✔ Updated · 63 foods, sorted by category
Foods that start with U include udon noodles, ube, unagi, uni, upside-down cake, ugli fruit and umeboshi.
U is one of the rarest letters for food in English, so instead of padding the list, this page gathers every real U food we could verify, many of them from Japan, India, Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America. They are sorted by category with a short description for each, and a quick A-to-Z list at the end is handy for alphabet games and quizzes.
Foods that start with U, from everyday favorites to rare finds. The most popular:
Fruits That Start With U
Citrus, berries and tropical fruits that start with U, mostly from South America and Asia.
Ugli Fruit
A lumpy, green-yellow Jamaican tangelo with loose skin and sweet, juicy, low-acid flesh, eaten like a grapefruit.
Ugni
Also called Chilean guava, small red berries with a strawberry-like flavor, used in jams, liqueurs and the Chilean dessert murtado.
Umbu
A small, round greenish fruit from the dry northeast of Brazil with sweet-sour juicy pulp, eaten fresh or made into juice.
Ume
A green Japanese stone fruit, called a plum but closer to an apricot, too sour to eat raw and pickled or steeped in liquor.
Uvaia
A small, bright yellow-orange Brazilian fruit related to the pitanga, very juicy and tart, used for juice and ice cream.
Uchuva
The Colombian name for the goldenberry or cape gooseberry, a small orange fruit in a papery husk, also called uvilla in Ecuador.
Ulu
The Hawaiian name for breadfruit, a large, starchy green fruit that is roasted, steamed or fried like a potato.
Umari
An oily Amazonian fruit with a thin skin and yellow, buttery flesh, eaten with cassava flour in Peru and Brazil.
Vegetables & Legumes That Start With U
Roots, greens, gourds, seaweed and beans that start with U. Ube is the one I keep in my freezer.
Ube
A purple yam from the Philippines with a sweet, nutty, vanilla-like flavor, used in jams, cakes, ice cream and breads.
Ulluco
A colorful Andean tuber in yellow, pink and purple with crisp, waxy flesh, cooked in soups and stews in Peru and Bolivia.
Udo
A Japanese mountain vegetable with long white stalks and a fresh, citrusy, slightly resinous flavor, eaten raw or simmered.
Upland Cress
A peppery, cool-season green similar to watercress but grown in soil, used in salads, sandwiches and soups.
Upo
The Filipino name for bottle gourd, a pale green squash with mild flesh, sauteed with garlic, tomatoes and ground pork.
Urui
The young shoots of the hosta plant, foraged in Japan as a spring mountain vegetable and eaten blanched or in tempura.
Umibudo
Sea grapes, a bright green Okinawan seaweed with tiny bead-like bubbles that pop in the mouth, served with soy or vinegar.
Urad Dal
Black gram lentils, whole or split, ground into batter for dosa, idli and vada or cooked into creamy dal makhani.
Dishes & Noodles That Start With U
Noodles, sushi and hearty dishes that start with U. Udon is my favorite cold-night noodle.
Udon
Thick, chewy Japanese wheat noodles served hot in dashi broth or chilled with dipping sauce, often topped with tempura.
Get the recipe →Umbricelli
Thick, hand-rolled spaghetti from Umbria in central Italy, made with flour and water and served with truffle or tomato sauces.
Uramaki
Inside-out sushi rolls with rice on the outside and nori inside, such as the California roll, often coated in sesame seeds.
Unadon
A Japanese rice bowl topped with grilled eel glazed in sweet soy tare, sometimes sprinkled with sansho pepper.
Utica Greens
A dish from Utica, New York, of escarole sauteed with prosciutto, hot cherry peppers, garlic, breadcrumbs and Romano cheese.
Umble Pie
A historic English pie made from the heart, liver and other offal of deer, the origin of the phrase humble pie.
Desserts & Sweets That Start With U
Cakes, jams, cookies and candy that start with U. I bake an upside-down cake whenever pineapple is on sale.
Upside-Down Cake
A cake baked over a layer of fruit in butter and brown sugar, usually pineapple, then turned out so the fruit is on top.
Ube Halaya
A thick, sweet Filipino jam of mashed purple yam cooked with milk, butter and sugar, eaten on its own or in halo-halo.
