Colombia
Papa Criolla
A small, yellow Colombian native potato with a thin skin and buttery flavor, used in ajiaco and soups. A highland specialty, fried or boiled whole.
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.
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Colombia
Papa Rellena
A Peruvian fried potato croquette, crisp outside and filled with seasoned beef, raisins, olives and egg. A popular snack and appetizer.
Colombia
Papaya Verde
A Colombian street snack of green (unripe) papaya sliced and served with salt, lime, and chili. A tart, crunchy Caribbean-coast snack.
Brazil
Passion fruit
Maracudja
Passion fruit, the seedy aromatic fruit of a climbing vine native to South America, ubiquitous in Brazilian juices, mousses and desserts.
Colombia
Pastel de Gloria
A Colombian puff pastry filled with guava jelly or paste and sometimes cheese, sprinkled with sugar. A bakery sweet, especially popular at Christmas.
Santander, Colombia
Pebre Santandereano
A Santander soup of beef, pork, offal, corn, and vegetables, slow-cooked until thick. A rustic, hearty highland stew, served with avocado and arepa.
Santander, Colombia
Pepitoria Santandereana
A Santander specialty of rice cooked with goat kid blood, offal, and spices, giving it a dark, rich flavor. A rustic, traditional dish of the Andean interior.
Venezuela
Perico
A Venezuelan scrambled egg dish with tomatoes, onions and ají dulce, seasoned with salt and pepper, a classic breakfast served with arepas.
Colombia
Perro Caliente Colombiano
Perro caliente
Colombia's maximalist hot dog: the sausage and bun buried under pineapple sauce, pink mayo-ketchup, shredded cheese, crushed potato chips and sometimes quail eggs. A midnight institution that turns the American original into overload.
Valle del Cauca, Colombia
Pescado Encocado
A Pacific-coast dish of fish cooked in coconut milk with cilantro cimarrón, peppers, and spices. A Chocó and Valle del Cauca specialty, rich and aromatic.
Amazonas, Colombia
Pescado Moqueado
An Amazonian technique of smoking fish over wood for hours, wrapped in banana leaves. A pre-Hispanic preservation method of the Tikuna and Sikuani peoples.
Colombia
Peto Costeño
A Caribbean-coast dish of beaten white corn cooked with milk, cinnamon, and panela. A sweet, creamy coastal breakfast, served with cheese on top.
Colombia
Picada Colombiana
A Colombian shared platter of grilled meats, sausages, chicharrón, plantains, potatoes, and arepas, served with aji and suero. A social, party-style feast.
Brazil
Pirarucú
Pirarucú chicharrón
One of the world's largest freshwater fish, found in Amazonian rivers across Colombia, Brazil and Peru. White, meaty flesh valued for grilling, frying, moqueca or salt-cured "pirarucu de casaca".
Colombia
Piña Rellena
A Colombian dish of a hollowed pineapple filled with shrimp or chicken in a creamy sauce, baked and served in the pineapple shell. A festive coastal dish.
Bogotá, Colombia
Postre de Natas
A Bogotá dessert of milk skins (natas) folded into a sweet egg-yolk syrup with raisins and rum. A labor-intensive Holy Week classic of the highlands.
Colombia
Pudín de Pan
Colombian bread pudding of stale bread, milk, eggs, sugar, and raisins, baked until golden. A rustic, comforting home dessert, served warm or cold.
Valle del Cauca, Colombia
Puerquitas
A Valle del Cauca snack similar to marranitas: ripe plantain dough stuffed with chicharrón, shaped like little pigs, and fried. A crispy, savory street food.
Colombia
Queso Campesino
A semi-hard Colombian country cheese, mild and slightly salty, used in arepas, sandwiches, and snacks. A staple of the interior's dairy regions.
Colombia
Queso Costeño
A fresh, soft, salty cheese from the Colombian Caribbean coast, used in arepas, empanadas, and served with bollos. A staple of coastal cuisine.
Colombia
Queso Doble Crema
A creamy, double-cream Colombian cheese, soft and rich, used in desserts, arepas, and snacks. A staple of the interior's dairy regions.
Colombia
Raspado
A Colombian shaved-ice dessert with fruit syrup (lulo, mango, or corozo), served in a paper cup. A Caribbean-coast street snack, cold and sweet.
Colombia
Refajo
Colombia's two-ingredient national mix: lager poured over Colombiana soda, whose sweet apple-and-herb flavour cuts the beer into instant refreshment. The obligatory accompaniment to asados, picadas and Sunday football.
Argentina
Rice Pudding
Arroz con leche
Argentine rice pudding of rice, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and sometimes lemon zest or vanilla. A classic home dessert, served warm or chilled with a dusting of cinnamon.
Colombia
Ron Colombiano
Colombian rum, aged in oak barrels, drunk neat or in cocktails. A sugarcane spirit from the Caribbean coast, served with ice or cola.
Colombia
Roscón
A Colombian sweet, soft bagel filled with arequipe or guava jam, dusted with sugar. A bakery staple, eaten with coffee or hot chocolate.
Colombia
Sabajón
A Colombian creamy liqueur of milk, eggs, sugar, and aguardiente, similar to advocaat. Served chilled at Christmas and celebrations.
Colombia
Salchipapa
A Colombian street food of fried potatoes and sliced sausages, topped with ketchup, mayo, and pineapple sauce. A cheap, late-night snack nationwide.
Colombia
Salpicón
A Colombian Caribbean drink of chopped watermelon, pineapple, and other fruits in fruit juice or soda, served ice-cold. A festive, fruity coastal beverage.
Colombia
Salsa Rosa
Colombian pink sauce of mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, and sometimes whiskey or pineapple. The national condiment for hot dogs, burgers, and salchipapas.
Colombia
Sancocho
Colombia's Sunday stew: hen or other meat simmered with plantain, yuca, corn, potato and cilantro until the broth thickens. Every region keeps its own pot — valluno with three meats, costeño with fish — and Cali claims the gallina version as its own.
Atlántico, Colombia
Sancocho de Guandú
A pigeon-pea sancocho from Colombia's Atlántico coast, served with meat, plantain and rice.
Colombia
Sancocho de Pescado
A coastal and Pacific fish stew of fresh fish, plantains, yuca, coconut milk, and cilantro. A staple of the Caribbean and Pacific coasts, served with rice.
Colombia
Sancocho Trifásico
A Colombian stew made with three meats—chicken, beef, and pork—simmered with plantains, yuca, corn, and potatoes. A festive, hearty stew for celebrations.
Colombia
Seafood Soup
Asopao de mariscos
A Dominican soupy rice stew of mixed seafood (fish, shrimp, squid, mussels), rice, coconut milk, and sofrito. A coastal celebration dish, rich and aromatic.
Colombia
Sobrebarriga
Flank steak braised in hogao and wine until fork-tender, then grilled to order and smothered in sautéed onions and tomato (encebollada). A classic Colombian restaurant and Sunday-home dish of the interior.