21 Popular Guyanese Food Dishes

Guyanese pepperpot is a Guyanese stew combining meat with cassareep and cinnamon. Cassareep is a local condiment based on the thick, black liquid made from cassava tubers and spices.

It takes hours to simmer a rich and aromatic serving of Guyanese pepperpot. Locals often pair this special stew with boiled vegetables, roti, rice, and bread.

Guyanese people serve pepperpot during many holidays, especially Christmas and Boxing Day. Outside of this country, Guyanese pepperpot is also well-known in many Caribbean countries.

Roti is a popular flatbread in Guyana. Hailing from India, it was introduced to this South American country by Indian indentured laborers.

The Guyanese take on roti is made with wheat flour, ghee, and oil, creating a soft yet melt-in-your-mouth texture. Compared to the original version, Guyanese-style roti is thicker and flakier.

There are two main types of roti in Guyana: soft, layered dosi roti and crispy puri. The latter involves deep-frying the thin dough in ghee.

Many iconic Guyanese dishes go well with roti, such as curry, spicy vegetables, smoked chicken, and eggs.

Guyanese curry is a popular Guyanese dish of Indian origin. Locals prepare it by simmering meat and vegetables simmered in a rich sauce comprising oil and numerous spices.

Curry in Guyana is a main dish usually served alongside rice, bread, vermicelli, or roti. Chicken curry is immensely popular, but there are other variations like the seven Curry and katahar curry.

Seven curry is a striking assortment of seven different vegetarian curries traditionally served on a giant water lily leaf at Hindu religious festivals. Katahar curry is made with green katahar (breadnut) and serves as a popular dish at Guyanese Hindu events.

Cook-up rice is a Guyanese one-pot rice dish consisting of rice, coconut milk, meats, and herbs. This rice dish was created by enslaved Africans and originally utilized whatever leftover ingredients were available.

Today, you’ll likely see cook-up rice on any Saturday and Old Year’s Night. The modern version is a hearty, flavorful dish that always accompanies fresh herbs, meat, fried fish, black-eyed peas, or pigeon peas.

Fried bake, also known as float or fry bake, is a Guyanese bread made by frying flattened balls of dough in hot oil. It has a fluffy texture and golden brown color.

A well-known side dish, fried bakes go well with salted fish and steamed vegetables. Many people also enjoy it as a snack and breakfast dish.

Fried bakes originated in Trinidad and Tobago and are well-known in many other Caribbean countries, such as Dominica and Grenada.

Pholourie is a Guyanese ball-shaped snack and street food with a crunchy texture and tender, flavorful inside. Mango and tamarind chutneys are popular accompaniments for this treat.

The main ingredients of pholourie are flour, ground split peas, water, and aromatic spices. People mix these ingredients, shape the dough into balls, and fry these balls until golden brown.

Notable pholourie variations are sahlourie or saheena pholourie. Indian immigrants introduced pholourie to Guyana, then spread its popularity across Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, and beyond.

Cassava bread is a popular snack in Guyana that is suitable for all meals, from breakfast to supper. Many locals pair it with cheese, peanut butter, avocados, pepperpot, soft drinks, and fruit juices.

Guyanese people make cassava bread by grating cassava tubers and baking the starch until it develops a nutty flavor and a chewy texture. This traditional bread has been a staple of the indigenous peoples since ancient times.

Metemgee is a Guyanese soup featuring the creamy richness of coconut milk, the earthy taste of ground provisions (tubular root vegetables), and the fluffy texture of duff, a local steamed dumpling with no filling.

To make metemgee, the chef simmers everything in a savory broth until the soup becomes rich and tender. In terms of side dishes, metemgee goes well with extra duff, fried fish, and chicken.

Callaloo is a well-known Guyanese stew that originated in Caribbean cuisine. This steamed vegetable stew is a blend of leafy greens, such as amaranth, dasheen (taro), Xanthosoma (elephant’s ears), water spinach, or pokeweed.

Due to the diversity of native greens, there are countless combinations of callaloo. Locals often serve this vegetable-based side dish with cooked tubers, rice dishes, or a salt cod salad.

Unlike other Caribbean variants, callaloo in Guyana doesn’t contain okra.

Fish cake in Guyana is created from fish, potatoes, breadcrumbs, eggs, and surimi. Like the rest of the world, locals prepare fish cakes in many ways, such as boiling, steaming, or frying.

Guyanese fish cakes are oval, cylindrical, or flattened into patties. People tend to relish fish cakes as a snack or appetizer or pair them with soup. Tangy chutneys are also a great addition to enjoying this dish.

