Best Food to Try in Sicily with Kids

New food and kids? Could be a recipe for disaster. But not in Sicily. There the whole family will be eager to taste new flavors. Here’s the best food to try in Sicily with kids or without.

Food, travel and kids

Our kids are relatively picky. They will try some new food, as long as it looks like something they are familiar to. But what they absolutely never have problems with is Italian food. They could live on pasta and pizza.

That’s why Sicily was such a big hit. It has much in common with Italian food, but then its culinary history as well as the history of the whole island is rich and diverse. Many nations, people, events influenced it.

Sicilian food also has Spanish, Greek and Arab influences.

Top 5 Best Food to Try in Sicily

This is by no means a comprehensive list nor is it trying to be. This is must do list. These are the foods you must try in Sicily, even if for some reason you are visiting for one day only. But by all means don’t limit yourself to this list. Lead your tastebuds on an adventure!

Cannoli

I’ll start with my favorite dessert. I have it any time I can and I thought I liked it. Until I came to Sicily and discovered the freshly baked, crunchy dough, the creamy ricotta filling, the sweet pieces of chocolate. I fell in love with it and it has ruined me for cannoli anywhere else.

None the less. Give it a try at least 2x times a day. If you are worried about calories, just walk a bit more. There are great many things to see and with cannoli in hand it will only be easier.

Arancini

These are rice balls that are stuffed – our favorite stuffing was ragu but there are oh so many more, then they are coated with breadcrumbs and deep fried. You can find them all over Sicily.

According to Wikipedia: Arancini al ragĂą produced in eastern Sicily have a conical shape inspired by the volcano Etna.

Pasta alla Norma

This delicious dish of pasta with tomato sauce, fried eggplants and ricotta cheese got it’s name from the opera Norma, composed by the native of Cataina, Vincenzo Bellini.

And we have no photos of it because we’d eat it before we could snap a shot.

Ice cream

It needs no explanation, just plan to have lots of ice cream in Sicily. My favorite flavor there was pistachios.

Granita e Brioche

According to the locals this is how you start your day off. It’s every kids dream to eat sweet bread and semi-frozen sorbet for breakfast. And the granitas come in many different flavors.

Cassata Siciliana

Believed to have originated in Palermo in the 10th century this round cake consists of layers of ricotta and candied fruit, covered with marizapan, pink and green icing, and decoration. My favorite were what they called cassatelle – small ones that I could stuff in my mouth, leaving nothing behind.

Speaking of marzipan next to the cakes I share a photo of how they mold marzipan in different shapes.

Hungry for more food and travel? Check our list of the best Japanese Food.

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