Colombia

🇨🇴Colombia

Aborrajado

Ripe plantain slices stuffed with cheese and guava paste (bocadillo), battered and deep-fried until golden. A sweet-savoury Valle del Cauca specialty, beloved in Cali and along the Caribbean coast.

🇨🇴Colombia

Achira

A Colombian bread from Huila made with achira (arrowroot) flour, cheese, and eggs, baked until golden. Soft and spongy, it is a regional specialty of the upper Magdalena.

🇨🇴Colombia

Agua de Panela

A Colombian drink of panela dissolved in water, served hot with cheese and bread for breakfast in the highlands. The everyday Andean beverage.

🇨🇴Colombia

Aguardiente Colombiano

Aguardiente

Anise-flavoured sugarcane spirit around 29% ABV, distilled in the Andean region and drunk ice-cold in shot glasses passed round the table. Colombia's default celebration bottle, toasted with "¡salud!" until the freezer stock runs dry.

🇨🇴Colombia

Ahuyama

Colombian butternut squash (ahuyama), used in soups, stews, and purees nationwide. A staple orange-fleshed squash of the Andean and coastal cuisine.

🇨🇴Bogotá, Colombia

Ajiaco Santafereño

Bogotá's signature soup: chicken and three varieties of potatoes simmered with guasca herb, served with corn, capers, cream, and avocado. A highland classic.

🇨🇴Colombia

Ají (Panamanian)

Ají

A fresh Latin American table sauce of chopped chili, onion, cilantro or culantro, and vinegar; Panama's ají and Colombia's ají criollo are served with fried foods, soups, and rice.

🇨🇴Colombia

Ají de Piña

A Colombian pineapple and chili sauce, sweet and spicy, served with empanadas and grilled meats. A coastal and party condiment, fresh and tangy.

🇨🇴Colombia

Almojábana

A small Colombian cheese bun made with corn flour and cuajada (fresh cheese), baked until golden. Soft and spongy, it is a classic breakfast bread from the interior.

🇬🇺Guam

Annatto

Roucou

The red seeds of the Bixa orellana shrub (lipstick tree); used as a condiment and natural food coloring; gives dishes a deep orange-red colour; a staple ingredient in French Guianese and Amazonian cuisine.

🇨🇴Colombia

Arazá

An Amazonian fruit native to Colombia, with yellow skin and tart, aromatic yellow flesh. Used in juices, jams, and desserts, high in vitamin C.

🇨🇴Colombia

Arepa

Round, flat griddled corn cake that anchors every Colombian table, eaten plain or split and stuffed with cheese, egg or meat at any hour. Griddled, fried or baked depending on the region.

🇨🇴Boyacá, Colombia

Arepa Boyacense

A sweet arepa from Boyacá, made with cornmeal, panela, and cheese, baked until golden. Slightly sweet and dense, it is a highland breakfast and snack.

🇨🇴Colombia

Arepa de Choclo

An Antioquian arepa made with sweet yellow corn (choclo) and butter, griddled until golden and often topped with melted white cheese. Sweet, soft, and creamy.

🇨🇴Cartagena, Colombia

Arepa de Huevo

A Caribbean-coast specialty: a fried cornmeal arepa split open and stuffed with a raw egg, then fried again until the egg cooks inside. A Cartagena street-food icon.

🇨🇴Colombia

Arepa de Maíz Blanco

A simple white-corn arepa, the most basic version, griddled until golden. Eaten at breakfast with butter, cheese, or eggs across Colombia.

🇨🇴Cartagena, Colombia

Arepa de Petit

A small, bite-sized arepa from the Caribbean coast, fried and served with cheese or egg inside. A popular party and street snack in Cartagena and Barranquilla.

🇨🇴Colombia

Arepa de Queso

A Colombian arepa with cheese mixed into the cornmeal dough, griddled or fried until golden and melty. A popular breakfast and snack across the country.

