Spanish and Italian are both Romance languages, so they share many similarities in vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar. However, some Spanish words did not simply develop from Latin in parallel with Italian. Instead, they entered Spanish through Italian or through another language influenced by Italian. This is especially interesting in the world of food, where cultural contact often brings new dishes, ingredients, and eating habits.

In this article, we will look at eight Spanish food words of Italian origin. Some of them are very easy to recognize if you already know Italian or English. Others are more surprising because their form or meaning has changed over time.

Spanish Food Words of Italian Origin

Spanish has borrowed many words from Italian, especially in areas such as music, art, architecture, and food. In this article, we will look at eleven Spanish food words of Italian origin and learn what they mean, where they come from, and how to use them in context.

Learning these Spanish food words of Italian origin is useful not only for vocabulary, but also for understanding how languages borrow words from each other. Food words often travel with recipes, trade, migration, and cultural influence. That is why a simple word like lasaña or pesto can tell us something about the history of contact between Spanish and Italian.

Brócoli

Brócoli (broccoli) comes from the Italian word broccoli.

Anoche preparé una ensalada de brócoli con nueces y pasas que resultó ser todo un éxito.

Last night, I prepared a broccoli salad with nuts and raisins that turned out to be a hit.

Calamar

Calamar (squid) comes from the Italian word calamaro, derived from a Central Italian variant of calamaio (inkwell), ultimately from Latin calămus.

En el restaurante, pedí calamar a la parrilla con una salsa de limón y ajo.

At the restaurant, I ordered grilled squid with a lemon and garlic sauce.

Capuchino

Capuchino (cappuccino) comes from the Italian word cappuccino, which derives from cappuccio (hood, cowl) and the diminutive suffix –ino. The coffee gets its name from the color of the beverage, which reminded of the color of monks’ habits. This is probably one of the most popular Spanish words of Italian origin.

Esta mañana, me senté en una cafetería y disfruté de un capuchino mientras leía el periódico.

This morning, I sat in a café and enjoyed a cappuccino while reading the newspaper.

Espagueti

Espagueti (spaghetti) comes from the Italian word spaghetti, which is the plural of spaghetto, the diminutive form of spago (cord, string) that comes from Latin spacus.

Para la cena, preparé espagueti con salsa de tomate casera y queso rallado por encima.

For dinner, I made spaghetti with homemade tomato sauce and grated cheese on top.

Lasaña

Lasaña (lasagna) comes from Italian lasagna, which itself has a much older history going back through Latin and Greek. In modern Spanish, lasaña refers to the baked dish made with layers of pasta, sauce, meat or vegetables, and cheese.

Like many Spanish food words of Italian origin, it names a specific dish that became internationally popular. The Spanish spelling uses ñ, which helps represent the sound Spanish speakers use in this word.

Compramos una lasaña vegetariana para la fiesta porque varios invitados no querían comer carne esa noche.

We bought a vegetarian lasagna for the party because several guests did not want to eat meat that night.

Macarrón

Macarrón (macaroni) comes from Italian dialectal maccarone. In Spanish, macarrón usually refers to a type of short pasta, often tube-shaped. The plural macarrones is very common because, as with most pasta, people normally talk about the dish in the plural.

The history of macarrón is especially interesting because the Italian word has been connected to Byzantine Greek μακαρώνεια (makarṓneia), meaning happiness forever, an expression said at funeral meals.

Today, however, Spanish speakers simply use macarrones as an ordinary food word. This makes it a useful example of how Spanish food words of Italian origin can lose their old cultural associations and become everyday vocabulary.

Los niños pidieron macarrones con queso después del colegio, aunque su madre ya había preparado sopa caliente.

The children asked for macaroni and cheese after school, although their mother had already made hot soup.

Mortadela

Mortadela (mortadella) comes from Italian mortadella, a type of large cooked sausage from Bologna. In Spanish, mortadela usually refers to a cold cut or processed meat eaten in sandwiches, snacks, or simple meals.

The word ultimately relates to older forms connected with seasoned sausage. Some explanations connect it with Latin murtatum, referring to sausage seasoned with myrtle. Anyway, the most important point is that mortadela is a common food word and one of the most recognizable Spanish food words of Italian origin.

Mi padre preparó un bocadillo de mortadela con queso, tomate y aceite de oliva antes del viaje.

My father made a mortadella sandwich with cheese, tomato, and olive oil before the trip.

Ñoqui

Ñoqui (gnocchi) comes from Italian gnocchi, a type of small dumpling usually made with potato, flour, and sometimes egg. In Spanish, the spelling changed to reflect the pronunciation more clearly for Spanish speakers.

This is one of the most interesting Spanish food words of Italian origin because the original Italian spelling, gnocchi, looks unusual from a Spanish point of view.

Los domingos mi abuelo cocina ñoquis con salsa de tomate, queso rallado y muchas hierbas frescas del jardín.

On Sundays my grandfather cooks gnocchi with tomato sauce, grated cheese, and many fresh herbs from the garden.

Pesto

Pesto (pesto) comes from the Italian word pesto, which comes from Latin pistus (pounded, crushed), which is the past participle of pistāre (to pound, to crush, to beat).

It refers to the famous Italian sauce traditionally made with basil, garlic, pine nuts, olive oil, cheese, and salt. This word origin makes sense because traditional pesto is made by crushing the ingredients together.

Although pesto is clearly an Italian word, it is now commonly used in Spanish when talking about pasta, sauces, and Italian-style dishes. It is one of the most transparent Spanish food words of Italian origin because the form is almost identical in Spanish, Italian, and English.

Preparé un plato de pasta con salsa de pesto, hecho con albahaca fresca, ajo, piñones y queso parmesano.

I prepared a plate of pasta with pesto sauce, made with fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, and Parmesan cheese.

Remolacha

Remolacha (beet, beetroot) comes from Italian ramolaccio, which goes back to Latin armoracium, from the Gaulish phrase are more (near the sea). Literally, the older idea behind the word was connected with a sea radish, which is also comparable to German Meerrettich.

It is not a dish from Italian cuisine, but a vegetable name whose history passed through Italian. This makes it a good reminder that borrowed words are not always obvious.

Mi abuela solía preparar una ensalada de remolacha con manzanas y nueces.

My grandmother used to make a beet salad with apples and walnuts.

Salchicha

Let’s finish today’s list of Spanish food words of Italian origin with salchicha (sausage), which comes from the Italian word salciccia, a variant of salsiccia that comes from Late Latin salsicia (literally salty cold meat). It was formed with salsus (salty) and ciccia (meat).

In Spanish, salchicha usually means sausage, especially the smaller type used in hot dogs or simple dishes.

This word is especially useful because it appears in many everyday contexts: supermarkets, children’s meals, barbecues, and fast food. Among Spanish food words of Italian origin, salchicha is less obviously Italian than pesto or lasaña, but its history shows a clear connection.

En la barbacoa pusieron salchichas, verduras y pan sobre la mesa para que cada persona eligiera su comida.

At the barbecue they put sausages, vegetables, and bread on the table so each person could choose their food.

Exercises

These words show different ways vocabulary can travel from one language to another. Some words, like lasaña and pesto, entered Spanish together with famous Italian dishes.

When you study Spanish food words of Italian origin, do not only memorize the translations. Pay attention to the article, the spelling, and the normal context in which each word appears.

Let’s do some exercises to practice some of these Spanish food words of Italian origin. Feel like doing more vocabulary exercises? In our blog, you can also do exercises with Spanish words of Arabic, French, Italian, Nahuatl, and Persian origins.

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

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