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Lesa na Papiamento ➤

A journey of survival, flavor, and pride. 

An intimate look at the people, traditions, and flavors that shaped Aruba’s kitchen through the centuries. 

From Sea and Stone: the first tastes of Aruba 

Long before Aruba had a name, people arrived on its shores seeking life and balance between sea and stone.  

Around 1450 BC, the island’s first inhabitants settled near Spaans Lagoen and Rooi Bringamosa. They lived in harmony with their surroundings. Fishing for conch, turtles, and reef fish, gathering shellfish, and cultivating manioc, maize, cocoyam, and the now-vanished maranguey plant. 

Archaeological traces indicate that they roasted and baked their food on flat stone griddles, creating early corn and cassava flatbreads.  
These meals were about nourishment and survival, but also spiritual connection: food as a way of thanking the land and the sea for the gift of life itself. 

The Spanish Arrive: animals, absence, and adaptation 

In 1499, the Spanish arrived. Their contact was brief but transformative. By 1515, most of Aruba’s Indigenous inhabitants were deported to Hispaniola to work as forced laborers. What they left behind was an island nearly emptied of people — but not of possibility. 

The Spanish left goats and donkeys to roam freely, as well as seeds and fruit trees that would take root in the dry soil. These animals, hardy and adaptable, became a permanent part of Aruba’s landscape and later a foundation for its rural cuisine. The early mix of Indigenous crops and Spanish livestock began to define what would eventually become Aruban cuisine: simple, resourceful, and born from the need for survival. 

African Roots: Resilience in the Pot 

When the Dutch took over in the 17th century, enslaved Africans joined Indigenous and mixed families on the island. Though their numbers were smaller than on plantation islands, their influence was profound. 

African cooks brought deep knowledge of flavor, preservation, and transformation. They made soups and stews from salted fish and tough cuts of meat, thickened with okra or cornmeal. Out of scarcity came creativity: the beginnings of Aruba’s beloved stobas and sopi, cooked slowly, shared in community, and seasoned with resilience. 

The Dutch & Creole Kitchen: where cultures met 

By the 18th and 19th centuries, Aruba had become a Dutch livestock island—a veeplantage, where goats, cattle, and donkeys grazed freely across the mondi. The people who lived here, descendants of Indigenous, African, and European ancestors, created a distinctly Aruban kitchen. 

Goat stew (stoba di cabrito) became a national dish, tenderized with green papaya. Comcomber stoba, funchi, and pan bati formed everyday staples. On festive tables, Venezuelan influence shone through ayaca, a dish wrapped and steamed in banana leaves at Christmas, alongside the beloved bolo preto. This rum-soaked fruitcake remains a staple of holiday celebrations. 

Aruba’s Creole cuisine was never static. It evolved in the hands of women cooking in outdoor kitchens, blending techniques, ingredients, and love into something entirely their own. 

The Trading Winds: bridges of flavor 

For centuries, trade winds carried more than ships; they carried flavor. Aruba was never isolated. Farmers traded with Venezuela for maize, plantains, and coffee. Smugglers exchanged dried meat and hides for flour and rum. 

Chinese migrants opened small shops and eateries, introducing fried rice and noodles to island tables. Sailors brought curry powders and spices from Asia and the Caribbean. And always, the ocean remained generous. The island’s most enduring dish, pisca hasa cu funchi—a fried fish served with golden cornmeal and sauce—reminds us that the sea has always fed Aruba’s heart. 

The Oil Boom Mosaic: forty nations, one table 

The 20th century transformed Aruba almost overnight. The opening of the Lago Oil & Transport Company in 1924 turned the island into a global crossroads. Thousands arrived from every corner of the world. The Caribbean, the Americas, Europe, and Asia each brought their own flavors. 

Trinidadians introduced pelau and roti. Surinamese and Dutch migrants popularized satay with peanut sauce. Chinese cooks added stir-fries; Lebanese merchants shared kibbeh and hummus; Portuguese bakers brought sweet breads; Americans arrived with their apple pies and barbecues. 

In San Nicolas, food became a common language. At lunchtime, refinery workers from forty nations ate together, trading bites, stories, and songs. Aruba became, quite literally, a melting pot, and its cuisine mirrored that diversity. 

Tourism & Reinvention: from home food to heritage 

As the refinery era waned and tourism surged in the 1980s, Aruba once again reinvented itself, along with its cuisine. What was once considered home food became cultural heritage. 

Keshi yena, pastechi, funchi, and goat stew moved from family kitchens to restaurant menus. Local chefs and cultural foundations began preserving recipes, teaching traditions, and re-framing everyday dishes as symbols of national pride. What had once been a necessity became identity. 

