Isela Post

Isela is a Belizean mother who has been cooking from memory and from markets her whole life. Her recipes carry the food of the Yucatec Maya tradition, the corner store ingredients of daily Belizean life, and the party table of every celebration she has ever fed people at. She writes for the Belize News Post.

Belizean Cassava Bread Recipe BelizeBreadGarifuna

Belizean Cassava Bread Recipe

Belizean cassava bread is finely grated cassava wrung dry, shaped into rounds, dried until stiff, then browned over heat until crisp. It is flat, firm, and slightly bitter. Nothing like wheat bread, and not trying to be. Across the Caribbean it goes by bammie, bammy, or casabe. The same tradition, the same process, names that shifted depending on who was speaking and which island or coast they came from. In Belize it is most closely associated with Garifuna cooking. I first made this the right way with my aunt, who…
Isela Post
August 4, 2026
Belizean Cassava Pone Recipe BelizeDessert

Belizean Cassava Pone Recipe

Belizean cassava pone is a baked pudding made from finely grated cassava and fresh coconut, sweetened with brown sugar and baked until the edges caramelize and the interior sets into something dense and slightly stretchy. You will also hear it called cassava cake, plastic pudding, or yuca pudding across Belize and the wider Caribbean. Different names, same dish. It is a traditional teatime food, eaten in squares at room temperature with nothing alongside it. My mother made cassava pone on Saturdays when the cassava came in from the yard. She…
Isela Post
August 4, 2026
Belizean Corn Tortillas Recipe BelizeBread

Belizean Corn Tortillas Recipe

Belizean corn tortillas are small, round flatbreads made from masa (ground corn dough), pressed by hand or with a tortilla press and cooked dry on a comal. They are the foundation of some of the most important dishes in northern Belize: salbutes, panuchos, panades, and Orange Walk tacos all start here, with this dough, pressed this thin, cooked this way. The corn tortilla is not the same as the flour tortilla. In northern Belize you find both. The flour tortilla is softer, more forgiving. The corn tortilla has more to…
Isela Post
August 4, 2026
Darasa green banana tamale on a banana leaf with fried fish
Darasa Recipe (Garifuna Green Banana Tamales) BelizeGarifunaSnacks

Darasa Recipe (Garifuna Green Banana Tamales)

Darasa is the Garifuna green banana tamale: grated unripe bananas bound with coconut milk and a squeeze of citrus, wrapped in a banana leaf and boiled until it sets. People who grew up on corn tamales expect masa and meat, and darasa is neither. It is softer, a little tangy, and built on green banana instead of corn. The one thing that defines it, and the thing recipes online most often get wrong, is that the banana is grated raw, not boiled and mashed. Get that right and the rest…
Isela Post
August 4, 2026
Bowl of tapado, the Garifuna coconut seafood stew of the Honduran coast, with fish, plantain, and yuca
Tapado BelizeDinnerGarifuna

Tapado

Tapado is the Garifuna coconut seafood stew of the Honduran Caribbean coast, a one-pot dish of whole fish, shrimp, and shellfish simmered with green plantain, yuca, and fresh coconut milk, seasoned with culantro and annatto. The coastal version, tapado costeño, is sweet and creamy; the inland tapado olanchano uses meat instead. A pot of tapado tells you where you are before you taste it. The smell of coconut milk thickening over fish, the green plantain and yuca going soft in the broth, a whole fish laid across the top of…
Isela Post
August 4, 2026
Cross-section of a Honduran baleada with beans, cream and cheese
Baleadas (Honduran Folded Flour Tortillas) HondurasSnacks

Baleadas (Honduran Folded Flour Tortillas)

Short answer: A baleada is a thick, soft wheat-flour tortilla folded over warm refried red beans, a pour of Honduran cream (mantequilla rala), and crumbled hard white cheese (queso duro). That three-ingredient fold is the baleada sencilla, the original. Add scrambled egg, avocado, or meat and it becomes a baleada especial. The whole thing lives or dies on the tortilla: thick, pillow-soft, pressed by hand, cooked fast on a dry comal. Never corn. Never fried crisp. The moment it folds without cracking, you have a baleada. Flour tortillas for baleadas,…
Isela Post
August 4, 2026
Belizean Hamburger Buns Recipe
Homemade Belizean Hamburger Buns Recipe BelizeBread

Homemade Belizean Hamburger Buns Recipe

Hamburger buns are a versatile and essential component for a variety of delicious meals. This easy-to-follow recipe will guide you through making perfectly fluffy and golden buns that are about 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter. If you love this recipe, be sure to check out our Creole Bread and Johnny Cakes for more Belizean favorites. While there are no fast food chains in Belize (no McDonalds, Burger Kings etc.) there are a few mom and pop establishments that are making delicious burgers. One of our favorites on Caye Caulker…
Isela Post
August 4, 2026
Belizean Creole coconut-raisin buns in a paper-lined woven basket, glazed golden brown with raisins throughout
Belizean Creole Bun Recipe BelizeBread

Belizean Creole Bun Recipe

Belizean Creole Bun with Coconut and Raisins Creole bun is the sweet, spiced, raisin-studded bun Belizeans buy by the bag from the bakery and eat with coffee. Coconut milk goes into the dough, cinnamon and nutmeg and allspice go in with it, and the tops get brushed with hot sugar syrup the minute they come out of the oven. Kriol bun sits alongside Creole bread, johnny cakes and fry jacks as a Kriol breakfast staple (source), and coconut milk is one of the defining ingredients of that kitchen (source). This…
Isela Post
August 9, 2026
tacos on a cutting board juice in glass and spices
Discovering Jicama in Belize: A Tropical Veggie Treat BelizeEditorial

Discovering Jicama in Belize: A Tropical Veggie Treat

Welcome to the exotic world of Belize, a land of lush rainforests, pristine beaches, and mouth-watering cuisine. If you're a foodie looking for a tropical treat, then you can't miss out on the Jicama in Belize. Jicama is a root vegetable that is native to Mexico but has been a popular ingredient in Belizean cuisine for centuries. It's known for its crunchy texture, slightly sweet taste, and refreshing flavor. It's a versatile vegetable that can be enjoyed raw or cooked, and it's packed with nutrients that can boost your health.…
Isela Post
August 4, 2026