Key takeaways
Armenian cuisine centers on shared, communal dishes that scale naturally for a group, from grilled skewers to stuffed grape leaves.
Traditional flatbread-making holds UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage status, a strong marker of how central it is to the culture.
Several staples are naturally meat-free, making it easier to plan for mixed dietary needs.
Ask someone about Armenian cooking and they will probably start with a memory, not a recipe: a grandmother rolling dolma at the kitchen table, the smell of khorovats over an open flame, or a stack of warm lavash pulled straight from a tonir oven.
Armenian cuisine carries that kind of weight. It blends Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and Caucasian influences into something distinctly its own, built on herbs, apricots, and grilled meats shared around a table.
If you are curious about Armenian food, planning a cultural celebration at the office, or just want to know what your coworker means when they mention manti, this guide breaks down the dishes that define the cuisine and why they matter.
The building blocks of Armenian cuisine
Armenian recipes lean heavily on a few core ingredients that show up across nearly every dish on this list. Fresh herbs like parsley, tarragon, and mint appear in everything from soups to grilled meats, often alongside coriander and dill for brightness. Walnuts and dried fruits, especially apricots and raisins, add texture and a touch of sweetness to both savory dishes and desserts.
Bread plays an outsized role too. Most meals include some form of flatbread, and many dishes are cooked in a tonir, a traditional clay oven also used to bake lavash and roast meat. Between the herbs, the fruit, and the clay oven, you have the flavor signature that runs through nearly all of Armenian cuisine.
Mains and grilled dishes
Khorovats
Khorovats is Armenian barbecue: skewers of pork, lamb, beef, or chicken marinated in onion, vinegar or wine, and herbs, then grilled over hot coals until smoky and tender. It's typically served with grilled tomatoes and peppers, fresh herbs, and lavash for wrapping.
Shish kebab
Shish kebab uses cubed lamb or beef marinated in onion, herbs, and sometimes pomegranate juice or wine, then skewered, often with vegetables, and grilled over an open flame. The two terms overlap in casual conversation, but both center on the same communal, fire-cooked tradition as khorovats.
Kofta
Kofta is minced lamb or beef blended with onion, parsley, and warm spices like cumin and allspice, shaped into patties or logs, then grilled or pan-fried. It's a staple at family gatherings and usually comes with rice or a lavash wrap.
Note for teams: kofta is naturally portioned per person, which makes it a clean choice for individual boxed orders.
Basturma
Basturma is cured beef, usually tenderloin, coated in chaman, a fenugreek-based spice paste with garlic and paprika, then air-dried for several weeks and sliced paper-thin. It's served as a shareable starter alongside cheese and bread.
Note for teams: the flavor is bold and pungent, so it works best as one option on a larger spread rather than the centerpiece, since it's an acquired taste for some.
Stuffed and wrapped dishes
Dolma
Dolma, sometimes spelled tolma, wraps seasoned rice and minced meat, usually beef or lamb, with onion and herbs like dill, mint, and parsley in grape leaves, then simmers the rolls in broth with a touch of lemon. Vegetarian versions swap the meat for extra rice, herbs, and sometimes pine nuts.
Note for teams: the vegetarian version covers plant-based eaters without needing a separate order, and the individual rolls make buffet service easy.
Manti
Manti are small dumplings filled with seasoned minced lamb or beef, baked and then simmered or steamed, topped with garlic yogurt and sometimes a paprika butter or tomato sauce.
Ghapama
Ghapama hollows out a whole pumpkin and stuffs it with rice cooked in butter, dried apricots and raisins, walnuts, and honey, then bakes it until the pumpkin itself turns soft and sweet, sliced and served tableside.
Note for teams: it's naturally vegetarian and makes a striking centerpiece, a good pick for a potluck-style celebration spread rather than individual plating.
Breads and flatbreads
Lavash
Lavash is a simple dough of flour, water, and salt, rolled paper-thin and baked in under a minute against the wall of a clay oven. It's so central to Armenian culture that UNESCO added the preparation of lavash to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2014.
Note for teams: it works as the wrap for nearly everything else on this list, so ordering extra on the side is rarely a bad call.
Lahmacun
Lahmacun, sometimes called Armenian pizza, tops thin dough with minced lamb or beef mixed with tomato, pepper paste, onion, and garlic, then bakes it until crisp and finishes it with lemon and fresh parsley. Note for teams: it's individually sized, which makes it easy to hand out at a meeting without plates or utensils.
