Food from Puglia is rustic, regional, and ridiculously good. If you’re the type of traveller who follows their stomach (same), this sun-drenched slice of Southern Italy will have you drooling at every turn.
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From handmade pasta to street food snacks and creamy cheeses, here are 15 delicious things you have to try in Puglia – plus a few bonus bites and food tour tips too.
1. Orecchiette con Cime di Rapa 🥦
Puglia’s signature pasta dish.
Orecchiette (“little ears”) are perfect for scooping up garlicky, bitter turnip tops (aka cime di rapa). It’s simple, earthy, and found on pretty much every menu from Bari to Lecce.
Sprinkle with pecorino and chilli flakes, and you’re in business.
2. Focaccia Barese 🍞
Focaccia, but better. This fluffy delight is made with mashed potatoes in the dough, topped with cherry tomatoes, oregano, and lots of olive oil.
Crispy on the edges, soft in the middle, and usually eaten straight out of a paper bag on a sunny street corner. A true staple when it comes to food from Puglia.
3. Burrata di Andria 🧀
This creamy dream of a cheese is mozzarella’s sexier cousin. Soft on the outside, oozy stracciatella on the inside.
Pair it with tomatoes, prosciutto, or just a drizzle of olive oil and a spoon. It originated in Andria, so that’s the place to try it fresh.
4. Tiella Barese 🥘
Puglia’s answer to paella. This baked dish layers rice, potatoes, mussels, tomatoes and herbs into a bubbling, seaside-flavoured casserole.
It’s filling, comforting, and best eaten by the sea. Another must-try when sampling food from Puglia.
5. Panzerotti 🥟
Like a deep-fried pizza pocket. Stuffed with tomato and mozzarella (or ham, or spinach, or anything really), these golden crescent-shaped bites are hot inside, so don’t burn your mouth in excitement. Popular at festivals and in late-night bakeries.
6. Puccia Sandwiches 🥪
A rustic round bread roll split open and stuffed with everything from grilled veggies to burrata and salami.
Best in Salento, and even better when warm. Think of it as the ultimate Pugliese panini.
7. Cavatelli ai Frutti di Mare 🍤
A seafood pasta favourite. These small shell-shaped pastas are perfect for catching bits of shrimp, mussels, clams, and a garlicky tomato sauce.
You’ll find this in most coastal towns, usually with a sea breeze on the side.
8. Bombette 🍖
Meat lovers, this one’s for you.
Bombette are little rolls of pork stuffed with cheese and herbs, then grilled to smoky perfection. Look for them at street food stalls and rosticcerias in towns like Cisternino.
9. Fave e Cicoria 🌱
A humble but heavenly dish of pureed fava beans with bitter chicory greens. It’s vegan, traditional, and very Pugliese.
Best drizzled with good olive oil and served with crusty bread.
10. Pasticciotto 🥧
Sweet pastry perfection. These custard-filled treats are best eaten warm, straight from a bakery in Lecce (where they were born).
Grab a cappuccino too – it’s basically breakfast, right?
11. Cozze al Sugo 🦪
Mussels in a rich tomato and garlic sauce, served with plenty of bread for mopping.
This dish is found all along the coast, and it’s always fresh, fragrant and messy in the best way.
12. Stracciatella Cheese 🥛🧀
Not the ice cream (though that’s fab too), but the stringy, creamy cheese inside Burrata.
You can spread it on toast, dollop it on pasta, or just eat it by the spoonful. No judgement here.
13. Taralli 🥨
Addictive little bread rings that are boiled then baked, often flavoured with fennel, chilli or black pepper.
You’ll find them in every bakery and supermarket. Perfect road trip snack, especially with a glass of wine.
14. Primitivo & Negroamaro Wines 🍷
Because no food tour is complete without wine. Primitivo is bold and fruity, while Negroamaro is darker and more savoury.
Look for local labels from Salento and Manduria – they pair beautifully with food from Puglia.
Bonus Bites 🌟
Little extras you shouldn’t miss:
- Pettole (dough balls, sweet or savoury)
- Midnight cornetti (late-night pastry runs are a thing)
- Polpo panino (grilled octopus sandwich!)
- Sgagliozze (crispy fried polenta rectangles, best eaten hot from a street stall in Bari)
Food Tours in Puglia 🎟️
Want to try it all without the guesswork? Here are a few top food experiences:
🎟️ Lecce history and street food tour. Combined walking tour and food tour, with several tastings along with information about the history of Lecce. 5 star rated.
🎟️ Ostuni winery tour. Visit a winery just outside Ostuni and enjoy a four course lunch with wine pairings.
🎟️ Bari street food tour with Do Eat Better. Amazing tour of Bari with many tastings – you can read my full review of this tour here. Make sure you arrive hungry!
🎟️ Bari walking tour with pasta experience. Bari tour with a cooking class in a local home. Includes food and drink tastings.
🎟️ Olive oil tasting in Ostuni. Trip to a masseria where you will try olive oils from the region. Once you try Puglian olive oil you will never go back!
FAQs About Food in Puglia 💡
Your quick questions, answered:
Orecchiette, burrata, olive oil, and focaccia top the list.
Yes! Lots of dishes are veggie or easily adapted. Try fave e cicoria or tiella with no mussels.
Around 8pm or later. Locals eat late, especially in summer.
Yes, most tours are in English and super easy to book in advance.
Final Thoughts ✨
Eating food from Puglia is like stepping into a rustic Italian cookbook. It’s fresh, soulful, and full of flavour. Come hungry, leave full (and possibly obsessed with orecchiette).
Pin for later 📌
Save this post to plan your foodie trip:
Related reading: food from Puglia 📚
🍷 Guide to Wine in Puglia + Best Wineries in Puglia.
🥟 Bari Street Food: a Culinary Tour of Puglia’s Capital.
🍝 15 Delicious Alberobello Restaurants, Cafés & Wine Bars to Try ?️
🍕 Food from Naples Italy: Neapolitan Food, Drinks, Best Restaurants & Coffee Bars.
👉 Looking for practical travel tools? Check out my Travel Resources page.
Tags: Cuisine, Food, Italy, Puglia
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