13+ Different Ways to Say Delicious in Spanish (Yummy!)

Learn different ways to describe food in Spanish—delicious, yummy, scrumptious, flavorful, and more!

If you plan to travel or move abroad for a while, enjoying the cuisine of the different countries you visit will certainly be a highlight of your trip.

More often than not, you’ll want to exclaim, “This is delicious!” in Spanish when describing many of the unique and tasty food on offer. Whether it’s the whole meal that’s yummy or a certain dish that leaves you asking for the recipe, learning how to properly describe just how scrumptious your food or drink tastes, smells, or looks is a must.

I’ve been traveling to Spain for 20 years, and I even lived there for a while! During that time, I had the chance to sample many different dishes from chipirones (fried baby squid) to patatas bravas (potatoes in spicy sauce) to Spain’s legendary fruity wine drink, sangria.

I certainly needed to say delicious in various contexts, too—from thanking my host family for a delicious meal and telling my new friends their recommendation was good to complimenting the chef at a restaurant.

Since delicious in Spanish is certainly a word you’re going to use when visiting a Spanish-speaking country, I’m going to show you 13 different ways to say it!

How to Say Delicious in Spanish

First things first, what is the Spanish meaning of delicious? Let’s start with the most basic direct translation.

1. Delicioso – Delicious in Spanish

🔊 dey-lee-see-o-so 

The most direct and obvious translation of delicious in Spanish to say delicioso. Delicioso means delicious in Spanish. As a cognate (a word that looks similar to English), it’s very easy to learn, pronounce, and remember!

This is a very common way to describe your food as delicious. It’s appropriate to describe a certain dish as delicious or the meal as a whole.

The Spanish word delicioso can be used in a few different ways (as can the other adjectives on this list).

First, it can be used as an exclamatory statement or response to “How’s the food?”

—¡Qué delicioso!
—How delicious!

—¡Está delicioso!
—It’s delicious!

Second, seeing as the word delicious (in English and in Spanish) is an adjective, you may use delicioso to describe a certain food, drink, or meal. In this case, you must change the ending of delicioso to agree in number and gender with the noun it modifies (delicioso, deliciosa, deliciosos, deliciosas).

—En algunos países sirven un delicioso aperitivo.
—In some countries, they serve a delicious apéritif.

—La comida estaba deliciosa.
—The meal was delicious.

—¡Estos rollos son tan deliciosos!
—These rolls are so delicious!

—Las galletas que hizo Lucinda son deliciosas.
—The cookies that Lucinda made are delicious.

It’s appropriate to describe something as delicioso in both formal and informal settings.

Editor’s Note: As you may know, there are two words for “to be” in Spanish: ser and estar. When talking about personal reactions to food, you will typically use the verb estar. However, sometimes you will use ser when stating that a food simply is—cookies are sweet, wine is tart, etc. These statements are true, regardless of your opinion.

How Do You Say Delicious in Spanish? More Ways

In addition to delicioso, which means delicious in Spanish, there are several more synonyms for delicious in Spanish. Some of them are direct translations that mean delicious, and others are ways of expressing how good food can be (like yummy, scrumptious, etc.)

2. Rico – Delicious in Spanish

🔊 ree-ko

If you want to say your food is delicious in Spanish, you can say rico. Rico has multiple meanings in Spanish, but when referring to food rico means delicious, tasty, rich, or succulent in English.

This is a very common way to describe food as delicious in Spanish, especially when used in the phrase, “Qué rico!”, so feel free to use it in both formal and informal contexts.

—¡Qué rico!
—Delicious! It tastes great!

—¡Muy rico! 
—Very good!

—Esta está rico.
—This is delicious.

Since adjectives must agree in number and gender with the nouns they modify, you must change the ending of rico when describing a certain food or meal. The possible endings are rico, rica, ricos, ricas.

—El pescado asado de tu madre está rico.
—Your mother’s grilled fish is tasty.

—La sopa estaba rica.
—The soup was rich.

—¡Estos camarones son tan ricos!
—These shrimp are so delicious!

—Las cerezas ricas que recogimos están maduras.
—The delicious cherries that we picked are ripe.

3. Riquísimo – Very Delicious in Spansih

🔊 ree-key-see-moh

A word for delicious in Spanish that you’ll hear frequently is riquísimo. It translates to very delicious, very tasty, or really nice in English.

You may be wondering why the spelling of this word is so similar to rico. That’s because the root of the word is the same! Adding the suffix -ísimo (or ísima) in Spanish is meant to convey the meaning of more. For example, this food is really delicious, very delicious, super delicious, etc. as opposed to simply delicious.

Using the word riquísimo may be used in both informal and polite conversation. For example, if you’re at someone’s house and want to emphasize what a good cook they are or at a business lunch.

You can use it to exclaim how good something is:

—¡Está riquísimo!
—This is so delicious!

Since riquísimo is an adjective in Spanish, it must agree in number and gender with the food it modifies. Therefore, you must change the ending of riquísimo. when describing a certain food or meal: riquísimo, riquísima, riquísimos, riquísimas.

