Colombia
Bollo Limpio
A Caribbean-coast bollo of clean, ground white corn wrapped in corn husks and boiled. Served with suero costeño and cheese, it is a simple coastal breakfast.
south-america
Colombia
Explore 200 foods connected to Colombia, from everyday staples to rare local specialties.
200 foods12 leading categories2 Essentials guides
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Bogotá Essentials
9 editor-selected foods for understanding the place through what people eat.
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Traditional foods from Colombia.
200 foods in this view. Filter by category, type, rarity, or search every recorded name.
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Colombia
Borojó
A tropical fruit native to the Colombian Pacific Chocó region, with brown skin and brown, aromatic pulp. Used in juices, jams, and aphrodisiac drinks.
Colombia
Brevas con Arequipe
A Colombian dessert of preserved figs (brevas) in syrup with arequipe (dulce de leche). A classic sweet-salty contrast, served with cheese.
Atlántico, Colombia
Butifarra Soledeña
A small, round Colombian pork sausage from Soledad, Atlántico, seasoned with spices and grilled or fried. A coastal specialty, served with lime and suero.
Colombia
Buñuelos Colombianos
Colombian cheese fritters: dense little balls of cassava starch and queso fresco deep-fried until the crust blisters and puffs. Year-round bakery fare that doubles as the essential Christmas onces treat beside natilla.
Meta, Colombia
Cachama Asada
An Orinoquía dish of cachama (a river fish) skewered on orange-tree poles and grilled over a wood fire. A plains specialty, served with plantains and yuca.
Colombia
Café Tinto
Colombian black coffee, often brewed with aguapanela instead of sugar, served in small cups. The everyday coffee of the world's largest producer.
Bogotá, Colombia
Caldo de Costilla
A Bogotá beef-rib broth with potatoes, corn, cilantro, and scallions, served for breakfast on cold mornings. Often drunk with aguapanela and cheese for hangovers.
Santander, Colombia
Caldo de Pajarilla
A Santander breakfast soup of beef liver, onions, cilantro, and potatoes, served with rice and avocado. A rustic, iron-rich highland soup, said to cure hangovers.
Brazil
Caldo de Piraña
An Amazonian soup of piranha, yuca, and green plantain, slow-cooked until rich and gelatinous. A pre-Hispanic dish of the Colombian Amazon, served with fariña.
Antioquia, Colombia
Calentado
The Paisa working-man breakfast: yesterday's rice, beans and plantain refried together and topped with a fried egg, cheese, chorizo or chicharrón — calentado means "heated". Equally at home on Ecuadorian coast tables.
Brazil
Camu Camu
Amazonian wild fruit, an exceptional natural source of vitamin C, far exceeding oranges. Used in drinks, dairy, and nutraceuticals.
Amazonas, Brazil
Canangucha
An Amazonian palm fruit native to Colombia, with purple skin and oily, orange flesh. Used in juices, ice cream, and oil, a staple of the Amazon diet.
Nariño, Colombia
Canelazo
An Ecuadorian Andean hot drink of aguardiente, cinnamon, panela, and fruit juice (naranjilla or mora), a festive and cold-weather classic.
Colombia
Carimañola
A Caribbean-coast cassava fritter stuffed with ground meat, onions, and seasonings, fried until golden. A coastal cousin of the empanada, crispy and chewy.
La Ceiba, Colombia
Casabe
A thin, crispy yuca flatbread of indigenous Amazonian origin, made from grated, pressed, and toasted bitter yuca. A staple accompaniment to fish and stews.
Colombia
Casquitos de Guayaba
Colombian candied guava shells: guava halves simmered in syrup until tender and glossy. Served with cheese or cream, a classic dessert nationwide.
Colombia
Cayeye
A Magdalena green-plantain mash served with cheese, butter or eggs at breakfast.
Colombia
Cazuela de Mariscos
A Colombian seafood stew of fish, shrimp, squid, and mussels in a coconut-milk and tomato broth, served in a clay pot. A coastal specialty, rich and hearty.
Colombia
Cerveza Águila
Colombia's national beer, a golden lager brewed since 1913, served ice-cold with meals, snacks, and at parties. The country's most popular beer.
Colombia
Ceviche Colombiano
A Colombian ceviche of fresh fish or shrimp marinated in lime juice, onions, and cilantro, served with soda crackers. A coastal appetizer, tangy and fresh.
Cali, Colombia
Champús
A Valle del Cauca cold drink of panela, lulo, pineapple, cooked corn, cinnamon, and cloves, served ice-cold. A refreshing, spiced Cali specialty.
Bogotá, Colombia
Changua
A Bogotá and Boyacá breakfast soup of milk, eggs, scallions, and cilantro, served with bread. A cold-morning highland classic, simple and warming.
Colombia
Chicha de Arroz
A Caribbean-coast drink of rice, pineapple skins, and panela, fermented slightly. A sweet, refreshing coastal beverage, served ice-cold.
Colombia
Chicha de Corozo
A Caribbean-coast drink of corozo palm fruit, water, and panela, fermented slightly. A sweet-tart, refreshing coastal beverage, served ice-cold.
Cochabamba, Bolivia
Chicha de Maíz
A Bolivian fermented corn drink, especially associated with Cochabamba and eastern lowland celebrations.
Antioquia, Colombia
Chicharrón
Colombian deep-fried pork rind, crispy and golden, served with arepa, lime, and aji. A staple of bandeja paisa and a popular street snack nationwide.
Meta, Colombia
Chigüiro a la Brasa
An Orinoquía specialty of capybara meat marinated with salt, beer, and onions, grilled over coals. A lean, gamey plains dish, served with plantains.
Argentina
Choclo
Large-kernel Andean corn served boiled with cheese, sauces or ceviche across Peru and neighboring countries.
Bogotá, Chile
Choclo con Queso
A Colombian snack of cooked sweet corn (choclo) with fresh cheese, served warm. A simple, sweet-savory highland snack, especially in Bogotá and Boyacá.
Bogotá, Colombia
Chocolate Santafereño
Bogotá hot chocolate whisked frothy with a slab of queso fundido melting inside, dunked with almojábana bread. As "chocolate completo" the tray adds buttered bread and a boiled egg — the full Santafereño breakfast of the cold Altiplano.
Valle del Cauca, Colombia
Cholado
Valle del Cauca's fruit monument: shaved ice piled with banana, strawberry, pineapple, blackberry, lulo and raisins, drowned in condensed milk, fruit syrup and topped with a wafer and shredded coconut. Half dessert, half drink, born in Jamundí.
Oriente (Amazonian Ecuador), Brazil
Chontaduro
A palm fruit native to the Colombian Pacific and Amazon, with orange-red skin and starchy yellow flesh. Eaten with salt or honey, a staple of Pacific cuisine. On Cali streets the boiled fruit is sold in paper bags with salt and lime (chontaduro con sal).
Colombia
Chorizo Colombiano
Colombian pork sausage seasoned with garlic, paprika, and cumin, grilled or fried. Served with arepa, lime, and aji, it is a staple of picadas and bandeja paisa. The air-dried, intensely garlicky chorizo santarrosano of Santander is the benchmark version.
Cali, Colombia
Chuleta Valluna
Cali's favourite plate: a thin pork chop pounded flat, breaded and fried to a golden crust, served with rice, fries, patacón and a wedge of lime — Valle del Cauca's answer to the milanesa.
Colombia
Chunchullo
Colombian grilled pork or beef small intestines, seasoned and grilled until crispy. A popular street food and asado offal, served with lime and aji.