53 Foods That Start With ‘A’
If you’re sampling foods across the globe, listing in alphabetical manner can make this easy and fast.
Learning in alphabetical order allows you to acquaint yourself with ingredients and food items throughout the world.
For food enthusiasts who love spending time in the kitchen, having the right tools is essential. And when it comes to cutting boards, nothing beats the beauty and functionality of Personalized olive wood cutting boards. These custom boards are not only practical but also add a touch of personalization to your culinary space.
It also helps you learn and understand different culinary feasts and adventures across the globe. If you decide to cook through the alphabet, then begin with foods that start with the letter A. Let’s get started.
Table of Contents
1. Aalsuppe
This is Northern German soup that is more than a stew. It consists of vegetables, eel, dried fruits, peas, a little bit of smoked meat, dumplings, and bones from smoked ham.
You can also add vinegar and various herbs to your soup to give it a tasty flavor. It is the most nutritious soup you can come across. The soup is high in omega-3 fatty acids, sodium, potassium, and cholesterol.
Recipe: The Spruce Eats
2. Abacha
Get a taste of this African salad that is mainly in Southeastern Nigeria. It is very simple to make.
You only need cassava root, then slice them; after that, soak and dry them before adding to the salad along with fish. You can also add crayfish, oil beans, onions, greens, and garden eggs.
Recipe: Cook Pad
3. Adai
Enjoy your breakfast with this Indian pancake recipe. You can make it in the comfort of your home by using mixed lentils, rice, and spices.
The type of lentils you should use include toor dal, urad dal, moong dal, and chana dal. You then soak them with rice for several hours or give them an overnight soak.
Adai is an excellent dish for breakfast. You can also use it as a snack and serve it with coconut chutney or peanut chutney.
Recipe: Swasthi
4. Adobo
This is very popular and a national dish of the Philippines. It can be meat, vegetables, or seafood marinated in a sauce containing vinegar and soy sauce.
To get that rich and hearty flavor, you can frequently use herbs such as bay leaves, garlic, salt, peppercorns, and paprika. You marinate these herbs then brown them in oil. It is a great meal when you serve it with rice.
Recipe: Taste of home
5. Ajika
Try out this hot and spicy sauce which originates from the Georgian-Abkhazian region of Eastern Europe.
You use hot chile peppers, garlic, and walnuts to make this Slavic condiment sauce. You can also prepare this spicy sauce using fresh herbs such as coriander, dill, marigold leaves, and basil.
Recipe: Saveur
6. Ajvar
This is another condiment sauce from Serbia. It is very popular in Southeastern Europe. You can typically prepare it using roasted red bell peppers and oil.
Other variations that you can use to make ajvar are eggplant and tomato. You can also use green bell peppers and oregano to make it.
This dish is so versatile, and you can enjoy it with meals such as meat dishes and pasta. You can also use it as a snack with some fresh bread.
Recipe: Chasing the donkey
7. Akara
This is another meal that starts with A, which you can find in West African and Brazilian cuisines. You can make this fritter by using cowpeas or black-eyed peas.
You simply deep-fry your bean buns using a black-eyed bean paste. This deep-fried bean cake is very delicious and vegetarian-friendly.
Recipe: Chef Lola’s Kitchen
8. Albondigas
These are lovely meatballs from Spanish. Also, the Mexican culture has adopted the meatballs into a hearty soup full of spicy chipotle pepper flavor.
You make the meatballs by mixing herbs and rice with ground beef and pork.
After that, you simmer in a tomato-based broth. You can add vegetables to the soup or more rice before and even after serving.
Recipe: Simply Recipes
9. Allemande
It is a white sauce you can make with stock instead of milk and use egg to thicken it. It is based on a light-colored French sauce known as veloute sauce.
You can also thicken the sauce using heavy cream, egg yolk, and some lemon to make allemande.
Recipe: The Spruce Eats
10. Alfredo Sauce
Try this American favorite that is also very popular in Italian cuisine. You can enjoy the American version of this creamy white sauce, including heavy cream butter and Parmesan cheese.
