What to Eat in Guatemala: A Food Traveler’s Guide

Guatemala’s cuisine grows from volcanic highlands, tropical lowlands, and two coasts, yielding maize, beans, squash, and aromatic herbs. From Guatemala City markets to highland towns, regional climates shape what’s cooked: smoky dried chiles from Alta Verapaz, Pacific seafood, and tender greens from misty valleys.

Daily eating centers on a hearty midday almuerzo, with evenings lighter and often built from leftovers. Home kitchens and comedores rely on slow-simmered recados, nixtamalized corn, and seasonal produce. Festive foods follow Indigenous and Catholic calendars, appearing briefly when harvests or saints’ days arrive.

Pepián is a deeply flavored stew built on a recado of roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitoria), sesame seeds, tomatoes, miltomates (tomatillos), and dried chiles such as guaque and pasa. Cooks toast everything on a comal, grind it to a paste, then simmer chicken, beef, or pork until tender before bathing the meat in the thick, nutty sauce. The result is silky and slightly smoky, with a gentle heat and an earthy sweetness from charred vegetables; rice and warm corn tortillas round out the plate. Considered a national touchstone, pepián reflects pre-Hispanic techniques fused with colonial ingredients, and it is common at Sunday lunches, town fiestas, and family milestones across Antigua Guatemala and the western highlands.

Kak'ik centers on turkey pieces simmered in a vivid red broth seasoned with ground annatto (achiote), chile cobanero, tomatoes, onions, garlic, and fresh herbs like cilantro and culantro. The broth is aromatic rather than fiery, with a warm chile perfume, gentle heat, and a clean, savory finish that highlights the bird; tamalitos de maíz blanco or rice are the usual companions. Originating with Q'eqchi' Maya communities around Cobán, the dish’s name references red color and chile in Q'eqchi', and it is recognized nationally as part of Guatemala’s intangible culinary heritage. Families serve kak'ik at celebratory almuerzos, patron-saint festivities, and market days, especially in the cool, humid highlands where cobanero chiles thrive and slow-simmered soups are prized.

Jocón (often pollo en jocón) is defined by its emerald sauce, a blend of miltomates, cilantro, green onions, and green peppers, sometimes enriched with ground pumpkin or sesame seeds. Ingredients are lightly roasted, then pureed and simmered with chicken stock; masa or a toasted tortilla may be added for body, yielding a velvety, tangy, herb-forward stew. The flavor is fresh and slightly tart from tomatillos, balanced by the herbaceous bite of cilantro and the gentle nuttiness of seeds. Associated with Maya highland traditions in the west, jocón is everyday fare for midday meals in cooler towns, eaten with rice and small tamales or tortillas, and appreciated for its bright profile that contrasts richer red recados.

Fiambre is a monumental, chilled salad prepared for November 1–2, when families honor the dead during Día de Todos los Santos and Día de los Difuntos. It combines dozens of ingredients—pickled vegetables in escabeche, pacaya palm blossoms, green beans, baby corn, olives, capers, cheeses, and assorted cured meats—brought together with a seasoned vinegar-based caldillo; beets tint fiambre rojo, while blanco omits them. The textures range from crisp pickles to tender legumes and silky meats, producing a layered, tangy-savoury bite that changes with each forkful. Evolving through the colonial era and safeguarded by family recipes, fiambre is assembled collaboratively at home, portioned for relatives and neighbors, and eaten at noon on a bed of lettuce when the weather turns milder ahead of the dry season.

Guatemalan tamales use a soft masa made from nixtamalized corn whisked with lard and broth, then filled with a tomato-chile recado and chicken or pork, plus garnishes like olives, capers, or strips of chile. The masa and sauce are wrapped in broad banana or maxán leaves, folded into parcels, and steamed until custardy and fragrant; chuchitos are smaller, firmer versions in corn husks. Tamales colorados carry a red, savory recado, while tamales negros appear at year’s end with sweet notes from raisins, prunes, and spices, sometimes a hint of chocolate. Eaten on Saturday nights, Sunday mornings, birthdays, and especially at Christmas, these parcels are served with a simple chirmol or pickled onions, their warmth welcome in highland climates and their portability perfect for market vendors and family kitchens.

Guatemalan cuisine stands out for its recados built from roasted seeds, local chiles, and miltomates, expressing Indigenous technique across varied climates. Markets and family tables prioritize midday stews, leaf-wrapped tamales, and seasonal festival foods that tie cooks to place and calendar. Explore more regional food traditions and plan climate-smart trips with Sunheron.com.