ExploFood · Africa
What to eat in Mozambique
Five dishes to try in Mozambique, the most typical first. Two are vegetarian.
Five dishes to try in Mozambique
Matapa
Cassava leaves pounded and stewed with peanuts, coconut milk and often crab or prawns.
How to have it: Served with rice or xima; one of the most typical home dishes, especially in the south.
Frango à cafreal
Chicken marinated in chilli, garlic and lemon, grilled over charcoal.
How to have it: Grilled piri-piri chicken is everywhere in Maputo; ask for extra piri-piri sauce and chips.
Xima
Stiff maize-meal porridge eaten as the base of most meals.
How to have it: Eaten by hand with fish, chicken or matapa; standard at local barracas.
Chamuças
Triangular fried pastries filled with spiced minced meat or fish.
How to have it: Sold at markets and cafés across the country, often alongside rissóis as a snack with beer.
Laurentina
Long-established Mozambican lager, in pale and dark versions.
How to have it: Served cold with grilled prawns at beach restaurants and Maputo's fish market.
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Questions
What food is Mozambique famous for?
Matapa (cassava leaves pounded and stewed with peanuts, coconut milk and often crab or prawns) comes first on our list, followed by Frango à cafreal, Xima, Chamuças and Laurentina.
What is the national dish of Mozambique?
Ask ten people and you get several answers. The dish we put first for Mozambique is Matapa: cassava leaves pounded and stewed with peanuts, coconut milk and often crab or prawns. Served with rice or xima; one of the most typical home dishes, especially in the south.
Which dishes in Mozambique are vegetarian?
Two of the five on this page are vegetarian as usually made: Xima and Laurentina. Recipes vary, so ask about stock, lard or fish sauce.
What street food should I try in Mozambique?
Chamuças (triangular fried pastries filled with spiced minced meat or fish).
What do people drink in Mozambique?
Laurentina: long-established Mozambican lager, in pale and dark versions.
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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Tick off every dish you try in Mozambique
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Get ExploDishes are hand-picked from general knowledge in the Explo app, with links to Wikipedia. Recipes and names vary by region.