World's most delicious hand-held foods - which British favourites made the list?

Perfection in the palm of your hand

Put your knives and forks away – some of the world's tastiest foods are the ones you can eat with your hands. From internationally famous stars to a few lesser-known snacks, we've ranked the world's greatest savoury hand-held foods, each one wrapped up in a single, tasty package.

Read on to discover the world's most delicious hand-held foods, counting down to what we think is the tastiest of them all. How many have you eaten – or even heard of?

Our ranking is based on the enduring popularity of each hand-held food in its place of origin and beyond, and on the opinions of our well-travelled (and well-fed) team. The list is unavoidably subjective.

We've defined hand-held foods as savoury dishes contained in a single package and eaten without cutlery, omitting other foods that are typically eaten with your hands or scooped up with bread.

47. Khachapuri, Georgia

As Georgia’s national dish, khachapuri varies depending on which region of the country you’re visiting – however, the basics of crisp dough, cheese filling and a cracked egg on top remain the same wherever you go. Served fresh from the oven to prevent the dish from becoming bitter, khachapuri is used in Georgia to measure inflation, and it even has its own celebration day (27 February).

46. Lángos, Hungary

Back when Hungarian people used to bake bread in communal ovens, they often saved a small piece of dough to bake for breakfast – and over the years, the dish evolved into the deep-fried lángos flatbreads eaten in the country today. Crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy in the middle, they’re traditionally crowned with cheese and sour cream, and are a popular street food. Other tasty toppings include onions, sausage and ham.

45. Galette-saucisse, France

The snack of choice for supporters of Stade Rennais Football Club, this Breton classic consists of a buckwheat crêpe (galette) wrapped around a grilled pork sausage. Popular across Northern France, the galette-saucisse was invented in the 19th century – and it's stuck steadfastly to its original recipe. Adding condiments is largely frowned upon, though the savoury treat is occasionally served with caramelised yellow onions for extra flavour.

44. Halifax Donair, Canada

The official food of the Nova Scotia city, the Halifax Donair was invented in the 1970s by Greek immigrant and restaurateur Peter Gamoulakos as a riff on the classic Greek gyros (also on our list). The traditional dish wasn't a hit with his customers, so he experimented a little before finding the perfect combination for Halifax residents: a pitta packed with spit-roasted shaved beef, tomatoes and onions, and doused in sweet, garlicky Donair sauce.

43. Fischbrötchen, Germany

This fish sandwich is popular across Northern Germany, whose coastline yields an abundance of fresh seafood. Each sandwich varies a little, but the basic idea remains the same; it's always a long bread roll filled with fish (usually herring, spat or mackerel) and accompaniments like onion, pickles, remoulade and horseradish sauce.

42. The Gatsby, South Africa

The best way to improve on an already tasty sandwich? Fill it with French fries. That could be one reason why the Gatsby is so popular in Cape Town! So large you’ll (probably) need multiple people to finish it, the Gatsby pairs French fries with fried calamari, chicken, sausage or chargrilled steak, plus pickles and peri peri sauce, all in a French-style roll. The Gatsby has been around since 1976, and it remains a popular hangover cure for locals.

41. Cornish pasty, England, UK

The defining dish of Cornwall, a county on England’s southwest coast, the Cornish pasty is so significant that it's been given Protected Status by the European Commission. This satisfying package consists of a buttery shortcrust pastry shell filled with potatoes, ground meat and parsnips, and its history has been traced back to the 13th century. It's believed it was created as a way for Cornish miners to take a full meal to work in one hand-held bundle. Many countries have their own versions, including Australia, Jamaica, Mexico and South Africa.

40. Korokke, Japan

A Japanese take on the French croquette (which was introduced to the country in the 1800s), the karokke is a staple found at butcher shops across the country. The hot snack is made by forming a mixture of mashed potato, chopped meat, seafood and spring onions into a patty, coating in breadcrumbs, then deep frying. Sales of korokke skyrocket during typhoon season, when people enjoy them while sheltering at home.

39. Lumpia, Indonesia and the Philippines

Similar to Chinese spring rolls (which were introduced to the Philippines and Indonesia in the 19th century), lumpia are traditionally enjoyed during celebrations and family gatherings. Each lumpia consists of a thin, crêpe-like dough around a filling of chicken or shrimp, egg, bamboo shoots and shallots. A dessert version is particularly popular in the Philippines; it’s frequently served during the Qingming Festival (Ancestors' Day).

