeast extract spread invented in Melbourne in 1922, spread thinly on buttered toast.
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3
Lamington
Square sponge dipped in chocolate and rolled in desiccated coconut; National Lamington Day is 21 July.
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4
Pavlova
Meringue with a crisp shell and marshmallowy centre topped with cream and fruit, fought over with New Zealand.
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5
Tim Tams
Arnott's chocolate biscuits since 1964, used for the 'Tim Tam slam'.
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6
Barramundi
Native Australian fish, grilled or as fish and chips.
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7
Barbecued snags
Sausages on the barbie, especially the Bunnings sausage sizzle in a slice of bread with onions.
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8
Anzac biscuits
Oat, golden syrup and coconut biscuits linked to Anzac Day.
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9
Chicken parmigiana
The 'parma' or 'parmy': breaded chicken with tomato sauce and cheese, a pub classic.
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10
Smashed avocado on toast
Melbourne café brunch staple that went global.
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11
Kangaroo steak
Lean native red meat, grilled rare.
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12
Sausage roll
Flaky pastry around sausage meat, from every bakery.
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13
Flat white
Espresso with velvety microfoam, claimed by both Australia and New Zealand.
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14
Chiko Roll
Deep-fried roll of cabbage, barley and beef created in Bendigo in 1951.
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15
Fairy bread
Buttered white bread with hundreds and thousands, at every kids' party.
Candidates
They don't make it into the top 15… yet. Vote for them to move them up.
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16
Pie floater
South Australian meat pie served upside down in pea soup.
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.
Is something missing?
Comments (24)
Still can't believe pavlova is #4 and not #1 😤
Anzac biscuits chewy not crunchy. That's the rule.
Footy finals season = meat pie season 🥧
And Barramundi with lemon at a fish & chip shop by the beach, perfect summer meal
Missing the humble sausage roll from a country bakery... oh wait, #12. All good 👍
Kangaroo steak is lean and delicious, cook it rare or it gets tough
Where's the Bunnings sausage sizzle?! National institution.
Snags is in there, that counts 😄
Smashed avo is the reason we can't buy houses apparently 😂
Pavlova is from New Zealand 🙄
Here we go again 😂 Both countries claim it, the debate will never end.
Food historians say the first recipe called pavlova was actually from NZ. Sorry mate.
Tim Tam slam with a hot Milo, life changing
Lamingtons should be higher, best with jam and cream in the middle
Chicken parmi at the pub with chips and salad, Tuesday parmi night is sacred
It's parma, not parmi. Victorians know.
Chiko Roll in a list of iconic foods lmao, iconic doesn't mean good
Great list, a bit Sydney/Melbourne-centric but fair
Meat pie at #1, with sauce, at the footy. Doesn't get more Aussie than that.
Pie floater from Adelaide is an acquired taste, a pie in pea soup with tomato sauce on top...
Fairy bread at every kids party in the 90s 🌈
As an American who visited Sydney: the flat white is the best thing you've given the world ☕
Vegemite on toast: thin layer, lots of butter. People who hate it put on way too much.
This is the correct advice and every tourist needs to hear it.