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Ecuadorian Food: 11 Traditional Dishes You Must Try

To fully experience a country means finding ways to be a native, even if just for a day, a week, or longer. One way to achieve this is by sampling the unique, traditional dishes that each country has to offer.

While small compared to many of its neighbors, the South American country of Ecuador is big on culture and food. Many of their traditional dishes may fall outside your normal comfort zone, but you may just find one or two that introduce you to a new, favorite recipe you’ll want to eat over and over again. 

Ecuadorian food dishes range as wide as the three distinct regions found in the country, which include the Amazon jungle, the Andean highlands, and the Pacific Coast (including the Galápagos Islands).

Here are the 11 traditional dishes you must try while on vacation in Ecuador .

Balls Made Of Green Banana With Cheese

1. Bolon de Verde

Considered a national dish of the country, the Ecuadorian cuisine of Bolon de Verde resembles a baseball-sized ball of dough on the outside. The outer layers are made of mashed green plantains, while the inside contains pork (or other meat) or cheese. Once formed, the ball is pan-fried to a golden hue and served up hot. Try this dish for breakfast or even brunch. Quite filling, one of these can sustain you for a full day of sightseeing or travel anywhere in the country.

Pescado Encocado Or Fish With Coconut Sauce

2. Encocado de Pescado

This traditional dish of fish in a unique coconut sauce is not to be missed. The most common fish used in the recipe is Covina , a highly prized, wild-caught fish sought in all of South America. The coastal provinces, in particular, take great pride in this dish, serving it simply with white rice and fried plantains.

Shrimp Ceviche From Ecuador

While ceviche is not unique to Ecuador, the way it is prepared here makes it an undeniable favorite among residents and visitors alike and an Ecuador famous food. It’s the citrus marinating juices that define its unique style. Consisting of raw shrimp or other seafood from the abundant Ecuadorian coastal waters, the citrus juice allows it to maintain the most amount of flavor. Expect to find the best ceviche in restaurants located in the seaport of Guayaquil. Ceviche carts in other areas, like Montanita, are also available.

Encebollado Fish Stew Served With Banana Chips And Lemon Typical

4. Encebollado de Pescado

From the Ecuadorian coast to the Andes, the popular dish of Encebollado de Pescado is another must-try. This seafood soup starts with a fish-based broth, usually albacore tuna, and adds in boiled yuca, pickled red onion, tomato, a squeeze of lime juice, and cilantro. Also called chuchaqui, the soup is served with strips of fried green plantains, toasted corn (tostado), or various breads—a perfect meal by itself or paired with a side salad.

Traditional Ecuadorian Dish Grilled Guinea Pig Spread Out

5. Cuy Asado

Prepare yourself to move past your initial impressions, as Cuy Asado, or roasted Ecuador guinea pig food treat, is a highly acclaimed delicacy in Ecuador. You can enjoy a whole cuy or start out with a single or quarter sampling. It is commonly accompanied by a side of corn or potatoes and served with chile and salsa, examples of typical Ecuadorian food.

One of the best locations for ordering cuy Ecuadorian food is the city of Cuenca nestled among the Andes mountains in southern Ecuador. Here you’ll find high-end restaurants to roadside food stalls near the market serving up this dish. Another popular place for cuy is Banos, so be sure to try it while enjoying the adventurous activities in this area.

Freshly Prepared Potato Pancakes, Served With Fresh Salad

6. Llapingachos

You’ll undoubtedly fall in love with this popular food in Ecuador, adored by both Ecuadorians and travelers. Llapingachos consists of a potato patty stuffed with cheese and cooked to perfection on a griddle, achieving a golden-brown crust.

While many consider Llapingachos as a side dish for a pork meal, including chorizo, fried egg, avocado slices, and a salad, you can enjoy one on its own also. These are particularly good choices for the vegetarians in your group. Find them anywhere in the country and in particular at the Banos Market.

Delicious “Locro De Papa” An Ecuadorian Gastronomic Tradition

7. Locro de Papa

Ecuador is known for its traditional stew dishes, and one to try from the highland region is Locro de Papa. This gastronomical potato stew often contains cheese, onions, garlic, and cumin in addition to the potatoes. The key, however, is the annatto, a spice found in South America that adds its own unique flavor. Expect a delicious creamy consistency with a side of avocado and toasted corn.

Seco De Chivo, Ecuadorian Stew

8. Seco de Chivo

For a traditional stewed dish, try Seco de Chivo with its main ingredient of goat meat. You can also select beef or chicken versions. Whichever meat you choose, the stew consists of it along with tomatoes, onions, naranjilla (tasting similar to a lemon and pineapple combined), cane sugar, cilantro, oregano, cumin, garlic, and beer. You can find this dish in all regions of Ecuador, and it is usually served with rice, avocado, side salad, and fried plantains.

“Mote Pillo” A Variety Of Corn Cooked And Seasoned With Eggs

9. Mote Pillo

A traditional Ecuadorian food dish enjoyed in the highlands, including Cuenca, is Moto Pillo. This simple dish consists of mote, which is cooked mature corn, and added to scrambled eggs to create a delicious meal to enjoy wherever you are. This is sure to become a staple as you explore the region and enjoy the fun and scenery it offers.

10. Uchumanga

While exploring the Amazon region of Ecuador, try the traditional stew of Uchumanga. This versatile stew consists of whatever river fish is caught that day by local fishermen. With the goal of wasting nothing, the fish’s intestines are included during the stewing process.

Ecuadorian Traditional Dish Called Humitas; Made With Corn And Cheese

For a truly authentic culinary experience, reach for a Humita. These simple Ecuadorian dishes resemble tamales. The steamed masa and corn are enveloped in a banana leaf and can be sweet or salty, although salty is the most common. Other ingredients may include eggs, onions, or cheese. Buy several of these from food push carts throughout the country.

There you have it then, 11 of the best traditional dishes to try while in Ecuador. While many of these dishes may fall outside your normal comfort zone, you won’t want to miss out on such a spectacular cultural experience. You might even be amazed to discover all that you’ve been missing when it comes to incredible South American meals.

So, which Ecuadorian food dish will become your new favorite?

While Rainforest Cruises aim to provide accurate and up-to-date information, we make no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information herein or found by following any link on this site. Rainforest Cruises cannot and will not accept responsibility for any omissions or inaccuracies, or for any consequences arising therefrom, including any losses, injuries, or damages resulting from the display or use of this information.

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Ecuadorian Cuisine: Top 40 Dishes to Try in Ecuador

by Julie | Feb 14, 2024 | Ecuador , Food , Travel

Are you planning a trip to Ecuador?

Love to try new foods when you travel and you’re wondering what Ecuadorian cuisine is like?

In this blog post, I’m going to share with you what to eat during your trip to Ecuador . You’ll learn about the most popular dishes , the most traditional ones , and the best street food in the country. I’ve tried all these dishes on this list, and I’ll let you know which ones I liked and didn’t like and where to find them to help plan your foodie adventure!

This list of food is based on my 6 months (and still counting) traveling around Ecuador and working remotely in Quito and on the coast. Many of these were recommended by my guide on the street food tour I took in Quito.

Disclosure:  This post may contain affiliate links.  As an Amazon Associate and a Bookshop.org Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.  Please see this website’s  Disclosure  for more info.

In This Post, You’ll Find…

• Best Dishes in Ecuador
• Best Food Tours in Ecuador
• About Ecuadorian Cuisine
• Best Traditional Dishes in Ecuador
• Best Breakfast Dishes in Ecuador

Best Street Food in Ecuador

Best ecuador food you’ve gotta try.

When you visit Ecuador, you probably don’t have time or motivation to try all 40 dishes on this list. So, here is my quick guide to my 10 favorite Ecuador dishes I think you should try. These are dishes that I would eat again and again!

• Llapingacho
• Encebollado
• Fruits of Ecuador (and the natural juices they make from them)

I’m not a fan of cuy (guinea pig) but it is one of those dishes you should try at least once. Locro de Papa (potato soup) is also popular but I think it’s a bit bland.

The BEST Food Tours in Ecuador

The best way to try these Ecuadorian dishes is by doing a food tour. Here are my favorite food tours in Quito. You can read more about them in this AMAZING guide to the best tours in Quito .

1. Street Food Essentials Tour

RATING: 4.9/5 | DURATION: 3-5 hours | READ REVIEWS & CHECK PRICE: Get Your Guide or Viator

• I did this tour and loved it ! – Check out my review of this Quito food tour .
• Fritada, tortilla de yuca, viche, pescado encocado, lots of fruit juices, fresh fruit, coffee, chocolate, quesadilla, and more
• Get to visit lots of different neighborhoods most tourists don’t go to

2. City Highlights and Food Walking Tour

RATING: 5/5 | DURATION: 4 hours | READ REVIEWS & CHECK PRICE: Get Your Guide

• Combine a city tour with a food tour!
• Explore both traditional and alternative neighborhoods of Quito
• Lunch, fruit, coffee, and chocolate are included in the tour price

3. Night Street Food, Art, and Local Drinks Tour

RATING: 4.8/5 (10+ Reviews) | DURATION: 3 hours | READ REVIEWS & CHECK PRICE: Get Your Guide

• Get to visit the best night market in Quito
• Includes street art and art gallery tour
• Food and drinks are included in the tour price

About Ecuadorian Food

Like most other countries in Latin America, the food in Ecuador is heavily influenced by Spain and the country’s indigenous people . You can find some of the same dishes in Panama , Colombia, Venezuela, and Peru.

The main ingredients in Ecuadorian cuisine are the following:

• hominy (white corn called mote)

You’ll often eat a combination of those foods in one meal.

Ecuador also has several seafood dishes that are worth trying–shrimp is especially abundant and cheap ($2.00 a kilo) on the coast. Chicken, beef, and especially pork are common in most places. However, you’ll also find traditional dishes made of goat and guinea pig .

Ecuador also has lots of different kinds of fruit that you probably won’t recognize. You can try the fruit at a fruit stand in a mercado or at a fruteria (small store that sells fruit and vegetables).

Another way to try Ecuador’s fruit is to try it as a fruit juice (jugo naturales) . The most popular fruit juice is tree tomato juice (tomate de abrol) and naranjilla (a sour orange-juice like fruit) .

The BEST Traditional Dishes of Ecuador

Here is a list of 18 traditional dishes to choose from while in Ecuador. These dishes were recommended to me by locals or ones I saw repeatedly all over Ecuador.

1.      Fritada

Ask anyone from Quito what their favorite dish is and 9 times out of 10 they’ll say, “fritada.” And it’s no wonder, fritada is one of the most flavorful dishes in Ecuador and it easily became one of my favorites.

Fritada is basically chunks of bite-sized pork cooked in water, orange juice, cumin, garlic, onion, and shallots . It usually comes with a whole bunch of side dishes as well: potatoes, toasted corn or hominy (mote), plantains, and salad. But the sides vary from place to place.

Where Can You Try Fritada?

The best fritada I had during my 6 weeks in Quito was on this food tour . Make sure to book your tour through Get Your Guide to avoid problems with tours in Ecuador in general.

Fritadas Sarita – This place in Mariscal was really good. The fritada was US$5 and came with tortillas, chorizo, egg, corn, and avocado. ( Google Maps )

Mercado de Armas – Inside the Mercado de Armas is a small hall with food vendors on each side. I had the best fritada during my time in Ecuador. The vendor I went to was the first one you see on the left-hand side as you enter the food hall. Mercado de Armas is not far from the Basilica so it can make for a good stop on the way. ( Google Maps )

2.      Hornado

If I had to choose one dish to eat on my last day in Ecuador , it would probably be hornado– roasted pork marinated in chicha (alcohol) or beer.

The two times I had hornado, it was perfectly seasoned and cooked—tender, juicy, and flavorful with a piece of crispy chicharron. The roast pork comes with a variety of sides. The first time was with a slice of avocado, potatoes, and shredded lettuce. I also got a small bowl of sweet-tangy sauce to spoon over the roast pork and potatoes. The second time came with shredded lettuce and llapingacho (potato and cheese patties).

Ecuador also has a dish called pollo de horno , which is roast chicken —also good, but not as memorable as the roasted pork.

Where Can You Try Hornado?

The only times I’ve seen hornado offered was when I visited mercados in Quito and Cuenca . I’ve never seen it on any restaurant menu. Locals also always recommended getting hornado at a market.

1. Mercado Santa Clara in Quito

On the top floor is a large food court full of food vendors . I went twice: on a weekday and the weekend. Both times for lunch. There weren’t many people on the weekday but on the weekend the place was packed. Every table was full, so you had to share a table with other people.

I found two vendors serving hornado. I went with Hornados Aidita and got a dish for US$4 , which was quite filling for me. It came with some side dishes: tortilla, fried egg, salad, and potatoes. You can get bigger dishes with more sides for US$6 .

2. Mercado 10 de Agosto in Cuenca

Go to the top floor of this market in Cuenca and you’ll see a few food stalls selling hornado (comes with a salad, and llapingacho (potato and cheese pancake). The hornado was just as good as the one in Quito but the sides in Cuenca were less desirable and the dish more expensive at US$5 .

The BEST Places to Find Traditional Ecuadorian Food

The best places to go to for traditional Ecuadorian dishes are huecas and mercados . They are inexpensive and clean, the people who work there are usually friendly and welcoming, and the food is generally pretty good.

These are small hole-in-the-wall family-owned restaurants. In English, hueca means “hollow.” You often can’t even find them on Google Maps.

Huecas usually serve just breakfast and lunch. Ask for the “menu del dia” or “menu del hoy” and you’ll get a fixed set lunch meal consisting of a first of soup and a second course of a meat or protein like fritada or roast chicken, hominy, potatoes, plantains, salad, rice and juice. Some also include dessert. It can cost between US$2 – $5.

Mercados usually have a floor dedicated to a food court with each vendor specializing in a specific Ecuadorian dish like encebollado or hornado or fritada.

They’re especially busy on Saturdays and less so on weekdays. My favorite mercados are Santa Ana in Quito, 10 de Agosto in Cuenca, and the Central Mercado in Banos.

If you’re intimidated to try the mercados, take the food tour I did with Get Your Guide . Read my review of this Quito food tour here.

3.      Seco de Chivo

The first dish I had in Ecuador was seco de chivo— goat stew cooked in a brown sauce of “ garlic, cumin, achiote, peppers, onion, cilantro, tomatoes, chicha or beer, and naranjilla juice or orange juice .”

It sounds good, to be honest, I wasn’t a fan of the dish.  I didn’t like the sauce and the goat flavor was too overpowering.

However, try it at least once since seco de chivo is one of Ecuador’s signature dishes . Then let me know what you think.

Where Can You Try Seco de Chivo?

I had seco de chivo at La Casa de los Geranios Restaurante in the historic center of Quito.

4.      Seco de Pollo or Seco de Carne

You still want to try all of Ecuador’s traditional dishes, but you don’t like goat?

Problem solved.

You can substitute the goat for chicken (pollo) or beef (carne) and still get that tomato-orange flavored sauce of the seco de chivo. These dishes are called seco de pollo and seco de carne.

Plus! You can find them on more menus than seco de chivo.

Often seco de pollo or carne comes as a side dish when you order Ecuador’s most traditional breakfast dish, tigrillo.

5.      Cuy

Cuy is a dish in Ecuador that turns off a lot of foreigners. It comes to your table as the whole guinea pig so you get the cooked face of the animal staring at you as you eat. There are a lot of annoying little bones and not much meat either. It’s a bit fatty and tastes like white meat.

However, if you’re a true foodie, you probably should try it at least once as it’s a very traditional Ecuadorian dish.

Where Can You Try Cuy in Ecuador?

Lots of restaurants in the historic center of Quito had cuy on their menus. It was usually priced between US$30 and $40 .

When I was on my tour to Otavalo , we stopped at a restaurant in Cotacachi and cuy was on the menu for $20 for a whole one and $15 for half .