38. Rolex, Uganda

This snack may share a name with the famous watch brand, but rolex has nothing to do with timepieces – the word is actually a play on ‘rolled eggs’. A classic Ugandan street food dish, the filling is similar to an omelette; it's made by cooking eggs with cabbage, onion and tomato, and it comes wrapped up in a chapati flatbread. The chapati was brought to East Africa via trade from West India, and it’s now a fixture of everyday life in Uganda.

37. Knish, various locations

Created by Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, the knish is a deep-fried piece of dough filled with mashed potato, buckwheat grains (kasha) and grilled onions. Famously found on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, knishes represent nostalgic comfort food for millions of Jews across the US. Though they're eaten and enjoyed all year round from bakeries and street carts, they’re frequently served during Hannukah and other Jewish holidays, too.

36. Tequeño, Colombia and Venezuela

Sticks of cheese, wrapped in dough and deep fried – what’s not to like? These melty bites of deliciousness, which originated in Venezuela but are also popular in Colombia, can be a tasty snack or an entire meal. The cheese used is usually queso blanco, a semi-hard cheese that melts to create a deliciously stretchy, salty interior. Queso de freír (frying cheese) can also be used for similarly lip-smacking results.

35. Beef patty, Jamaica

Don’t get it confused with a hamburger patty – this Jamaican staple is made by wrapping a semicircle of flaky pastry (dyed yellow with turmeric or egg yolk) around a filling of seasoned ground beef, spices and Scotch bonnet peppers. A twist on the Cornish pasty (introduced from Britain), beef patties have loyal fans in the UK and in Canada, where Caribbean populations are high. In Toronto, 23 February was unofficially named ‘Jamaican Patty Day' by a local journalist after the infamous ‘Patty Wars’ of 1985, when restaurants and bakers fought government officials for the right to call their products 'patties'.

34. Arancini, Italy

Believed to have been invented in the 10th century, arancini are balls of arborio rice stuffed with meat, herbs, and cheese, coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried. Enjoyed largely in Sicilian cuisine, arancini are most commonly made with mozzarella, beef ragù, basil, mushrooms and aubergine. You can find arancini as far north as Rome, but they're especially ubiquitous in Southern Italy. Here, you can get your hands on both sweet and savoury variations, either in large ball shapes or, in Sicily, volcano-shaped cones.

33. Bagel, various locations

Brought to the USA by Polish Ashkenazi Jews, bagels exploded in popularity thanks to a number of brilliant bakeries in London, New York City and Montreal. Introduced outside Eastern Europe in the 19th century, bagels have a chewy, golden crust and a soft, dense inside, and they come in a variety of sweet and savoury flavours – blueberry being the most popular in the US, where more than 200 million bagels are eaten each year.

32. Po' boy, USA

A symbol of Louisiana’s French heritage, the po’ boy is the sandwich to get if you’re visiting New Orleans. Essentially, it's a French-style baguette (whose recipe was adapted for the humidity of the South), stuffed with fried fish, meat, vegetables or cheese – though nowadays, pretty much anything goes. The name is a shortened version of the phrase ‘poor boy’, as the sandwiches were first created to feed striking miners in the 1920s.

31. Fried chicken sandwich, USA

One of the world's most-ordered fast food dishes is a blend of English, Scottish and American influences. Englishman John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, first ate meat in bread; the Scottish first fried chicken in breadcrumbs; and the Americans gave the dish flavour and added a bun. The first fried chicken sandwich to be sold by a fast food chain was Chick-fil-A’s Original Chicken Sandwich: a toasted buttered bun, a breaded chicken breast and two pickles. The recipe hasn’t changed since it launched in 1964.

30. Elote, Mexico

Elotes, or Mexican street corn, are ubiquitous in Mexico, where their history stretches back centuries. Their popularity has spread to the US, and especially Southern California, where the dressed-up corn flies from food trucks and market stalls. Each portion of the zingy, spicy snack – typically served on a stick – features a corn cob charred on the grill, slathered with a mixture of butter, mayonnaise, lime, chilli and coriander, and finished with Cotija, an aged Mexican cheese.