Unni Appam
Small, round sweet fritters from Kerala made from rice, banana and jaggery, fried in ghee in a special pan.
Ul Boov
Mongolian shoe-sole cookies, stacked in towering layers as a centerpiece for the Lunar New Year festival of Tsagaan Sar.
Uirō
A chewy Japanese steamed cake of rice flour and sugar, similar to mochi, made in flavors like matcha and red bean.
Utah Scones
Pieces of fried yeast dough served warm with honey butter, a Utah favorite quite different from British scones.
U-No Bar
A Californian candy bar of whipped chocolate truffle filling with ground almonds, coated in milk chocolate, made since the 1920s.
Drinks That Start With U
Liqueurs and traditional drinks that start with U.
Umeshu
A sweet Japanese liqueur made by steeping unripe ume fruit in liquor and sugar, served on the rocks or with soda.
Unicum
A dark, bitter Hungarian herbal liqueur made from a secret recipe of more than 40 herbs and aged in oak casks.
Umbuzada
A creamy Brazilian drink made by blending cooked umbu fruit pulp with milk and sugar, popular in the northeast.
Cheeses & Dairy That Start With U
Cheeses and dairy spreads that start with U, from Spain to Finland.
Urda
A soft, mild whey cheese made in the Balkans and Eastern Europe, similar to ricotta, used in pastries and dumplings.
Urgelia
A semi-soft, creamy cow's milk cheese from the Alt Urgell area of Catalonia, Spain, with a mild, buttery flavor.
Ubriaco
An Italian cheese from the Veneto whose name means drunk, aged in red wine or grape must for a purple rind.
Uunijuusto
A traditional Finnish baked cheese pudding made from cow's colostrum milk, served with berries or jam.
Urnebes
A spicy Serbian spread of white cheese mixed with hot red pepper, garlic and paprika, served with grilled meats.
Meat, Seafood & Eggs That Start With U
Fish, shellfish, sausages and eggs that start with U.
Unagi
Japanese freshwater eel, grilled and brushed with sweet soy glaze, served on rice or in sushi rolls.
Uni
The Japanese name for sea urchin roe, the creamy orange lobes inside the spiny shell, prized in sushi and pasta.
Ulua
The Hawaiian name for the giant trevally, a large game fish whose firm flesh is grilled, fried or eaten as poke.
Usban
A North African sausage from Libya and Tunisia, made by stuffing tripe with rice, herbs, chopped meat and spices.
Uzura Tamago
Japanese quail eggs, boiled and grilled on yakitori skewers, simmered in soy or served raw on sushi.
Herbs, Spices & Condiments That Start With U
Spices, pickles and seasonings that start with U, from Turkey, Japan and West Africa.
Urfa Biber
Dark purple-red Turkish chili flakes from the city of Urfa, with a smoky, raisin-like flavor and mild heat.
Umeboshi
Salty, very sour pickled Japanese ume fruit, often dyed red with shiso leaves and tucked inside rice balls.
Umezu
Ume plum vinegar, the salty, tangy brine left from making umeboshi, used to season rice, pickles and dressings.
Usukuchi
A light-colored Japanese soy sauce that is saltier than regular soy but keeps the color of soups and simmered dishes pale.
Uda
Also called grains of Selim, smoky, aromatic dried pods of a West African tree, used in Nigerian pepper soup.
Uziza
West African pepper leaves and seeds with a hot, peppery flavor, added to Nigerian soups such as ofe nsala.
Utazi
A bitter, slightly sweet Nigerian leaf added in small amounts to pepper soup, nkwobi and abacha.
Ugba
Fermented slices of African oil bean seed, a savory Igbo delicacy eaten in salads such as abacha with fish.
International Foods That Start With U
Global dishes that start with U, from India and East Africa to Russia, Poland and Southeast Asia.
Upma
A savory South Indian breakfast porridge of roasted semolina cooked with mustard seeds, curry leaves, onions and vegetables.
Uttapam
A thick South Indian pancake of fermented rice and lentil batter topped with onions, tomatoes, chiles and cilantro.
Ugali
A stiff porridge of white cornmeal and water, the staple of Kenya and Tanzania, eaten by hand with stews and greens.
Uji
A thin, smooth East African porridge of millet, sorghum or corn flour, often soured and sweetened, served at breakfast.
