Curaçao Cuisine
Krioyo is the local name for Curaçao's home cooking: stuffed cheese (keshi yena), slow stews (stoba), cornmeal funchi and fried pastechi, with African, Dutch, Latin American, Portuguese and Sephardic Jewish influences.
The Dishes Behind Krioyo Cooking
Start with keshi yena, the stuffed cheese that the Curaçao Tourist Board calls the island's unofficial national dish, then work through goat stew (kabritu stoba), okra soup (guiambo), cornmeal funchi and the black cake bolo pretu.
Popular Curaçao Dishes
Blue Curaçao Liqueur
The island's iconic bright-blue liqueur, distilled from the dried peel of the local laraha orange at Landhuis Chobolobo. Bittersweet, citrusy, and famously vivid.
Bolo Pretu (Black Cake)
A dark, dense, rum-soaked dried-fruit cake, deeply spiced and intensely rich. Curaçao's prized celebration cake, made for weddings, Christmas, and special occasions.
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Funchi
Curaçao's everyday cornmeal polenta, stirred firm and shaped into a block, or pan-fried into crisp golden sticks. The island's go-to starch with stews and fish.
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Guiambo
A rich okra-and-seafood soup thickened to a silky body, loaded with fish and shellfish and traditionally eaten over funchi. A treasured Curaçaoan comfort dish.
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Kabritu Stoba
A slow-cooked goat stew, a beloved Curaçaoan classic. Bone-in goat simmered until tender in a rich tomato-and-pepper sauce, served with funchi or pan bati.
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Keshi Yena
Curaçao's national dish: a round of melted Gouda or Edam cheese filled with spiced stewed chicken, olives, capers, raisins, and prunes, then baked until golden.
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Explore by Category
Mains & Stews
The hearty plates at the heart of a Curaçaoan table, from the cheese-shell national dish keshi yena to slow-cooked Krioyo stews of beef, goat, and fresh leeward fish.
Sides & Staples
The cornmeal foundations of Krioyo cooking: funchi polenta, the soft flatbread pan bati, and tutu cooked with black-eyed peas, served alongside almost everything.
Snacks & Street Food
The handheld bites Curaçaoans grab from bakeries and snack trucks, led by the golden deep-fried pastechi turnover that fuels breakfast across the island.
Soups
Comforting one-pot soups built on island produce, including a rich okra-and-seafood guiambo and a velvety Curaçaoan pumpkin soup.
Sweets & Drinks
What ends a Curaçaoan meal or fills a glass: the dark rum-soaked celebration cake bolo pretu and the island's iconic bright-blue Curaçao liqueur.
Every dish we cover is in the dishes library, with what goes into it and where it is served.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is keshi yena, Curaçao's unofficial national dish?
Keshi yena means stuffed cheese, and the Curaçao Tourist Board calls it the island's unofficial national dish. A round of Edam or Gouda is filled with seasoned chicken or other meat, often with raisins, olives and capers, then baked until the cheese melts around the filling. The board says the dish likely has its origins among enslaved Africans.
Is Curaçao food spicy?
Krioyo dishes such as stoba, funchi and keshi yena are seasoned rather than hot. The heat usually comes from pika, a hot sauce served on the side, so you decide how much goes on the plate.
What is Curaçao liqueur, and what else do people drink?
Genuine Curaçao Liqueur is an orange-flavored liqueur made with the dried peel of the laraha, a bitter orange that developed on Curaçao from Valencia oranges planted by the Spanish. Its producer, Senior & Co., makes it at Landhuis Chobolobo and lists five colors: blue, clear, orange, red and green. Non-alcoholic staples include batido (a fruit shake), awa di lamunchi (limeade) and tamarind juice.
Which Curaçao dishes suit vegetarians and vegans?
Traditional Krioyo cooking is built around meat and fish. The dishes most likely to suit vegetarians are the cornmeal sides (funchi and tutu), fried plantain and arepa di pampuna (pumpkin pancakes). Recipes vary from kitchen to kitchen, so ask how a dish is made and say what you do not eat before you order. Vegans should ask about butter and cheese in particular.