Haitian Food: A Guide to the Dishes and Flavours
A friendly guide to Haitian food, its key dishes and flavours, and where to find Caribbean food and ingredients across the UK.
African Stores Editorial Team
The short answer
Haitian food is the bold, flavourful cuisine of Haiti, the Caribbean nation with deep African roots and French, Spanish and Taino influences. It is known for dishes like griot, crispy fried marinated pork, diri kole ak pwa, rice and beans, and soup joumou, the celebrated Independence Day pumpkin soup, all built on a fragrant seasoning base called epis and a fiery pickled slaw called pikliz. It is deeply seasoned, satisfying food with a proud history. In the UK you can find Caribbean and African ingredients to cook it in specialist shops.
What to remember
- Haitian food has deep African roots with French, Spanish and Taino influences.
- Griot, crispy fried marinated pork, is one of its most beloved dishes.
- Diri kole ak pwa, rice and beans, is a everyday staple.
- Soup joumou, the pumpkin soup, is the symbolic Independence Day dish.
- Epis seasoning and fiery pikliz slaw give the food its character.
For Haitians in Britain, food is a proud link to home and to a history of freedom. It is the crispy griot with pikliz, the rice and beans of everyday meals, the bowl of soup joumou on New Year's Day, the epis that seasons everything. Each dish carries the strong African heritage and proud history of Haiti, and cooking them abroad keeps that flavour and that story alive.
There is real pride and history in Haitian food, in the nation that won its own freedom and made its food a symbol of that freedom. When a Haitian family in the UK marinates pork in epis for griot, pickles a jar of pikliz, or shares soup joumou to mark independence, they are keeping home close and honouring a heritage of resilience and celebration. That bold, proud, deeply seasoned spirit is the heart of Haitian food.
What Haitian Food Is
Haitian food comes from Haiti, which shares the Caribbean island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, and it is bold, deeply seasoned, satisfying cooking with a powerful sense of history and identity. Haiti was the site of the world's first successful slave revolution, becoming the first Black republic in 1804, and its food carries the strong African heritage of its people alongside French, Spanish and indigenous Taino influences, blended into something wholly Haitian.
The foundation of the cuisine is epis, a fragrant green seasoning base of blended herbs, garlic, peppers, onions and spices, used to marinate and flavour almost everything, and a love of bold, well-seasoned flavour with plenty of citrus, garlic and heat. Rice, beans, plantains, root vegetables, meat and seafood are staples. It sits within the wider world of Caribbean food, with a flavour and history all its own.
Griot the Beloved Fried Pork
If one dish represents Haiti, it is griot, and it is a true national favourite. Chunks of pork are marinated in epis, citrus, garlic and spices, then braised until tender and finally fried until the outside is crisp and golden while the inside stays juicy. The result is deeply savoury, tangy and irresistible, and it is a fixture at celebrations, gatherings and street stalls, usually served with rice and beans, fried plantains and, crucially, pikliz.
Griot shows the Haitian love of well-marinated, boldly flavoured meat, and it is the dish Haitians abroad miss most. Alongside it, other meats get similar treatment: tassot, fried marinated goat or beef, and poule nan sos, chicken in a rich seasoned sauce, are much loved too. These bold, seasoned meats are the heart of the Haitian plate.
Rice Beans and Everyday Food
The everyday foundation of Haitian meals is rice and beans in various forms. Diri kole ak pwa is rice and red or kidney beans cooked together with epis and spices into a savoury, comforting one-pot, while diri ak pwa serves the rice and a bean sauce separately, and diri djon djon is a prized dish of rice cooked with black Haitian mushrooms that turn it dark and richly flavoured, a special-occasion favourite.
Alongside rice come legim, a rich stew of mashed vegetables like aubergine, cabbage and chayote cooked down with meat, and sos pwa, bean sauces, as well as fried plantains, banann peze, and root vegetables. These hearty, well-seasoned staples make up the satisfying core of Haitian home cooking.
