About Belize News Post
Belize News Post publishes over 200 kitchen-tested Belizean recipes, written by Belizean contributors from the Corozal District, covering Mestizo, Maya, Garifuna, Creole, and Caribbean food traditions. We explore Belize and the wider Caribbean and Central American world through food, culture, travel, and nostalgia.
Every recipe on this site has been cooked, tested, and photographed by our contributors. We write from personal experience, not outside research. For cooks outside the region, we include ingredient substitutions and sourcing tips so you can cook these dishes wherever you are.
BNP started in 2005 as one of the few independent Belizean media sources online, covering politics, culture, and daily life. The focus has evolved, but the mission is the same: telling the stories that connect Belize to the cultures around it and to the diaspora abroad.
Last updated: March 2026
Our Contributors
Joe Post — Founder & Editor
Joe Post is the founder and editor of Belize News Post. He grew up in Corozal Town, Belize, on the Caribbean sea with a view across Corozal Bay to Cerro Maya, where the smell of recado and black pepper on a Saturday meant his grandmother was already in the kitchen. He has lived in Costa Rica, Kenya, England, Spain, and the United States. He grew up cooking alongside his mother and grandmother, and has personally tested the vast majority of the recipes on this site, from escabeche to chirmole to flour tortillas. He started BNP in 2005 as one of the few independent Belizean news sources online.
Isela Post — Contributor
Isela Post was born in Belize and raised in Xaibe Village in the Corozal District, where Mayan cultural traditions remain strong and cooking still starts with grinding recado by hand. She contributes over 30 of the site’s most authentic recipes, drawing on family cooking traditions and cooking from memory and from the markets. Known for her baking, including powder buns and milk cake, Isela also covers everyday Belizean staples like tamales and rice and beans. She prepares cuisine from Belize as well as dishes influenced by Mexico, Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Chica Post — Recipe Developer & Food Photographer
Chica Post is Belizean by marriage and by love. She has traveled across Belize, from grilling over an open fire on Caye Caulker to shopping the markets in Corozal, and co-authored many of the original BNP recipes, taking the site’s early photographs. Now based in the United States and raising bilingual boys, Chica brings a diaspora perspective to Belizean cooking. Her recipes include coconut shrimp, conch fritters, and banana fritters, with a focus on sourcing ingredients from US grocery stores and adapting traditional dishes for cooks abroad.
Fili Post — Heritage Recipe Keeper
Fili Post is from Xaibe in the Corozal District. Mayan, she is the keeper of heritage recipes that go back generations, cooked over a fire hearth with ingredients gathered that morning. Fili makes recado known to locals as the best, grinds her own spice blends, and sold spices at the Corozal market. Her posts cover bush meat, game, and traditional Mayan dishes including atole, gibnut, iguana, dukunu, and pibil.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Belize?
Belize is a small country on the Caribbean coast of Central America, bordered by Mexico to the north and Guatemala to the west and south. It is the only English-speaking country in Central America. Belize is home to the second-largest barrier reef in the world, dense tropical jungle, and Maya archaeological sites. Its food traditions reflect this position between the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America.
What is Belizean food?
Belizean food draws from Mestizo, Maya, Garifuna, Creole, East Indian, and Caribbean cooking traditions. Staples include rice and beans cooked in coconut milk, stew chicken, tamales, garnaches, panades, and fresh seafood. Northern districts like Corozal show strong Yucatec Maya and Mexican influence, while southern Belize features Garifuna dishes like hudut. This cultural range makes Belizean food far more diverse than most people expect. Browse our full guide to Belizean food by culture.
Are your recipes authentic?
Yes. Our contributors are Belizean or have deep personal ties to Belize. The recipes come from real kitchens, not outside research. Joe Post has personally tested the vast majority of dishes on the site. Fili Post’s heritage recipes draw on Mayan traditions from Xaibe, including recado and dukunu. Isela cooks from memory and from the markets in the Corozal District. Every recipe reflects real cooking experience.
Can I make Belizean food outside Belize?
Absolutely. Chica Post writes specifically from the diaspora perspective, adapting Belizean recipes for American grocery stores and kitchens. Many of our recipes include substitution notes for hard-to-find ingredients. Recado, Marie Sharp’s hot sauce, and habanero peppers are available online or at Latin grocery stores in the US. Start with fry jacks or garnaches if you’re new to Belizean cooking.
Who writes the recipes on this site?
Belize News Post has four contributors. Joe Post is the founder and editor. Isela Post covers everyday Belizean home cooking. Chica Post develops recipes and photographs from the diaspora perspective. Fili Post preserves heritage Mayan recipes. Each contributor writes from their own experience.
Why is this site called “Belize News Post”?
Joe Post started Belize News Post in 2005 as one of the first independent Belizean media sources on the internet. The site originally covered politics, culture, and daily life in Belize. Over time, food and culture became the focus. The name stuck.
Start Exploring
- Belizean Food by Culture — Maya, Mestizo, Creole, Garifuna, and more
- Belizean Ingredients A to Z — Recado, coconut, habanero, cassava, and 20+ more
- Fry Jacks — Deep-fried dough, the Belizean breakfast staple
- Belizean Meat Pies — Flaky, spiced, and sold at every bus stop in Belize
- Tamales — Belizean-style, wrapped in banana leaf
- Escabeche — Belizean onion soup with a Yucatecan root
- Conch Fritters — Seasoned, fried, and served with lime
- Creole Bread — Soft coconut bread baked across Belize
Site History
Joe Post founded Belize News Post in 2005 as one of the first independent Belizean news sources on the internet. The site covered politics, culture, and daily life in Belize. Over time, the focus shifted toward food, cuisine, travel, and nostalgia, but BNP has always been about Belize.
Questions, corrections, or recipe submissions? Contact us here or reach Joe directly at the BNP Facebook page.
Website design and development by AdTelic.