6.      Locro de Papa – Potato Soup

Locro de papas is the ideal dish for vegetarians who want to try the traditional food of Ecuador. But even if you’re not vegetarian, this potato and cheese soup is worth having at least once or twice.

Locro de papas is basically potato soup (yes! Ecuadorians love their potatoes) mixed with cheese and topped with avocado slices .

Ecuadorians often eat it as their starter.

Where Can You Try Locro de Papas?

The BEST place to try this traditional Ecuadorian soup is at La Casa de los Geranios Restaurante in the historic center of Quito. It comes to your table on fire . The service at this restaurant is outstanding!

However, you can get locro de papas pretty much anywhere in the historic center of Quito.

7.      Sopa de bolon de verde

From the coast of Ecuador, sopa de bolon de verde is one of the most interesting soups I’ve had in my life.

It’s a thick soup that contains balls of green plantains , potatoes, vegetables like peas, carrots, and onion, and chunks of pork. The broth is made of yuca and corn.

Where Can You Try Sopa de Bolon de Verde?

Sopa de bolas de verde is harder to find on restaurant menus than locro de papa. I had it at Fruteria Monserrat , a popular restaurant in the La Mariscal neighborhood ( Google Maps ).

8.      Caldo de Gallina

Caldo de Gallina is a simple, healthy, and delicious Ecuadorian soup . It includes chicken, vegetables like carrots and peas, and rice . You’ll find it as a starter before the main dish. Every time I’ve had this dish, it has come with a chicken thigh and I had to eat the thigh with a spoon—very awkward.

Where to Try Caldo de Gallina?

Just go to a market in Quito ( Santa Clara Market ), Cuenca ( Mercado 10 de Agosto ), or Baños ( central market near the main plaza), and you’ll very likely see caldo de gallina on a menu at one of the food stalls. Expect to pay US$3 . I had it at the market in Baños.

What’s the Main Meal in Ecuador?

The main meal in Ecuador is lunch ( almuerzo ). Lunch starts at 12:00 noon and may even run until 4:00 pm in some restaurants.

Some restaurants called huecas serve fixed lunch meals for US$2 – $5. They come with a first course of soup and a second main course (segundo) that includes a protein (chicken, beef, fish, pork), hominy, potatoes, plantains, salad, rice, and juice . Some also include dessert. The soup and segundo change daily.

One VERY important thing to keep in mind is that many restaurants are open ONLY for lunch . They close between 4:00 and 6:00 pm. If you’re hungry after that time, your best bet is to find an expensive tourist restaurant in the historic center or head to the bar area of La Mariscal.

9.      Sancocho

Sancocho is a common soup found in cuisines of Panama , Colombia, and Ecuador. I had a very good version of this dish in Panama .

Sancocho in Ecuador comes with yam and chicken and sometimes a small corn on the cob and carrots . In Panama, yam (name), chicken, and culantro are the only ingredients.

Where Can You Get Sancocho?

You’ll often find sancocho as the starter to your lunch special at huecas.

10. Llapingacho

Another delicious and popular food in Ecuador that is an excellent option for vegetarians is llapingacho (also spelled yapingacho). They are also called potato tortillas or tortillas with potatoes. 

LLapingacho is a fried patty made of smashed potatoes and cheese . You usually get 2 or 3 patties topped with a fried egg and a salad of marinated onions and tomatoes on the side .

I’ve also gotten llapingacho with sides of seco de carne and chorizo.

You can also get llapingacho as a side dish with one of Ecuador’s other traditional dishes like fritada, seco de pollo, or hornado.

Where Can You Try Llapingacho in Ecuador?

I recommend going to a mercado to get llapingacho— Santa Clara in Quito , 10 de Agosto in Cuenca , or the central market in Banos . Expect to pay around US$3.

11.      Tortilla de Yuca (Cassava)

Another delicious alternative to llapingacho is tortilla de yuca . Instead of potato, you get a fried patty of smashed yuca mixed with cheese .

Tortilla de yuca is topped with a fried egg and a salad on the side of marinated red onion and tomatoes.

Ecuadorians usually eat tortilla de yuca for lunch .

Where can you get tortilla de yuca?

I had tortilla de yuca at Mercado de America on my food tour in Quito .

I recommend signing up for the tour with Get Your Guide as it’s cheaper and if the food tour company cancels, which they did to me twice, it’ll be easier to get your money back with Get Your Guide . Also, the online tour agency has fast and helpful customer service. You can read my review of this Quito street food tour .

What is Aji?

When you eat traditional Ecuadorian food, you’ll often get a small bowl of salsa called aji . Aji is basically a hot sauce made from a type of chili pepper native to South America. However, only one time was the aji actually spicy. Every other time it’s been very mild .

The most common aji is mixed with tree tomatoes (tomate de abrol or tamarillo). But you can also get ones with passion fruit, peanuts, or just plain lime and cilantro . I particularly love the aji that is used with hornado.

12.      Tortilla de Verde

A second version of llapingacho is tortilla de verde. Instead of potato and yuca, you get a fried patty of plantains mixed with cheese . They’re often served with marinated red onion slices and tomatoes and topped with a fried egg.

Ecuadorians usually eat tortilla de verde for lunch .

Where Can You Try Tortillas de Verde?

When I was at Mercado America on my food tour in Quito , I saw signs over vendor’s stalls selling tortillas de verde.

13.      Sanduche Pernil

Ecuador makes some of the BEST sandwiches in Latin America . Ecuadorians call them “sanduche” and not “sandwich” like in other Spanish-speaking countries.

Ecuadorian sandwiches are made from bread used in sub sandwiches about half a foot long. You can fill the sandwich with various meats or cheeses. The specialty is pernil or thin slices of roast pork.

I had this pork sandwich twice—the first time it came with a wonderful chimichurri sauce , mayonnaise, onions, and tomatoes. The second time avocado was added. Both were wonderfully delicious.

Ecuadorians also eat sandwiches for breakfast as well.

Where Can You Try Sanduche Pernil?

In Quito there are two really good bodegas in the historic center that sell sandwiches and have a great old-school atmosphere.

• Sanduche Meneses – This bodega was recommended to me by the people at Secret Garden Hostel in Quito. Such great sandwiches and atmosphere. US$4/sandwich or $4.40/sandwich + Coke .
• Los Sanduches de la Plaza Grande – Right across from the Plaza Grande is this uber-popular (with locals) bodega. Get in line, order your food at the window, and step to the side to wait for them to make it. Then take the sandwich to the plaza because most likely every seat will be taken inside the small shop. US$5 for a sandwich.

14.      Menestras

You might notice while walking around Quito that there are a lot of restaurants with the word “Menestras” in the name (Menestra del Negro is a chain found all over Quito). It basically means “beans.” And yes, pretty much every dish comes with beans or lentils if you choose to substitute.  

The beans are actually a side dish of red beans cooked with onions and tomatoes and a variety of spices like garlic, cumin, and pepper . Very similar to what you’d see in the United States but with a bit more kick to them. The beans accompany a large slab of grilled meat—chicken, pork, beef)—along with rice and plantains.

Where to Try Menestras?

• Menestras del Negro – There’s a Branch of this popular chain in the historic center across from the Plaza Grande.
• Las Menestras de la Almagro – When I ate here, the place was packed. People would stand beside your table waiting for you to leave so they can grab your chair.

15. Ceviche

Just like the food in Panama, Peru, and Mexico, the cuisine of Ecuador also has its own version of ceviche.

And let me tell you, in my humble opinion, it’s the best ceviche I’ve ever had .

The usual ingredients are fish, shrimp, squid, and/or conch . Red onions and cilantro are mixed in. Ecuadorian ceviche has also got a lot of broth so it almost feels like a soup compared to the same dish in Mexico, Panama, and Costa Rica.

Plus! Ecuadorians top their ceviche with…at first, I didn’t believe it when I had it on my Galapagos cruise … popcorn and plantain chips . But it’s good. It adds some nice savoriness and saltiness to the acidity of the lime.

Where to Try Ceviche in Ecuador?

If you’re in Quito, there are a couple of popular places to try ceviche . I’ve tried both and you can’t go wrong at either of them. They are both ONLY open for lunch .

• Ce v iche Siete Mares (Ceviche 7 Seas) – Popular seafood restaurant that serves good ceviches and encobollado. Only open for lunch. Expect to pay around US$10-$15.
• Ecuaviche Veintimilla – Love, love, love the ceviche here. Good food, good price, and looks clean. Only open for lunch. Expect to pay around US$8-$15.

If you’re on the coast or in the Galapagos, don’t skip the ceviche there either. 

16.      Encebollado

Before I had told you that if it were my last day in Ecuador, I’d eat hornado over any other dish. I lied. Actually, it would be a toss-up between hornado and encebollado. I absolutely adore encobollado, and I think you will to if you like ceviche.

Encebollado is like ceviche in a bowl of soup. It’s made of seafood (tuna, shrimp, conch, squid) and yuca in a light broth of tomato, onion, cumin, and chili pepper . You can top the soup with marinated red onion, tomato slices, popcorn, and plantain chips. Finally, squeeze some lime on everything. Sour, sweet, and savory.

On the coast, the people eat encebollado for breakfast.

Where Can You Try Encebollado?

I had encebollado for lunch at Cevicheria Siete Mares in Quito . I paid US$8.50 for a bowl.

If you’re in Puerto Lopez , head to Restaurant Romance Marino . I ordered the encobollado mixto and the shrimp that came with it was PERFECT! The dish cost between US$8 (shrimp) and $10 (mixto).

If you know where the locals get their encebollado on the coast, you can often get a basic one with just tuna for US$2.

17.      Viche

Viche is another seafood soup from the coast of Ecuador.

This soup consists of a thick broth of peanut paste, red onions, garlic, and achiote . Fish, shrimp, squid, and green plantain balls are added to the broth. You can squirt some lime juice and chili sauce into the soup to give it some acidity and spice.

Where Can You Try Viche in Ecuador?

I had viche on a food tour in Quito , and to be honest, I was too full to appreciate the dish.

Then I had it twice while I lived on the coast of Ecuador and it was a much better experience. In Puerto Lopez , there’s an outdoor market in the town center where you can get bowls of viche for US$3.

You’ll also find viche on menus at restaurants on the coast like in Puerto Lopez .

18.      Pescado Encocado

Encocado de pescado (fish with coconut sauce) is another wonderful dish from the Ecuadorian coast. The fish is cooked in a coconut sauce and served with white rice or plantains . You can also squeeze some lime juice onto the fish and rice.

Where can you try encocado de pescado?

If you’re not going to the coast, you can still try fish with coconut sauce in Quito at Puente del Guambra. Located near Parque El Eljido, Puente del Guambra is an outdoor food court under a bridge. It’s filled with vendors selling a variety of dishes, including seafood.

Better yet, join the food tour that I did, and the tour will stop at Puente del Guambra where you’ll get a small sample of encocado de pescado. I recommend signing up for the tour with Get Your Guide . It’s cheaper and if they cancel on you, you’ll at least get your money back.

You can also find viche in the restaurants in Montanita and Puerto Lopez. Try the viche at Restaurant Romance Marino in Puerto Lopez.

You might be interested in these posts on Quito:

• Best Places to Stay in Quito
• Best Day Trips from Quito
• Best Tours in Quito
• Quito 3-Day Itinerary

Popular Ecuadorian Breakfasts

A typical breakfast in Ecuador includes ham and cheese sanduche (sandwich), eggs, plantains, hominy, seco de carne or pollo, juice, and coffee. For a quick breakfast, many Ecuadorians will eat bread, empanadas, humitas, or quimbolitos.

Here is a list of the most popular Ecuadorian breakfast dishes:

19.      Tigrillo

Tigrillo is a really popular breakfast dish in Ecuador.

I had it a few times in Quito, and I just did not like it.

I was living on the coast near Puerto Lopez and Ayampe and I had it at a little whole-in-the-wall restaurant called Juanitas and it was a completely different experience.

I fell in love with tigrillo .

Not sure why it was so much better but the people on the coast really know how to make tigrillo .

Tigrillo is mashed up plantains mixed with cheese and eggs and then fried. The first time I had it, the chicharron was mixed in. The second and third times the plantains were mixed with cheese and then topped with 2 fried eggs.

Tigrillo often comes with a side order of seco de pollo or seco de carne .

Where Can You Try Tigrillo in Ecuador?

I had tigrillo at a hueca next to where I stayed in Quito. I love the people who work there but the food isn’t always that good. The other place I tried tigrillo was at Fruteria Monserrate in La Mariscal. It was better here but I still wasn’t in love with the dish.

If you’re on the coast, definitely give tigrillo a chance! It’s so much better here than in the Sierras.

20.      Mote Pillo or Mote Sucio

Mote de pillo is a popular breakfast dish in Cuenca . It’s mote (hominy) mixed with scrambled eggs and cheese. I have to say that even though I find mote to be bland, I love mote de pillo.

Unfortunately, I never got to try the more flavorful mote sucio (dirty mote), which is mote mixed with egg and pork lard.

Where to Try Mote de Pillo and Mote de Sucio?

Go to the food court on the top floor of Mercado 10 de Agosto in Cuenca. On the right side are the stalls selling breakfast items and on the left are those for lunch. For mote pillo or sucio, head to one of the stalls on the right and you should easily find one selling these two delicious Ecuadorian dishes.

21.      Bolon

Bolon is one of my favorite things to eat for breakfast in Ecuador. In Quito, they are fried balls of mashed plantains filled with gooey melted cheese .

If you’re on the coast, you can find lots of different kinds of filling in the bolons including peanuts and sausage.

Make sure you get some aji (Ecuadorian salsa) to dip them in.

Where Can You Try Bolon?

I tried bolon de verde at Fruteria Monserrate in Quito. Expect to pay between US$1 – $2.35.

22.      Humitas

Humita is an Ecuadorian versión of the tamale . Mashed corn wrapped in corn husks and steamed . They are a favorite breakfast food.

Where to try humitas?

You’ll find humitas for sale at lots of huecas, food carts, and cafes in the morning around Quito. Try Modelo or Café Caribe .

23.      Quimbolitos

Quimbolitos are sweet Ecuadorian breakfast food. They’re like spongy cakes steamed in a achira leaf . It’s made of wheat, milk, and eggs and topped with one or two raisins .

You can also eat quimbolitos as an afternoon snack.

Where can you try Quimbolitos?

You can usually find quimbolitos at the same places selling humitas—huecas, food carts, and cafes in the morning around Quito.

Here is a list of snack and street food in Ecuador. Some of these foods can be eaten for breakfast as well as for an afternoon snack or even as lunch.

24.      Empanadas con Morocho

These empanadas are so delicious that they’re addictive.

The dough is made of broken corn called morocho . The corn is soaked for several days, boiled, and then mashed to form a dough. It is then stuffed with various ingredients like chicken or pork, rice , and vegetables like carrots and peas . Then the empanadas are fried.

Ecuadorians eat empanadas con morocho for breakfast and as an afternoon snack . 

Where can you try empanadas con morocho?

If you’re staying in La Mariscal neighborhood in Quito, head to Fruteria Monserate for really good empanada con morocho. I paid US$2.35.

In the historic center , head to Modelo or Café Caribe .

Better yet go to the food stall inside Palacio Arzobispal (across from Plaza Grande) that sells delicious freshly made empanadas con morocho for US$1. On the first day of this Quito itinerary , you’ll go on a walking tour that stops at this street food stand.

25.      Empanadas con Verde

Another empanada to try in Ecuador is empanada con verde. The dough is made from plantains . Yes! By now you should realize that Ecuadorians love their plantains. It’s then filled with cheese and meat or seafood .

Ecuadorians often eat them for breakfast or as an afternoon snack .

Where to Try Empanadas con Verde?

If you’re staying in La Mariscal neighborhood in Quito, head to Fruteria Monserrate for really good empanada con verde.

