Sicilian Cuisine: Dishes, Street Food, Sweets and Wine

Discover the best Sicilian Cuisine experiences in Sicily.

Sicilian cuisine is built on vegetables, fish, ricotta, almonds and citrus. The best-known dishes are arancini, pasta alla Norma, caponata, cannoli and granita with brioche. What lands on the table depends on the region and the season: eggplants and Etna pistachios in the east, couscous and sea salt in the west, fish along every coast.

What are the typical dishes of Sicily?

Many classics belong to one city or coast. The table lists the main dishes with their home and ingredients.

Dish	Home	Ingredients
Pasta alla Norma	Catania	tomato, fried eggplant, salted ricotta, basil
Pasta con le sarde	Palermo	sardines, wild fennel, pine nuts, raisins
Caponata	whole island	sweet-and-sour eggplant with celery, olives and capers
Couscous alla trapanese	Trapani	couscous served with fish broth
Pesce spada	east coast	swordfish, usually grilled, with lemon and olive oil

Is it arancina or arancino?

In Palermo and the west, the stuffed rice ball is usually called arancina and is round. In Catania and the east it is arancino and has a pointed top. Both forms count as correct; the Accademia della Crusca weighed in on the question in 2016. Classic fillings are meat ragù (al ragù) and ham with cheese (al burro).

What is Sicilian street food?

Street food is strongest in Palermo, Catania and Syracuse. Pane e panelle are chickpea fritters in a bun. Sfincione is a thick pizza with tomato, onion and anchovies. Pani ca meusa is Palermo's spleen sandwich. The Ballarò market in Palermo and La Pescheria in Catania are well-known places to taste your way through.

Which Sicilian sweets should you try?

Cannoli are fried pastry tubes filled with sweet ricotta, found in every pastry shop in Palermo. Cassata siciliana, made of sponge, ricotta, marzipan and candied fruit, is traditionally an Easter cake. Granita is a half-frozen dessert of sugar, water and fruit or almond, often eaten for breakfast with a brioche; the guide Granita, the Sicilian dessert covers it in more detail. The coarse-grained chocolate of Modica has carried the EU label PGI since 2018.

Which wines and wine areas does Sicily have?

Etna DOC was the island's first designation of origin in 1968, and Marsala followed in 1969. Cerasuolo di Vittoria from the province of Ragusa has been Sicily's only DOCG since 2005: a red wine made of 50 to 70 percent Nero d'Avola, the rest Frappato. Pantelleria produces the sweet Passito. The cultivation of its low bush vines (vite ad alberello) has been on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage since 2014.

Which Sicilian products are protected?

Product	Status	Origin	Registered
Pistacchio Verde di Bronte	PDO (DOP)	Bronte, province of Catania	2010
Arancia Rossa di Sicilia	PGI (IGP)	provinces of Catania, Syracuse, Enna	1996
Pomodoro di Pachino	PGI (IGP)	provinces of Syracuse and Ragusa	2003
Cioccolato di Modica	PGI (IGP)	Modica, province of Ragusa	2018
Sale marino di Trapani	PGI (IGP)	Trapani	2012

What is on the plate in which season?

Season	Typical
Winter	blood oranges, lemons, broccoli and cauliflower
Spring	artichokes, broad beans, wild fennel
Summer	granita, tomatoes, eggplants, grilled fish
Autumn	grape harvest, olives, prickly pears

Where does Sicilian food come from?

Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans and Spaniards all shaped the island, and the kitchen shows it. Sugar, citrus, rice, raisins and pine nuts date back to the Arab period of the 9th to 11th century; the raisins and pine nuts in pasta con le sarde and the couscous of Trapani recall it. Many dishes come from cucina povera, simple country cooking that makes do with few ingredients and plenty of vegetables.

What do people eat for breakfast in Sicily?

The classic summer breakfast is granita with a brioche col tuppo, the soft yeast bun with a small knob on top. If you prefer less sugar, order a cornetto with an espresso or cappuccino at the bar. Cannoli and cassata, by contrast, are desserts or festive cakes.

Where do you eat Sicilian food?

Trattorias, osterias and restaurants serve the dishes in the classic order of courses. The page Restaurant explains how eating out works. Anyone who wants to cook on holiday can find homes in Sicily at sicily.vacations.

Season calendar: what is harvested when in Sicily

Harvest months, growing areas and quality labels of Sicily's main products. A product is in the table only when at least two sources agree on its months. The month names lead to that month's page.