🇨🇴Medellín, Colombia

Arepa Paisa

A small, plain, griddled arepa from Antioquia, served alongside bandeja paisa or with butter and cheese. Thin and dense, it is the everyday arepa of the coffee region.

🇨🇴Bogotá, Colombia

Arepa Rellena

A thick, griddled arepa split open and stuffed with cheese, meat, chicken, or eggs. A hearty street-food meal, especially in Bogotá and the interior.

🇨🇴Santander, Colombia

Arepa Santandereana

A Santander-style arepa made with toasted cornmeal and pork fat (chicharrón), giving it a savory, smoky flavor. Thinner and crispier than the paisa arepa.

🇨🇴Cali, Colombia

Arepa Valluna

A Valle del Cauca-style arepa, thin and griddled, made with white cornmeal and a touch of sugar. Served with meals or with cheese and butter as a snack.

🇨🇴Colombia

Arequipe

Manjar blanco

Colombia's name for dulce de leche: a thick, creamy caramel of milk and sugar, slow-cooked for hours. Spread on bread, obleas, and used in desserts.

🇨🇴Colombia

Arracacha

An Andean root vegetable (arracacha) used in soups, stews, and purees, with a nutty, sweet flavor. A highland staple of the Colombian interior.

🇨🇴Valle del Cauca, Colombia

Arroz Atabaqueado

A Pacific-coast rice dish of fish, coconut milk, and spices, cooked until creamy. A Chocó and Valle del Cauca specialty, served with plantains and avocado.

🇨🇴Valle del Cauca, Colombia

Arroz Atollado

A Cauca and Valle del Cauca rice stew of rice, pork, chicken, potatoes, and spices, cooked until thick and creamy. A rustic, hearty one-pot meal.

🇨🇴Colombia

Arroz con Chorizo

A Colombian rice dish cooked with chorizo, peppers, and onions, giving it a reddish, savory flavor. A simple, hearty family meal across the country.

🇨🇴Colombia

Arroz con Coco

Colombian Caribbean coconut rice: white rice cooked with coconut milk, sugar, and raisins, giving it a sweet, golden flavor. Served with fish and coastal meals.

🇨🇴Barranquilla, Colombia

Arroz de Lisa

A Barranquilla specialty of mullet fish cooked with rice, vegetables, and spices, served in a bijao leaf with yuca, cheese, and suero. A Caribbean-coast icon.

🇨🇴Meta, Colombia

Arroz Llanero

An Orinoquía rice dish cooked with oxtail, vegetables, and spices, giving it a rich, beefy flavor. A plains specialty, served with plantains and avocado.

🇨🇴Colombia

Arroz Tumbacatre

A Pacific-coast rice dish of fish, shrimp, and coconut milk, cooked with cilantro cimarrón and spices. A Chocó specialty, rich and aromatic.

🇨🇴Colombia

Avena Colombiana

Avena

Spiced oat drink simmered with milk, cinnamon, cloves and panela until silky, served chilled in glasses or from street-cart coolers. A Paisa breakfast and afternoon onces staple that predates the coffee wave.

🇨🇴Medellín, Colombia

Bandeja Paisa

Colombia's most famous dish: a platter of red beans, rice, ground beef, chorizo, chicharrón, fried egg, avocado, plantain, and arepa. The signature meal of Antioquia.

🇨🇴Colombia

Bocachico en Cabrito

A Caribbean-coast dish of bocachico fish wrapped in bijao leaves with coconut milk and spices, steamed or grilled. A coastal specialty, aromatic and tender.

🇨🇴Santander, Colombia

Bocadillo Veleño

Guava paste cooked down from pulp and sugar until firm and sliceable — the PDO'd specialty of Vélez, Santander, and the same sweet Colombians call dulce de guayaba. Eaten in strips with fresh white cheese (bocadillo con queso, the "matrimonio"), in pastries, or straight from the leaf wrapper.

🇨🇴Colombia

Bollo de Yuca

A Caribbean-coast bollo of grated cassava wrapped in leaves and boiled. Served with suero costeño and cheese, it is a staple of coastal breakfasts.