In the historic center , head to Modelo or Café Ca r ibe .

26.      Empanadas con Viento

The English translation for empanadas con viento is “empanadas with wind.” Basically, they’re deep-fried empanadas filled with cheese and get a bit puffed up so there’s air inside.

They are eaten for breakfast or an afternoon snack.

Where can you try empanadas con viento in Ecuador?

If you’re staying in La Mariscal neighborhood, stop at Fruteria Monserrate for their empanadas con viento.

I also had empanada con viento on a walking tour with Guru Walks. We stopped at a food cart inside Plaza Arzobispal across from Independence Plaza. The food cart was selling empanada con viento and empanada con morocho as well as pistaños for US$1 each.

You can get empanadas con viento at many small restaurants in the historic center like Modelo or lots of more expensive touristy restaurants like Hasta la Vuelta, Senor .

27.      Chilenos

It’s impossible NOT to love chilenos– doughnut holes sprinkled with sugar —one of the most delicious and unhealthy street foods in Ecuador.

They’re a good snack to munch on while wandering through the market in Otavalo or the historic center of Quito.

Where can you buy chilenos?

I bought chilenos from a street vendor at the Otavalo Market on this fun tour . I paid 50 cents for a bag of 5 chilenos . But another person on my tour paid US$1.

28.      Bizcocho

Bizcocho is a food that tastes better than it looks. You can buy them from street vendors in Quito, but the BEST place to get bizcocho is in the town where they originated— Cayambe –only 1.5 hours from the city, so it’s one of the best day trips from Quito .

Originally, the people of Cayambe made these pastries to sell on trains. Nowadays, they’ve become so popular that people from Quito stop in Cayambe first just to get their fill of this tasty snack food. Take a quick drive through the town and it’s hard not to notice that nearly every street has about 2 or 3 shops selling bizcocho on it.

Bizcochos are biscuits made from wheat flour, salt, sugar yeast, and oil . They are baked for 2 hours on high heat, which makes them soft. Then they are baked again for another hour on low heat, which makes the bizcocho crunchy.

You can spread caramel sauce and a layer of queso de hoja (fresh cheese) on top of the bizocochos. They’re sooooo delicious!

Where Can You Get Bizcocho?

I had bizcocho at Café Ecuatorial in Cayambe while I went on this fabulous tour through Get Your Guide . The tour stopped at this café on its way to the famous Saturday market in Otavalo.

At the café, we got a short history lesson on bizcocho and a free tasting. They sell bags of bizcocho for US$1 each, caramel for US$1, and the cheese for US$1.

29.      Pan de Yuca

Make sure to stop by a bakery to buy some pan de yuca at least once while in Ecuador. Pan de yuca or cheese bread are small soft buns made of yuca flour, cheese, eggs, and butter .

Ecuadorians like to eat these amazingly delicious treats for breakfast or as an afternoon snack. Very addicting!

Where Can You Get Pan de Yuca?

When I lived in Quito, I used to buy pan de yuca on weekday mornings from Café del Rio , a bakery in La Mariscal.

30.      Quesadillas

Another one of my favorite street foods is the Quesadillas. These delicious pastries look and taste NOTHING like the quesadillas you find in Mexico. But they’re still just as good.  

Quesadillas in Ecuador are pastries made of wheat, sugar, and cheese. The bottom is crispy and flaky and the middle and top are moist. When you take your first bite, you’ll taste a slight hint of cheese. Sooooo good!

Where Can You Buy Quesadillas in Ecuador?

I had quesadillas on the food tour through this food tour in Quito .

However, if you don’t want to do that, you can get the same quesadillas in the photo at Quesadillas de San Juan in Quito.

31.      Pristiños with Honey

Pristiños are another pastry that you’ve gotta try while in Ecuador. They are basically a sweet dessert of fried dough that’s spiced with cinnamon, cloves and anise .

Sprinkle some powdered sugar and drizzle some honey over them and then eat.

Where Can You Try Pristiños in Ecuador?

I had pristiños while on a walking tour with Guru Walks. We stopped at a food cart inside Plaza Arzobispal . The cart was selling pristiños and empanadas for US$1 each.

32.      Cevichocho

Cevichocho is a popular street food in Quito that’s a non-seafood version of ceviche. If you like acidic foods, you’ll adore this dish!

One of my tour guides told me that this was a vegetarian dish, but when I went to order it, I was told that the traditional version is with pork . Don’t worry, though, if you’re vegetarian you can easily order the non-meat version. There’s also a version with shrimp.

The main ingredient in cevichocho is a legume called chocho in Spanish or lupine beans in English . The rest of the ingredients vary. But the cevichocho I had was mixed with tomatoes, red onions, toasted corn, cilantro, plantain chips, and pork .

You then drown the ingredients in a tomate de abrol sauce , squeeze some lime juice on it, and finally drizzle it with aji (chili sauce). Then mix it up.

It’s got a real acidic kick to it that I just love, love, love, love!

Where Can You Try Cevichocho?

I saw cevichocho being sold by street vendors all over Quito. But you can also find it in restaurants. I went to the restaurant  DonCho Chocho y choclo in the historic center that specializes in cevichocho. There was a woman who worked there who spoke English and she taught me how to pour the different sauces and condiments over the dish.

My cevichocho with pork cost US$3.30.

33.      Helado de Paila (Paila Icecream)

Ecuadorians love their ice cream. You will find at least one icecream shop on literally every block. Ok. Maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but the ratio of ice cream shops to people is pretty high compared to the United States.

However, when you’re in Ecuador, don’t just eat any old icecream. You’ve got to try a special kind that you can only find in Ecuador (and maybe Colombia) called helado de paila or paila icecream .

Paila is the name of the copper bowl used in making the ice cream . The paila is placed in a bucket of ice . Then the ice cream maker pours the juice from a fruit ( blackberry or mora in Spanish is the most popular fruit for this) into the copper bowl. After that, he or she turns the bowl and mixes the fruit by hand with a spatula for around until the juice turns into the texture of ice cream. This takes about 5 minutes.

I’d say helado de paila is more like a sorbet than traditional ice cream.

Where Can You Try Helado de Paila?

You’ll find ice cream street vendors all over the historic center of Quito . On the weekend there seemed to be three helado de paila street vendors per block. But there’s one conveniently located in Independence Plaza called Dulce Nieve . Another one I’ve been to was at Mercado de Artesenal .

Usually they charge US$1 for a small cup of ice cream.

34.      Leche con Morocho

It took me two months to find leche con morocho, a popular evening snack . The reason is that it’s only sold at street stalls in the evenings, and I don’t usually go out at night when I’m traveling solo, so I could never find it.

Leche con morocho is made of rice or mote (white corn), milk, cinnamon, brown sugar, and raisins if you like. It’s a bit like rice pudding.

Where Can You Try Leche con Morocho?

I did manage to find one place in Banos that was selling leche con morocho in the afternoon. At Cafeteria Oasis Fenix , this lovely elderly woman was selling the drink as well as humitas and other traditional Ecuadorian street food. The small café is across from Parque Sebastian Acosta and near the KFC and Juan Valdez Café.

35.      Toasted Corn

I have to include toasted corn on this list of what to eat in Ecuador because it’s so ubiquitous. I saw it everywhere and I ate it so many times that I lost count. However, I’m not a big fan of maiz tostado (toasted corn).

Toasted corn is basically corn that has been toasted. It’s hard and crunchy and a bit burnt.

You’ll find it as a snack food and as a side with a lot of the dishes on this list like fritada and as an ingredient in dishes like cevichocho.

Where Can You Try Toasted Corn?

Honestly, it’s so common in Ecuador that if you’re likely to eat it at some point during your stay in the country.

On this walking tour in Cuenca , we stopped at the Mercado 10 de Agosto and sampled some toasted corn.

36.      Chifles

Another snack food that’s found all over Ecuador is chifles, or in other words, plantain chips.

Where to Get chifles?

You can easily get them at any convenience store pre-packed in a bag. However, it’s more fun to get them freshly made from snack shops or street vendors.

37.       Chocolate

Chocolate is one of Ecuador’s main export commodities . It’s grown in the Amazon and along the coast where the climate is warmer than in the Highlands.

However, you don’t need to go where it’s grown exactly to taste the chocolate. There are businesses in Quito and Mindo that process and sell locally-grown chocolate and offer tours .

Where to Try Chocolate in Ecuador?

In  Quito, stop by Minka Chocolate Experience across from Plaza de San Francisco. They’ve got some amazing chocolate drinks for US$3 – $4, chocolate ice creams (US$2 – $3), and chocolate desserts (US$2 – $4.50). I recommend getting the ponche de chocolate drink . A bonus is that the chocolate shop overlooks Plaza de San Francisco —if you’re lucky you can grab one of the three tables overlooking the square.

Another chocolate shop that I visited on my Quito itinerary was Yumbos Chocolate , also located across from Plaza de San Francisco . I went here with this walking tour . We got a free chocolate tasting, which was delicious and a lot of fun.

If you’re in Mindo , there are two chocolate tours: Yumbos Chocolates (the same company found in Quito) has tours for US$8 and El Quetzal de Mindo has even better tours for US$10 as well as a restaurant that specializes in dishes with chocolate. Just walk in and they’ll hook you up with a tour.

In Cuenca, there’s an amazing restaurant and chocolate shop called Chocoloteria dos Chorreras . They have the BEST hot chocolate I’ve ever had . The churros were good too.

38.      Ecuadorian Bread and Pastries

Out of all the Latin American countries I’ve been to, Ecuador has the best bread —good flavor, not overly sweet, and very affordable. You can often get a simple pastry for 12 cents to US$1.

Stop by a local bakery (panaderia) in Quito or Cuenca and pick up a yuca de pan or an higo (fig muffin).

39.      Ecuadorian traditional sweets

When you visit Cuenca , it’s hard to miss all the shops selling local sweets. Quito has its share too. But Cuenca…You can’t go a block without hitting a street vendor selling cocadas or a shop selling an assortment of picture-perfect sweets.

I highly recommend the cocadas – balls of coconut flakes cooked in panela. There’s also a delicious peanut butter bar that is really tasty (the sweets in the bottom left-hand corner in the above photo). The most traditional of sweets is one called leche con oblea (milk and wafer).

Inside Palacio Arzobispal are vendors selling traditional sweets from Quito. The guyaba one is quite good. I recommend taking this free walking tour through Guru Walks . The guide had us sample some of the sweets.

40.      Fruit Juices of Ecuador

 Finally, I’ve come to perhaps my favorite thing about Ecuadorian cuisine and that is its fruit, specifically its fruit juices or in Spanish, jugo naturales . I am not a fruit person—I don’t really even like fruit all that much, but in Ecuador, I couldn’t get enough of the fruit here. It’s exotic, fresh, inexpensive, and damn good.

However, my favorite way to consume fruit in Ecuador is as a juice. You can get so many different juices from so many different kinds of fruit that you’ve probably never heard of before.

Here are just a few juices:

• Tree tomato – tomate de abrol – the most popular flavor of fruit juice
• Sour sop – guanabano
• Guayaba – guava
• Naranjilla – I had this so many times on my Galapagos Cruise
• Blackberry (mora)

Final Thoughts: Best Food in Ecuador

You might not have time to eat ALL 40 dishes of Ecuador.

So, which ones should you absolutely must try?

THAT is such a hard question to answer. There’s so much great food in Ecuador. However, if I had to choose the dishes I’d like to eat again before leaving Ecuador, here they are…

If you’ve tried any of these dishes let me know what you think.  Which ones did you like? Not like? For those of you planning a trip to Ecuador, which dishes are you most looking forward to?

For those of you planning a trip to other parts of Latin America, check out my food guides to Panama , Guatemala , and the Yucatan .

Best Resources for Your Trip to Ecuador

Book your flight:.

Use Skyscanner to find the cheapest flights to Ecuador. They will turn up results for all airlines including major ones and local airlines. You’re guaranteed to find EVERYTHING that’s available and thus get the cheapest price.

Book Your Accommodations:

The best hotel booking sites are Booking.com and Agoda . They have the most choices and they consistently churn out hotels and hostels with the lowest prices. Another site for backpackers and budget travelers is Hostel World.

Book Your Tours:

Viator has the most tour choices of any site in Ecuador. They’re reliable and trustworthy. I also like using Get Your Guide for Ecuador for their excellent service. Both booking sites are reliable and trustworthy, and if you have trouble with your tour, they’ll quickly help you.

Get an eSIM

The most convenient way to stay connected to the internet is with an eSIM. I like to use Airalo for their excellent prices.

Want More Ecuador Travel Info?

Check out my Ecuador Travel Guide for more ideas, inspiration, and tips on traveling in Ecuador.

Are you on Pinterest?

Hey! How about saving one of these pins to Pinterest to read for later?

And feel free to follow me on Pinterest, where you’ll find lots of travel articles for everywhere around the world.

More Posts on Ecuador:

• Top 40 Foods You’ve Gotta Try in Ecuador
• How to Get to Papallacta Hot Springs
• How to Extend Your Visa in Ecuador
• The Ultimate Food Tour in Quito
• Galapagos Packing List
• Best Camera & Camera Gear for the Galapagos
• Anahi Galapagos Cruise Review: Western Islands Tour B1
• Anahi Galapagos Cruise Review: Eastern Islands Tour A2
• 25 Books to Read on Ecuador
• 15 BEST Places to Visit in Ecuador
• 25 BEST Places to Stay in Quito
• 20 BEST Quito Tours
• 15 BEST Day Trips from Quito
• Quito Itinerary for Culture, Food & History Lovers

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17 Traditional Ecuadorian Foods (& drinks) to try on your travels

Welcome to a tantalizing journey through the vibrant and diverse world of Ecuadorian cuisine!

Having spent three months slow travelling through Ecuador from the lush Amazon rainforest, and Galapagos Islands to the high Andean peaks, I tried as many traditional Ecuadorian foods as I could.

Let’s explore the rich tapestry of flavours, ingredients, and traditions that define typical Ecuadorian foods. From the zesty delights of ceviche and encebollado to the comforting embrace of locro de papa and hornado, each dish tells a story of Ecuador’s culture and history.

It’s always better to eat local . So, join me as we uncover the typical Ecuadorian foods you should try on your next trip from soups, main dishes and desserts. Buen provecho!

Traditional Ecuadorian Soups (sopas)

Encebollado.

Encebollado is a quintessential Ecuadorian seafood soup renowned for its bold and invigorating flavours. At its heart is fresh fish (pescado), which is simmered to perfection in a zesty broth infused with onions, tomatoes, and coriander.

What makes encebollado truly special is the generous addition of pickled red onions, adding a tangy crunch that cuts through the richness of the dish. Often served with yuca (cassava) and garnished with lime, this hearty soup is known for its rejuvenating properties, often dubbed “Ecuador’s hangover cure.” Encebollado is a testament to Ecuador’s coastal culinary heritage, offering a vibrant, soul-soothing taste of the sea.

Locro de Papa

Locro de Papa is a beloved Ecuadorian potato soup that embodies the heartiness and tradition of Andean cuisine. I loved this soup on my quest to try as many traditional Ecuadorian foods as I could!

This creamy and comforting dish is a culinary cornerstone, featuring chunks of potatoes simmered in a savoury broth flavoured with onions, garlic, cumin and achiote. Locro de Papa is often enriched with cheese, avocado, and crispy fried pork or chorizo, lending it a delightful complexity of textures and flavours.

Served hot and garnished with fresh herbs like coriander, it’s a comforting embrace on chilly Andean evenings and a testament to Ecuador’s deep-rooted connection to the potato, a staple crop native to the region.

Traditional Ecuadorian Foods

Chaulafan is a delightful Ecuadorian fried rice dish that fuses Chinese and Ecuadorian culinary influences into a harmonious medley of flavours. This fusion dish showcases the diversity of Ecuador’s cuisine.

