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Food · Oceania

What to eat in Australia

Five dishes to try in Australia, the most typical first. Two are vegetarian.

Five dishes to try in Australia

  1. Meat pie

    Street food

    Hand-sized pastry pie filled with minced beef and gravy.

    How to have it: Eaten at football games and from bakeries; squeeze tomato sauce on top.

    Read about Meat pie on Wikipedia

  2. Sausage sizzle

    Street food

    Grilled sausage on a slice of white bread with onions and sauce.

    How to have it: Run by charities outside hardware stores and at polling stations on election day.

    Read about Sausage sizzle on Wikipedia

  3. Chicken parmi

    Main dish

    Crumbed chicken schnitzel topped with tomato sauce and melted cheese.

    How to have it: A pub staple served with chips and salad; many pubs run a cheap weekly parmi night.

    Read about Chicken parmi on Wikipedia

  4. Vegemite on toast

    BreakfastVegetarian

    Salty yeast-extract spread on buttered toast.

    How to have it: Spread it very thinly over plenty of butter; a thick layer is the classic visitor mistake.

    Read about Vegemite on toast on Wikipedia

  5. Pavlova

    DessertVegetarian

    Meringue cake with a crisp shell and soft centre, topped with cream and fruit.

    How to have it: A Christmas and summer barbecue dessert; Australia and New Zealand both claim it.

    Read about Pavlova on Wikipedia

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Questions

What food is Australia famous for?

Meat pie (hand-sized pastry pie filled with minced beef and gravy) comes first on our list, followed by Sausage sizzle, Chicken parmi, Vegemite on toast and Pavlova.

What is the national dish of Australia?

Ask ten people and you get several answers. The dish we put first for Australia is Meat pie: hand-sized pastry pie filled with minced beef and gravy. Eaten at football games and from bakeries; squeeze tomato sauce on top.

Which dishes in Australia are vegetarian?

Two of the five on this page are vegetarian as usually made: Vegemite on toast and Pavlova. Recipes vary, so ask about stock, lard or fish sauce.

What street food should I try in Australia?

Meat pie (hand-sized pastry pie filled with minced beef and gravy) and Sausage sizzle (grilled sausage on a slice of white bread with onions and sauce).

How reliable is this list?

The dishes are hand-picked from general knowledge in the Explo app, where you can also tick off the ones you have tried. Recipes vary by region and by family, so take it as a starting point.

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Dishes are hand-picked from general knowledge in the Explo app, with links to Wikipedia. Recipes and names vary by region.