Tanzanian staples include grain, fruit, and vegetables. Common meats are chicken, goat, beef, and lamb. A popular snack or energy food is kitumbua, a fried bread common in much of East Africa. Ugali, a stiff porridge made from maize meal, millet, sorghum, or cassava, is also eaten. Bananas are a staple in much of northern Tanzania-particularly around Lake Victoria and in the foothills of Kilimanjaro-and in the southwest around Mbeya and Lake Malawi.

They are prepared in a variety of ways: roasted, fried, or made into a paste and mixed with meat and gravy. Rice is the staple of much of the coastal area and is often cooked with a variety of spices, including cloves, curry, cinnamon, cumin, and hot peppers, to make pilau. Ugali, rice, or bananas are commonly served with a stew of one or a combination of the following: beef, chicken, fish, goat, green leafy vegetables such as cabbage, Swiss chard, or spinach, beans, and cowpeas. Muslims do not eat pork or drink alcohol.