Ukha
A clear Russian fish soup made with several kinds of freshwater fish, potatoes, onions, bay leaf and dill.
Uszka
Tiny Polish dumplings shaped like little ears, filled with wild mushrooms and served in red borscht on Christmas Eve.
Undhiyu
A Gujarati winter dish of mixed vegetables, beans and fenugreek dumplings slow-cooked with spices, traditionally in an earthen pot.
Usal
A spicy Maharashtrian curry of sprouted beans such as moth beans or peas, served with bread rolls called pav.
Ulava Charu
A thick, tangy soup of horse gram lentils from Andhra Pradesh, served with rice and a dollop of cream or butter.
Urap
An Indonesian salad of blanched vegetables tossed with spiced grated coconut, popular in Java and Bali.
Ulam
A Malay herb salad of raw leaves, shoots and vegetables eaten with sambal and rice, such as nasi ulam.
Ukoy
Crispy Filipino fritters of small shrimp and bean sprouts or grated squash, served with spiced vinegar.
Umngqusho
A Xhosa dish of samp, or broken dried corn, slowly cooked with beans, famously a favorite of Nelson Mandela.
Did You Know?
- The ugli fruit is a natural tangelo, a cross of grapefruit, orange and tangerine, found growing in Jamaica in the early 1900s. It is sold under the trademarked name UGLI.
- Ube is not the same as taro or purple sweet potato. It is a true yam, Dioscorea alata, and its vivid purple color comes from natural plant pigments.
- The ume used for Japanese umeboshi and umeshu is usually called a plum, but botanically it is more closely related to the apricot.
- Kagawa Prefecture on the Japanese island of Shikoku is so famous for its chewy Sanuki udon that it promotes itself as the Udon Prefecture.
Quick List: All 63 Foods That Start With U
Handy for alphabet games, quizzes and Scattergories. The full list, A to Z:
U-No Bar, Ube, Ube Halaya, Ubriaco, Uchuva, Uda, Udo, Udon, Ugali, Ugba, Ugli Fruit, Ugni, Uirō, Uji, Ukha, Ukoy, Ul Boov, Ulam, Ulava Charu, Ulluco, Ulu, Ulua, Umari, Umble Pie, Umbricelli, Umbu, Umbuzada, Ume, Umeboshi, Umeshu, Umezu, Umibudo, Umngqusho, Unadon, Unagi, Undhiyu, Uni, Unicum, Unni Appam, Upland Cress, Upma, Upo, Upside-Down Cake, Urad Dal, Uramaki, Urap, Urda, Urfa Biber, Urgelia, Urnebes, Urui, Usal, Usban, Usukuchi, Uszka, Utah Scones, Utazi, Utica Greens, Uttapam, Uunijuusto, Uvaia, Uziza, Uzura Tamago
Frequently Asked Questions
What fruit starts with U?
Ugli fruit, a Jamaican tangelo, is the best-known fruit that starts with U. Others include ume, the Japanese fruit behind umeboshi; ugni, or Chilean guava; umbu from Brazil; uvaia; uchuva, or goldenberry; and ulu, the Hawaiian name for breadfruit.
What vegetable starts with U?
Ube, the purple yam from the Philippines, is the most popular vegetable that starts with U. Others include ulluco, an Andean tuber; udo, a Japanese mountain vegetable; upland cress; upo, or bottle gourd; and urad dal lentils.
What dessert starts with U?
Pineapple upside-down cake is the classic dessert that starts with U. Others include ube halaya, a Filipino purple yam jam; unni appam from Kerala; uiro, a Japanese steamed cake; Mongolian ul boov cookies; and Utah scones with honey butter.
What Japanese foods start with U?
Many U foods come from Japan, including udon noodles, unagi (grilled eel), uni (sea urchin), umeboshi (pickled ume), umeshu (ume liqueur), uramaki sushi rolls, unadon rice bowls, umibudo sea grapes and uzura tamago (quail eggs).
Why are there so few foods that start with U?
In English, few words begin with U, and many of those start with un-, a prefix rather than a name. Most U foods come from other languages, such as Japanese udon, Tagalog ube, Swahili ugali and Hindi upma.
More foods by letter:
