Top 20 Street Food You Must Try In Italy

1. Cuoppo napoletano (fried snacks in a cup)

Making its way into this list all the way from Naples is cuoppo napoletano, the ultimate street food that you’re likely to find being sold at every nook and corner of the city. It is typically served in a paper cuoppo (cup), which holds an assortment of bite-sized, deep-fried snacks. These mostly include mozzarella doughballs, panzerotti (stuffed dough pockets), potato croquettes, among others. It makes for a perfect on-the-go snack, so do remember to try. Newer variations of cuoppo napoletano also include fish, meat, and sometimes sweet snacks.

2. Sgagliozze (polenta fritters)

A humble street food, sgagliozze is Bari’s introduction to the world. These are rectangular pieces of polenta, deep-fried to a crisp golden and salted to perfection. You’ll find them shovelled in easy-to-carry bags or plates, making for perfect accompaniments to your hike through the city. Although they look light, sgagliozze can be quite filling. Keep munching and keep your hunger at bay.

P.S. – They are devilishly addictive!

3. Panelle (chickpea fritters)

Much like sgagliozze, panelle is another extremely popular Italian street food from Sicily. These are, basically, chips made of chickpea flour that are deep-fried until a crisp brown. Although the chickpea batter is typically seasoned with herbs, such as parsley, one can even experiment with other stuff. Crunchy pieces of panelle are best paired with a sprinkle of pepper or simply lemon juice. Easy to carry around and unbelievably tasty!

4. Olive all’ascolana (stuffed fried olives)

Olive all’ascolana is the perfect snack if you’re feeling peckish, but its preparation is nowhere as simple. Each olive is painstakingly and carefully cut away from its pit in a spiral fashion and then is re-formed once the olive has been stuffed. This stuffing mostly commonly comprises of ground meat of any kind (veal, beef, pork, or anything else), which sits inside the meaty, tenera ascolana variety of olives that are then rolled in bread crumbs and deep-fried until golden brown. Preparing these bite-sized stuffed olives is truly a work of art, so if you find a chance to see how it’s prepared, do watch the fascinating process!

5. Polpette (Italian meatball)

Usually served as snacks/appetizers, polpette is an Italian meatball, made of beef, veal, horse, or just about any other kind of meat. This meat is ground and mixed with eggs, bread crumbs, parsley, parmesan, salt, and pepper and then rolled into small balls, which are grilled to perfection and most commonly paired with vinaigrette. Many choose to have them as is or even mash them to make a sandwich stuffing. The trick to ensure tender and flavoursome polpette? The bread crumbs need to be left soaked in milk for a sufficient amount of time before being put in the meatballs.

6. Folpetti (boiled octopus)

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Straight up from Venice, folpetti is the Italian twist to the usual calamari that you might have tried elsewhere. Pieces of salty, boiled octopus are paired with lemon juice or parsley sauce that are punchy enough to send your taste buds into a tizzy. Although folpetti is originally an Italian street food, but it has now been adopted and adapted to be served in fine-dining restaurants.

7. Porchetta romana (Italian pig roast)

The name, porchetta romana, itself suggests the dish’s connection with Rome. It is, essentially, a large cut of pork – marinated in rind, garlic, fennel, and other herbs – which is slow-cooked on fire until the skin becomes a juicy golden. Once done, the meat is cut into thin slices and most typically placed as a sandwich filling in focaccia bread, the crusty panino, or any other bread. Porchetta romana is a hugely popular Italian street food that you’ll find selling like hotcakes at food festivals, public events, or even at famous sightseeing spots in the Italian capital.

8. Pani ca meusa (spleen burger)

Pani ca meusa is a widely popular street food speciality from Palermo. It is prepared by mixing chopped pieces of veal lung, heart, cartilage, and spleen that are boiled and then fried in lard to give it a nuanced flavour. This meat is stuffed in vastedda (burger bun-like bread), which is topped with sesame, and served to be enjoyed like a burger. Much like the usual burgers, pani ca meusa also has a with-cheese variant (maritatu) wherein caciocavallo cheese or grated ricotta cheese are used to amplify the dish’s flavour.

9. Pizza al taglio

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Nothing different about this one than a usual pizza, except that it is served al taglio, or ‘by the piece’. These pizzas are made in large, rectangular trays and cut in squares, rather than the usual circular-shaped pizzas cut in triangular pieces. The square shape also allows outlets to sell the pizza pieces by the weight. Different outlets prepare these with different toppings and they’re available almost everywhere across Italy.

10. Lampredotto (tripe sandwich)

You can’t be visiting Florence and not try its most famous local street food, lampredotto. It is almost exclusively only found in the city and might need you to be a hardcore foodie to stomach this speciality well. Simply put, lampredotto is abomasum (a cow’s fourth stomach), slow-cooked in a vegetable broth and seasoned with herbs, which is ultimately stuffed in a bread roll like a sandwich. This is best enjoyed with a sauce made of anchovies, garlic, and parsley or sometimes even salsa verde.