Chaulafan starts with stir-fried rice, often cooked with a variety of ingredients like vegetables, eggs, shrimp, chicken, or pork, all seasoned with soy sauce and spices. It’s a testament to Ecuador’s cultural melting pot, reflecting the influence of Chinese immigrants who brought their culinary traditions to the region.

Chaulafan’s balance of savoury and aromatic flavours, combined with the Ecuadorian flair for fresh ingredients, makes it a favourite comfort food, offering a unique and mouth-watering taste of Ecuador’s gastronomic heritage.

Llapingacho

Llapingacho is a beloved Ecuadorian dish that embodies the country’s rich culinary heritage. These tasty potato patties are a staple in Ecuadorian cuisine, celebrated for their robust flavours and cultural significance.

Llapingacho is made by mashing potatoes and mixing them with cheese, onions, and a hint of achiote for a vibrant colour. The mixture is then shaped into thick, golden-brown disks and fried until crispy. They are usually fried in animal fat so vegetarians and vegans would need to check this!

Typically served with a peanut sauce, a fried egg, chorizo, avocado, and a side of curtido (pickled onions and tomatoes), llapingacho blends creamy, crunchy, and tangy elements into a satisfying culinary experience that’s quintessentially Ecuadorian.

Hornado is a delectable Ecuadorian culinary treasure, celebrated for its succulent roast pork. This dish begins with a whole pig, marinated in an aromatic mix of spices, typically including garlic, cumin, achiote, and bitter orange juice. The pig is slow-roasted until the skin turns irresistibly crispy, while the meat inside becomes tender and infused with the marinade’s rich essence.

Hornado is often served with hominy corn, mote, llapingacho (potato patties), fresh avocado slices, and a zesty tomato-onion curtido. It’s a festive and communal dish, often enjoyed at gatherings and special occasions, reflecting Ecuador’s deep appreciation for hearty, communal meals. Hornado is served in most mercados such as Banos Central Market , just look out for the pig’s head!

Seco de Chivo

Seco de Chivo is a savoury Ecuadorian stew featuring goat meat slow-cooked to tender perfection. Infused with a flavourful blend of spices, tomatoes, and beer or chicha, this hearty dish captures the essence of Ecuadorian comfort food.

Seco de Chivo is commonly served with rice, and fried plantain. If you love this Ecuadorian stew dish, you can find it on the breakfast menu as well alongside fried eggs and tigrillo (mashed green plantains, egg, and cheese). It was one of my all-time best Ecuador favourite foods.

Ceviche is a cherished culinary gem in Ecuador. This refreshing dish revolves around fresh seafood, typically shrimp or white fish, marinated in a citrusy blend of lime or bitter orange juice. The acid from the citrus “cooks” the seafood, transforming it into tender, flavourful morsels. Ecuadorian ceviche often includes red onions, tomatoes, coriander, and sometimes peppers, adding a vibrant medley of textures and tastes.

Regional variations will include trucha (trout) in the Andes, and ‘cevichocho’ in Riobamba which combines chochos (lupine beans), tomato juice, pork skin, onions, and minced meat.

Served chilled and garnished with plantain chips or popcorn, it’s a zesty and invigorating delight, embodying the coastal spirit and love for seafood that runs deep in Ecuador’s culinary heritage.

Cuy Asado is a traditional Ecuadorian dish that features roasted guinea pig. Considered a delicacy, the cuy is marinated in spices, herbs, and often beer or chicha, then slow-roasted to achieve a crispy exterior and succulent interior.

I have to admit that I wasn’t brave enough to try the guinea pig after seeing them whole on skewers with legs akimbo showing their two front teeth!

|| YOU MIGHT LIKE TRADITIONAL PERUVIAN DRINKS TO TRY

Bolón

Bolón is a beloved Ecuadorian dish, celebrated for its unique blend of textures and flavours. This delightful concoction revolves around green plantains, which are mashed and mixed with cheese, sometimes chicharrón (crispy fried pork), and various spices. The mixture is shaped into large, round balls and then fried until they achieve a crispy, golden exterior, while maintaining a tender, starchy core.

Bolón is typically served as a side dish, often accompanied by avocado slices, pickled onions, or aji (spicy pepper sauce). Whilst they don’t look very appetising, this classic traditional Ecuadorian food has a satisfying taste and comforting simplicity.

Chuleta is a mouthwatering Ecuadorian dish that spotlights succulent fried pork chops. These thick, bone-in cuts of pork are marinated in a flavorful blend of spices, often featuring garlic, cumin, achiote, and bitter orange juice. The marinade infuses the meat with a delicious blend of savoury and tangy flavours. After marinating, the chuletas are fried to perfection, resulting in crispy, golden exteriors and tender, juicy interiors.

Ecuadorian chuleta is frequently served with accompaniments like rice, yuca, avocado, and a zesty tomato-onion curtido. This dish showcases the country’s love for hearty, and satisfying meat preparations, reflecting its culinary diversity and passion for bold flavours.

Ecuadorian empanadas are delightful hand-held pastries that encapsulate a world of flavours. These savoury or sweet turnovers consist of a flaky, golden crust, often made from corn or wheat, and are generously stuffed with a variety of fillings. Common options include cheese, meat, plantains, or a blend of all these ingredients.

Each region in Ecuador offers its unique twist on empanadas, featuring diverse seasonings and accompaniments. Served as snacks or appetizers, Ecuadorian empanadas are a beloved street food, showcasing the country’s culinary creativity and its passion for handheld, portable delights.

My favourite empanada discovery was a street seller in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Galapagos. The empanada stands were surrounded by locals which is always a top sign. They are filled, wrapped and fried whilst you wait and they just melt in your mouth. One of the traditional Ecuadorian foods you must try!

Typical Ecuadorian Desserts

Maduro con queso.

Maduro con queso is a delightful Ecuadorian dish that combines the sweetness of ripe plantains with the creamy richness of cheese.

Ripe plantains are sliced and fried until they turn golden and caramelized, creating a crispy exterior that contrasts beautifully with their soft, sweet interior, and stuffed with either grated or sliced cheese.

The savoury-sweet combination is a staple in Ecuadorian cuisine, whether served as a snack, side dish, or even as a dessert. I found it hard to walk past a street food seller with plantain on the grill without walking off with a Maduro con queso in my hand!

Quimbolitos

Quimbolitos are a delightful Ecuadorian dessert that encapsulates the essence of traditional Andean cuisine.

These steamed, sweet treats are made from a mixture of corn masa, sugar, butter, and spices, typically wrapped in banana leaves or corn husks. The resulting confections have a soft, slightly dense texture, akin to a moist cake, infused with anise and cinnamon. Quimbolitos often feature a surprise in the centre, like raisins or a slice of cheese, adding depth to the taste experience.

These small, aromatic packages are a beloved part of Ecuador’s culinary heritage, enjoyed during celebrations and as a cherished symbol of Ecuadorian culture. I heard a street seller in Guamaote Thursday market shouting Quimbolitos and I was so happy I was lured in, they were a light fluffy dessert after my lunch.

You will see street sellers walking around plazas and main streets with what looks like ice cream but don’t be fooled. Espumilla is a beloved Ecuadorian dessert that combines the richness of meringue with tropical fruit flavours.

Made with egg whites, sugar, and fruit puree, it’s whipped to a fluffy, airy consistency. Espumilla is typically served in a cone offering a delightful blend of sweetness and fruity zest, a popular treat at local markets and celebrations.

Helado con queso

Helado con queso is a distinctive Ecuadorian ice cream dessert that blends the sweetness of ice cream with the savoury richness of the cheese. This unique dessert delicacy marries creamy textures, creating a delightful fusion of flavours. This frozen treat sounds wrong but was a surprisingly tasty experience.

Typical Ecuadorian Drinks

Canelazo is a warm and comforting Ecuadorian drink, especially popular in the Andean regions, known for its ability to chase away the chill of high-altitude nights. This aromatic brew combines aguardiente (a local sugar cane spirit), sugar, and water, infused with spices like cinnamon, cloves, and naranjilla fruit.

It’s a delightful balance of sweet and spiced flavours, offering a soothing, heated respite on cold evenings. Often garnished with a cinnamon stick, Canelazo not only warms the body but also evokes a sense of Ecuadorian tradition and conviviality, making it a cherished beverage for both locals and visitors.

Chicha, a traditional Ecuadorian drink, has deep cultural roots with indigenous people dating back to pre-Inca times. Chicha is crafted from either fermented maize, yuka, quinoa or rice depending on the region or province. I was shown how to make yuka chicha in the Amazon which was mushed up and left to ferment, resulting in a mildly alcoholic and slightly tangy beverage.

Chicha is a symbol of indigenous Ecuadorian heritage , often consumed during festive gatherings and celebrations. It embodies the country’s rich history and traditions, reflecting the importance of the staple foods in the region. Chicha is not only a drink but also a testament to Ecuador’s cultural diversity and the preservation of age-old customs.

Ecuadorian Food Experiences

Wherever you go in Ecuador, there will be a food experience that suits your preferences. So whether you want to explore the street food, traditional Ecuadorian foods, or the cacao scene, you will a tour for you!

• QUITO: Street Food Essentials
• QUITO: Cooking Class & Local Market Visit
• QUITO: Foodie Tour + Empanada Cooking Class
• MINDO: Chocolate Tour
• GUAYAQUIL: Chocolate-making and Cacao Farm
• GUAYAQUIL: Life & Gastronomy
• GUAYAQUIL: Vineyard + Premium Tasting
• CUENCA: Cooking Class & Market Tour
• CUENCA: Epicurean Adventure
• CUENCA: Rare Chocolate + Wine Pairing

PIN TO TRY TRADITIONAL ECUADORIAN FOODS ON YOUR NEXT TRIP

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I'm a content creator for She Wanders Miles ♡ Digital marketer, photographer, hiker, and nature lover ♡ Passion for slow, sustainable and responsible travel ♡ Join me in discovering our beautiful world across 7 continents.

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10 comments.

The traditional Ecuadorian foods look amazing. I’d like to try the ice cream with the cheese – sounds interesting!

Everyone says that the Helado con Queso sounds wrong, but I loved it. A great mix of flavours!

Oooh this is so cool! I love trying new things and embarrassingly I have only ever eaten a couple of these! Locro De Papa looks like the kind of things that your mum always makes the best version of, and Hornado looks reeeeally good. I’d like to try it all!

I hadn’t eaten many of these Ecuadorian foods before I landed in the country. Locro de Papa and Hornado were especially tasty!

Thanks to you, I’m now craving seafood, specifically CEVICHE! The ice cream with cheese has me curious and I’m down to try that.

I was happy to eat lots of cerviche in Ecuador. And the helados con queso was strangely tasty!

Great post! Love Locro De Papa, Llapingachos – these dishes look amazing! Hope to visit Ecuador one day to try all these amazing foods!

Yes, I loved Locro De Papa, and got a little obsessed with Maduro con Queso too 🙂

I’ve never been to Ecuador but now I have all the more reasons to visit, everything looks scrumptious! The food combos are amazing, saving this for my trip.

Glad I have inspired you to travel to Ecuador, it’s a great country!

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16 Most Popular and Traditional Ecuadorian Foods You Need to Try

By: Author Nomad Paradise

Posted on Last updated: August 1, 2023

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Ecuadorian food plays host to a staggering array of flavors. This diverse cuisine is heavily influenced by the altitude of the region you are in.

From the coastline to the mountains, there’s so much diversity in the food. But the rich tastes and the succulence are always strong, no matter where you are.

Join us on a culinary adventure through this beautiful country as a native Ecuadorian takes us through sixteen must-try Ecuadorian dishes.

16 Popular and Traditional Ecuadorian Foods

1 – tigrillo – scrambled eggs, green plantain, cheese, and onions.

Originating from the Oro province, Tigrillo (translated as ‘little tiger’) is a delicious breakfast for true Ecuadorians.

To make this calorie-rich dish, you first need to fry the green plantains, cut them in circles, mash them, and let them cool.

Then, fry some chopped onions in another pan and add the mashed plantains, eggs, and ground cheese. Any type of fresh cheese would be perfect for this dish.

Stir the mixture until all the ingredients are well mixed together and fully cooked.

Tigrillo is served warm and with chopped cilantro on top.

It is a satiating breakfast and a favorite among early-morning workers across the country who need an extra energy boost.

It’s always served with a cup of warm coffee. 

2 – Mote Pillo – Scrambled Eggs and Hominy

If you ever visit the highlands of Ecuador, you must try mote pillo, scrambled eggs with hominy.

This delicious dish contains a delicious mix of fried spring onions, boiled hominy, and scrambled eggs with milk.

The key is to fry all of these ingredients in achiote, a colored oil commonly used in Ecuadorian cuisine.

Some people love adding fresh cheese to mote pillo and, of course, chopped cilantro. 

Mote pillo is a typical dish that you can find on every corner of the city of Cuenca, and it’s considered one of their traditional breakfast dishes.

Generally speaking, hominy is part of almost every dish in the highlands. 

3 – Bolón – A Ball of Green Plantains and Cheese

Bolón, meaning a big ball, is another Ecuadorian breakfast dish that is commonly found along the Ecuadorian coast.

It’s larger than a tennis ball but smaller than a handball. It has incredible texture, aroma, and flavor.

This dish is easy to make, and it requires chopped, fried, and mashed green plantains mixed with cheese, butter, salt, and pepper, all rolled into balls. 

The key to a delicious bolón is to fry it after shaping the ball for an extra crunchy flavor.

Meat lovers add chopped chicharron (Ecuadorian sausage) to the mix for an even richer taste.

Bolón is usually served with one fried egg and a cup of warm coffee. 

4 – Encebollado – Albacore & Onion Soup

The Ecuadorian coast means party, and a party means hangover, and here’s where encebollado plays the leading role. 

Encebollado is a soup made from the famous albacore fish, a lot of onions, cilantro, yucca, and fresh lime juice.

This Ecuadorian food is the traditional chuchaqui (hangover) cure that wipes out a headache in an instant. 

The mixture of albacore, onions, and the softness of the yucca root gives this soup a specific flavor that penetrates all senses and makes you come back for more. 

The spicy sauce made out of radishes, carrots, chili peppers, and lime boosts the encebollado’s power, helping people to start a new day fresh and ready to roll. 

Encebollado is always eaten with chifle (long, green plantain chips), which you can dip in the soup. 

5 – Cuy Asado – Roasted Guinea Pig

No matter how awkward this may sound, roasted cuy is part of patrimonial Ecuadorian cuisine.

Furthermore, it’s one of the tastiest meats you will try in your life.

Typical for the Andean people across the South American continent, roasted cuy is a must-try whenever visiting Ecuador.

It’s served with potatoes, corn, chili sauce, and a salad that the locals call salsa (made of tomato, lettuce, onions, and lime). 

A lot of visitors feel suspicious about eating a guinea pig, but after trying the soft and tender meat, they understand why we all love it. 

Roasted cuy is a trademark of the Ecuadorian highlands cuisine. If you ever travel through this part of the world, don’t miss the opportunity to try one. 

6 – Ceviche de Camaron – Shrimp Ceviche

The king of all coastal meals – ceviche de camaron! Ceviche de camaron is raw shrimp marinated in a lot of lime juice.

After marinating in the lime juice, the shrimp is not as raw anymore, and it gains incredible texture and turns every bite into bliss.

Ceviche also contains salt, black pepper, chopped cilantro, chopped red chili peppers, green peppers, onions, and tomatoes.

So, after mixing all of these ingredients, you get a delicious dish perfect for the hot coastal weather. 

Some people eat ceviche with chifle, while others prefer patacones (green plantain “crackers”). 

Ceviche can also be made with fish, oysters, octopus, or mixed seafood. 

7 – Patacones con Queso – Fried Green Plantain “Crackers” with Cheese

Patacones are something that goes along with every Ecuadorian dish and are a true staple of Ecuadorian cuisine.

