Australia and New Zealand
Food of Australia
The 8 most iconic national dishes of Australia — real photos, key ingredients and tasty facts behind every plate.
Oceania
Meat pie
Australia’s classic handheld savoury pie has a flaky pastry shell filled with minced meat and rich gravy. It is hearty, peppery and deeply associated with bakeries, football and everyday comfort food.
Did you know?
The meat pie is so culturally embedded in Australia that it has long been a staple snack at Australian rules football and rugby matches.
Pavlova
This iconic meringue dessert has a crisp shell and marshmallow-soft centre, usually topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit. It is light, sweet and strongly linked with festive Australian meals.
Did you know?
Australia and New Zealand have a famous long-running dispute over which country can claim the pavlova as its own.
Lamington
A lamington is a square of sponge cake coated in chocolate icing and rolled in desiccated coconut, sometimes split and filled with cream or jam. It is soft, sweet and instantly recognisable in Australian bakeries and school fundraisers.
Did you know?
The lamington is widely associated with Queensland and is named after Lord Lamington, a governor of the colony.
Vegemite on toast
This quintessential Australian breakfast is made by spreading a thin layer of salty, savoury Vegemite on buttered toast. Its intense umami taste is beloved by locals but often surprises first-time visitors.
Did you know?
Vegemite was developed in Melbourne in 1922 as a local answer to imported British yeast extracts.
Barramundi
Barramundi is one of Australia’s most emblematic fish dishes, usually served pan-fried or grilled with crisp skin and moist white flesh. Its flavour is mild, buttery and well suited to simple preparations.
Did you know?
The name barramundi comes from an Australian Aboriginal language and is often glossed as meaning ‘large-scaled river fish’.
Damper
Damper is a traditional rustic soda bread made from simple dough and baked in campfire ashes or ovens. It has a dense crumb and is strongly associated with bush cooking and pastoral Australia.
Did you know?
Damper was historically carried and baked by stockmen, drovers and swagmen travelling through the Australian bush.
Witchetty grub
A traditional bush food of Indigenous Australians, these large wood-eating larvae can be eaten raw or lightly cooked in ashes. They are associated especially with desert regions of central Australia.
Did you know?
They have long been an important high-protein food in Aboriginal Australian food traditions.
Yabbie
Yabbies are freshwater crayfish eaten in inland Australia, often simply boiled or grilled. They are especially tied to rural river and dam country rather than coastal seafood culture.
Did you know?
The word usually refers to several Australian freshwater crayfish species used as food.