Black cake is a rich dessert widely enjoyed in Guyana. This baked dessert consists of eggs, flour, spices, dried fruits, nuts, and a generous dash of rum.
The addition of alcohol improves the moisture texture and the shelf life of the black cake. To give this Guyanese specialty its distinct black color, people add caramelized sugar to the batter.

Black cakes are a beloved fixture in Guyanese weddings and Christmas celebrations, but they aren’t unique to Guyana: Many countries in the Caribbean feature in their festivities, too..

Pine tart is a Guyanese snack and dessert known for its flaky short-crust pastry exterior and the sweet and tangy filling of pineapple jam.

A standard pine tart has a triangular shape and goes well with hot beverages as a snack or dessert. Some people even consume it as a quick and satisfying lunch.

Souse is a Guyanese soup-like or stew-like dish made with pickled meat and trimmings, especially chicken’s and pig’s feet. It sometimes has vegetables, such as corn, celery, and onions.

Classic souse involves boiling and brining the meat in a mixture of water, lime juice, and various vegetables. However, many people simply boil the meat until tender and serve it hot in a tangy broth.

Souse is a hearty dish often reserved for special occasions and parties or family gatherings on the weekends. Originating in Europe, this flavorful dish is also present in many Caribbean cuisines.

Egg ball is a famous Guyanese snack, street food, and breakfast dish that has become popular in many countries throughout the Americas.

Basically, egg balls are boiled eggs that are wrapped in cassava mash and fried to golden perfection. Locals usually serve them with a side of sour chutney.

Plantain chip is a beloved snack in Guyana. People prepare it by deep-frying strips or slices of either yellow or green plantains and let them drain on a paper towel or baking rack to ensure a crispy texture.

From bus stops to street vendors, plantain chips are easy to find all over Guyana. Sour sauces or dips are suitable accompaniments to bring out the sweet and rich flavors of this snack.

Like other plantain-based dishes, plantain chips became popular in Guyanese and Caribbean cuisines thanks to enslaved Africans.

Custard block, or Guyanese ice cream, is a famous frozen dessert and street food in Guyana. The core ingredients of this sweet and creamy treat are evaporated milk, custard powder, and spices, with cashew, oat, or almond milk as popular flavorings.

Guyanese street vendors chill custard blocks in plastic bags and cut them into chunks before selling them to customers. At room temperature, the custard block transforms into a frosty, slushy treat that tastes very refreshing on a hot day.

Mithai is a sweet confectionery and dessert from Guyana. Its name was probably inspired by the general term for confectionery in the Indian subcontinent.

Guyanese mithai is usually made with flour, milk, and spices. These ingredients are shaped strips of dough that are deep-fried in oil and doused in sugar syrup or dusted with sugar.

Local people often prepare mithai for Hindu holidays.

Konkee is a Guyanese dough-like dish introduced by enslaved Africans. It is the local adaptation of kenkey, which originated in Ghana.

Konkee is prepared by kneading fermented corn dough until smooth and then wrapping it in banana leaves or corn husks before steaming or boiling.

This dough-based dish is great for serving with spicy pepper sauces, rich stews, soups, and fried fish.

Conkie is a Guyanese dish that shares many similarities with konkee, but it is sweeter and mainly served as a dessert.

Farine, literally “flour” in Portuguese, is a popular type of flour in Guyana, with cassava starch as the main ingredient. It is deeply rooted in local cuisine and was historically consumed by indigenous tribes.

People make farine by heating the juice extracted from cassava and using it as a thickening agent in soups and stews or as the main ingredient in porridge and bread recipes.

Since cassava flour is gluten-free, farine can make an ideal substitute for wheat flour in many recipes.

Pudding is a popular Guayense sausage dish that comes in two varieties: black and white puddings.

The Guyanese white pudding consists of rice, chicken, shredded coconut, pork, liver, onions, and herbs. The black variety has the addition of cow blood.

Both white and black puddings in Guyana offer a rich, herby, and savory flavor. Guyanese people usually pair these sausages with rice, roti, and sour or spicy sauces.

Carne de vinha d’alhos is a pork-based dish in Guyana. It originated in Portugal and arrived on Guyana’s shores in the 19th century.

The making of carne de vinha d’alhos starts with marinating pork in a blend of cloves, thyme, paprika, red pepper paste, wine or vinegar, and garlic. Next, the meat is simmered until it becomes tender and flavorful.

But pork isn’t the only type of meat used in Guyanese-style carne de vinha d’alhos; some versions feature chicken, beef, or other meats. Christmas is a popular time to enjoy this rich pork dish in Guyana.

Carne de vinha d’alhos demonstrates the richness and diversity of Guyanese dishes, which is an important factor in keeping local cuisine relevant and popular.