It can also be eaten on its own as a snack with cheese or sometimes even as a dinner meal.

Easy to make and rich in calories, patacones are the best snack-type food that you can order just like you order fries in many Western cuisines.

Patacones are green plantains cut diagonally and then deep-fried. After cooling down, the patacones are pressed until they become round in shape.

From there, they are fried once again. People will often sprinkle fresh ground cheese on the patacones while they’re still warm.

A cup of warm Ecuadorean coffee is an absolute must to make this combination perfect. 

8 – Tonga – Chicken, Rice, Peanut Butter Wrapped in Banana Leaf

Tonga is an exquisite dish coming from the province of Manabi on the Ecuadorian coast.

Tonga consists of homemade peanut butter, cooked white rice, chicken cooked in tomato, onion, or green pepper sauce, and slices of fried banana.

All of these Ecuadorian foods are wrapped together in banana leaves and baked for 15 minutes. 

When served, tonga looks like a birthday present wrapped in banana leaves. When opened, it releases a mind-blowing aroma.

Tonga is a large dish that is served as a meal and doesn’t need any side dishes or salads. 

It’s one of the oldest and most well-mastered dishes of Manabi, and it can also be made with shrimp instead of chicken. This dish is never found in other parts of Ecuador. 

9 – Llapingachos – Potato Tortillas Filled with Cheese

Llapingachos is a typical light dish from the Ecuadorian highlands. It is easy and cheap to make, so it’s quite widespread in almost all restaurants in Sierra.

Llapingachos are boiled potatoes mixed with cheese, made into tortillas, then fired and bathed in peanut butter. 

It’s a simple, easy-to-make, and energy-boosting dish that can be served for breakfast or dinner.

Llapingachos are generally served with a fried egg, sliced avocado, chorizo (sausage), and a tomato/onion salad. 

Llapingachos origin is from Tunguraghua province, where a lot of natives live.

The name comes from the Quechua word “llapin,” which means “smashed.” If you ever come to this region, don’t miss the llapingachos. 

10 – Locro de Papa – Potato Stew

Locro de papa is, without a doubt, one of the jewels of Ecuadorian gastronomy.

It is a creamy, thick potato soup served with toasted corn and, in some parts of Ecuador, even with popcorn that you can sprinkle in the stew.

Locro de papa is a basic dish that all local people eat at least twice a week. 

The best part of this dish is the added cheese slices that melt into the creaminess of the potato stew.

Even though it’s served hot, it’s also beloved in the coastal region, but it’s more popular in the colder parts of the country.

If you need to recuperate your strength after an Andean hike, then locro de papa is your best bet. 

11 – Helado de Paila – Bronze Pan Ice Cream

Like many other dishes and unusual ways of preparing food, Ecuador also has its own unique way of making ice cream by hand.

Without any electric mixers or blenders involved, the helado de paila is homemade ice cream, a favorite among the local population. 

It’s made of fruit juice and sugar added to a large bronze pan (paila) on top of a pile of crushed ice sprinkled with salt grains.

While the ice keeps the paila cold, the ice cream maker stirs the juice until it turns into a cream and starts hardening.

Helado de paila is a typical tradition in the city of Ibarra, and it’s mostly seen in the highlands.

This is an antique dessert that people of all generations love. 

12 – Encocado de Pescado – Fish in Coconut Stew

Back to the coast again, and here we have the irreplaceable Encocado de Pescado. This extraordinary dish is an eclectic mixture of flavors that tickles the palate of everyone that tries it.

Encocado de Pescado is made by frying tomatoes, onions, garlic, green peppers, cilantro, and parsley and then adding coconut milk.

When all the ingredients turn into a juicy and creamy stew, throw fish steaks in and wait until they turn soft.

The mixture of sweet coconut milk, fresh fish, and aromatic veggies and herbs results in an extraordinary dish.

This Ecuadorian food is typical for the entire Ecuadorian coast, obviously because of the fresh fish and the coconut palm trees that grow there. 

13 – Humitas – Steamed Corn Husk Filled with Ground Corn and Cheese

Humitas can be served as a salty appetizer or as a breakfast dish, typical for the highlands. When visiting the Sierra, you can see humitas stands on every corner.

Humitas are actually corn husks filled up with a mixture of ground corn and cheese.

The husks are wrapped and tied with a slice of the husk and steamed in a special pot.

Humitas are always served with a cup of hot coffee. 

A dish similar to the humita is called tamal, but instead of wrapping the corn husk, people use a banana leaf.

The filling can be with cheese, plantain, and or chicken. 

Humitas are a light snack that you can have between meals or even eat a couple of them for lunch. 

14 – Estofado de Pollo – Chicken Stew

Estofado de Pollo is one of the most popular dishes in Ecuador.

It takes around thirty minutes to prepare, and it’s often served for ‘almuerzo,’ a lunch menu at local restaurants.

Estofado is made with onions, spring onions, green peppers, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, and chicken that gets soaked in the veggie mixture.

All these ingredients cook together until the mixture turns soft and receives all the flavors. 

Estofado is considered a main dish, although it can sometimes look like a soup.

This stew can also be made with fish, shrimp, pork, or beef, depending on the province you’re visiting. 

If you ever lay your eyes on a sign that says ‘Estofado de Pollo,’ check it out. You won’t regret it. It’s a delightful food of Ecuador.

15 – Dulce de Tomate de Arbol – Tree Tomato Sweets

Ecuador is popular for a variety of fruits, and one of the most specific ones for this region is the tree tomato.

These fruits look similar to regular tomatoes, though brighter in color, and they are used to make the simplest sweet dish.

All you need to do is boil a couple of tree tomatoes, let them cool down, and peel them.

Then, boil them again with raw sugar cane (panela) and a little bit of water until it all melts together. 

Dulce de tomate de arbol is a typical dessert from the highlands, where this fruit mostly grows.

Considering the amount of sweetness, prepare yourself to skip lunch on the day you try this traditional Ecuadorian sweet treat. 

16 – Papas con Cuero – Potatoes with Pork Skin

Ecuadorian people don’t let any part of an animal go to waste. It’s one of the ways Ecuadorian food is so resourceful.

One of the most typical recipes from the city of Cuenca contains boiled pork skin with boiled potatoes, spring onions, cumin, cilantro, salt, and pepper.

Papas con cuero is a type of stew, but it can also be eaten dry, letting the water evaporate.

What gives this dish a special touch is the peanut butter melted in warm milk that’s added to the mix while boiling.

The final result is a delicious bowl of soft potato chunks and flavored skin pieces that can be eaten for lunch or dinner. 

Papas con cuero is served with sliced avocado, and some even add a boiled egg to it. If you ever visit Cuenca, try this Ecuadorian cuisine jewel. 

Ecuadorian Foods Summary

As we’ve discovered together, Ecuadorian food boasts an incredible range of tastes and flavors. Within the country, there’s so much diversity and flavor.

Spend your time at the coast, and you’ll be treated to tender seafood dishes with plenty of hearty carbohydrates.

Venture into the mountains, and tender chicken, beef, and pork dishes await. All use the rich, fresh vegetables from the mountains.

Fruits are also plentiful in Ecuadorian cuisine. From golden plantains to juicy passionfruit, many of these fruity flavors make it into both mains and desserts.

Whether you’re visiting Ecuador soon or want to experience a taste of Ecuadorian cuisine at home, there’s so much on this list to get excited about.

Traditional Ecuadorian food is full of life, color, and flavor. It represents both the people and culture of Ecuador so well.

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Save and Pin for Later

Want to keep all of these delicious Ecuadorian foods in a safe place. Save this article to one of your food or travel boards on Pinterest. That way, you’ll also be able to find this amazing list of Ecuadorian foods.

Author: Stef Zisovska is a writer from Olon, on the eastern coast of Ecuador. She writes creatively in the health and travel sectors and is deeply passionate about sharing Ecuadorian cuisine and culture with others.

Hey there! We are Dale and Doina, the founders of Nomad Paradise. We traveled full-time for over three years, and while we now have a home base in the U.K., continue to take trips abroad to visit new places and try new cuisines and foods. Our food guides are curated with the guidance of local foodies, and their contribution is indicated under each article. We also cook the foods we try abroad, and you can discover how to make them in our 'recipes from around the world' category.

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Tuesday 16th of August 2022

Thank you for sharing our traditional foods! I love it.

Tuesday 9th of August 2022

One of the best gastronomy in the world. Simply delicious….

Saturday 27th of February 2021

My dad was from Ecuador & I never got a chance to write down the recipes.

Traditional Ecuadorian Food: 20 Dishes You MUST Try When Travelling in Ecuador

Ecuador is not only geographically diverse but also a wonder when it comes to food. Ecuadorian cuisine is one of the most interesting cuisines in the world.

As you’ll see in this introduction to traditional Ecuadorian food, much of the diversity of this equatorial country is reflected in its varied and delectable cuisine.

Table of Contents

Locro de Papa

The term “locro” refers to a thick and filling stew enjoyed by residents of South America’s Andean region. Locro can be cooked with a variety of ingredients depending on where it originates, but in Ecuador, potato and cheese are the two main ingredients.

The ingredients used to make locro de papa, an Ecuadorian potato soup or stew, include local potatoes, onions, garlic, fresh cheese (queso fresco), milk, and spices. Before adding the cheese, which melts into the hearty soup, the ingredients are boiled and cooked together. They serve it in many Quito restaurants .

First courses in Ecuadorian meals frequently include soups like locro de papa, which are typically accompanied by avocados and aji spicy sauce.

Llapingachos

Llapingachos are a superb example of Ecuadorian Highland cuisine that traces back to pre-Hispanic times. The Kichwa term llapina, which means “to crush into a soft and mushy consistency,” is the source of the word’s name.

Llapingachos are fried potato cakes popular in Ecuador prepared with mashed and boiled potatoes that have been spiced up with onions and other ingredients and filled with cheese. The potato patties are fried on a griddle until the outside is crispy and golden brown and the interior is soft and creamy.

These delectable fried potato cakes are often eaten for breakfast or lunch with diverse side dishes including chorizo sausages, avocados, fried eggs, and salad, and served with salsa de mani (creamy peanut sauce). We tried it while visiting Ciudad Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World) .

Empanadas are a well-liked and delectable snack or form of street cuisine in Ecuador. Often translated as filled turnovers or hand-held pies, empanadas are stuffed bread or pastries that are baked or fried.

The most traditional Ecuadorian empanadas are called empanadas de viento, or “fried cheese empanadas.” They are filled with cheese (and sliced onions, if you choose), cooked until crispy, and served with sugar. These snacks are primarily found on Ecuador’s mainland .

Restaurants are now presenting enormous selections that you may share even though they typically fit on an appetizer dish.

The term “cuy asado” describes roasted guinea pig. Cuy is a well-liked food source in Ecuador and is prepared variously as roast, grilled, or fried.

Although guinea pigs are frequently kept as pets in North America, they are considered livestock in the Andes. They have always been raised for their flesh, which is frequently compared to rabbits.

Despite being one of the more unusual Ecuadorian meals on this list, roasted guinea pig plays a significant role in Ecuadorian cuisine and culture. Like any cultural cuisine, I believe you should sample it to get the whole Ecuadorian experience. The most popular places and markets to try cuy in Ecuador are located in Cuenc a.

Patacones ( Fried Plantains)

Patacones are fried green plantains chopped into thick slices, then mashed into circles and refried. They’re salted and delicious as a side dish or appetizer with your preferred topping sauce. They are golden brown and slightly firm. Patacón, commonly known as tostón, is a popular Latin American and Ecuadorian meal.

For many Ecuadorian main dishes, fried ripe plantains are another essential side dish. Depending on the cuisine, you might have either ripe or green fried plantains (aka patacones or tostones).

Churrasco Ecuatoriano

One of the most well-liked foods in Ecuador is churrasco. Churrasco is a popular cuisine from Ecuador made with thin steaks that are either grilled or occasionally fried in a mixture of onions and peppers and topped with a crispy fried egg. It is typically served with rice, French fries, ripe plantains, and salad. We stopped by the local village restaurant after the Quilotoa lake exhausted hike and it was one of the best dishes we tried in Ecuador.

Fish Ceviche

Any species of white fish that is suitable for sashimi-grade curing in a mixture of lime juice, garlic, and hot peppers can be used to make Ecuadorian fish ceviche. Prior to eating, it is blended with cilantro, tomatoes, bell peppers, and red onions that have been marinated in lime after curing.

It’s frequently served with hot sauce and a variety of side dishes like fried plantain chips, chifles, and toasted corn nuts.

If you travel to Ecuador in March or April, you might be able to sample fanesca. It is an Easter soup created in Ecuador with bacalao  (dried and salted fish) and a variety of other ingredients. It is a highly traditional dish served only once a year to commemorate Easter and Lent in Ecuadorian cuisine.

Various ingredients, including bacalao boiled in milk, sambo (figleaf gourd), zapallo (pumpkin), mellocos (Andean potatoes), and twelve various types of beans and grains, are used to make fanesca, a hearty and deeply symbolic soup.

Mote con Chicharron

Mote con Chicharron combines the flavors of Mote, which is hominy, and Chicharron, which is fried pork belly.

This affordable traditional Ecuadorian meal is frequently offered in local markets and by street vendors.

Crema de Maiz

Crema de Maiz (the soup on the right side) is known as cornmeal cereal. It is popular in South American countries such as Puerto Rico and Ecuador. It is commonly served for breakfast and as an appetizer. We tried it while visiting Otavalo .

Corviche is a dish composed from mashed green plantain and fish. That combo may not sound particularly tasty, but when done correctly, it is fantastic! Green plantains are grated and then mashed. The mashed potatoes are shaped into balls, and the fish is placed within. If you want to try one I highly recommend doing a custom order from Hacienda El Rejo , the amazing hotel we stayed near Cotopaxi National Park  region.

Once the fish is coated in the mashed plantain, it is deep-fried until crispy on the outside. It’s mushy on the inside, like mashed potatoes.

Brujo fish or also called scorpion fish is commonly found in fish markets in Puerto Ayora in Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos .

Most restaurants in the area serves grilled brujo fish and it is enjoyed by tourists. You can get a whole brujo fish foor as low as $25 and this can be already shared by three people.

Tigrillo is a fried green plantain scramble with buttery eggs and shredded cheese.

This meal originated in coastal villages in the southern region, such as Zaruma . Although tigrillo is offered in the Andes, breakfast in Andean cities such as Quito or Ibarra is more likely to include oven-baked bread with homemade fruit jam.

Tigrillo is made with chopped green plantains that are cooked twice for the most delectable base. Then. it is combined with sautéed onions, scrambled eggs, and melted queso fresco. It is served with a cup of coffee and a sprinkling of cilantro on top.

Guatita is an Ecuadorian dish made with tripe in a potato and peanut sauce. The tripe is cooked and then sliced into very little pieces so that the strong distinct flavor does not overpower you, and the flavor combines in with the flavor of the potato peanut sauce.

Guatita tripe stew from Ecuador is served with white rice, curtido or pickled onions, tomato slices, avocado slices, and hot sauce.

Arroz con Camarones

Arroz with camarones literally means “rice with shrimp.” This traditional Latin dish is created with excellent shrimp and yellow rice cooked in a handmade shrimp stock. There are various versions of this meal from Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Colombia, and other Latin and Caribbean countries.

The word “hornado” refers to the roasted pigs in Ecuador. It entails slow-roasting a whole pig over hot coals for several hours, frequently overnight, in a marinade comprised of onions, garlic, cumin, chicha (fermented corn), and annatto.

Highland marketplaces frequently offer hornado de chanchos. They may come with different side dishes depending on where you are in Ecuador, but often they are served with llapingachos (fried potato cakes), mote (boiled maize), chicharrones, and some veggies.

Espumilla is a popular Ecuadorian street item. Fruit pulp, commonly guava o guayaba, egg whites, and sugar are used to make these delectable guava meringue cream treats.