Today & Tomorrow: the story on every plate 

Today, Aruba’s kitchen continues to evolve. Global influences blend with ancestral memory: a vegan keshi yena here, a ceviche with tamarind there. Young chefs experiment with local seaweed, cactus, and lionfish while honoring the wisdom of their elders. 

Aruba’s culinary heritage is not just a list of ingredients. It’s a story of resilience, migration, and community. From fishers and farmers to refinery workers and restaurateurs, each generation has added its own flavor to the pot. 

Every dish — whether a humble pisca hasa cu funchi or a fine-dining reinterpretation — tells the same story: that on this small island, the world has always met at the table. 

This story is not only about food. It’s about belonging. Aruba’s kitchen tells the story of who we are and how we’ve shared ourselves with the world.

Welcome to Aruba’s Culinary Time Capsule 

This recipe collection is part of the Autentico Wall initiative, created to honor Aruba’s culinary heritage. The recipes presented here were preserved over decades through newspaper clippings saved by Rosaura Semeleer-Quandt and her mother, Sophia Quandt, a beloved Aruban woman known for her popular cooking classes and her role in teaching generations the art of local cuisine. 

Many of these clippings include the names of community members who originally submitted them to local newspapers, offering a glimpse into the creativity and knowledge of Aruban households. Others remain anonymous, yet together they form a vivid record of flavors that have shaped daily life on the island. 

Additional contributions were generously shared by Graciela Nedd-Cheng of the Arubiana-Caribiana Department of the National Library of Aruba. 

This project was curated by Go Cultura Foundation, in collaboration with the Aruba Tourism Authority. 

We invite you to explore this collection—a culinary archive spanning different moments in Aruba’s history—and to keep these traditions alive in your own kitchen. 

Bolo di pruimen • Pastechi • Cabrito Stoba (Goat Stew) • Keeshi Yena • Pan Bollo • Pan Bati • Drikidek • Kool Stoba (Cabbage Stew) • Pan Dushi (Sweet Bread) • Bolo Preto ½ lb (Black Cake)

18 eggs
1 lb fine butter
3 lb prunes
6 cups brown sugar
2 cups white flour
1 bottle large cherry (18 oz)
1 bottle of large port wine
1 bottle candied citron (8 oz)
2 tablespoons brandy 
2 tablespoons baking powder 

Two days before, grind the prunes, sherry, and citron, put them in a bowl, and pour wine and brandy over them. Let it soak. 

When making the cake, beat 3 cups of sugar into the butter until it becomes very creamy, then beat in the other 3 cups of sugar with the eggs until the cake becomes very foamy, then mix it and beat the butter in and let everything beat well inside. After that, add the flour with the baking powder. 
Finally, add the prunes, mix well, and join everything together. Let it rest, then add foil and shape it well. Bake the cake in a hot oven at 350 degrees with a pan of water underneath for about 60 minutes. 

This cake tastes even better the next day as the flavors deepen!

Aruba’s most iconic snack. Golden, flaky dough filled with savory goodness and served at every birthday, gathering, and street corner. Every family has its own version, and this one is pure tradition. 

DOUGH: 
1 lb flour (Gold Medal) 
2 tablespoons margarine 
2 tablespoons Crisco 
1 teaspoon salt 
1 teaspoon sugar 
1 tablespoon baking powder 
3/4 cup water mixed with milk 
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
Oil for frying 

Mix to make a cream with margarine, oil, Crisco, salt, sugar, baking powder, and water with milk. Add flour, but not all; save some to dust the dough on the table. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin and cut into the desired shape. 

FILLING: 
1 lb ground beef. 
Grind beef with carrot, celery, onion, tomato, and bell pepper. 

First, prepare the meat with: garlic powder, nutmeg, salt, bell pepper, cumin, curry, Maggi, continental powder, ketchup, and soy sauce. 
Put margarine in a hot pan. When it becomes a little dry, remove from the heat. 
Cut capers, raisins, piccalilli, and cooked prunes and blend them into the meat. 
Strain it in a colander so that the oil drains as much as possible from it. 

The filling can also be: 
Shrimps, oysters, tuna fish, cheese, etc. 
 
ASSEMBLE & FRY 

1. Roll dough thin (2–3 mm).

2. Cut circles using a round cutter or bowl (about 4–6 inches / 10–15 cm).

3. Place one tablespoon of filling in the center.

4. Fold the dough over to form a half-moon.

5. Press edges firmly and crimp with a fork OR fold/pleat the traditional way.

6. Heat oil (350°F / 175°C).

7. Fry until golden on both sides.

8. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot! 

Crispy outside. Soft inside. Pure Aruba.

