10 Foods You Have to Try in Israel

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I went on group trip to Israel, which meant I didn’t need to research and plan every little thing. This was so nice for a change! But, it also meant that before I arrived I didn’t know a lot about what foods I would be eating. Sometimes it’s nice to travel that way so you can be surprised and get great recommendations from the locals. Here are some of the foods I tried in Israel and highly recommend!

1. Falafel

Guys, I ate a lot of falafel in Israel. I had never even had it before I traveled there but in Israel it is a staple lunch food. It’s everywhere! The first lunch meal I had off the plane was falafel. It’s typically served in a pita or wrap with hummus and tahini sauce. There are toppings you can add inside too, like cabbage, pickles, lettuce, Israeli salad, tomatoes, french fries, and onions. If you go to Israel, you will be eating falafel. That’s a promise.

2. Shawarma

Yes, you may know this as the food that the Avengers ate in those post-scene credits that one time. That’s about all I knew before going to Israel too. Clearly my knowledge of Israeli foods was lacking. Meat, such as chicken, beef, or lamb, is prepared on a vertical rotisserie and shaved off in thin strips. The meat is served in a pita or wrap similar to falafel. This is equally as popular as a falafel, I would argue. I don’t live in Israel though so that’s just from what I observed after my 10 day trip. It was often the other popular option for lunch.

3. Shakshuka

I will admit, I had never heard of Shakshuka before going to Israel. But, I was so glad I tried it. My group leaders and tour guide pointed us to Dr. Shakshuka, a pretty famous restaurant in Jaffa. This was definitely the fastest sit down restaurant we went to. We sat down and minutes later, we had a variety of sauces, hummus, and vegetables in front of us, as well as super fluffy bread! Another minute later, a man started passing out personal sized pans of shakshuka.

So what is shakshuka? It’s a pan of spiced tomato sauce with fried eggs on top. I’m sure there is a traditional way to eat it, but we mixed the eggs into the tomato sauce, added some additional sauces from those on the table, and dipped the bread into it!

4. Kanafeh

Kanafeh is another one that I had never heard of (are you sensing my theme of ignorance here?). Anytime someone had a new food, we all shared so we could try it. This was one of those. I just recently learned what it was actually called because I was just trying random foods.

This popular dessert is a cheese pastry with caramelized sugar and glaze on top. It was sold in many markets and looked like a giant sheet of orange squares (see below). It was so sweet and delicious. It was a dessert combo I would never think of but it totally worked!

5. Hummus

This one is a no-brainer. If you’re going to Israel, you have to try some hummus. Also fun fact, we were told in Israel it’s pronounced choo-moose, where the “ch” is the hebrew sound chet. I don’t really know how to describe the sound so have google or youtube say it for you.

Hummus is served with everything. It’s put in your pita when you get falafel. It was served with the shakshuka. You can’t avoid it…and why would you want to? It’s amazing!

6. Rugelach

I cannot say enough positive words to describe how much I love rugelach. This probably sums it up though: I bought 12 pieces from a local bakery on the last day, put it in my luggage in a grocery bag, and tried to fly it home. It didn’t really work. Rugelach mush isn’t as good as the real thing, unfortunately.

Rugelach is a pastry that looks like a mini croissant. My favorites are the chocolate ones, but they can also have jam or nuts. It’s served most commonly at breakfasts. We ate it everyday. Don’t miss it!

7. Gelato

You might not think of Israel as a top gelato country, but think again! Gelato is everywhere in Israel! They have so many beautiful choices and everything I tried was amazing.

8. Israeli Candy

One of the best parts of my trip was that my group’s rabbi was constantly passing out Israeli candy and snacks on the bus. He kept buying so many different things so we ended up trying a ton of candy. Some of these included chocolate with pop rocks, Bamba (a peanut butter snack), and Klik (a bite sized Kit Kat candy).

Every market had candy stores with huge selections of candy. I honestly recommend just buying a bunch and trying everything.

9. Pomegranate Seeds

This is another very popular food item at the markets. You can buy whole pomegranates or cups full of the seeds. Pomegranates are an important food in Judaism for a couple reasons, so it is popular throughout Israel.

10. Wine

Okay, I know this isn’t a food. But, hear me out. Israel has a booming wine industry. There are some great wine regions there, like Galilee and the Golan Heights.

On my trip, we went to Amiad Kibbutz to try some different “wines.” Traditionally wine is made from grapes, but here, they made wine using different foods. We tried pomegranate, blackberry, and dark chocolate wines!

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