This text has been automatically translated, it may contain errors or inaccuracies.

Soups, tortillas and chilled dishes: these are the most consumed

Soups and creams lead the consumption of prepared food while pizza loses weight and earns new dishes ready to eat.

EITB

2026/06/08 - 05:00

Updated

2026/06/08 - 05:00

When you talk about prepared food, a lot of people think about frozen pizzas or fast food, but the data from the EITB Data report shows a different reality.

The most consumed category in the Basque Country, Navarre and the state is the most prepared soup and cream , especially driven by gazpacho and salmorejo. The consumption pattern is very similar in all three areas, although Euskadi and Navarre consume less than the state average.

In 2025, every citizen of the Basque Country and Navarre consumed about 15 kilograms of cooked food, while the state average exceeded 18 kilograms.

Pizza loses weight

The evolution of recent years shows a significant change in consumption habits. Between 2019 and 2025, consumption of prepared food continued to increase in the Basque Country (+1.7 kilograms per person), Navarra (+1.9 kilograms) and the State (+2.5 kilograms), although not all products showed the same trend.

One of the most striking data is the fall in the consumption of pizza and prepared pasta , which fell by 18.7% in the Basque Country and 16.1% in Navarre.

The decline is significant because pizza has been one of the main symbols of prepared food for years. The data show that the sector's growth is not based more and more on these products, but on other options more closely related to daily consumption.

Other dishes are the engine of growth.

If there is one category that explains the rise of prepared food in recent years, it is "other dishes." This category includes chilled dishes and various preparations ready to be consumed or heated, but not pizzas, tortillas or soups. The offer is becoming more and more extensive and varied, and is increasingly adapted to the needs of complete meals.

Between 2019 and 2025, it has been the largest growing category:

33.5% in the Basque Country
51% in Navarre
42.1% in the State

Moreover, it already weighs heavily on the total consumption of prepared food: 23.1% in the Basque Country and 19.1% in Navarre.

This shows that the growth of prepared food comes not only from certain products such as pizza, but from a growing supply of dishes ready to be consumed.

Omelet has more prominence

It also highlights the preparation of tortilla, whose consumption in the Basque Country has increased by 58.4% since 2019, one of the largest increases among the categories analysed. It has also experienced a significant increase in the state (38.1%). However, its weight is still limited, since it accounts for only about 5% of the consumption of all prepared meals.

In Navarre, for its part, the category of soups and creams has experienced one of the largest increases, with an increase of 24.7% over the last six years.

Prepared food has taken on a different meaning.

The evolution of consumption shows that the meaning of prepared food is changing. Growth is not concentrated on fast food products, but is taking place in refrigerated dishes, tortillas, soups and other ready-to-eat recipes.

The classic picture of frozen pizza has lost strength, and instead there is a growing supply, especially of domestic consumption.

According to the data, these products do not have to replace the restaurant, but often replace cooking time, so they seem to respond to an increasingly common need to organize daily meals more easily, even if you have to spend less time cooking.

EITB DATA