A true Aruban classic. This slow-cooked goat stew is rich, savory, and intensely flavorful. Often served on Sundays, holidays, and special occasions. Tender meat, vegetables, and spices come together in one pot of pure heritage. 

Ingredients: 
2 pounds of goat meat. 
3 large limes (if you want more, you can use additional limes). 
Salt (to taste). 
1 cap of vinegar. 
2 big tablespoons of butter. 
Half an onion. 
1 tomato. 
1 teaspoon of mashed garlic. 
1 teaspoon of nutmeg. 
2 tablespoons of consommé. 
1 tablespoon of tomato paste. 
1 tablespoon of soy sauce. 
1 tablespoon of rucu. 

Preparation: 
Cut the goat meat and remove all the fat from it. Wash and soak the meat in water with lime, salt, and vinegar. After you have cooked it, drain the water well from the meat and boil it well.  
Put the butter in a pot, let it cook a little. Then add the goat meat, onion, tomato, garlic, nutmeg, one tablespoon of tomato paste, and one tablespoon of soy sauce. Let it cook just a bit. Stir water over the goat meat and spices. Add the consommé and rucu, stir, and let it cook a bit longer until the meat becomes soft. Remember, the water must be a quarter above the meat! Now the meat must cook well so it does not become too soft and fall apart. If the meat is from a younger animal, it will become softer faster than that from an older animal. 
A good plate of goat stew can be served with white or brown rice, funchi, or red beets and petit pois on the side. 

Deep flavor. Tender meat. 100% Aruban soul.

One of Aruba’s most famous heritage dishes. Traditionally, it is made by filling a hollowed Edam cheese with spiced meat and baking it until the cheese melts. Today, many families make it in layers or in a casserole. But the flavor remains iconic, rich, and deeply satisfying. 

Ingredients: 
1 small round cheese 
1 pound ground beef 
1 medium tomato 
1 medium onion 
1 bell pepper 
2 tablespoons capers 
3 tablespoons raisins 
3 tablespoons butter 
Some green olives chopped small. 
1 big spoon of breadcrumbs 
2 eggs 

Preparation: 
First, put the meat on the fire with the spices, cut them finely, and let them simmer. When the meat is done simmering, please remove it from the fire and let it cool. 
Now cut the cheese and remove the top like a lid. Try to remove the heart of the cheese, but go around the edge; this is the rind. Remove about one inch of thickness, and the rind should stay two inches thick. 
Put the cheese now for about half an hour in a pot with water and salt. Meanwhile, beat the eggs well, and add in a big spoonful of breadcrumbs. 
Take the cheese out of the water, dry it, and fill it with the simmered ground beef. Mix the cheese now with the beaten eggs and breadcrumbs. 
Grease a small round pan with butter, and put the stuffed cheese in. Push the cheese into the oven, and once it browns, the Keeshi Yena is ready. 
The oven must be at 400 degrees, and the Keeshi Yena stays inside for about an hour. 
Let it rest 10 minutes before cutting. 
This Keeshi Yena is very good with fried plantain on the side. 

It’s rich. It’s cheesy. It’s Aruban history baked in a dish.

A soft, sweet, comforting dessert made from leftover bread, dried fruits, and warm spices. Every Aruban grandmother has her own version. This one is classic, simple, and full of love. 

Ingredients 

More or less eight slices of stale bread (or about 4 cups of cubed bread)
2 tablespoons sugar 
1 liter of milk
1 small glass of red wine
2 big tablespoons of butter
2 big tablespoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
raisins to taste 

Preparation: 
The bread must be cut into small pieces. 
Put the sugar on them and pour milk, wine, butter, vanilla, eggs, and raisins. Mix all together. 
Let the mixture stand for 1 hour. After 1 hour, beat well, beat with a mixer, pour into a form, and put in the oven at 350 degrees. 

Pan Bollo tastes like childhood comfort: sweet, soft, and unforgettable. 

The heartbeat of Aruban meals. Soft, slightly sweet, and perfect with stews, soups, or breakfast. “Pan Bati” literally means “beaten bread,” because the batter is mixed until smooth. Every Aruban grew up with this on the table. 

Ingredients 
For four breads 
2 cups white flour 
1 ¾ yellow flour or cornmeal 
2 teaspoons baking soda 
Salt to taste 
Sugar to taste 
3 big tablespoons of powdered milk 

Put all the ingredients together and add water. 
Start with 1 ½ cups of water and stir until the dough is not too hard, not too thick, and not too watery. 
After you put a little dough on a griddle or on the pan and let it sit, when the bread becomes brown, you flip it. 
After flipping again, your pan bati is ready. 

Soft, fluffy, and slightly sweet. Pan Bati is home on a plate.

