16 Traditional Naples Foods To Try in 2025
If you’re planning a trip soon or just enjoy learning about regional and cultural foods, you may be curious about traditional Naples foods. Along with its beautiful scenery, there’s a lot that this Southern Italian city has to offer in terms of delicious dishes, from world-renowned pizza and pasta dishes to unique desserts.
To help you learn more about this region’s cuisine, we’ve curated a list of the top Naples food to try on your next trip to Italy. We also cover the history of the dishes, plus other fun facts, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in the culinary scene of this historic city.
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Get a Taste of Traditional Naples Food
There are many ways to explore the local food scene, but taking a food tour in Naples is one of the best options. With an expert local guide leading the way, you’ll be able to find the most delicious dishes and best restaurants and street food stalls that you probably wouldn’t have come across on your own. You can even discover hidden gems that aren’t widely known to other tourists, allowing you to truly appreciate the city’s food culture, culinary history and traditions.
The 16 Most Traditional Naples Dishes
1. Pizza Margherita
The first item on our list of delicious Naples food is pizza Margherita, a beloved classic dish that was invented in 1889 by local chef Raffaele Esposito for Italy’s Queen Margherita. This renowned dish has since become one of the most famous pizzas in the world.
Pizza Margherita is a red sauce pizza topped with the simple ingredients of buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil. The red, white and green ingredients were chosen to resemble the Italian flag and also celebrate the finest Italian ingredients. Traditionally, this pizza is cooked in a wood-fired oven, with the basil often added after cooking.
2. Spaghetti alla Puttanesca
Next up on our list of Naples food to try is spaghetti alla puttanesca. As a mainstay of Naples cuisine since the mid-1900s, this dish is undoubtedly steeped in history. The sauce is a delicious combination of simple ingredients, including fresh tomato, extra virgin olive oil, black olives, capers, garlic and anchovies, plus salt for seasoning. This traditional Naples food is definitely one to try during a visit as it highlights a range of fresh local ingredients.
3. Mozzarella di Bufala
Mozzarella di bufala, or buffalo mozzarella, is our next Naples food to try. It’s a dairy product made only in the Campania region of Italy, complete with a protected designation of origin (DOP) label to make sure you’re getting the real thing.
To add to the rarity of this delicious Naples food, authentic Campania buffalo mozzarella has to be eaten within 48 hours of its production time, making it impossible to try as an imported good. Its freshness makes it a popular staple ingredient in dishes all over the city.
4. Parmigiana di Melanzane
Another of the Naples foods that is quite well-known internationally is parmigiana di melanzane, also known as eggplant Parmesan in the U.S. This dish is believed to have possibly been created in Naples but the origin is not certain and it can now be found in different renditions across Southern Italy.
It’s a baked casserole-style dish of deep-fried eggplant slices, fresh tomatoes, basil and cheese. As well as being quite enjoyable as its own dish, parmigiana di melanzane is used as a filling for panuozzo sandwiches. It’s definitely one of the most delicious and versatile traditional Naples foods around.
5. Neapolitan Pizza
When it comes to Naples foods, you can’t miss the traditional Neapolitan pizza. These classic pies are baked at a higher temperature (430 degrees, to be specific) for a shorter amount of time than Margherita pizza, resulting in a thinner crust that gets even thinner as you get to the center.
Neapolitan pizzas are made with a few simple ingredients, including fresh dough, fresh tomatoes (either San Marzano tomatoes or local pomodorini del Piennolo del Vesuvio), mozzarella cheese, basil and olive oil. Nothing less, nothing more.
There’s usually more sauce than cheese as well, making this one of the best pizza recipes to taste if you enjoy a dish that highlights fresh tomatoes. This delicious creation is one of the Naples dishes you won’t want to miss and you’ll probably find yourself ordering it more than once during your trip!
6. Polpette
Another great Naples food to try is polpette, a hearty dish of large meatballs served in a ragù sauce. Unlike the spaghetti and meatballs combination they might bring to mind when it comes to American counterparts, polpette is meant to be served alone in all its glory.
Each meatball is made with beef, veal, pork or a combination of the meats, plus fresh onion and different seasonings that create a luxuriously savory experience with every bite. Its popularity means you can find this Naples dish everywhere, from side street food stalls and casual bars to higher-end restaurants in Naples.
7. Sfogliatella
Got a sweet tooth? If so, sfogliatella is a Naples food you’ll want to try. This sweet breakfast food features layers upon layers of flaky pastry and is traditionally filled with ricotta but you can also find versions with pastry cream instead. The name itself means “small, thin leaf or layer,” and the shape matches up perfectly. Topped with a light dusting of powdered sugar, there’s nothing not to like when it comes to traditional Naples dishes like this one.
