This paper assesses how well national sentinel lists of the most frequently consumed foods in each food group capture data at subnational levels to measure minimum diet diversity (MDD). It found that national sentinel food lists can provide reliable data at subnational levels for most food groups, with some variability by country and sub-region. Assessing the accuracy of national sentinel food lists, especially for fruits and vegetables, before using them at the subnational level could avoid potentially underestimating dietary diversity and provide more accurate local information for programmes, policy and research.