11. Trapizzino (pizza-sandwich pockets)

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There’s nothing quite like carrying around and chomping down these pizza-sandwich pockets that are a very recent discovery in the Italian street food scene. Trapizzino combines the best of tramezzino (usual triangular sandwiches) and pizza, but in a quirky yet easy-to-relish manner. Although much like pizza cones in appearance, trapizzinos are slightly different in preparation. Their outer shell is a pizza dough, which is prepared separately from the filling it holds. This filling may range from a variety of Italian classics, such as meatballs or chicken, or sometimes unique varieties, such as tripe or offal.

12. Arancini (stuffed rice balls)

Arancini is definitely among the better known Italian street foods, which are also a common antipasti offering in Italian restaurants. They are, in fact, deep-fried rice balls filled with savoury selections, such as mozzarella, prosciutto, meat sauce with peas, etc. and coated with bread crumbs.

Fun fact: arancini translates to ‘little orange’ in English, drawing a connection with the golden-fried balls’ similarity to orange (fruit) in its appearance and colour. Newer variants of the dish have come out now, which give it a sweet twist, covered with sugar and cacao.

13. Pesce fritto al cono (fried seafood in a cone)

Pesce fritto al cono is an ideal quick-fix solution to your hunger pangs while exploring Italy. Carry around paper cones filled with batter-fried seafood (shrimp, squid, and fish) and not only would you have put your hanger to rest, but also experienced complete satisfaction! Drizzle a bit of lemon juice on top and you have yourselves the makings of a quintessential street food – hearty yet utterly delicious.

14. Stigghiola (grilled entrails)

Travelling all the way to Palermo introduces you to stigghiola, a local street food for the brave. These are grilled entrails, usually of lamb, goat, or chicken, which are bathed in salted water and then grilled to charry perfection, with a frequent basting of parsley, lemon, onion, and other herbs. The intestines are most commonly wrapped around leeks or green spring onions. You’ll find humble food carts stationed across Palermo’s streets, serving some of the most delicious stigghiola and enthusiastic foodies savouring them.

15. Piadina (Italian flatbread)

Among hardcore non-vegetarian specialities is a vegetarian-friendly snack, piadina. It is a flour flatbread – seasoned with herbs, olive oil, water, and salt – cooked on a griddle or pan. Although, the authentic way of cooking is on a terracotta plate. You may choose to have just the piadina bread as is or stuff it with any filling and enjoy it like a wrap. Throwing in a bit of simple mozzarella and rosemary might do it just as well as any elaborate filling!

16. Sfogliatella riccia (ricotta-filled puff pastry)

Delicacies don’t need to be savoury for them to qualify as street foods, they can be sweet as well. Sfogliatella riccia is one such spectacular street food item that you just HAVE to try. Touted to be the queen of desserts, the dish is named after its ‘thin appearance’, or sfogliatella in Italian. Its crispy, clam-shaped exterior shell is filled with a sweet ricotta mixture. This combination of crunchy and soft is what makes devouring sfogliatella riccia a real delight. Try this with a cup of espresso and you have yourself a bomb of a pairing.

17. Zeppole (Italian doughnuts)

Think doughnuts or beignets and that’s what zeppole is pretty much like. They’re dusted generously with powdered sugar and sometimes even cinnamon or other spices, making them the perfect bite-sized desserts. The key to a good zeppole? Perfectly golden-brown and crispy on the outside and fluffy and soft on the inside. Richer varieties also have them topped with jelly, custard, and creams of various kinds. You’re very likely to find these yummies at fairs or public events and are an absolute hit with little ones and adults alike.

18. Crema fritta (fried cream fritters)

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While zeppole are simple Italian doughnuts, crema fritta are cubes of custard cream that are deep-fried to have a crisp skin and soft interior. It often has a light lemony or vanilla scent to them. These are popular Christmas-time sweets and ones that you’d easily find at carnivals or food fests. They can either be enjoyed warm or even cold, depending on your palate and are best accompanied by a flute of Italian wine.

19. Cannoli (ricotta tubes)

Born in Palermo in Sicily, cannoli is a tube-shaped pastry, stuffed with a range of sweet fillings, most often and traditionally sweet ricotta, but also chocolate, cream, etc. and then deep-fried so that the crunchy pastry outside compliments the soft, sweet filling inside. Vendors drizzle these rolls with powdered sugar and top it off with candied fruits a lot of times. Eating these can get quite messy; carry around a couple extra napkins!

20. Sicilian gelato

While this doesn’t exactly fit the bill of being a street food, its sheer popularity has landed the Sicilian gelato into this list. And, also the fact that you’ll find folks walking around Italy’s streets, relishing these away to glory! Plus, neither have eggs, nor flour and although have more than 50% less fat than the usual ice creams, but are just as silky smooth, creamy, luscious, and packed with flavour. Many claim that the best way to enjoy Sicilian gelato is inside a brioche (sweet bun), like an ice cream sandwich, but that’s debatable depending on personal preference! As for the most famous flavours – pistachio, coffee, or one of the fruit flavours. We’re slurping already, aren’t you?

What to eat in Italy

When it’s a country like Italy concerned, we get it how difficult it is to decide what to cover and what not. And, while you’re already grappling with that dilemma, our list of the top street foods you must try in Italy might make it a tad more difficult for you. (Apologies already for adding to your misery!) Don’t let the hanger (hunger & anger) get the better of you. Satiate your appetites well!