You only need pasta, butter, and a good Parmigiano-Reggiano to enjoy this lovely dish.
Recipe: Allrecipes
11. Alheira
Get your hand on this Portuguese smoked sausage in any restaurant across the world, or prepare your own at home.
It is very easy to prepare; you only need poultry, garlic, olive oil, chili pepper, and bread then you have this spicy sausage on your table.
Recipe: 196flavors
12. Alphabet Soup
Visit any grocery stores if you need this soup. You will find it mainly in the canned section of a grocery store.
Groceries use ground beef and vegetables to make this alphabet soup. It is given the name alphabet soup because of the use of alphabet-shaped pasta. As you can see, it’s quite easy to make.
Recipe: Allrecipes
13. Amala
Invite that West African culture into your kitchen using this flour which comes mainly from Nigeria. Instead of using yams as a snack, turn them into flour.
You can also use a cassava and yam combination and still get it right. Even the plantains which are not ripe can work as well.
Recipe: Nigeria Galleria
14. Amaranth
If you love cereal foods, then amaranth should be on top of your kitchen menu list. This is a real pseudocereal.
You can eat its starchy seed like any other cereals such as rice, oats, and wheat. This whole grain is gluten-free, just like quinoa.
Recipe: Green healthy cooking
15. Ambrosia
This is a dessert fruit salad that is very common in America. Some of its content includes pineapple, coconut, orange slices, marshmallows, and a combination of cool whip and sour cream. It is very yummy.
Recipe: Food network
16. Amchoor
This is a fruit-based powder that you can make by using green mangoes that are not ripe. You can season it using citrus to add sour flavor to your dishes, such as marinades, soups, curries, and even chutneys.
It is easy to make; dry the chips or strips of the unripe mangoes for some days until they become brittle or crisp. Then grind those mango pieces into a fine powder, and finally, you have your amchoor.
Recipe: Tarladalal
17. Anchovies
This is also another food that starts with A, which is very common in the canned section of grocery stores. This silverfish is very small and tender.
However, you have to use brine to cure and enable them to produce that taste for you to get their intense fishy and salty flavor.
You can use anchovies ingredients to serve pizzas, make a puttanesca sauce, and serve them on toast or an open-faced sandwich.
Recipe: NYT Cooking
18. Andouille
This spicy smoked sausage originated from France. It was mainly from pork meat, but nowadays, they’re available in beef and chicken varieties. But the traditional one from pork is still there.
They’re very much available in America due to the high number of German immigrants.
Recipe: Taste of artisan
19. Antipasto
Sometimes it isn’t normal to lose or lack an appetite for food. You might have health problems that are denying you that appetite.
When you find yourself in such situations, don’t panic, you can use this Italian appetizer to get your appetite back.
It is a combination of cured meats, olives, marinated artichoke hearts, pepperoncini, and cheeses.
Recipe: Allrecipes
20. Appam
This is a South Indian dish that is similar to pancakes. You can use fermented rice and coconut milk to make this hopper batter.
You then pan fry it just like any other pancakes.
Recipe: Hebbas Kitchen
21. Apples
Apart from being eaten as fruit, you can use apples for various reasons in your kitchen. Some apples can break down to make applesauce; you can also make juices and ciders using apples.
There’re also apples that you can use for baking because of their great texture. Apple also contains many foods that start with A, such as apple butter, apple pancakes, apple pie, and applesauce. The list is very long.
Recipe: Allrecipes
22. Apricots
This is also another fruit that starts with A. The color of this fruit ranges from yellow to orange and with a deeper reddish-orange coloring on the side facing the sunlight.
It has a firm texture, although not overly juicy. You can use it in many recipes, such as nectarine peach crisp or even nectarine cobbler because of the peaches and nectarines. You can also use apricots to make jams, chutneys, and jellies.
Recipe: Taste
23. Aguachile
It is a dish from western Mexico that includes chile peppers, lime juice, salt, cilantro, cucumber, and onion.