29. Doubles, Trinidad and Tobago

Cheap to make and delicious to eat, this street food snack from Trinidad and Tobago is hawked by food vendors across the islands. Doubles is made by sandwiching curried chickpeas, cucumber, tamarind and coriander sauces, and mango chutney – plus another spicy chutney called kuchela – inside two fried flatbreads. There’s no wrong time to eat this vegan delight.

28. Bocadillo, Spain

In every Spanish deli, café or tapas bar, there will almost certainly be bocadillos. Considered by locals to be the very essence of Spanish life, these simple sandwiches are served on white, baguette-style bread (pan de molde) and filled with Spanish cured meat, cheese, Spanish omelette (tortilla) or fresh vegetables. With their soft, fluffy insides and crisp outsides, bocadillos are typically enjoyed as part of a leisurely lunch or grabbed as a snack.

27. Sausage roll, various locations

A delightful dish of minced pork wrapped in flaky puff pastry, the sausage roll is popular throughout the UK and Commonwealth countries. It's most often recognised as a part of the cuisine of Britain, where they're often served at picnics or as a snack food, but variations have also appeared in Canada, Germany, Czechia and Hong Kong. Despite this, sausage rolls remain most popular in the UK, where fast food chain Greggs sells almost 150 million of them each year.

26. Sopaipilla, Chile

There’s a choice of sweet or savoury with sopaipillas, Chilean rounds of fried dough filled with squash. The savoury version is topped with a spicy salsa called pebre, made with tomatoes, onions and chillies; it’s often served as an appetiser in restaurants, but as soon as winter arrives, everyone in Chile starts making them at home. Meanwhile, sweet-toothed snackers can get their sopaipillas soaked in a sticky spiced syrup.

25. Falafel, Middle East

Middle Eastern falafels can be a little different depending on where you eat them. In Egypt, they're traditionally made with fava beans, while in Palestine, they're made with chickpeas – and in Israel, Jordan and Lebanon, they're made with a mix. Whichever pulses are used, they're mixed with onion and spices, formed into balls or fritters, then deep fried. Crispy and aromatic, falafels are a hugely popular vegetarian snack in Europe and the US, and they're eaten across the world during Ramadan and Lent.

24. Scotch egg, UK

Despite its name, the Scotch egg's origins don't lie in Scotland, although it’s unclear where and when they came from. This deep-fried snack – made by wrapping a boiled egg in sausage meat and coating it in breadcrumbs – is a common picnic or street food in the UK. While you can find them in any British supermarket (or even petrol station), it’s best to get one fresh from a street stall, restaurant or pub for the best taste sensation.

23. Arepa, Colombia and Venezuela

Arepas are staples in Venezuela and Colombia – in fact, they've been eaten in South America since pre-Columbian times. To make them, a ground maize dough is stuffed with cheese (or a heartier filling like grilled meat, plantain and beans), then grilled, baked or fried. While the simple cheese filling is the most popular variety, many regional arepa recipes add the likes of avocado, shrimp, tomatoes and salad.

22. Lobster roll, Canada and USA

A staple of New England and Canada’s Atlantic Coast, the lobster roll makes the best of fresh local seafood in the summer months. First served hot in the US in 1929, the sandwich is made by packing fresh lobster meat into a sub roll, then dousing in butter or mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt and pepper. In Canada, you can typically find lobster rolls in coastal cafés and stands – and even in local branches of McDonald's, during the summer.

21. Meat pie, Australia and New Zealand

One of Australia's national dishes, the meat pie is simple at heart: flaky puff pastry, minced meat and gravy in one delicious hand-held package. It's also a staple of Kiwi cuisine; in New Zealand, the meat pie is a popular takeaway food, and it's often served at festivals, concerts and sports games. New Zealand outposts of McDonald's even got into the meat pie game in the 2010s, serving a version called ‘The Georgie’.

20. Shawarma, Turkey

The Middle Eastern cousin of the Greek gyros, the shawarma consists of thin strips of spit-roasted meat – traditionally lamb or beef – wrapped in pitta with hummus, tahini, tomato, lettuce and cucumber. The meat is spiced with a blend of cumin, cardamom, turmeric and cinnamon, then slow-cooked to stay juicy. Topped with garlic sauce and served with French fries, the shawarma is now a popular takeaway dish in the US, UK, Germany and Switzerland thanks to local Turkish populations.