Product	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Growing areas	Labels
Etna lemons Primofiore from October to April, Bianchetto from April to June, Verdello from July to September.	Jan: In season	Feb: In season	Mar: In season	Apr: In season	May: In season	Jun: In season	Jul: In season	Aug: In season	Sep: In season	Oct: In season	Nov: In season	Dec: In season	Etna coast between the Alcantara river and Catania	Limone dell'Etna (PGI)
Interdonato lemons from Messina Harvested from September 1 to April 15.	Jan: In season	Feb: In season	Mar: In season	Apr: In season	May: –	Jun: –	Jul: –	Aug: –	Sep: In season	Oct: In season	Nov: In season	Dec: In season	Ionian coast of the province of Messina	Limone Interdonato Messina (PGI)
Siracusa lemons Primofiore from October to mid-April, Bianchetto from mid-April to June, Verdello from July.	Jan: In season	Feb: In season	Mar: In season	Apr: In season	May: In season	Jun: In season	Jul: In season	Aug: –	Sep: –	Oct: In season	Nov: In season	Dec: In season	Province of Siracusa	Limone di Siracusa (PGI)
Avocados	Jan: In season	Feb: In season	Mar: In season	Apr: In season	May: –	Jun: –	Jul: –	Aug: –	Sep: –	Oct: In season	Nov: In season	Dec: In season	Etna foothills near Giarre, Ionian coast	–
Olive oil, new harvest The olives are harvested from mid-October to the end of November.	Jan: –	Feb: –	Mar: –	Apr: –	May: –	Jun: –	Jul: –	Aug: –	Sep: –	Oct: In season	Nov: In season	Dec: –	Belice valley, Monti Iblei, Etna, province of Trapani	Monte Etna (PDO) Val di Mazara (PDO) Nocellara del Belice (PDO)
Artichokes (spinoso di Menfi, Niscemi) In Niscemi the harvest starts in mid-November and peaks around Christmas.	Jan: In season	Feb: In season	Mar: In season	Apr: In season	May: –	Jun: –	Jul: –	Aug: –	Sep: –	Oct: –	Nov: In season	Dec: Peak	Menfi and the Belice valley, Niscemi, Cerda, Ramacca	Carciofo spinoso di Menfi (Slow Food Presidium) Carciofo di Niscemi (Slow Food Presidium)
Blood oranges (Tarocco, Moro, Sanguinello) Moro comes first; Tarocco lasts into April.	Jan: In season	Feb: In season	Mar: In season	Apr: In season	May: –	Jun: –	Jul: –	Aug: –	Sep: –	Oct: –	Nov: –	Dec: In season	Plain of Catania, Lentini, Palagonia	Arancia Rossa di Sicilia (PGI)
Pantelleria capers Picked by hand from May to October, in several rounds.	Jan: –	Feb: –	Mar: –	Apr: –	May: In season	Jun: In season	Jul: In season	Aug: In season	Sep: In season	Oct: In season	Nov: –	Dec: –	Pantelleria	Cappero di Pantelleria (PGI)
Etna cherries From early June into the last third of July.	Jan: –	Feb: –	Mar: –	Apr: –	May: –	Jun: In season	Jul: In season	Aug: –	Sep: –	Oct: –	Nov: –	Dec: –	21 towns on the eastern side of Etna	Ciliegia dell'Etna (PDO)
Grape harvest It starts at the end of July and runs into October. On Pantelleria the Zibibbo is picked in August.	Jan: –	Feb: –	Mar: –	Apr: –	May: –	Jun: –	Jul: In season	Aug: In season	Sep: In season	Oct: In season	Nov: –	Dec: –	All of Sicily	–
Almonds (Noto, Avola) Harvested from July to early September.	Jan: –	Feb: –	Mar: –	Apr: –	May: –	Jun: –	Jul: In season	Aug: In season	Sep: In season	Oct: –	Nov: –	Dec: –	Noto, Avola, Rosolini, Canicattini Bagni	Mandorla di Noto (Slow Food Presidium)
Trapani sea salt The salt is harvested from July to September.	Jan: –	Feb: –	Mar: –	Apr: –	May: –	Jun: –	Jul: In season	Aug: In season	Sep: In season	Oct: –	Nov: –	Dec: –	Salt pans between Trapani, Paceco and Marsala	Sale Marino di Trapani (PGI)
Prickly pears The first fruit ripens in August and September. From September to December comes the late fruit of the second bloom, called "bastardoni".	Jan: –	Feb: –	Mar: –	Apr: –	May: –	Jun: –	Jul: –	Aug: In season	Sep: In season	Oct: In season	Nov: In season	Dec: In season	Etna slopes, San Cono	Ficodindia dell'Etna (PDO)
Leonforte peaches From late August to early November, most of them in September and October.	Jan: –	Feb: –	Mar: –	Apr: –	May: –	Jun: –	Jul: –	Aug: In season	Sep: Peak	Oct: Peak	Nov: In season	Dec: –	Leonforte (province of Enna)	Pesca di Leonforte (PGI)
Mangoes From August to early November.	Jan: –	Feb: –	Mar: –	Apr: –	May: –	Jun: –	Jul: –	Aug: In season	Sep: In season	Oct: In season	Nov: In season	Dec: –	Etna foothills near Giarre	–
Bronte pistachios From mid-August to early October. The big harvest comes only every other year, in odd years (last in 2025, next in 2027).	Jan: –	Feb: –	Mar: –	Apr: –	May: –	Jun: –	Jul: –	Aug: In season	Sep: In season	Oct: In season	Nov: –	Dec: –	Bronte, Adrano, Biancavilla	Pistacchio Verde di Bronte (PDO)
Almond blossom Bloom Not a harvest: the almond trees bloom from late February to early March.	Jan: –	Feb: Bloom	Mar: Bloom	Apr: –	May: –	Jun: –	Jul: –	Aug: –	Sep: –	Oct: –	Nov: –	Dec: –	Agrigento, Noto	–

In season · Peak · Bloom

Offers from providers in Sicily

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Cooking class

Cooking class in Marina di Ragusa: arancino and scaccia with Chef Francesco

Chef Francesco shows you how arancino and scaccia are made. You shape the rice around a ragù that is already prepared and fill the scaccia with tomato sauce and caciocavallo. The class opens with a glass of wine and small bites and ends with a tasting of what you cooked, along with cured meats, cheeses and local specialties. It takes place outdoors, a few steps from the sea. Aprons, hats and gloves are provided, and you need no cooking experience. Wheelchair accessible; a shuttle is available on request.

Where

Marina di Ragusa

When

daily from 5:30 p.m.

Duration

about 3.0 hours

Group size

4 to 15 people

Languages

English, Italian

Price

on request from the provider

+39 353 391 9942 Send an email Provider's website

Provider and contracting party: Domina S.r.l. · VAT ID IT01719260885

You contract directly with the provider. Terra Mia Immobiliare is not a party to that contract, does not act as an intermediary here and receives no commission on this offer. When several ads appear, their order changes daily.