It combines all these ingredients in a shrimp. It is very similar to a cold soup. It is a very simple and delicious appetizer which has low-carb and keto-friendly.
Recipe: Festing at home
24. Artichokes
You can buy these artichokes in any of the grocery stores around you. It is a plant that produces the artichoke plant that you can harvest for food consumption.
You can either boil or steam the leaves of artichokes and enjoy it as a meal. You can also find the artichoke hearts on pizzas and in pasta salads.
You can as well dip artichoke in spinach or even lobster meal. Roasted artichokes are also delicious when you dip their leaves in pesto or cheese sauce.
Recipe: SimplyRecipes
25. Arugula
It has a lot of names, and this is just one of them. You can use this leafy green cruciferous vegetable as salad greens. It has a distinctive peppery taste, making it a tasty addition to salads and most Italian pasta meals.
Recipe: Foodie Crush
26. Asparagus
This is a perennial vegetable plant that you can harvest its tender young shoots for produce. It has a distinctively earthy flavor yet very savory.
It is quite similar to broccoli, green beans, or even Chinese long beans. You can cook it in many ways, such as roasting, steaming, or even eat them raw in salads after chopping them while still fresh.
Recipe: Jessica Gavin
27. Aubergine
This is a common eggplant found in the US. It’s a nightshade fruit with thin and spongy skin plus a soft, absorbent flesh in the center.
It has a mild and smoky flavor which enables you to consume it as a vegetable. You can cook this eggplant in many ways.
You can roast or fry using casseroles or dips. Some of the recipes you can use include eggplant parmesan, Greek moussaka, baba ganoush, and Provencale ratatouille.
Recipe: Jamie Oliver
28. Avocados
Avocado is one of the most popular foods in many grocery stores across the world.
You can use it in salads, guacamole, sandwiches, smoothies, brownies, wraps, avocado fries, soups, omelets, sushi, baked avocado, and pozole. You can as well eat the raw avocado.
Recipe: Olive Magazine
29. Acerola
This is another tropical fruit shrub that starts with A. It bears cherry-like berries known as acerola. They include acerola cherry, Barbados cherry, or West Indian cherry.
When it’s fully ripe, it has a bright red color and is very high in vitamin C. Acerola shares the same taste as the tart apple. You can eat raw, juice it or even cook it.
Recipe: Dominican Cooking
30. Acetum
Don’t let your already cooked food go to waste or throw away food due to lack of preservatives; instead, use acetum to preserve them.
You can also serve it as a condiment. It is high in antioxidants. You can make this sour liquid by oxidizing wine or cider.
Recipe: The Kosmic Kitchen
31. Achiote Paste
It is a coloring and flavoring that is very popular in American, Mexican, and Caribbean cuisines. Achiote is made up of annatto seeds, cumin, coriander, pepper, oregano, garlic, and cloves.
It brings that earthy, sweet, and spicy taste when you use it in dishes. The homemade one has a better flavor since you don’t need to dilute it with water.
Recipe: The Spruce Eats
32. Achu
This African yellow soup dish originated from the Northwest region of Cameroon. The soup consists of boiled and pounded cocoyams, red palm oil, spices, water, and canwa.
It gets its yellow color from palm oil. You can serve it with cow skin, oxtail, tripe, or even steam it to eggplant.
Recipe: African Bites
33. Ackee
Ackee is a West African fruit that you can cook and use as a vegetable. However, it was also brought to the Caribbean by slave ships and a great protein source.
It serves well with salted fish that has soaked for some time to remove the saltiness. You can serve it any time of the day, whether for dinner, lunch, or even breakfast.
Recipe: Healthier Steps
34. Acorn Squash
This winter squash has a distinct acorn shape. Also, on the outside, it has protruding ribs and green outer skin. And on the inside is a golden yellow to orange flesh.
It’s a delicious vegetable that you can use as a side dish after baking them. You can also stuff them with savory fillings such as meat, rice, and vegetables.
You can as well make it yummy by filling each half with butter and brown sugar.
