Essential Spanish food terms for every situation

Spanish-speaking countries are known for having some of the most amazing flavors around the world. You’re probably already highly motivated to learn at least some basic Spanish food vocab. 

From being able to buy groceries and order food in Spanish to becoming familiar with local eating habits, you’ll quickly see that getting food words in Spanish down will open up a new (and delicious) world to you. So, let’s feed that appetite and take a look at this comprehensive food glossary!

• Core Spanish food vocabulary
• Beverages in Spanish
• Sweet treats and desserts
• Dishes and meals in Spanish
• Flavors and cooking terms in Spanish
• Understanding Spanish mealtimes and food culture
• FAQs

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Core Spanish food vocabulary

As an appetizer, we’ll start with essential Spanish food vocab. These are Spanish words you need to know to go shopping, order food at Spanish-speaking restaurants and even talk about dietary restrictions or allergies.

Let’s dive into how to say the most common vegetables, proteins and fruits in Spanish:

Vegetables (verduras / vegetales)

Spanish	English
aguacate	avocado
alcachofa	artichoke
apio	celery
berenjena	eggplant
brócoli	broccoli
cebolla	onion
cilantro	cilantro
champiñón	mushroom
col/repollo	cabbage
elote (Mexico)choclo (Central & South America)maíz (Spain)	corn
espárragos	asparagus
espinacas	spinach
jitomate (Mexico)tomate (general)	tomato
lechuga	lettuce
papa (Latin America)patata (Spain)	potato
pepino	cucumber
pimiento	pepper
rábano	radish
zanahoria	carrot

Here are example sentences using these words:

• Soy alérgico/a a la cebolla (I’m allergic to onion).
• Me encanta la lasaña de berenjena (I love eggplant lasagna).
• En México comen mucho rábano (They eat a lot of radish in Mexico).
• No me gustan las espinacas (I don’t like spinach).

Fruits (frutas)

Spanish	English
cereza	cherry
ciruela	plum
durazno	peach
frambuesa	raspberry
fresa	strawberry
guayaba	guava
higo	fig
lima	lime
limón	lemon
mango	mango
manzana	apple
melón	melon
mora azul	blueberry
naranja	orange
pera	pear
piña	pineapple
plátano	banana
sandía	watermelon
toronja	grapefruit
uva	grape
zarzamora	blackberry

• Adriana hace un pay de manzana delicioso (Adriana makes a delicious apple pie).
• El jugo de naranja me hace daño (Orange juice doesn’t sit well with me).
• El vino está hecho de uvas (Wine is made of grapes).

Proteins (proteínas)

Spanish	English
atún	tuna
carne	meat
carne de res	beef
cerdo	pork
chorizo	chorizo
cordero	lamb
jamón	ham
pavo	turkey
pescado	fish
pollo	chicken
salchicha	sausage
salmón	salmon
tocino	bacon

• No como carne, soy vegetariana/o (I don’t eat meat, I’m a vegetarian).
• Me gustan los waffles con tocino (I like waffles with bacon).
• La salchicha alemana es la mejor (German sausage is the best).

Grains (granos), nuts (nueces) and staple foods

Spanish	English
aceite	oil
aceituna	olive
almendra	almond
arroz	rice
azúcar	sugar
especias	spices
cacahuate (Mexico)maní (South America/Caribbean)cacahuete (Spain)	peanut
cátsup	ketchup
frijoles	beans
garbanzos	chickpeas
lentejas	lentils
masa	dough
mayonesa	mayo
mostaza	mustard
nuez	walnut
pan	bread
pasta	pasta
pimienta	pepper
piñón	pinenut
trigo	wheat
sal	salt
salsa de chile	hot sauce
semillas	seeds
vinagre	vinegar

• Mi cerveza favorita es la de trigo (Wheat beer is my favorite).
• Ya no tenemos vinagre (We ran out of vinegar).
• Le hace falta pimienta a la pasta (The pasta is missing some pepper).
• La sopa de lentejas es mi favorita (Lentil soup is my favorite).

Dairy (lácteos)

Spanish	English
crema	cream
huevo	egg
leche	milk
mantequilla	butter
queso	cheese
suero de leche	buttermilk
yogurt	yogurt

• Desayuno yogurt con fruta (I have fruit with yogurt for breakfast).
• No me gusta el queso fuerte (I don’t like strong cheese).

Beverages in Spanish

How are we gonna wash down all those small-plate tapas? Let’s order some drinks (bebidas)!