Choreg
Choreg is a sweet, braided bread enriched with butter, eggs, and milk, flavored with mahleb, a spice made from cherry pits, or orange zest, and often topped with sesame seeds. Traditionally made for Easter, it shifts the section toward the sweet side.
Soups
Khash
Khash simmers beef or lamb trotters and bones overnight into a thick, gelatinous broth, served plain with crushed garlic, salt, and torn bread on the side.
Note for teams: the smell and texture can be unfamiliar for newcomers, and the overnight prep makes it a poor fit for a standard office order. It's better suited to a dedicated restaurant occasion than a group lunch.
Spas
Spas thins yogurt with water or broth and cooks it with wheat or rice, egg, and herbs like mint and cilantro, served hot or cold. Spas are light and easy on the stomach, a good counterbalance if the rest of the spread leans heavy on grilled meat.
Sweets
Gata
Gata layers sweet yeasted dough with khoriz, a butter, flour, and sugar filling, rolled and scored into a decorative pattern before baking. It's cut into individual portions that travel well on a dessert tray.
Baklava
Baklava, or paklava, layers thin, phyllo-style dough with chopped walnuts, brushed with butter, baked, and soaked in sugar or honey syrup. It usually shows up on the same dessert table as gata.
Churchkhela
Churchkhela looks unusual before it tastes familiar: walnuts threaded on a string, dipped repeatedly in thickened grape juice until they form a candle-shaped candy. It is sometimes called Armenian candy and travels well, which makes it a fun addition to any spread.
What to order for your team
This cuisine was built for sharing, which makes it a natural fit for a group order. A few practical notes for planning one:
Grilled skewers and basturma hold up well on trays and pair naturally together as the anchor of a spread.
Stuffed grape leaves and manti work well as individual portions or shareable sides, so they translate easily to boxed or catered lunch ideas for a team meeting.
Vegetarian options give plant-based eaters a real dish rather than a side note. If your team has broader dietary needs, DoorDash’s vegetarian and vegan catering ideas and gluten-free catering ideas are worth a look before you order.
Familiar sides like hummus and tabbouleh often appear alongside Armenian spreads in diaspora restaurants, which can help ease teams into a less familiar menu.
For smaller teams who want individual choice instead of a shared tray, group orders let everyone pick their own dish from the same restaurant.
Bringing Armenian flavors to the office
Armenian cuisine has the kind of bold, communal flavor that makes it a natural fit for office celebrations, whether you are marking a cultural heritage observance, building out a cultural diversity calendar for your team, or simply mixing up the usual lunch rotation. A grilled spread with plenty of bread and stuffed sides brings real variety to the table and gives your team something to talk about beyond the meeting agenda.
DoorDash for Business makes it straightforward to bring an Armenian spread to the office. Catering through DoorDash handles the logistics for larger gatherings, so an admin can place one order for the whole group without coordinating multiple restaurants or chasing down reimbursements afterward.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most iconic Armenian dish?
Dolma, stuffed grape leaves filled with minced meat and rice, is widely considered the national dish and appears at nearly every Armenian gathering.
Is Armenian food spicy?
Not typically. Armenian cuisine relies more on herbs, dried fruit, and grilled flavors than heat, though some regional variations use more spice.
What is a typical Armenian meal like?
A typical spread includes lavash, a grilled main like khorovats, a stuffed dish like dolma or manti, and fresh herbs or vegetables on the side, all meant to be shared.
Are there vegetarian options in Armenian cuisine?
Yes. Vegetarian dolma, spas, and many bread and vegetable dishes are naturally meat-free, making Armenian food easier to adapt for mixed dietary needs than it might first appear.
Feed your team without the extra coordination
Office managers and People team leads planning a cultural celebration or team lunch usually run into the same problem: finding a restaurant that can actually execute for a group, then coordinating orders, dietary needs, and payment without it becoming a part-time job.
DoorDash for Business solves that with two formats built for exactly this. Use Catering when one person is ordering trays for a planned event of 10 to 200 people, with catering-ready restaurants, clear serving guidance, and dedicated support from order to delivery. Use Group Orders when a smaller team wants individual choice from the same restaurant without one person guessing everyone’s order.
Either way, you get one bill, one point of contact, and a spread that actually reflects the cuisine you set out to share.
Get started with DoorDash for Business and bring your team’s next cultural celebration or lunch to life without the extra legwork.