Recipe: Simply Recipes
35. Adzuki Beans
These small red mung beans are grown throughout East Asia and the Himalayas. Adzuki bean comes in different colors, such that it can be white, black, or grey, although it’s typically red.
The beans also have mottled patterns. Some of its benefits include solving digestion problems, helping in weight loss, and improving heart health. You can easily incorporate them into a variety of dishes.
Recipe: Love and Lemons
36. Afang
Afang is another African vegetable soup that is very popular in Southern Nigeria. The soup consists of water leaves, onions, seasoning, fish, periwinkles, crayfish, and meat.
It is very nutritious since the soup mainly consists of vegetables. People of Nigeria prepare it using a generous quantity of Water leaves and wild herbal leaves called Okazi.
Recipe: Yummy Medley
37. Ahriche
This is simply a Moroccan meat dish that has become very popular with the tribes of Zayanes and Khenifra. They make it by wrapping the tribe around sticks then cooking it over coals.
Recipe: Culture Atz
38. Aioli
This is a garlic sauce popularly found in Northwest Mediterranean cuisine. It is typically found in the coastal foods of France, Spain, and Italy.
You get the mashed garlic by emulsifying both eggs and olive oil. After that, you then finish it with lemon and some seasoning.
Recipe: Cookie and Kate
39. Abalone
This is a very rare and most valuable shellfish in the entire world. It looks similar to an ear. It only feeds on ocean rocks and algae.
It develops a cement-like bond with its rock home to protect itself from being swept out of the sea by the waves. Its rocky home makes it very difficult to harvest.
It has a lot of flavors when you fry it using the pan. It doesn’t have melting tenderness; instead, it’s very tough.
Recipe: The Spruce Eats
40. Acai
These are berries from a specific palm tree that has become very popular in the recent past. They’re mostly seeds.
Their flesh and skin are a deep purple color and are packed with very powerful antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. They’re a very rich source of omega-three fatty acids, which is not common in many plants.
Recipe: Chelseas Messy Apron
41. Agar
This is a thickening agent that comes from algae. It is commonly found in vegan and gluten-free baked foods. Other uses include making all types of jellies, puddings, and custards.
Recipe: Brit.co
42. Agave
You can cultivate this giant succulent on your farm to make use of its nectar. You can turn the nectar into syrup which is also a good alternative to refined white sugar.
It is very healthy because of its low glycemic load. Also, it doesn’t cause as many spikes to the blood sugar levels as white sugar does. It is also a key ingredient in both Mezcal and Tequila.
Recipe: Tori Avey
43. Almonds
These are the most popular nuts across every household in the globe. Besides their sweet and crunch flavor, they contain healthy fats and great nutritional content, making them enjoyable.
They come in raw, roasted, and even coated in candies. The most common dairy alternative that you might come across is almond milk and almond flour which is very popular because of the gluten-free option.
Recipe: Allrecipes
44. Amarelle Cherries
These are sour cherries that grow throughout Europe and Asia. They are more sour and acidic than sweet cherries, although they’re closely related.
You can dry them up before using them in cooking. You can also use them in both sweet and savory dishes. They are also good in drinks and liqueurs when you turn them into syrup.
Recipe: David lebovitz
45. American Cheddar Cheese
You are most likely to confuse this cheese with the semi-hard white cheese with a sharp European flavor.
You can process American cheese by using cheddar cheese as its base. The creamier, softer, and saltier is due to the processing that it undergoes.
It’s also to melt, making it perfect for cheese-burgers. You can also color it to bring that artificial orange-yellow color.
Recipe: Brown eyed baker
46. Annatto
It’s a very bright pigmented seed that is found in the achiote plant. You can use them in food coloring since they often offer a lot of color to dishes with very little pepper taste but nutty sweetness.
It is very natural; therefore, it doesn’t cause food allergies or health problems like other artificial colorants.
Recipe: Runaway Rice
47. Anise
Anise is a flowering plant whose seeds you can use as a spice. You can compare its flavor with black licorice, although you can use it to flavor black licorice candy more than the licorice plant.
