When people ask us what to eat in Naples besides pizza, we always answer with a long list. Neapolitan cuisine is largely a cucina povera, a humble cuisine born in people's homes so that nothing went to waste, and that is exactly why it is so full of flavour. Here are the dishes we recommend you look out for.
Traditional first courses
The king of Sunday is Neapolitan ragù, with the meat cooking slowly in tomato sauce for hours. Alongside it is genovese, an onion and meat sauce that, despite its name, is Neapolitan through and through: we tell you about both in Neapolitan ragù and genovese.
On weekdays, on the other hand, we fell for pasta e patate: it is made with pasta mista, that is, different shapes left over in the larder, and at the end provola is added, which makes it deliciously stringy. It looks like a soup, but it is thick and creamy. Also worth trying is pasta, beans and mussels. All these dishes use dried pasta from nearby Gragnano, described in Pasta di Gragnano PGI.
Sartù and gattò
Sartù di riso is a rich, spectacular timballo, a dish for special occasions: the rice forms a shell around a filling that, in its best-known version, includes ragù, little meatballs, peas and cheese. Gattò di patate, whose name comes from the French gâteau, is instead a home-style dish: mashed potato with eggs and cheese, filled with cured meats and mozzarella or provola, and topped with breadcrumbs before being baked golden.
Leftover dishes and festive dishes
Frittata di maccheroni was created to reuse the previous day's pasta, usually spaghetti, bound with eggs and cheese. Neapolitans love taking it to the beach in summer, and it is easy to see why.
At Easter comes casatiello, a rich bread with cured meats and cheeses, topped with whole eggs held in place by crosses of dough. In the same period people make pastiera, the Easter dessert par excellence, which you will find in The Neapolitan pastiera.
Side dishes, dairy and pizza
Sausage and friarielli are a must: friarielli, broccoli tops typical of Campania, are sautéed in a pan with oil, garlic and chilli. Among dairy products, besides fior di latte and provola, we recommend buffalo mozzarella, described in Mozzarella di bufala campana DOP.
And then, of course, there is pizza, from the marinara to the margherita to fried pizza: everything you need to know is in Neapolitan pizza. To finish, a sfogliatella or a babà, which you will find in The Neapolitan sfogliatella and The Neapolitan babà.
In the surroundings
For a complete picture of the city, start from Naples and its surroundings, then read our overview What to eat in Naples. We recommend pairing these dishes with a local wine from the Naples area.
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