—¿Has probado el queso? Está riquísimo con la pasta de membrillo.
—Have you tried the cheese? It’s really nice with the quince paste.

—Hoy fuimos al centro y comimos una paella riquísima.
—We went downtown today and had some very tasty paella (Spanish rice dish).

—El restaurante de la esquina sirve platos locales riquísimos.
—The corner restaurant serves delicious local dishes.

—Estas papas fritas son riquísimas.
—These french fries are tasty.

4. Exquisito – Delicious in Spanish

🔊 ex-qwee-see-tow

Once you’ve tasted a meal and decided that it’s off the charts, you might want to use the word exquisito. Although it sounds like exquisite in English—a word Americans wouldn’t typically use to describe food—exquisito firstly means delicious in Spanish.

However, depending on the context you can also say exquisito to mean that food is excellent, sublime, scrumptious, or delightful in Spanish! You may do so in both formal and informal settings.

—¡Está exquisite!
—This is delightful!

Since adjectives must agree in number and gender with the nouns they modify, you must change the ending of exquisito when describing a certain food or meal. The adjective’s endings are exquisito, exquisita, exquisito, exquisitas.

—Éste es el pollo más exquisito del mundo.
—This is the most delicious chicken ever.

—La mermelada está exquisite.
—The jam’s delicious.

5. Sabroso – Flavorful in Spanish

🔊 saw-brow-so

To say something is delicious, flavorful, or tasty in Spanish you can use the word sabroso. Sabroso means something has a good flavor in Spanish.

Using the word sabroso or its exclamatory phrases is a good way to emphasize how flavorful a dish is, regardless of the formality of the setting.

—¡Muy sabroso!
—Very tasty!

—¡Qué sabroso!
—How flavorful!

As adjectives in Spanish must agree in number and gender with the nouns they describe, you must change the ending of sabroso when describing a certain food or meal. The possible endings are sabroso, sabrosa, sabrosos, sabrosas.

—El café es sabroso.
—The coffee is delicious.

—Ese fue una merienda sabrosa, gracias.
—That was a delicious snack, thank you.

—La pastelería vende pasteles sabrosos. 
—The bakery sells flavorful pastries.

—¡Estas galletas son tan sabrosas!
—These cookies are so flavorful!

6. Buenísimo – Really good in Spanish

🔊 bwe-knee-see-moh

Sometimes you want to say, “This is so good” in Spanish. In that case, the best word for delicious in Spanish is buenísimo. Literally, it translates to really good or extremely good in English.

The addition of the suffix –ísimo (or –ísimo) in Spanish to the word bueno  (good) is meant to convey the meaning of more. For example, this food is really good, very good, super good, so good, etc.

—Está buenísimo.
—It is so good.

Feel free to use this in casual or formal contexts.

Since buenísimo is an adjective in Spanish, it must agree in number and gender with whatever it modifies. So, change the ending of buenísimo when describing a certain food or meal: buenísimo, buenísima, buenísimos, buenísimas.

—El pan de esa panadería es buenísimo.
—The bread from that bakery is really good.

—Todas las variedades de helado que ofrecen son muy buenísimas.
—All the varieties of ice cream they offer are really good.

Of course, you can always describe food as good (bueno) or very good by adding the word for very in Spanish, muy.

—Este vino está muy bueno. 
—This wine is very good.

7. Excelente – Excelent in Spanish

🔊 ex-seh-lehn-tey

Sometimes, all you need to say is that something is excellent. In this case, you can say, excelente.

You might say excelente to state how good a meal was or describe a certain dish. You can use this formally or informally, and you’ll often find yourself saying it in response to someone asking you how your food was.

—¡Excelente!
—Excellent!

—¡Este postre está excellent!
—This dessert is excellent!

—La comida estaba excelente, gracias.
—The food was excellent, thank you.

8. Apetitoso – Appetizing in Spanish

🔊 ah-peh-tee-toh-soh

Sometimes you want to describe just how good something looks in Spanish. While you can certainly say, “This looks delicious!” (“¡Esto luce delicioso!”), you can also use the word apetitoso.

Apetitoso in Spanish means appetizing in Spanish. You can use it when you want to express how good a food, drink, or meal looks or smells (formally or informally).

In addition to appetizing, think of apetitoso as a way to say something looks tempting, tasty, or mouth-watering.

—Ese se ve apetitoso, ¿Qué es?
—This looks tasty, what is it?

—Esas se ven apetitosas, me quedo con dos.
—Those look appetizing, I’ll take two. 

—El postre se ve apetitoso, pero yo paso.
—The dessert looks tempting, but I’ll pass.

9. Sabe bien – It tastes good in Spanish

🔊 sah-bey bee-en

To specifically talk about how something tastes good, you can say, Sabe bien in Spanish. In this case, the verb saber means to taste (You may recognize it as “to know” in Spanish, as well.).

This is a great way to tell someone that something tastes good, but do remember you must conjugate the verb saber.

You can say this phrase in any context, whether among friends, colleagues, or people you just met.

—¡Sabe bien! 
—Tastes good!

—La food sabe bien, pero está fría.
—The food tastes good, but it’s cold.