Some of the wide variety of anise uses includes herbal remedies starting from natural breath fresheners to diuretics or tranquilizers.
Recipe: Taste of home
48. Arrowroot
This is starch from tropical plants such as cassava and tapioca. Arrowroot is also a good base for certain biscuits such as arrowroot cookies.
It makes a perfect recipe for teething kids. They’re also helping to use as an after-dinner digestive treat.
Recipe: Allrecipes
49. Arracacha
This South American starchy root vegetable resembles both carrot and celery root. However, it’s shorter and fatter than carrot with white skin plus a yellow, purple interior.
However, you shouldn’t eat the root when it’s raw. Make it into the puree, mashed potatoes, and form it into dumplings. You can also eat the leaves since their taste and look quite similar to parsley.
Recipe: Sabor Brasil
50. Asiago Cheese
This is another cheese food that starts with A. It’s an Italian cheese from cow’s milk. There are fresh Asiago and the one with a crumbly texture, which is called aged cheese.
You can slice the fresh Asiago to prepare sandwiches, while the aged can be grated in salads, soups, pasta, and sauces. You can also melt the fresh Asiago on many dishes and cantaloupe.
Recipe: Cheese Making
51. Andouillette
This is a coarse-grained sausage that comes from pork meat. You can make sausage by filling the tripe with chitterlings, onions, wine, pepper, and seasonings.
It has a rough texture than other sausages. You can prepare it by boiling, barbeque, or grill it. You can as well serve it with vegetables in mustard or red wine sauce.
Recipe: Love French Food
52. Arancini
These are Italian rice balls that are stuffed, then coated with bread crumbs, and finally deep-fried.
The most fillings you can use include meat which you should cook at low temperature with tomato sauce and spices. You can also use cheese and peas for filling.
Recipe: Food network
53. Alewife
This is a small fish in the herring family that starts with A. They are mainly found in North American rivers. You can either salt or smoke them before eating.
Conclusion
Many foods start with A that if you decide to cook in alphabetical order, you can never miss out on what to cook—ranging from vegetables, fruits, desserts, and snacks.
However, all of them are edible but have different tastes, and some may be tastier than others.
Other foods:
- 30 Easy and Delicious Foods That Start With Letter ‘E’
- 30 Tasty Foods That Start With ‘U’
- 35 Delicious Foods That Start With Letter I
- 45 Delicious Foods That Start With T
- 44 Foods that Start with Letter Z
- 45 Delicious Foods that Start With B
- 46 Foods that Start With C
Other Foods That Start With
45 Delicious Foods that Start With B
There are various ways you can cook food. You can boil, bake, fry, grill, or even have them raw. There are also various types of foods, starting with different alphabetical letters. Find out a complete list of foods that begin with the letter B and how you can prepare them. Here we go.
46 Foods that Start With C
Well, getting foods that start with the letter C shouldn’t challenge you anymore. Many foods start with c, including fruits, fluids, vegetables, snacks and vegetables.
You may have eaten most of them, but if you haven’t, then take a look at them and incorporate some in your menu.
45 Delicious Foods That Start With 'D'
If you love eating or cooking, then it’s good to know the names of these foods. Probably the food names you might know could be starting with different letters. But high chances are you can’t mention several different food names starting with the same letter.
Try the challenge and see how much fun it is. Doing this will also increase your creativity in the kitchen as you’ll want to try the new recipes. Read on and learn about foods that start with D.
30 Easy and Delicious Foods That Start With Letter 'E'
Did you know that there are more than 100 foods that start with the letter E? Some of our favorite breakfasts like eggs and English muffins start with E. There is also the popular veggie eggplant. There are even 40 snacks that start with E but we bet you didn’t know that until today.
35 Foods that Start With Letter K
Can you think of different foods that start with k? You probably know a few of them if you love trying different recipes. If you don’t we have a list of up to 35 foods that start with K that you should give a try. Let’s go.