A traditional Aruban savory snack. Often eaten with coffee, tea, or just as a treat during the day. Simple ingredients, big nostalgia. 

Ingredients: 
6 cups of water 
2lbs. of brown sugar 
1 stick of margarine 

2 teaspoons baking soda 
1 tablespoon of cinnamon 
1 tablespoon of aniseed 
2 lbs. of white flour 

Put the water together with the sugar and aniseed, and bring to a boil for half an hour. After it cools, add the butter, the flour, and cinnamon, and beat the mixture well for at least two minutes, until it forms a dough. 
Put wax paper in the bottom of a 12-inch round or square pan. 
Pour the dough into the pan, put it in the oven, and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. 
Check the dough after with a toothpick. 

Drikidek is simple, satisfying, and deeply Aruban. Perfect with coffee or tea. 

A humble but intensely flavorful Aruban comfort dish. Cabbage is slowly stewed with meat, spices, and vegetables. Simple ingredients transformed into pure warmth. It is often made in big pots to feed the whole family. 

Ingredients: 
1 cabbage 
1 pound of salted meat. 
1 pound of oxtail. 
1 pound of goat meat. 
1 pound of stewing meat. 
3 large potatoes. 
Half an onion. 
1 teaspoon of mashed garlic. 
1 teaspoon of nutmeg. 
1 tablespoon of butter. 
1 tablespoon of rucu. 

Preparation: 
We put the oxtail and fresh beef overnight in water so we can cook them in the morning. 
Before we cook the meats, we wash them well, including the goat meat and stewing meat. 
Put the meats on the fire with water, onion, garlic, nutmeg, and butter. 
While the meat is cooking, we cut the cabbage and pour hot water on top. 
When the meats are cooked, remove the cabbage from the water, add it to the meat, and let it continue cooking. 
To know that the meat is soft, you can prick it with a fork. 
Remember to put the rucu so the food gets a little color. 
You can put a small spoonful of sugar to remove the bitterness of the cabbage. 
To serve this Cabbage Stew with rice, pan bati, or funchi for six persons. 

Hearty, affordable, and full of history. This is real Aruban soul food.

Ingredients: 
3 cups bread flour 
¾ cup lukewarm water or milk 
1 tablespoon yeast 
1/3 cup white sugar 
2 tablespoons butter 
½ small spoon salt 
½ small spoon cinnamon powder 
½ spoon vanilla 
½ cup raisins 

Preparation: 
To make the Pan Dushi, you start by dissolving the yeast in the water or milk, and add the sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla to it. Stir them well together, then let them rest to rise for at least 10 minutes. 
At the moment the yeast has risen and the bread flour is added, also mix the salt. 
Also, add the butter and knead, and let it rise again for 10 minutes. 
When it has risen again, add the raisins to the dough and knead for a good while. 
Meanwhile, grease a tray with oil. 
Now cut the dough into little balls, put them in the tray, and let them rise for at least 30 minutes. 
After that, put them in the oven at 300 degrees and let them bake for 30 minutes.

1st part: 
1 lb. prunes 
1 lb. currants 
½ lb. sweet almonds 
½ lb. candied orange peel 
½ lb. raisins 
½ lb. dates 
½ lb. cherries 
½ lb. figs 
½ lb. French fruit 

2nd part: 
1 cup brandy 
1 cup Malaga wine 
1 cup Curaçao liqueur 

3rd part: 
1 lb. brown sugar 
1 teaspoon cloves 
½ can fine cinnamon (small can) 
1 teaspoon fine sweet pepper 
1 tablespoon aniseed 
1 teaspoon cardamom 

4th part: 
9 eggs 
¾ lb. white sugar 
¾ lb. sweet butter 
¾ lb. flour 
1½ teaspoon baking powder 
1 cup vanilla essence 
½ cup almond essence 
 
Ground all the ingredients from the first part together and pour the drinks from the second part on top. 
Cook the brown sugar, add the other ingredients from the third part on top, and let them cook until they form a syrup. Then, mix this with the fruit and let it rest for a week or more. 

The day you are going to make the cake, beat the white sugar and butter well. 
Beat the eggs separately, then mix them well with the butter and sugar. 
Now mix everything with the mix that we let rest for a week, so the flavors blend well. Then, stir in the vanilla and almond essence. 
Finally, sift the flour, stir in the baking powder, mix, and beat in the other ingredients. The cake is ready. 
Choose the pans according to taste. 
Heat the oven to 300° for 15 minutes, put the cake in, and let it bake for 1½ hours. 

Whether you’re joining us for the first time or returning to relive the magic, we invite you to be part of this extraordinary culinary journey.