19. Empanada, various locations

Multiple countries claim ownership of the empanada, a fried pastry turnover packed with beef, cheese and vegetables. It's strongly associated with Mexico, Colombia and Argentina, but Spain, Italy and the Philippines also have their own connections to the savoury treat. A precursor to the modern empanada is thought to have been invented in the Spanish city of Galicia in the 16th century; this original empanada was filled with seafood, though meat fillings are far more popular nowadays.

18. Vada pav, India

The vada pav is a must-try vegetarian street food snack that's ubiquitous in India. Packed with flavour, this hand-held treat is cooked fast to order; a spicy potato fritter is deep fried, then served in a pav (soft roll) with tangy chutneys. Its popularity throughout India is credited to Venkatesh Iyer, who started Goli Vada Pav – a fast food chain that specialises in the tasty dish.

17. Döner kebab, Germany

Although Berlin is famous for currywurst, there's one hand-held snack that's (arguably) even more popular on the city's fast food scene: the döner kebab. The dish's origins lie in the Ottoman Empire; however, the addition of a pitta or flatbread is widely credited to two Turkish immigrants who started selling döner kebabs on the streets of West Berlin in the early 1970s. Today, Berlin is home to more than 1,000 eateries dedicated to the döner.

16. Kathi roll, India

The kathi roll – a snack from Kolkata in West Bengal – takes a layered paratha flatbread and wraps it around an assortment of fillings. Meat, cheese, egg and veggies are all fair game, topped off with sauces, vinegar and lime (and sometimes the spice mix chaat masala). This all creates one perfect package that you can hold in one hand, especially as it comes wrapped in paper to hold it all together. The frankie, a similar dish from Mumbai, features a paratha layered with egg.

15. Taquito, Mexico or USA

While tacos are believed to date back to the 18th century and Mexico's silver mines, the taquito is a rather more modern invention. Like skinny, snackable, hand-held tacos, taquitos are typically made by wrapping corn tortillas around a filling of chicken or beef, then deep frying to a satisfying crisp. Their connection to Mexican cuisine and culinary heritage is indisputable – and some suggest that they were, indeed, invented in Mexico as a use for leftover tortillas and meat. Others point to 1940s San Diego, California and Ralph Pesqueira, the founder of El Indio Mexican Restaurant.

14. Bánh mì, Vietnam

Vietnam's favourite sandwich, the bánh mì is a simple concept: a French-style soft baguette stuffed with delicious meat or seafood, aromatic herbs and pickled vegetables. Created in Saigon during the 1950s, bánh mì became hugely popular in Canada and the US thanks to Vietnamese communities in cities like Toronto, New York and Los Angeles. There are dozens of varieties to choose from, including salty sardine bánh mì, crispy roasted pork bánh mì and even ice cream bánh mì.

13. Gyros, Greece

No night out in Athens is complete without a gyros: a pitta stuffed with crispy, slow-roasted meat, vegetables, creamy tzatziki and a few French fries. Dating back to the 19th-century Ottoman Empire, gyros found fame outside Greece after the Second World War as Greek immigrants spread the snack worldwide. In Greece, the wraps are typically made with crispy pork, though chicken, lamb and beef versions are also popular.

12. Pretzel, various locations

Synonymous with German bakers since the 12th century, the pretzel is now enjoyed all over the world. A simple dough is knotted, boiled (to achieve a chewy crust), then salted and baked. Pretzels were historically enjoyed during major Christian holidays – and these days, they're a staple of the American ballpark, where they're often served with yellow mustard or sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

11. Spring roll, China

An invention of China's Eastern Jin Dynasty (AD 317-420), the spring roll has become popular throughout Southeast Asian cuisine. These days, there are hundreds of unique varieties; however, they're traditionally made by deep frying pastry stuffed with cabbage and mixed vegetables. They're often served at Chinese spring festivals to promote wealth.

10. Pan bagnat, France

Hailing from Nice, the pan bagnat makes use of another speciality from the city: the salade Niçoise. The sandwich consists of a whole wheat bread roll (a pain de campagne) filled with the classic salad of vegetables, tuna and hard-boiled eggs – and it comes finished off with olive oil, salt and pepper. Traditionally, the bread used to make it is a day old, and it comes soaked in olive oil; pan bagnat means ‘bathed bread’ in the local Provençal dialect.