—Al no haber probado su menú de cena, ya sabemos que sabe bien.
—Not having tried their dinner menu, we already know it tastes good.

10. Hace agua la boca – Makes the mouth water in Spanish

🔊 ah-seh ah-gwa lah bow-kah

When something is so good it makes your mouth water just thinking about it, you may say, Me hace agua la boca. This means something similar to it makes my mouth water or it’s mouth-watering good (or even drooling or salivating over something because of how good it is).

As you’ve probably guessed, it wouldn’t be very appropriate to say this in a formal setting. It’s better used when chatting with close friends.

—¿Tan solo escuchar la palabra chocolate se te hace agua la boca?
—Does just hearing the word chocolate make your mouth water?

—El mismo olor del guiso de mi mamá hace agua la boca.
—The very smell of my mom’s stew is mouthwatering.

—Solo de pensar en la cena de esta noche se me hace la boca agua.
—Just thinking about tonight’s dinner makes my mouth water.

11.  Para chuparse los dedos – Scrumptious in Spanish

🔊 pah-rah chew-par-say los dey-dos

Para chuparse los dedos is a popular phrase used to describe how scrumptious (yummy, mouthwatering, lip-smacking) a certain food is.

Literally, it translates to “for sucking your fingers,” making is similar to the English phrase, “finger-licking good.” This conveys that something is so good you can’t stop licking all the saucy goodness off your fingers—gross as that may sound.

If you want to use this phrase, only do so in casual situations with friends. Perhaps they take you to their favorite restaurant, for example. It would be appropriate to express just how delicious the food is. In a business meeting, however, it would be quite inappropriate!

—¡Esta para chuparse los dedos!
—What a delicious lunch!

—María nos hizo una cena para chuparse los dedos.
—Maria cooked a mouthwatering dinner for us.

—Este pollo frito está para chuparse los dedos.
—This fried checken is finger-licking good.

You can also say something is yummy in Spanish by saying de rechupete. This is a very informal way of speaking, so it’s best to only say it with family and friends. 

—El croissant que me acabo de comer estuvo de rechupete.
—The croissant I just ate was really yummy.

12. Me gusta – I like in Spanish

🔊 meh goo-stah

To simply express that you like something, you’ll say Me gusta. This is the most basic way to say, “I like” in Spanish. (Technically, Me gusta translates to “It is pleasing to me.”)

Use Me gusta when you want to say you like something (singular). Use Me gustan when you want to say you like multiple things (plural).

It’s appropriate to say Me gusta in any context, casual or not.

—Me gusta.
—I like it.

—Me gusta mucho.
—I like it very much.

—Me gusta la tortilla de patata.
—I like the potato omelet.

—Me gustan las tapas.
—I like tapas.

—Lo que me gusta mas son los huevos divorciados.
—What I like the most are the divorced eggs (eggs with red and green salsa).

13. Me encanta – I love in Spanish

🔊 meh en-cahn-tah

To express that you love something, you’ll say Me encanta. This is the most basic way to say, “I love” in Spanish. (But technically, Me encanta translates to “It is very pleasing to me.”)

Use Me encanta when you want to say you love something (singular). Use Me encantan when you want to say you love multiple things (plural).

It’s appropriate to say Me gusta in any context, casual or formal.

—¡Me encanta!
—I love it!

—¡Me encanta esta comida!
—I love this food

—Me encantan estos. ¿Cómo se llaman?
—I love these. What are they called?

Other Words Related to Delicious in Spanish

While this list explains how to say in Spanish delicious, there are some more words you may want to use while dining. For example, you may need more words to describe different flavors. From time to time you might even want to exclaim a food or drink isn’t for you! 

✅ ¡Qué asco! – Gross!

✅ ¡Qué sabor! – What a flavor!

✅ Estoy lleno – I’m stuffed.

✅ Tiene buena pinta! – It looks delicious!

✅ para morirse – to die for

✅ saber – to taste

✅ asqueroso – gross, yucky

✅ delicado – subtle (flavor)

✅ delicioso al paladar – mouth-watering, melt in your mouth

✅ dulce – sweet

✅ especiado – seasoned

✅ picante – spicy

✅ suculento – succulent

✅ tentador – tantalizing

Delicious in Spanish: FAQs

Conclusion: Delicious in Spanish Saying

If you came to this blog wondering, What is, “Delicious?” in Spanish—and other ways to express just how yummy food can be in Spanish—I hope you’ve found everything you need in this blog post.

As a common thing to say when eating, you’ll definitely need to know how to say in Spanish delicious the next time you visit a Spanish-speaking country. Knowing how to say cheers in Spanish could come in handy, too!

Feel free to refer back to this post any time you need more context than a Spanish dictionary. Until then, ¡Buen provecho!

Spanish Language Guides

Want to practice or learn Spanish? Check out these additional Spanish resources! ⤵

• How to Say Omelet in Spanish (5 Different Types)
• Lingopie Review: Everything You Need to Know About the Language Learning Platform
• How to Say For in Spanish: Por, Para, or Something Else?
• How Many Spanish Words Are There in 2024? (Yes, it Changes!)
• 10 Tips for Learning Spanish Quickly from a Spanish Teacher