Common drinks (bebidas)

Spanish	English
agua mineral (Mexico)agua con gas	sparkling water
agua natural	still water
café	coffee
chocolate caliente	hot chocolate
jugo (Latin America)zumo (Spain)	juice
leche	milk
licuado (Mexico)batido (Spain)	smoothie
limonada	lemonade
malteada	milkshake
refresco / soda	soda
té	tea
té helado	iced tea

• Para mí un agua mineral, por favor (Sparkling water for me, please).
• Siempre ceno un licuado de plátano (I always have a banana smoothie for dinner).

Alcoholic beverages (bebidas con alcohol)

Spanish	English
alcohol	alcohol
botella	bottle
cerveza	beer
cerveza de barril	draft beer
champaña (LatAm)champán (Spain)	champagne
cóctel	cocktail
ginebra	gin
shot (general)chupito (Spain)	shot
sidra	cider
vino	wine
vodka	vodka
whiskey	whiskey

• Me da, por favor, una cerveza de barril (Can I get a draft beer, please?).
• El alcohol me causa resaca (Alcohol gives me a hangover).
• La sidra es muy suave (Cider is very smooth).

Pro tip: If you want to work on your Spanish vocabulary, joining classes is a game-changer. At Lingoda, you’ll learn vocab in an immersive manner. You can focus on speaking from day one and practicing real-life conversation skills. Plus, you can set your schedule however works best for you and choose between small group or private Spanish lessons.

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Sweet treats and desserts

We’re approaching the end of our meal. If you fancy something sweet, take a moment to learn these food words in Spanish for sweet treats and desserts:

Popular Spanish desserts (postres)

Spanish	English
churros	churros
flan	flan
torrijas	French toast
leche frita	fried milk pudding
roscón de reyes	Kings’ day circle bread
arroz con leche	rice pudding
tarta de Santiago	Santiago almond-flour cake

• ¿Tienen churros con chocolate? (Do you have churros with chocolate?).
• El roscón de reyes se come en enero (Kings’ day bread is eaten in January).

What our students of Spanish say

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Common sweet ingredients and foods

Spanish	English
azúcar	sugar
canela	cinnamon
chocolate	chocolate
crema chantilly	whipped cream
dulce	candy
fruta	fruit
galleta	cookie
gelatina	jelly
helado (general)nieve (Mexico)	ice cream
hot cakes (Mexico)panqueques	pancakes
jarabe	syrup
mantequilla de cacahuatemantequilla de maní	peanut butter
mermelada	marmalade
miel	honey
miel de maple	maple syrup
crema pastelera (LatAm)natilla (Spain)	custard
nata	cream/whipping cream
pan dulce	pastry
pasta de hojaldre	puff pastry
pastel	cake
pay de queso	cheesecake
tarta (Spain, South America)pay (Mexico)	pie
vainilla	vanilla

• No puedo comer azúcar debido a mi salud (I can’t eat sugar due to my health).
• El chocolate es mi dulce favorito (Chocolate is my favorite candy).
• Prefiero la miel de maple a la de abeja (I prefer maple syrup to honey).
• Se me antoja un sándwich de crema de cacahuate (I feel like a peanut butter sandwich).

Dishes and meals in Spanish

Let’s take a look now at some staple dishes and meal items in Spanish:

Spanish	English
copa	glass
ensalada	salad
entrada	appetizer
guarnición	side dish
hamburguesa	hamburger
pan tostado	toast
plato	dish / plate
plato fuerte	main dish
postre	dessert
sandwichtorta (Mexico)	sandwich
sopa	soup
vinagretaaderezo	vinaigrettedressing

• Prefiero la ensalada a la hamburguesa (I prefer the salad to the burger).
• La sopa va antes del plato fuerte (Soup comes before the main dish).
• A la ensalada le falta aderezo (The salad lacks dressing).

Flavors and cooking terms in Spanish

Learning vocabulary for describing flavors and cooking techniques can come in handy in different situations. Want to show appreciation for a meal? Or go through that great Spanish cookbook you got during your last holiday? We’ve got you.

Describing tastes, textures and flavors 

Spanish	English
ácido	sour
agridulce	sweet and sour
aguado	soggy
ahumado	smoky
bueno	good
caliente	hot
con hielo	iced
cremoso	creamy
crujiente	crunchy
dulce	sweet
fresco	fresh
frío	cold
grasoso	greasy
húmedo	wet
jugoso	juicy
malo	bad
picantepicoso	hot
ricodelicioso	delicious
rostizado	roasted
salado	salty
seco	dry
suave	soft
tibio	warm

This is how you can talk about flavor, temperature and texture:

• Está muy… picante / rico / salado / dulce (It’s very… spicy / delicious / salty / sweet).
• Está… caliente / frío (It’s… hot / cold).
• Es / Está … crujiente / suave / seco (It’s… crunchy / soft / dry).

Essential cooking verbs 

Spanish	English
agregar	add
asar	roast
poner	put
exprimir	squeeze
rallar	grate
amasar	knead
rebanar	slice
freír	fry
colar	strain
colocar	place
hervir	boil
hornear	bake
cortar	cut
lavar	wash
salpimentar	season
descongelar	defrost
limpiar	clean
marinar	marinate
medir	measure
mezclar	mix
tostar	toast
echar	pour
pelar	peel
pesar	weigh
servir	serve
untar	spread
enfriar	cool
picar	chop
voltear	flip

Here are a few examples of how you might see these verbs in recipes:

• Voltea la carne para salpimentar y sírvela caliente (Flip the meat, season it and serve it hot).
• Pica la zanahoria y agrégala a la preparación (Chop the carrot and add it to the mixture).
• Hornea el pay por 45 minutos y sirve cuando aún esté tibio (Bake the pie for 45 minutes and serve it while still swarm).
• Lava el pollo, colócalo en un recipiente y déjalo marinar (Wash the chicken, place in a tray and let it marinate).
• Deja enfriar antes de servir (Let it cool before serving).

Measurements (medidas)

In Spain and Latin American countries, these are the most common measuring units used in cooking:

Spanish	English
grados Celsius	Celsius degrees
kilogramo	kilogram
litro	liter
miligramo	milligram
mililitro	milliliter
onza	ounce
pizca	pinch

• Horneamos el pastel a 200º por 30 minutos (We bake the cake at 200º for 30 minutes).
• Agregamos una onza de vodka (We add one ounce of vodka).
• Terminamos con una pizca de sal (We finish off with a pinch of salt).

Understanding Spanish mealtimes and food culture

Let’s check out some Spanish food vocab related to mealtimes and discuss some meal habits in Spain and Latin America:

Common Spanish meals and their names

Spanish	English	Schedule
desayuno	breakfast	7:00-9:00
meriendasnack	snack	11:00-11:30 and 17:00-18:00
comidaalmuerzo	lunchlunchtime	13:30 – 15:30
cena	dinner	21:00 – 22:30
tapas	snacks	13:30-15:00 or 20:30-22:30

• Para la cena habrá sopa de tomate (We’ll have tomato soup for dinner).
• El desayuno es la comida más importante del día (Breakfast is the most important meal of the day).
• Hablamos a la hora de la comida (Let’s talk at lunchtime).

Note: As you can see, dinner in Spain is served rather late compared to American dinner time. That’s why there’s snack time (merienda) in the afternoon. On the other hand, tapas are usually served with drinks –so they’re more like bar food.

Typical eating habits in Spain and Latin America

A common thread between Latin American countries and Spain is that lunch is the main meal of the day –this is when you’ll get the most substantial dish. Dinner, however, tends to be lighter.

One major difference is the role wine plays in Spanish food culture. It’s common, for instance, to find a bottle of wine at the lunch or dinner table. Having a glass or two is quite normal. In most Latin American countries, though, wine is mostly saved for the weekends. People don’t drink much alcohol during the working week unless there’s a celebration or a get-together with friends.

How mealtimes vary by region

Just like in Spain, many countries in Latin America –like Mexico and Argentina– also have three mealtimes (breakfast, lunch and dinner). However, in Mexico and Colombia, for example, dinner is served earlier, usually between 19:00 and 21:00. In Argentina, it’s typically between 20:00 and 23:00 (sometimes even later!).

A big difference, though, is that in Spain, kitchens are open only during mealtimes –so it’s not possible to have a meal just anytime you want. In Latin America, for its part, restaurants are usually open throughout the day or in the late afternoon.

What are the names of meals in Spanish?

Spanish	English
desayuno	breakfast
meriendasnack	snack
comidaalmuerzo	lunchlunchtime
cena	dinner
tapas	snacks or small plates

What is a typical Spanish food called?

Spain is home to some of the most mouthwatering food in the world (and fruity wine sangría, of course)! Typical dishes include: tortilla de patatas, jamón ibérico, churros, paella, gazpacho, pimientos padrón, pulpo a la gallega, croquetas and patatas bravas.

Feeling confident and hungry

Whether you’re thinking about moving or traveling to a Spanish-speaking country, learning the most common Spanish food terms –from cooking verbs to kitchen essentials– will help you navigate daily life like a pro. You’ll be able to shop (and chop!), order food at a restaurant and confidently express how much you liked your paella without a problem. And if you’re hungry for more vocabulary, join us at Lingoda today! Our fantastic teachers and focus on real-life conversations will give you the perfect boost.

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