30 Iconic Dishes + What to Eat in Sicily

Sicilian food is completely different from your usual Italian cuisine. If you’re going to be spending time in Sicily, don’t expect to grab a Roman carbonara or a Florentine steak.

Instead, imagine a cuisine filled with fresh vegetables, lots of seafood, and the smallest amount of meat. Imagine eggplants and pine nuts and swordfish, wild fennel growing on the side of the road, a sprinkling of couscous here and there, calamari grilled to perfection, liqueurs made from local fruits and herbs. And — I won’t lie — Sicilians have a tendency to get creative with the organs.

If you’re planning a trip to Sicily, you’re going to want to try EVERYTHING. And while I’ve traveled to Sicily several times, on my most recent trip I made an aim to eat every major Sicilian dish that I could find. What a delicious mission that was.

Let’s take a look at what to eat in Sicily — and what makes Sicilian food so special.

Sicilian Food Influences and History

First off, you can’t understand traditional Sicilian food without knowing a bit about Sicilian history and geography. Italy is a diverse country of nation-states that didn’t unify until 1861. Many of Italy’s 20 regions each feel like their own country — but Sicily feels especially unique.

This island in the Mediterranean has been conquered, invaded, and settled by the Arabs, the Normans, the Vikings, the Spanish, and far more.

Each culture brought their own food, turning Sicily into a delightful culinary melting pot. But above all else, Arab culinary traditions took hold deeply in Sicily, with dishes from caponata to couscous decorating Sicilian menus. Bread comes sprinkled with sesame seeds, and saffron adds fragrance and color to pasta dishes.

In short, Sicily is a lot closer to Tunis than Rome — not only by geography but by culture and cuisine as well.

(And it goes to people, too. What a surprise I got when I got my DNA test and the Sicilian side of the family was actually quite Middle Eastern!)

Traveling to Sicily? Start with a Food Tour

If you’re traveling to Sicily and looking to learn about typical Sicilian food, I highly, highly recommend starting with a food tour. It will give you so much context, introduce you to dishes you’ll love, and make the rest of your trip so much easier.

Streaty is a food tour company run by Sicilians! I…