Spanish food is all over the world, but unfortunately not many people cook it correctly. The main reason why their dishes are so delicious, is because they don´t use a million ingredients for their recipes, they just use what is needed. Another thing they do a lot, is making sure the ingredients are top quality…This means, for example, cooking with extra virgin olive oil and not with butter!
Anyway, don´t worry, because today we will tell you the best Spanish recipes to make at home. Some of them are very easy to make, and others need more practice…What we can guarantee you is that they all taste delicious.
1) Spanish Churros
Of course, we had to start our list of authentic Spanish recipes with the famous churros. These are by far the most famous sweet in the whole country, and literally every single coffee shop offers them on their menu.
There are good and bad news about Spanish churros. The bad news is that there are many types of churros all over the world, but unfortunately if you want the Spanish ones, you will only be able to buy them in Spain. In other countries people don´t make it so good.
On another hand, the good news is that you can make them at home and if you use the correct ingredients, they will look very similar to the ones in the Iberian Peninsula. Below you will find the recipe…be ready to get dirty because churros are a little bit chaotic.
2) Seafood Paella
There are a million types of paellas, but the one everyone loves is the seafood style. It´s by far one of the most famous Spanish recipes and making it will only take you about 50 minutes. We totally recommend you trying it.
You may see different variations of seafood paella, but the common one in Spain is made with squid, muscles and shrimps or prawns.
Below you will find the complete recipe, but first we are going to warn you that you will need to buy a “Paellera” or paella pan to make it. Of course, although the results won´t be so good, you can still make Spanish rice with a normal pan.
3) Garlic Aioli
Not as famous as the ones we have mentioned before, but we love garlic aioli and that´s why we have decided to put it up on the list. Aioli is eaten all over Spain and specially is very common in the Valencian community.
It´s a sauce that is very similar to mayonnaise, the main difference is that to make it you will need to use a lot of garlic. Although you can use it to mix it with rice, with potatoes and many other dishes, what the majority of the people do is eating it accompanied with bread.
The best news is that garlic aioli is probably one of the easiest Spanish recipes. We tried to perfectionate it a few days ago, and literally in just 5 minutes you will have a sauce that tastes as good as if you were in a Valencian restaurant.
4) Patatas Bravas
We go from sauce to sauce, and this one is even more popular. Patatas bravas are as simple as mixing fried potatoes with the brava sauce, which is a combination of tomato, paprika, cayenne and other ingredients. Don´t worry, is a little bit spicy, but not too much.
Bravas potatoes are normally eaten as an aperitif, tapas or starter before the main meal, but you can also find people who eat it as an accompaniment for main dishes as rice or meat.
Next you will see this famous Spanish recipe. It´s very easy to make and what takes more time is frying the potato. By the way if you are worried about the calories, this recipe also works with baked potatoes (It´s healthier).
5) Grilled and Galician Octopus
Octopus is made in many countries of the world, but Spanish people make it in two different ways: Grilled style and Galician style. We tell you the recipe of both of them below and the decision of which one you want to choose is up to you.
In Spain people love to mix the octopus with paprika as it gives a stronger flavor, of course, olive oil and salt is needed as well (as it happens with most of the Spanish recipes).
It´s true that the Galician octopus is a unique Spanish recipe, because it´s only made in the Galician Community of Spain, but the recipe is not so complicated so you will be able to make it at home too.
6) Padron Peppers
We needed some veggies on this list, and since we were already talking about Galician dishes, it was the perfect time to mention the famous Padron Peppers.
These peppers although they may seem to be like other normal green peppers, they are not! In Spain you will hear a lot this famous saying: “Pimiento de Padrón, unos pican y otros no”, which basically means: Padron peppers, some are spicy, and some are not. The reason why people say it, is because padron peppers are very random and if you are not lucky, you can have a spicy one. So yes, definitely, padron peppers are one of those weird Spanish recipes
Other than that, another characteristic is that they are smaller than normal peppers. If you visit Spain you will need to try them in a Galician restaurant, but meanwhile we are going to tell you the recipe so you can make them in your country.
7) Black rice
Start getting use to it, because in Spain there are many types of rice, so here is another paella recipe. Black rice or “arroz negro” as they say in Spain is very similar to a seafood paella, but as you can see, there are quite a few differences.
Again, this dish is typical from the Valencian Community (although you can find it in other areas of Spain). The recipe is not very hard, and it will only take you about 1 hours or 50 mintes.
If you want to why the rice is black and which ingredients are used, next you have the complete guide to make it. It´s a very tasty Spanish recipe.
8) Cocido Madrileño
Spain is not only known for its rices and meats, but there are also very nice stews like cocido. In case you don´t know anything about cocido, is a stew made out of soup, chickpeas and depending on the area, some people add different kinds of meat.
Cocido Madrileño is our favorite and for almost everyone is the most famous one, but you can also find cocidos from Cantabria, Galicia and other regions of Spain. The way it´s done in Madrid is with chicken, meat, chorizo, potato, carrot and on some occasions, people also add morcilla or cabbage.
Next, we tell you, which is the best way to make it, and always keep in mind that it´s a very heavy main course so there is no need to accompany it with other dishes.
9) Spanish Omelet
We almost forgot about one of the most traditional Spanish recipes, which is the “Tortilla de patatas” or in English, Spanish omelet. If you want to become an expert on Spanish cuisine, learning this recipe is a must, not only because Spaniards love their “tortilla Española”, but also because the way they make it is very special.
In the country, people always fight to decide if making this omelet is better with or without onion, in our opinion is better without it, but both ways are delicious. Other than that, you will need potatoes, eggs, salt and olive oil…pretty easy right?
Below you will find the complete recipe but be aware that during the process you will need to flip the pan…and it´s very heavy, so you better start doing some exercise to get on fit.
10) Pan Tumaca
We are finishing our top 10 Spanish recipes with the Pan Tumaca or as they say in Catalonia (where its originally from), Pa amb tomàquet. In this case, this food can be seen all over the country, but in Catalonia is where they are real experts preparing it.
Without any doubt, the bread with tomato is one of those quick Spanish recipes. It will literally take you about 5 minutes to have it ready to eat. A bread toast, grated tomato, olive oil and if you want a slice of ham on top of it, and your recipe is ready.
Although it´s a very simple recipe, next you can see the complete version of it.
Enjoy the authentic Spanish recipes!
Those were 10 of the best recipes in Spain, hope they are useful, and you can make all of them at home. If you would like to learn any other recipe, please let us know and we will do our best to tell you all about it.