Soup Joumou the Freedom Soup
The most symbolically important dish in Haitian food is soup joumou, the pumpkin soup, and its meaning goes far beyond the plate. A rich, hearty soup of pumpkin or squash with beef, vegetables, pasta and warm spices, it is eaten every year on the 1st of January, Haitian Independence Day, to celebrate freedom. Under slavery, the enslaved were forbidden from eating this soup, so after independence in 1804 it became a powerful symbol of liberty, and it has even been recognised by UNESCO.
To eat soup joumou on New Year's Day is to honour that history and freedom, and families gather to share it. It is a moving example of how food and history are woven together in Haiti, a delicious soup that carries the story of a nation's liberation.
Pikliz Epis and the Flavours
Two things give Haitian food its unmistakable character. Epis is the green seasoning base, a blend of parsley, thyme, garlic, peppers, onion, citrus and spices, blitzed into a paste and used to marinate meat and flavour almost every savoury dish, the fragrant foundation of the cuisine. And pikliz is the fiery condiment no Haitian table is without: a pickled slaw of cabbage, carrot, onion and Scotch bonnet in vinegar, sharp, crunchy and hot, served alongside griot and fried foods to cut the richness.
Together, epis and pikliz frame the Haitian love of bold, bright, spicy, well-seasoned flavour. Add plenty of citrus, garlic and Scotch bonnet heat, and you have the vivid, satisfying taste that defines Haitian cooking.
Sweets Drinks and Where to Find It
Haitian sweets and drinks round out the picture. Pen patat, a sweet potato pudding, dous makos, a layered fudge, and blan manje, a coconut blancmange, are treasured, while drinks include fresh tropical juices, cremas, a rich spiced coconut rum cream for celebrations, and strong Haitian coffee. Akasan, a warm spiced cornmeal drink, is a comforting breakfast.
The UK has Haitian and wider Caribbean communities, so while dedicated Haitian shops are fewer, the ingredients, rice, beans, plantains, Scotch bonnet, epis herbs, pumpkin and spices, are stocked by African and Caribbean shops. If you want to eat out, you can find African restaurants near you, including Caribbean kitchens, or book a cook through caterers near you. To cook Haitian food at home, browse African food stores near you.
Frequently asked questions
What is the national dish of Haiti?
Haiti is strongly associated with griot, crispy fried marinated pork, as a national favourite, and with soup joumou, the pumpkin soup eaten on Independence Day, which carries deep symbolic meaning. Diri kole ak pwa, rice and beans, is the everyday staple. Together these dishes capture the bold flavour and proud history of Haitian food.
What is griot?
Griot is one of Haiti's most beloved dishes, chunks of pork marinated in epis, citrus and spices, braised until tender, then fried until crisp and golden outside and juicy within. Deeply savoury and tangy, it is a fixture at celebrations and street stalls, served with rice and beans, fried plantains and the fiery pickled slaw pikliz.
What is soup joumou?
Soup joumou is a rich Haitian pumpkin soup with beef, vegetables, pasta and spices, eaten every 1st of January to celebrate Haitian independence. Under slavery the enslaved were forbidden from eating it, so after independence in 1804 it became a powerful symbol of freedom. It has been recognised by UNESCO and is deeply meaningful to Haitians.
What is pikliz?
Pikliz is the fiery Haitian condiment served with griot and fried foods, a pickled slaw of cabbage, carrot, onion and Scotch bonnet pepper in vinegar. Sharp, crunchy and hot, it cuts through rich, fried dishes and is a fixture on the Haitian table. Along with epis, the green seasoning base, it defines the bold flavour of Haitian food.
Where can I find Haitian food in the UK?
Dedicated Haitian shops are fewer, but the ingredients, rice, beans, plantains, Scotch bonnet, epis herbs, pumpkin and spices, are stocked by African and Caribbean shops in cities with Caribbean communities. You can find African and Caribbean restaurants near you and African food stores through the platform, to eat out or cook Haitian food at home.