9. Fried chicken, various locations

Although it's an enduring staple of the Southern United States (it can be traced back to a Southern recipe printed in 1824), this delicious fast food is actually believed to have originated in Scotland. There, records date fried chicken (in some form) back to 1747. It's thought that an early recipe was brought to America by Scottish plantation owners – but it was enslaved people who made it the flavoursome favourite it is today, adding spice and seasonings. Later, of course, KFC paved the way for the world’s obsession with fried chicken in the 20th century.

8. Bao, China

These pillowy buns have been enjoyed in China since the 3rd century, and they're also a popular snack in Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia. Typically, bao buns are sliced open and filled with meat, julienned vegetables and a rich, aromatic sauce – and they're usually served with vinegar and soy sauce on the side. Their global popularity has sky-rocketed since the 2000s, largely thanks to chef David Chang, who introduced the buns to menus at his Momofuku restaurants.

7. Bratwurst, Germany

With more than 40 different varieties on offer across Germany, it's fair to say bratwurst is pretty popular. The snack is typically made by serving a grilled pork sausage – spiced with coriander seed, ginger, pepper, mace or nutmeg – in a soft hot dog–style bun with zesty sauerkraut, horseradish and German mustard. Evidence suggests that the bratwurst was first served in 1313 in Nuremberg, a city still internationally renowned for the dish (and the home of the Bratwurst Museum).

6. Hot dog, various locations

Like apple pie and bald eagles, hot dogs are synonymous with the United States, though Germany and Austria claim to have been making something similar since the 13th century. It was German immigrants who brought the modern-day hot dog to the US, in the mid-19th century. Popular all year round – and particularly on the Fourth of July – the classic American hot dog puts a thin frankfurter sausage into a soft white bun, topped with squirts of ketchup and mustard. Nowadays, almost every state offers a different take, from the fully loaded Chicago dog to the classic Coney Island version. Meanwhile, countless variations on hot dogs are cooked and served around the world.

5. Samosa, various locations

Though they're perhaps most commonly associated with India, samosas are a staple of many Central Asian cuisines, including those of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal. The first written mention of samosas dates back to the 11th century; however, it's believed that these tasty triangular snacks have been around for much longer than that. They originated in what's now Iran, served as a snack at the great courts of the Ghaznavid empire. They were originally filled with minced meats, nuts and dried fruits, and fried until golden and crisp – but when migrants took them to India, they were tailored to local tastes.

4. Burrito, Mexico

Though the modern burrito is a hybrid of both Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine, the original has been eaten in Mexico since the 19th century. Taking its name from the Spanish for ‘little donkey’, the classic burrito is traditionally small and thin, featuring a flour tortilla wrapped around just a few ingredients – typically meat or fish, potato, rice, beans, asadero cheese and red or green chillies. Nowadays, nearly anything goes, with fillings crammed in to the max, and special breakfast burritos served smothered in sauce.

3. Hamburger, various locations

This fast food favourite dates back to the 13th century, when the Mongols spread the idea of minced meat dishes across Europe, including Germany – and specifically Hamburg, where cooking beef patties with spices became popular. German settlers brought the dish to the US in the late 19th century. The modern hamburger is credited to two people: Louis Lassen, who first served a patty between two slices of bread at his restaurant, Louis’ Lunch in New Haven, Connecticut, and Walter Anderson, the founder of Kansas-born chain White Castle, who is said to have invented the burger bun in 1916.

2. Cheeseburger, USA

How can you make a classic even tastier? Add cheese! California claims to have invented plenty of iconic dishes, but its most legendary creation must be the classic cheeseburger. Food historians suggest it was invented in 1924, when 16-year-old Lionel Sternberger decided to melt a slice of cheese onto a plain hamburger at his father’s sandwich shop, The Rite Spot, in Pasadena, California. The joint has now closed, but this gift to the fast food world remains.

1. Pizza, various locations

In its original home of Naples, Italy, pizza was considered a peasant food – that is, until a pizza Margherita was served to the Queen to celebrate Italian reunification. From that day forward, a legend was born. These days, the world has many famous pizzas, including the famous New York slice; however, many still make the pilgrimage to Naples to try pizza Napoletana, a dish so famous that it’s been given UNESCO Cultural Heritage status. Rome, meanwhile, gave us pizza al taglio (pictured): a type of square slice that was first served in the city in the 1950s.

Now discover the world's most delicious fast food dishes

Last updated by Laura Ellis.