8. Neapolitan Ragù
Neapolitan ragù is the next best Naples food on our list and a must-try for pasta lovers. It features a delectable red sauce made with only the finest of ingredients, including tomatoes grown in local volcanic soil around Mount Vesuvius and fresh ground beef along with olive oil and basil for seasoning. Typically, Neapolitan ragù will be made with white wine but in Naples, it’s made with a deeper-bodied red.
It’s often served with rigatoni and a side of bread to dip with but the type of pasta can vary. However, it will always be a larger pasta shape. Locals enjoy this Naples food on Sundays but it’s available during the week as well if you can’t wait for the weekend.
9. Pastiera
Craving a sweet treat for dessert after all that pasta and pizza? Then pastiera is the Naples food for you. This Neapolitan treat features a flaky, buttery crust and a heavenly ricotta cheese filling.
You’ll also be able to taste notes of candied orange peel or orange flower water. While eating this Naples food is a local Easter food tradition, the dish is popular enough that you can now find it at any time of the year.
10. Cuoppo
Craving some classic street food? Cuoppo is the next Naples food on our list that you can’t miss picking up from a food cart while exploring the city. With a literal translation of “paper cone,” this snack is a mix of fried foods. What is included will vary, but you may get fried seafood like shrimp or small fish, mozzarella balls, polenta, zucchini flowers or arancini. It’s all piled into a convenient paper cone that you can hold while strolling through the historic streets.
11. Pesce Crudo
Pesce crudo is a Naples food that is a must-try for lovers of fresh raw fish. This is definitely among the higher tier of foods found in the city and the elegant dish is found mostly in fine dining establishments.
The dish features an assortment of seafood delicacies on top of a bed of ice and alongside garnishes like dipping sauces and lime slices. This mouthwatering Naples dish is one of many that continues to uphold the great reputation of this city and is worth splurging on if you have the opportunity.
12. Caprese Salad
If you’re looking for something light and fresh to enjoy on a perfect summer day, try the Caprese salad. This is a super simple yet mesmerizingly delicious vegetarian dish of fresh tomato slices, smooth and creamy mozzarella slices and fragrant basil leaves, all drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. A balsamic vinegar dressing is sometimes added as well.
As with pizza Margherita, the colors used mimic the Italian flag. The salad is named after the nearby island of Capri, where it is thought to have originated. There’s truly nothing like a freshly prepared Caprese salad enjoyed in one of the best foodie cities in the world!
13. Pasta Genovese
For a truly Southern Italian experience, choose the classic dish of pasta genovese as your next Naples food choice. It’s a pasta dish with a rich sauce, made by simmering onion and meat for many hours.
The meats vary from beef or veal to pork. The exact meat you get depends on the chef’s choice and the availability of local ingredients. Common pastas used for this dish include ziti, paccheri or rigatoni. This is another traditional Naples food that is often enjoyed on a Sunday and, interestingly, inspired the beloved Italian-American dish of Sunday gravy.
14. Panuozzo
Panuozzo is a Naples food you have to try when craving a fresh light sandwich with quality ingredients, from the bread to the filling. This street food-style sandwich is served hot and fresh with bread made from pizza dough.
The dough is baked before getting cut in half and filled with a combination of eggplant, fresh tomato sauce and cheese (i.e. parmigiana di melanzane). Cold cuts or other cooked foods may also be added. There’s nothing like panuozzo when it comes to Naples food you can eat conveniently while exploring the city.
15. Pizza Fritta
Also known as “The Pizza of the People,” pizza fritta is definitely a local favorite when it comes to Naples food. This street food is a fried pizza dough sandwich-style creation, with fillings like mozzarella, ricotta cheese, salami or ham. It gets stretched and filled with fresh pizza ingredients before being deep-fried to a perfect golden brown. This is another of the perfect handheld Naples foods that you can snack on while wandering through the city.
16. Babà al Rum
Babà is a Naples dish that should be the last note of your meal at least once during your visit. This Naples food is a satisfyingly sweet dessert, featuring a small mushroom-shaped cake that’s soaked in a complex rum syrup and served with creamy custard or fluffy whipped cream.
While this dish is linked to Naples today, it’s actually thought to have originated in Central Europe in the eighteenth century. However, since making its way to the port city of Naples in the nineteenth century, the sweet, alcohol-soaked dessert has become synonymous with the region.
When it comes to the food scene in Naples, it’s simply one of the best in Italy! This area is rich in history and tradition, which is evident in the delicious Naples food you can find across the city. Having read this list, you’ll be well prepared to taste all the best dishes this Southern Italian destination has to offer.
For even more ways to explore Naples and beyond, check out other experiences happening on Cozymeal.
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