Espumillas are offered in ice cream cones and resemble ice cream. Street sellers selling espumillas are frequent at the exits of most Ecuadorian schools. On weekends and holidays, you may also find them outside of fruit markets in many cities, as well as in plazas.

Quinoa Powder

Quinoa is a nutrient-dense gluten-free grain that is native to Ecuador and South America’s Andes area. Quinoa’s fiber can also aid with cholesterol and blood sugar levels, thus lowering your risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Quinoa flour is quite versatile and can be used in a broad variety of cuisines. It can also be used to make gluten-free toppings and thicken soups and sauces. It is also added to protein smoothies because of its protein-rich content.

Cevichocho Vegano (Vegetarian Ceviche)

Ceviche de chochos is a vegetarian ceviche cooked with chocho beans (lupini beans), onions, tomatoes, cilantro, limes, oranges, and tomato sauce.

It is commonly paired with maiz tostado, chifles or plantain chips, avocados, and hot sauce.

Arepas are packed cornmeal pastries with a crunchy exterior and a fluffy interior. They’re usually eaten as a snack or as a side dish to a main course.

Arepas are unleavened (no yeast, baking soda, or baking powder) and typically prepared with precooked cornmeal for that trademark golden color and corn flavor. They are typically prepared on a griddle, but they can also be fried, baked, or boiled.

The filling options vary depending on the region. You can stuff them with meat, eggs, beans, pumpkin, cheese, and other items.

Humita is a typical South American cuisine that transcends the Hispanic period. It’s an ancient delicacy made with fresh choclo mashed into a paste and wrapped in corn husk before steaming or boiling in water.

In Ecuador, humitas are made with freshly ground maize, onions, garlic, cheese, eggs, and heavy cream. They are similar to tamales, however, they are made using fresh maize rather than masa. They are well-known in Ecuador’s Highlands, where they are typically consumed for breakfast or as a mid-day snack with coffee.

Colada Morada

Colada morada (traditional Ecuadorian drink)

Colada Morada is a purple drink that is made with blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries. It is traditionally served during Day of the Dead celebrations. We tried it in Quito’s old town .

Ecuador offers a wide range of options when it comes to food. Each delicacy offers a distinct taste and representation of the region where it came from. Tourists from all over the world also come to Ecuador for food tours.

If you are visiting Ecuador , make sure to not miss the scrumptious food and gastronomy they offer.

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About the author.

Oleg Galeev

I'm Oleg, and together with my wife, we've explored Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, journeying through more than 20 cities ( Quito , Cuenca , Banos , Tena , Puyo , Guayaquil , Riobamba , Otavalo , Mindo and more) and nearly every island in the Galapagos (including iconic ones such as Bartolome Island , San Cristobal Island , Isabela Island , Santa Cruz Island and more). In this blog, I give you my real thoughts about each place we visited. This info can help anyone planning a trip to the Galapagos Islands or mainland Ecuador . I'm just a traveler, not a tour company, so I'm not trying to sell anything. That means I'll tell you the truth—both the good and the bad — about traveling in Ecuador based on what we experienced.

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What to eat and drink in Ecuador

Oct 15, 2022 • 5 min read

From traditional restaurants to street food, here's our menu of the best dishes to try in Ecuador © holgs / Getty Images

The cuisine of Ecuador varies greatly depending on where you are in the country. Along the coast, seafood reigns supreme, while the Andean highlands feature potatoes, corn, pork and other earthy ingredients. 

The Amazon ( Oriente region ) also has its specialties, including river fish fired up in imaginative ways. Wherever you go, tradition plays a deep role in the cooking, with some recipes predating the arrival of the Spanish colonizers. This guide to dishes and the best places to try them can help you choose the perfect Ecuadorian meal.

Indulge in the seafood of Guayaquil 

The lowland city of Guayaquil on Ecuador’s southwest coast has its own culinary hits, including cangrejo (crab), ceviche (more soup-like than its Peruvian cousin), and various rice and seafood combinations. The city's most famous dish, however, is encebollado (fish stew). It's eaten at all times of day (even in the morning as a cure for a hangover) and is usually made with tuna or albacore, along with tomato, coriander and the leaves from the cassava shrub. It may also be garnished with pickled red onion rings, ripe avocado, banana chips or bread, plantain, and popcorn.

Where to try it: The upscale Los Cangrejos de Pepe Loza is a top choice for a seafood feast. Many locals consider La Casa del Encebollado to serve the best encebollado in town — as one might expect for a place that has been named after the dish. 

Feast on chugchucara in Latacunga 

The central highland town of Latacunga draws travelers who come to visit the national park surrounding Cotopaxi volcano , or to explore the indigenous villages along the Quilotoa Loop . Yet the central highland town is also famous for its chugchucara , a tasty plate of fritada (fried chunks of pork, served with mote – hominy), chicharrón (fried pork skin), potatoes, tostada  (toasted corn) and other sides. The hearty, calorie-filled meal makes the perfect ending to a day of hiking .

Where to try it: Latacunga’s main market (the mercado cerrado) has food stalls doling out piping-hot servings of chugchucara . There’s also the famous Chugchucaras La Mamá Negra , an atmospheric restaurant where the meal is fired up in a wood-burning oven. 

Hear the waves crashing on the beach while enjoying Afro-Ecuadorian cooking

Esmeraldas province on the north coast of Ecuador serves some of the country’s best seafood. With some 70% of the population here of African descent, the cuisine and culture are quite different from other parts of Ecuador. Rather than pork and potatoes, seafood plays a starring role in dishes like encocado , a flavorful fish or mixed seafood stew cooked in coconut milk with spices.

Where to try it: In the seaside town of Sua, the simple, open-sided Restaurante d’Anita serves outstanding encocado as well as other seafood dishes.

Dine on Ecuador’s signature highland dish 

One of the most traditional foods of Ecuador's highlands is cuy , or roasted guinea pig, which is sometimes served on a spit and whole. While some visitors may balk at eating cuy , it has been a highland staple for centuries. (If you’re in Quito , check out the painting of the Last Supper in the Catedral Metropolitana , where Jesus and disciples gather over a plate of cuy .)  Those who’ve tried it know it’s delicious, with a taste somewhere between chicken and duck. It’s also a sustainable and environmentally friendly source of animal protein. 

Where to try it: You’ll find cuy sold from market vendors throughout the highlands. For a more upscale experience, book a table at elegant Guajibamba in Cuenca . 

Experience Amazonian specialties

The Oriente, Ecuador’s easternmost region, is home to Amazonian jungle and forest-fringed towns where restaurants serve up one-of-a-kind tropical flavors. One dish to seek out is maito , a filet of river fish that’s wrapped in the leaves of bijao, banana or palm and then cooked over a wood fire or charcoal. Maitos can be found in most towns, usually steamed together with plantains or yuca, making a healthy, deliciously filling meal. You might also try the chontacuro , a protein-rich, fat worm that grows in the core of the chonta palm tree.

Where to try it: At El Bijao in the riverside town of Misahuallí, you can order a maito or a skewer of grilled chontacuros while watching mischievous monkeys on the central plaza.

Sweeten your day with an Ecuadorian dessert 

No matter where you roam in Ecuador, you’re never far from a bit of sweet temptation. Bakeries, street vendors and restaurants are all good places to browse for a rich dessert. Typically found on the coast, flan de piña (pineapple flan) is sometimes made with coconut or other fruits. It has a custard-like crème brûlée consistency and is flavored with vanilla and rum.

Also popular is the ubiquitous pastel de tres leches (three milk cake), a sponge cake made with evaporated milk, condensed milk and thick cream. It can be topped with cream, syrup or fruit.

Quimbolitos are the sweet tamales of the nation, made with cornflour, butter, eggs, cheese and raisins, and then cooked wrapped in banana leaves or achira leaves. 

Where to try them: Overlooking the Plaza Grande in Quito’s historic center, the Dulcería Colonial whips up classic Ecuadorian desserts as well as some of the city’s best coffee drinks. 

There aren't many choices for vegetarians and vegans 

Ecuador is a challenging place for vegetarian and vegan diners. Prepare yourself for a diet of corn, potatoes and beans. You'll find maíz (corn) in many shapes and flavors: humitas are lightly sweetened corn dumplings, steamed and served in the corn husks. Tostada (toasted corn) makes a fine snack and is sometimes served as an appetizer in casual restaurants. On the streets, you can also find vendors selling tortillas de maiz (thin corn pancakes) and choclo (grilled corn).

The Andes are the birthplace of the potato and are accorded a respect they rarely receive elsewhere. Dishes like llapingachos (fried potato and cheese pancakes) and locro de papa (a creamy, sweet potato soup with avocado and cheese) showcase the versatile tuber, though you'll also find it served as an accompaniment to many non-vegetarian dishes. 

Apart from these traditional dishes, Ecuador has a growing number of vegetarian and vegan restaurants. You’ll find the best choices in Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca. 

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Home » South America » Ecuador » 15 Ecuadorian Food Favorites: Dishes Not To Miss

15 Ecuadorian Food Favorites: Dishes Not To Miss

By Author Lance Longwell

Posted on Last updated: January 4, 2024

One of our favorite aspects of foreign travel is digging into the local cuisine of our destination. You can’t really understand a place or its culture if you don’t understand its food. We’d been to the Andes before (visiting neighboring Peru ), so we thought we knew what we’d find in the food in Ecuador. We were wrong. Ecuadorian cuisine is similar to its neighbor but also unique, integrating local ingredients, while reflecting cultural differences. Here are our some of our favorite Ecuadorian food dishes and a couple of drinks from our two-week itinerary .

Bolon de verde

Fritada de chancho, llapingachos, empanada de viento, ecuadorian aji hot sauce, bizcochos de cayambe, fried plantains, pan de yuca, shrimp ceviche, chirimoya fruit.

The bolon de verde or “The Ball” is a national dish of Ecuador. This baseball- or grapefruit-sized ball is absolutely delicious. Green plantains are mashed and made into ball around a filling of meat (usually pork) or sometimes cheese. The whole ball of goodness is then pan fried and served hot.

Traditionally, bolon de verde is served as part of an Ecuadorian breakfast or a late brunch. The bolon is very filling and helps workers get through their day. And it tastes amazing!

Travelers to the Andes Mountains have all heard tales of local residents eating cuy (or, as we know it, guinea pig). Cuy is an indigenous food source and common to the diet in Ecuador, dating back to the times before domestic animals (namely cattle) were introduced by the Spanish.

We first encountered cuy during our time in Cusco, Peru , several years ago. Cuy has a naturally greasy, dark meat. We weren’t particularly impressed at the time, but we thought it might have had something to do with the restaurant where we ate.

So, on this trip to Ecuador, we sought out the freshest cuy possible at a local roadside food stall in an area called Paradero la Quinchenita. Once roasted over an open fire, the skin gets crispy and delicious. I’ll admit to enjoying this second try of cuy. So, if you’re traveling to Ecuador, this is one traditional Ecuadorian food you have to sample!

See: What to Pack for Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands

The fritada de chancho (usually just shortened to fritada) is one of the most common and popular foods in Ecuador. We encountered this dish everywhere from the Avenue of the Volcanoes to the Galapagos .

The fritada is a piece of pork (often pork shoulder) which is boiled in water until the water evaporates, then fried, and finally finished in a somewhat spicy red sauce. The fritada is then served with sides of hominy, fava beans, corn, or potatoes – or all of the above. This is a very popular dish on the weekends and a brunch staple for most Ecuadorians.

Llapingachos are one of the most popular dishes to eat in Ecuador because they’re simple and delicious. These potato patties are stuffed with cheese and pan fried until golden—crispy on the outside and soft and cheesy on the inside. You may see them made with yuca as a substitute for potato, but the flavor and texture are similar.

Llapingachos are often served alongside pork, a fried egg, avocado, and salad, and you’ll almost always see them with peanut sauce. So good!

The empanadas de viento (roughly translated as “air” or “wind” empanadas) are large pastries filled mostly with air and a little bit of gooey fried cheese. These Ecuadorian empanadas can fill the entire plate! These delicious bites are served all day long and are typically enjoyed with a sprinkling of sugar or dipped into aji hot sauce–or both. Of all the Ecuadorian foods we tried, this might be our favorite.

There is only one certainty when it comes to Ecuadorian food. Wherever you are, whatever you are eating, and whoever is at your table with you, there will be aji somewhere on the table. It might be fresh in a bowl with a spoon or in a bottle from the store, but it will be there.

What is aji? It is the ubiquitous hot sauce of Ecuador. Aji is a cross between salsa and a condiment like ketchup. The base of the sauce is the fruit of the tree tomato (tomate de arbol in Spanish). I’d never heard of a tree tomato before, but it has a mild, tomato-like flavor. Aji is then spiced with a small amount of Aji pepper. Most aji sauce in Ecuador is medium spicy at best (mostly just flavorful, but not really hot), although you will encounter a few varieties that will knock your shorts off.

In Cayambe, we discovered bizcochos. Throughout the entire town of Cayambe (between Quito and our visit to the Otavalo market ), the road is lined on both sides with cafes and shops all proudly proclaiming they serve bizcochos. It’s an oddity to see a business not selling these Ecuadorian desserts. And with good reason–these light, flaky biscuits are a tradition dating back to the Spanish colonization of the town.

The bizcochos dough is flattened and divided into sticks, which are served a half-dozen at a time in brown paper bags. There is a ritual to eating bizcochos. First, you try a bite of the buttery biscuit all on its own to ensure it is perfectly cooked. Then you take a bite of the biscuit along with string cheese (called queso de hoja) and caramel dulce de leche dipping sauce.

I have to say, I’m not a huge fan of dulce de leche and I was skeptical how the cheese, sauce, and bizcochos biscuit would taste together, but it’s quite good. You’d never expect the flavors to blend, but the sweet and savory really work together. There’s a reason bizcochos are one of the more popular foods in Ecuador!

Choclo is a variety of large-kernel corn, and it is fabulous. You’ll find it served boiled on the cob in restaurants or toasted as street food. Served with a slice of fresh cheese, it’s choclo con queso.

Plantains are popular throughout Latin American cuisine. Similar to a banana, they’re versatile and can be served in lots of ways, including as chips, mashed, or in soups. One of our favorite ways to try them was baked as a street food. Slit lengthwise and stuffed with cheese, they’re an amazing treat when you’re on the go.

The humita is one of the most authentic Ecuadorian foods available. Humitas are essentially tamales–steamed masa and corn in a banana leaf. In Ecuador, humitas are either salty or sweet (we only encountered the salty variety on our trip) and can also contain onions, cheese, or eggs.

The indigenous Native Americans were making humitas long before the Spanish arrived in the Andes, making this one of the most authentic foods in the region. They are also incredibly cheap–just pennies to buy from the local seller with a push cart!

Pan de yuca is an Ecuadorian cheese bread. This traditional treat is made with yuca flour, cheese, butter, eggs, and milk. It’s often sold at yogurt shops with fruit-flavored yogurt drinks and is great for breakfast or a snack.  

When it comes to food wars, the hotly contested battle of who invented ceviche is one of great rivalries. While most historians have sided with Peru, Ecuador now stakes its claim that it has the better ceviche. While this is certainly a value judgement, we’re going to side with Ecuador here.

The main difference between ceviche in Peru versus ceviche in Ecuador is that Ecuadorian ceviche is served in the citrus marinating juices and not drained, resulting in a kind of soupy broth. The fish and seafood retain more of their flavor this way.

Ecuadorian ceviche is usually garnished with tostado (a corn nut) and plantain chips. Shrimp is probably the most popular kind of ceviche in Ecuador, and for good reason since the country is one of the leading producers of farm-raised shrimp. Also, for those who are worried about the quality of their seafood (like me), Ecuadorian shrimp rank very well in independent international quality and sustainability studies.

The sweet, fleshy cherimoya fruit is a staple of Ecuadorian cuisine. The greenish fruit reminds me of an artichoke from the outside, but inside, the fragrant white pulp is a delicious treat, which is also high in antioxidants. Chirimoya also makes a great juice, which we had with breakfast several times. Driving between Otavalo and Quito, we discovered numerous pop-up stands by the side of the road selling Chirimoya to passing cars.

Enjoy: Seeing the Colorful Otavalo Market

Canelazo is a hot, spiced, alcoholic beverage served in the Ecuadorian highlands. Produced from sugar cane alcohol, the brew is spiced, usually with cinnamon or cloves, and served warm. It is traditionally associated with the holidays/Christmas time, but Ecuadorians have begun drinking it year round–especially as an aperitif.

We always enjoy trying the local brew on our trips and discovered the local beer in Ecuador: Club (pronounced like “kloob”). It’s a lager-style beer from Guayaquil and very refreshing on a hot day!

Lance Longwell is a travel writer and photographer who has published Travel Addicts since 2008, making it one of the oldest travel blogs. He is a life-long traveler, having visited all 50 of the United States by the time he graduated high school. Lance has continued his adventures by visiting 70 countries on 5 continents – all in search of the world’s perfect sausage. He’s a passionate foodie and enjoys hot springs and cultural oddities. When he’s not traveling (or writing about travel), you’ll find him photographing his hometown of Philadelphia.

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Monday 17th of April 2023

Well said, you perfectly described very ell everything. The list of the food you chose is very delicious. Chirimoya is one of my favorite fruits. El cuy is very popular especially in the south part of the country were now on days you can eat any day you want at resturants. The variety of fruits, breads and pastry is something that I still miss from my country. Next time visit the south, Cuenca I would say. Las humitas are wrapped and cooked steamed in the leaves of the same corn. Tamales are cooked in plantain leaves. Congratulations, I loved your post. ❤

JOSE IGNACIO VASCONEZ CARRASCO

Tuesday 24th of September 2019

This was so useful. There is a lot of new vocabulary and, at the same time, I can know more about Ecuadorian tradicional food. THANKS FOR SHARING IT.

Thursday 15th of August 2019

One of the most popular dishes (in the Amazon region) for celebrations is a whole pig. Families gather to eat the crackling which they cook with a blow torch! Then the whole pig is broken down and grilled over an open fire. It is served with mote (large boiled corn) and a salad of sliced tomatoes and red onions marinated in fresh lemon juice (the lemons look like oranges!) We also had delicious tilapia steamed in banana leaves in an area near Cuenca called Cajas.

Thursday 10th of January 2019

Are there any decent gluten free beers in Ecuador and maybe the Galapagos? How much are Ecuadorians into organic food? It sounds like you don't get too many vegetables but I did find a number of vegetarian restaurants

Lance Longwell

Thursday 17th of January 2019

We didn't really encounter any of the dietary corporate marketing fads in Ecuador. There's tons of wonderful, healthy vegetables like corn, tomatoes, potatoes, beans, etc. The food is fresh and healthy and tons of vegetables to be found! Enjoy!

Monday 11th of December 2017

Forgot to mention llapingachos!

Ecuadorian Food: Typical & Traditional Cuisine

Traditional Ecuadorian food is diverse and underrated. Each of this small country's geographic zones, the Pacific coastal regions, the Andes Mountains, and the Amazon, features a variety of local delicacies.

Like Colombia to the east, soups are a specialty across the country, and like Peru to the south, ceviche is a typical dish on the coast.

Leave your preconceived notions about Ecuadorian cuisine at the border, and step outside your comfort zone while traveling through Ecuador .

Ecuadorian Food – Typical Dishes

Arroz con Pollo (or Camarones)

Arroz con Pollo (rice with chicken) and Arroz con Camarones (rice with shrimp) are traditional dishes found in many Latin American countries.

There's nothing special about the versions you'll get in Ecuador. Both are popular dishes you can always fall back on if nothing else on the menu catches your eye.

Where to Eat It: Anywhere

Ecuadorian ceviche is a mix of raw seafood and shellfish “cooked” in citric juices, especially lime juice.

Typical ingredients of this popular food on the Ecuadorian coast include raw fish, shrimp, crab, clams, squid (calamari), and onions. The ceviche is often served with fried green plantains (patacones or tostones).

Where to Eat It:  Ceviche is often enjoyed at the beach. The surf town of Montanita is filled with ceviche carts where you can order a custom-made bowl for as little as $5.

For higher quality ceviche, visit one of the many restaurants in Guayaquil .

Dry roasted Andean corn is a cheap and popular street food. I found it too dry and crunchy to enjoy, but I guess that's what Ecuadorians like about it.

Where to Eat It:   Street vendors

Cuy (Guinea Pig)

Thanks to TV, and word of mouth, cuy asado (roast guinea pig) is perhaps the best-known Ecuadorian food.

Sampling this small rodent (and pet in Western countries) is a rite of passage for most backpackers, if not all travelers. Due to the cost, Ecuadorians often eat cuy to celebrate special occasions.

The whole cuy costs about $20. However, this is typically too much for a single person, especially if you're only interested in sampling it.

The best way to go is to order a single piece or quarter cuy to see if you like it.

Cuy is very greasy, and there's not a lot of meat; it's mostly skin, bones, and cartilage. Expect to use your hands and get messy.

Locals love to eat everything, with the tiny and crunchy paws and creamy brains being especially popular.

Where to Eat It: Cuenca is the best-known city in Ecuador for cuy. To sample this traditional dish in an excellent restaurant environment, head to  Guajibamba Cuyes (Luis Cordero 12-32 Y Gaspar Sangurima).

Alternatively, several restaurants next to the Market on the main street in Banos openly cook cuy.

Langostinos

Langostinos are one of the many fresh and delicious seafood options on offer in Ecuador.

Because the country is so small, they can easily be sourced from the coast, so don't be afraid to order them if you're in the Sierra mountains.

I had some of the best langostinos of my life at Tiesto's Restaurant .

Where to Eat It:  Tiesto's Restaurant in Cuenca.

Librillo is the cooked and chopped stomach lining of a cow. It can be prepared and served in many ways, usually with white rice, and it's popular in the mountain regions of Ecuador.

If you're a fan of tripe or are feeling adventurous, order librillo.

Where to Eat It:   Banos

Llapingachos

Llapingachos are one of the best-known and most beloved Ecuadorian dishes. They are potato patties made with cheese and cooked on a griddle until golden brown.

Llapingachos are often served as a side, along with pork, such as chorizo, a fried egg, avocado, green plantains, and salad. Add hot sauce to spice it up.

This is one of my favorite traditional dishes from Ecuador.

Where to Eat It: The (lunch) Market in Banos for $2.

Locro Soup (Locro de Papa) is a hearty, potato-based Ecuadorian soup made with cheese and avocado.

This soup is popular in the Sierra and the perfect Ecuadorian food to warm you up on a chilly night. This was another of my favorite dishes.

Where to Eat It:   Tiesto's , an Ecuadorian restaurant in Cuenca.

Wander the streets of Banos long enough, and you're sure to pass by the candy shops where Melcocheros are busy preparing the colorful local taffy called Melcocha.

The stretching and kneading process occurs as the taffy is wrapped around wooden pegs inside the door jambs of the shops.

The candy is sweet, so your taste buds will be happy but dangerous. I wouldn't recommend chewing on it if you've got loose teeth or have done a lot of dental work.

Where to Eat It:  Any one of the many candy shops in Banos.

Pan de Yuca

Pan de Yuca is a soft bread made with flour from the yuca root, cheese, butter, and eggs.

It's common throughout Latin America and often goes by different names depending on the country. Served warm, it makes an excellent appetizer or snack.

Where to Eat It:  Everywhere

Fried trout (trucha frite) is a traditional Ecuadorian food served throughout the Sierra and is often accompanied by potatoes, French fries, or yuca and vegetables.

Where to Eat It:  Restaurants in the Sierra mountains (ex: Banos, Cuenca).

Traditional Drinks in Ecuador

Canelazo is an alcoholic beverage made of Aguardiente (a clear, anise-flavored liquor), cinnamon, lemon, sugar, and water.

Popular in the Sierra, it's served warm and can often be ordered by the pitcher.

Coca tea is a traditional tea of the Andean region in South America.

It's made using the dried leaves of the coca plant and has a mild stimulant effect, similar to green tea or coffee.

It's believed to be helpful at high altitudes and is therefore commonly consumed in the mountains. You may also see it in Quito .

The tea is simple to make — add a couple of coca leaves to a cup of hot water and let them soak for a few minutes.

Bagged tea is often available in hotels and supermarkets.

Coca tea is consumed in Ecuador, Colombia, Peru , Bolivia , and Argentina. It's illegal in the United States unless the coca alkaloids have been removed.

Where to Drink It: Before you go downhill mountain biking on Cotopaxi Volcano .

Fresh Fruit Juices

Ecuadorian food may not feature a lot of fresh vegetables; however, like in neighboring Colombia , fruits are a strength. Especially bananas.

Most fruits are also available as fresh fruit juices too. They're inexpensively priced, so try them all if you can.

Popular options include:

• Orange juice (naranja)
• Raspberry juice (mora)
• Banana juice
• Passion fruit juice (maracuya)
• Soursop juice (guanabana)

We hope this guide to Ecuadorian food has left you inspired (and hungry).

If you'd like to visit Ecuador but aren't sure about traveling on your own, consider a small-group tour from G Adventures :

Ecuador Encompassed is a 17-day trip that includes stops in Quito, Banos, Tena (the Amazon), Otavalo, Cotopaxi, Cuenca, and Montanita.

Ecuador Mainland & The Galapagos Islands is a 14-day trip by land and sea. The tour includes Quito, Banos, Tena (the Amazon), and five days in the Galapagos Islands.

Do you like to cook at home? Kitchenistic offers a variety of cooking-related guides. Be sure to check it out.

Last Updated on April 17, 2023 by Dave Lee

Dave is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Go Backpacking and Feastio . He's been to 66 countries and lived in Colombia and Peru. Read the full story of how he became a travel blogger.

Frank Hatton

Sunday 13th of May 2018

I was just at a party with the equadoriian people that live next door to me their little boy got baptized and they sat around a fire pit and roasted guinea pigs in a spit over the charcoales in the fire pit. The guinea pig was very tasty.

Friday 27th of April 2018

I'm Ecuadorian and so many dishes are missing, I will say the most popular for example: Encebollado. Guatita. Empanadas. Sango. Viche de mariscos. Fanesca. Tonga. Corviches. Bollos. Ayacas. Arroz con menestra y carne. And believe me, I'm ecuadorian from the coast and we think eating cuy is so disgusting, so no all the ecuadorians like to eat an animal that looks like a rat.

Thank you for sharing these dishes. At some point I'd like to rewrite this article to go into more depth on each.

Wednesday 7th of March 2018

As a teenager I had a friend from ecuador.and remembering eating over there alot. There was one particular meal I loved, don't know the name of it but it had meat and carrots,peas and I think corn. It was juicy and I remember it had alot of cumin. We served it over white rice. O my gosh! It was so delicious! Does any one know what this dish is? And the real recipe?

Thursday 29th of March 2018

The name is Estofado de carne (Stew) coastal dish

Tuesday 11th of July 2017

Hi, i am working on a paper on Ecuadorain cuisine and lifestyle, regarding local food and what are the popular eating styles. i will appreciate any insight.

Tuesday 13th of June 2017

Great Information. Looking forward to moving down there! Thanks!

A culinary guide to Quito, Ecuador

Emerging from the shadow of its gastronomic neighbours, ecuador shines as an exciting hub for south american cuisine, with a new generation of chefs rediscovering the country’s incredible produce..

When it comes to cuisine, the value of putting Ecuador’s astonishing larder to the fore has been recognised with a move towards something more indigenous — a contrast to Quito's more Americanised coastal rival, Guayaquil.

While Quito is a superlative spot for an education in Ecuador’s blossoming culinary scene, I hadn’t expected to find myself actually spending the day at school. “For many years, this was a kindergarten,” says Santiago Rosero, one of the pioneers behind Fermento. Part-cooking cooperative, part-bar, the project hosts a rotating lineup of chefs in the old classrooms, with tables and chairs arranged in the former playground.

Located in the not-so-trendy La Vicentina neighbourhood, at the front of the space there’s a small organic market, which leads through to the old school. I order an Ecuadorian IPA while we talk, with an artisanal blue cheese burger on the way. A short walk away, in the Plaza José Navarro, 30 or so people are queuing up for street food: tripa mishqui (barbecued tripe) and deep-fried empanadas. The scene stands in sharp contrast to the cutting-edge cool of Fermento. Is any of this for them? Santiago seems to know what I’m going to ask next.

“Look, I don’t want to be part of the gentrification here,” he says. “I want to be part of this neighbourhood. In the future, hopefully we’ll have food festivals to involve more of the local businesses. For now, everything is promoted boca a boca — by word of mouth only.”

Fermento would be a remarkable project in any city at any time, but it seems truly extraordinary in Quito — especially when Santiago tells me it was launched immediately after the city’s initial lockdown ended in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. He’d never have chosen it this way, but the virus and the business are now inseparable. 

“I don’t want to get too carried away or overstate it, but what we did was kind of heroic,” he says. “To stand and fight in the middle of this crazy moment.” I take a bite of the burger and don’t disagree for a second. “We were born while a lot of people were dying.”

Read more: Ecuador: the hothouse heart of the jungle

A veritable local institution, the grand hotel Casa Gangotena has been here in one form or another for centuries and its kitchen has long been at the highest end of Quiteño cuisine.

The tentacles of the disease still spread through Quito, but it was impossible to ignore just how much the city is thriving. There are trendy cafes charging as much for a flat white as other places are for an almuerzo , the popular three-course set-menu lunches found across this corner of the continent. The value of putting Ecuador’s astonishing larder to the fore has also been recognised — up here, high in the Andes, the capital has made a real effort to resist Americanisation compared to its coastal rival Guayaquil.

Even at the top end of the capital’s dining scene, there’s been a move towards something more indigenous — drawing on a mind-boggling array of local ingredients that includes recently rediscovered varieties of ancient grains, myriad endemic root veg, maize and fruits for which we’d struggle to find English names, not to mention Ecuador’s prized quinoa and avocados. 

“We’re a fairly small country with a lot of diversity — from the Galápagos to the mountains here and the coast and, of course, a lot of seafood. We also have the Amazon,” explains chef Emilio Dalmau inside Casa Gangotena. The grand hotel has been here in one form or another for centuries and its kitchen has long been at the highest end of Quiteño cuisine. While it isn’t priced with locals in mind, the head chef insists the menus reflected the nation. “Our cuisine is like that, a mix of the traditions of the people from all over Ecuador as well as our ancestors. One of the dishes on the menu is locro de papas , a soup made with three types of potato and local spices.”

Rudimentary though it may be, locro is ever-present at this formal, French-influenced restaurant, but also at some of the plastic-chair, cheek-by-jowl joints in other neighbourhoods around Quito.

“Every six months, we search the country again and try to find new things from Ecuador,” continues the chef. “Go back 10 or 15 years, all the fine-dining cuisine here in Quito was French or Italian. Those are lovely, of course, but there were no good-quality local options. Now I think there’s a generation trying to make very good food based on the recipes of our grandmothers.”

Leading this rustic renaissance are such organisations as Quito’s Canopy Bridge, a nonprofit network that connects indigenous farmers with food suppliers, who in turn provide many of the ingredients found in Quito’s high-end restaurants. Over in the La Carolina neighbourhood, Somos is another of the fancier food addresses in town. It’s the sort of place that would surely catch the eye of Michelin, if the guide ever deigned to cast an eye in this direction (an oversight that includes Ecuador’s continued omission from The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list; the country only recently made its Latin America list, with a single inclusion for chef Alejandro Chamorro’s Quito restaurant, Nuema). Then the pandemic hit and Somos’ entire business model seemed dangerously irrelevant. Rather than sit back and wait for things to get better, chef Alejandra Espinoza and husband Signo Uddenberg simply created something new.

Read more: Discovering the chocolate champions in Ecuador

“We’re a fairly small country with a lot of diversity," explains chef Emilio Dalmau, who heads up the kitchen at Hotel Gangotena. "From the Galápagos to the mountains here and the coast and, of course, a lot of seafood. We also have the Amazon.” 

“With Covid-19, we never know how many people would come in, so we launched La Guaguasería,” says the chef as we sit down to a kaleidoscopic array of dishes from her newly evolved menu. The titular guaguasa , a flatbread named after the Quechua word for ‘small child’, is stuffed with Alejandra’s favourite Ecuadorian dish, seco de pollo  — chicken cooked with orange and beer. A celebrated staple of the Day of the Dead festivities, in some early iteration of the restaurant, guaguasa was supposed to be one of the only dishes offered, but now in front of me there’s also a colourful poke-like salad bowl of camote (sweet potato), a rainbow of empanadas and a way-better-than-it-sounds dish of guinea pig dumplings. 

“By June, we knew the pandemic wasn’t going to be over any time soon and we didn’t want to lose our flow of clients, or for them to forget us,” says the chef, who had to let two-thirds of her staff go due to the economic downturn. “This was an idea we wanted to do in the future, so we moved it forward. It’s less elaborate, so we can operate with fewer staff.”

They aim to bring back the high-end restaurant in 2021, but La Guaguasería has proven so popular it’s already earned a future in some guise — perhaps in the basement of the current property. The big draw at the moment is a sprawling brunch on weekends — that and a striking indoor mural that hangs over the bar where some of Quito’s most inventive cocktails are created; most notable is the miske margarita (made from Ecuador’s much-overlooked answer to tequila). “We’ll see what happens,” says Alejandra. “For now, I just keep trying new things. If I don’t do something, I’ll go nuts!” 

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced chef Alejandro Espinoza to rethink the offerings of her high-end restaurant, Somos. She launched La Guaguasería, which serves up a kaleidoscopic array of dishes from her newly evolved menu.

A taste of Quito: three unmissable restaurants 

1. salnés gastro-picantería.

Chef-owner Mauricio Acuña seeks out ‘lost’ local produce: ferns that double as asparagus, overlooked Amazonian fish and black pork that serves as buttery ibérico. The small, regularly changing menu of simple-yet-refined dishes is centred on local produce largely drawn from a growing network of indigenous farmers.  

2. Chez Tiff

Ecuador’s pedigree native chocolate — by the likes of Pacari, To’ak and Mindo — have been storming the international stage of late. In the historic city centre, chocolate master Bertrand Indemini, originally from Switzerland, has set up shop running demos and tastings explaining the entire process of chocolate production. 

3. Agave Spirit Ecuador

Just north of the city, almost on the Equator, this complex champions miske , Ecuador’s version of tequila, as the would-be national drink. Tour the excellent agave museum , sip the Andean agave cactus spirit and nibble pickled agave flowers. You can even take part in a naming ritual for your very own baby cactus. 

Four foods to try in Quito

1. bolón de verde.

Originally from the coast but now popular nationwide, these balls of mashed plantain and cheese make for a hearty and comparatively healthy breakfast by local standards.

2. Tripa mishqui

Yes, they could be described as flame-seared cow guts, but tripa mishqui is undeniably a local speciality, especially in Quito’s La Vicentina neighbourhood.

3. Locro de papas

A Quiteño staple, the locro de papas comes in many guises, but should always contain plenty of potato and be served piping hot, often topped with native avocado.

Quito may not be on the coast, but Ecuadorians from any part of the country will insist that their citrus-seasoned fish is as good as anything you’ll find in Chile or Peru.

4. Llapingachos

These fried potato cakes are something like stuffed fritters, often filled with cheese and served with peanut sauce. Don’t ask about the calorie content.

Love food and travel? Taste the world at the National Geographic Traveller Food Festival, our immersive culinary event taking place on 17-18 July 2021 at London’s Business Design Centre.  Find out more and book your tickets .

Published in the April 2021 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK) 

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• South America
• Travel and Adventure

What to Eat in Ecuador – Comprehensive Culinary Guide

If you’re wondering what to eat in Ecuador during your travels, let our comprehensive culinary guide introduce you to all the savory dishes and recipes that Ecuadorians love. The cuisine in South America is as diverse as it is delicious, with each region and country showcasing their most nutritious and flavorful ingredients in every recipe. Corn, potatoes, pork, plantains, shrimp, and a myriad of fruits and vegetables come together in the most colorful and tasteful dishes. While similarities can be found throughout the Latin American world with dishes that share basic ingredients, each country offers a unique interpretation in their preparations, resulting in the most distinctive and tantalizing culinary experiences. Ecuador is no exception, boasting a variety of delectable flavors across its four regions: Costa, Sierra, Amazonia, and Galapagos. Explore the finest dishes of Ecuador through this comprehensive Ecuadorian Food Guide.

Allow us to introduce you to one of Ecuador’s best kept secrets: Ecuadorian cuisine.

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Distinct Flavors of Every Region

The ecuadorian coast.

With its splendid beaches and charming ports along the Pacific Ocean , the Ecuadorian coast is home to some of Ecuador’s most beloved and renowned dishes . While each province offers its unique variations, seafood consistently takes the center stage . Combined with coconut, peanuts, green and ripe plantains, and local spices, visitors are in for a delectable treat. Notable recommendations include Encebollado (a soup with white tuna), Cazuela de Mariscos (a casserole with green plantains and seafood), Encocado (shrimp or fish in a coconut sauce), Tigrillo (crushed green plantain with pork or cheese), Ceviche de Camaron (shrimp ceviche), and Arroz Marinero (rice with seafood). Many other traditional coastal dishes await to delight you at every corner.

Tigrillo from the Province of El Oro, Coast

Moving eastward from the Coast toward the center of the country and ascending a few thousand meters above sea level , you’ll reach the Sierra or Andes region . Snow-capped mountains, rocky peaks, picturesque Andean communities, and a tapestry of crop fields paint this colorful and fascinating region. Here, various types of animal protein such as pork and veal , grains such as corn, broad beans, black beans, and, and tubercules like yams and potatoes are the stars of the Ecuadorian Andean recipes. Some of our favorite recommendations include Locro de Papa (potato soup), Fritada (fried pork), Hornado (baked pork), Llapingachos (potato patties), Tamal Lojano (corn tamale), Fanesca (andean grains soup), and cuy (guinea pig). Other savory recipes make up the Andean menu. Make sure to try them all!

Llapingacho from the Province of Tungurahua, Andes

The Amazon Jungle

Venturing eastward beyond the Andes mountains, the lush Amazon jungle beckons to be explored, bringing with it a gastronomy that surprises the senses with its exotic ingredients and unique cooking techniques . Amazonian cuisine typically blends freshwater fish, herbs, Amazonian fruits, yams, and green plantains. Some recipes even incorporate insects and unconventional meats like turtle, snake, and tapir. Among the Amazonian dishes we recommend trying are Ceviche Volquetero (tuna ceviche with fried green plantains), Ayampaco (baked fish and green plantain wrapped in a plantain leaf), Maito (steamed fish wrapped in a plantain leaf), Chicha (a corn-based drink), and, for the adventurous, Chontacuro—a type of edible worm.

Maito from the Province of Orellana, Amazon

The Galapagos Islands

Finally, spanning hundreds of kilometers across the ocean to the east of Ecuador’s coast, you’ll discover the unique Galapagos Islands . Ingredients in the Galapagos are primarily sourced from the mainland , as the Islands are strictly controlled to preserve their delicate environment. Locally sourced vegetables and fruit s, such as plantains, Ecuadorian oranges, and mangos, ensure freshness. The culinary focus is on a variety of regional seafood , including fish, crab, shrimp, lobster, octopus, and oysters. These are often combined with traditional Ecuadorian ingredients to create flavorful dishes. 

Although the Galapagos Islands don’t have their own original dishes, locals draw inspiration from traditional Ecuadorian recipes , particularly those from the Coast. Bearing this in mind, it’s clear that ceviche is a standout favorite on the Galapagos Islands. We highly recommend trying the Ceviche de Canchalagua, prepared with a native Galapagos mollusk .

Ceviche de Canchalagua from The Galapagos Islands

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Ecuadorian Gastronomy

Ecuadorian gastronomy is very unique. In Ecuador as a whole, rice is eaten almost daily. The same goes for soups. There are a ton of different delicious soups , most are served hot like Locro , and some are served cold (at room temperature) like Ceviche . Ecuadorian soups usually combine flavors and have become an important part of both, daily lunches, and Ecuadorian cuisine .

Fruits are also an important part of our Ecuadorian Food Guide. Ecuador is full of fruits of all sizes, colors, and tastes . Citric, sweet, sour, and even more than you can imagine. Some examples are naranjilla, guanabana, tamarillo fruit, coco, yellow and white pineapple, maracuya, granadilla, pitahaya, and a handful of varieties of mango . It is also not uncommon to prepare juices with two or more combinations of fruits. Making a combination of juices is like a laboratory experiment!

For example, this may be a fruit you may have not tasted (yet): the Golden Berry or Uvilla .

Ecuadorian gastronomy is truly distinctive. Rice and soups are staples in Ecuador , with a wide array of delicious options available. These soups, like Locro and Ceviche, play a significant role in daily meals and the overall cuisine.

Fruits also play a crucial role in Ecuadorian cuisine. Ecuador is blessed with a myriad of fruits of various sizes, colors, and flavors—ranging from citrus to sweet and sour. Local favorites include naranjilla (little orange), guanabana (soursop), tomate de árbol (tamarillo), coco (coconut), yellow and white pineapple, maracuya (passion fruit), granadilla (of the passion fruit family), pitahaya (dragon fruit), and a diverse array of mango varieties. The preparation of juices from combinations of two or more fruits is also common and is usually enjoyed during meals. You can inquire at local supermarkets or traditional markets for uvilla (golden berry) or capuli (black cherry) and be amazed by these new flavors.

Uvillas (Golden Berries)

Traditionally, notable differences exist between dishes from the Coast and those from the Andean regions , though this doesn’t preclude coastal cuisine in the Sierra or vice versa. Additionally, s pecific dishes are reserved for certain festivities , like Fanesca—a blend of 12 different grains—traditionally enjoyed during the Pre-Hispanic festivity of Muashuk Nina or ‘New Fire.’ This festivity marked the start of a new Andean Year and is now enjoyed during Holy Week. Colada Morada is another example, prepared exclusively in November for Día de los Difuntos (Souls’ Day or Day of the Dead).

Here’s a Gastronomic Map detailing numerous traditional dishes from each region.

Gastronomic Map

Typical Ecuadorian Food Guide

Main courses.

• Fritada: Small, square-cut pieces of pork cooked in spiced water and then fried in their own fat until they’re golden and crispy. Fritada is commonly served with llapingachos (potato patties), mote (boiled corn), boiled potatoes, corn on the cob, sweet fried plantains, avocado, pickled onions, and tomato.
• Hornado: Pork marinated for three days is then slow-cooked in a wood oven until the meat becomes tender. It’s served with similar accompaniments as Fritada.

• Ceviche: A quintessential seafood dish popular along the coasts of South America, with each country offering its unique variations. Ceviche can be prepared with seafood like shrimp, fish, oysters, octopus, and more. These are marinated in lemon or lime juice, along with chopped onions, tomato, salt, and herbs such as coriander. It’s often served with garnishes like patacones (thick green plantain chips), chifles, or salty popcorn. While typically made with fish, shrimp, or oysters, ceviches can also be mixed seafood varieties.
• Encocado de Camaron: Shrimp, a specialty of Ecuador, is a year-round favorite. Typically seasoned with citrus and spices, shrimp is cooked in a sauce of cilantro, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, and coconut milk, served with rice.

Encocado de Camarón

• Churrasco: A staple of the Coast Region , especially in Guayaquil. Churrasco features grilled steak seasoned with chimichurri and is served with plantains, white rice, French fries, a fried egg, slices of avocado, a salad, and aji.
• Cuy: Guinea pig meat, known for its high protein and low cholesterol and fat content, offers a taste reminiscent of rabbit and chicken. It can be fried, broiled, or roasted, accompanied by potatoes, hominy, salad, and even peanut sauce. Depending on the region and the restaurant, cuy may be served whole or sliced.
• Mote Pillo: Sautéed hominy (mote) blended with onions, garlic, achiote, eggs, milk, chives, and coriander or parsley, resulting in a creamy texture. This dish is particularly popular in Cuenca.

• Camarones y Langostinos: Ecuadorian shrimps and prawns, known for their world-class quality and status as a major export, are prepared in various ways, often with avocado or tangerine. These delectable seafood options feature prominently in various dishes, including Ceviche, Encocado, Breaded, and numerous soups and main courses.
• Maito: Maito, akin to Tilapia, is wrapped in baijao leaves along with vegetables and fruits such as palmito and peach palm, then roasted over an open fire and steamed.

Ecuadorian Soups and Stews

• Encebollado: Among Ecuador’s most beloved fish soups, Encebollado is a top recommendation in this Ecuadorian Food Guide. It’s often said that if you don’t like Encebollado, you’re not truly Ecuadorian, given its popularity. Typically served with boiled cassava and pickled red onions, it features a dressing made from fresh tomato and spices like pepper or coriander leaves. While albacore is the common fish used, tuna, billfish, or bonito can also be utilized. Ripe avocado, chifles (plantain chips), plantains, and popcorn often accompany the dish, which can be garnished with lime juice, aji, or ketchup. It’s also a well-known remedy for chuchaqui (hangover) after a night of drinks.

Encebollado

• Locro de Papa con Queso: A creamy potato soup garnished with cheese and avocado, Locro de Papa con Queso is a popular Andean dish. It’s typically made with “papa chola,” a specific type of potato with a unique taste and texture that’s difficult to find beyond its home region. Optional ingredients might include chochos, a type of meat (usually beef), oregano, garlic, achiote, onions, beans, squash, pumpkin, or chard. Another variant, common in the Andes, is Yahuarlocro, named after the Quichua words for “blood” and “soup.” This variant includes clogged and fried lamb or chicken blood. Yahuarlocro is emblematic of Ecuadorian Gastronomy.

Locro de papa

• Fanesca: A soup deeply rooted in Ecuador’s culinary tradition, Fanesca is typically prepared and enjoyed by households and communities during Holy Week (Semana Santa). Fanesca’s ingredients and preparation method vary significantly from region to region and even from one family to another. It’s typically served exclusively in the week leading up to Easter. This hearty soup comprises figleaf gourd (sambo), pumpkin (zapallo), and twelve diverse types of beans and grains, including lupines (chochos), fava beans (habas), lentils, peas, corn, and others. These ingredients blend with bacalao (salted cod) cooked in milk. Given the Catholic prohibition against red meat during Holy Week, fish is used in lieu of meat. Hard-boiled eggs, fried plantains, herbs, parsley, and empanadas often garnish Fanesca. A plate of this delightful dish is guaranteed to satisfy your appetite.
• Guatita: A stew prepared with cow stomach (tripe), potatoes, peanut sauce, and rice.
• Seco de Pollo and Seco de Chivo: Stews featuring chicken or goat meat, served with rice, plantains, and salad. Goat stew requires meticulous preparation due to specific ingredient requirements, but the result is well worth it.
• Sopa de Bolas de Verde: A soup crafted from plantain dumplings stuffed with meat and vegetables, served in a beef broth with corn and yuca.
• Caldo de Patas: A soup based on cow’s feet and hominy (mote), a boiled grain typical of Ecuadorian cuisine. This soup is typically accompanied by herbs and served steaming hot.

Seco de chivo

Street Food

• Humitas: Originally a Native American dish dating back to pre-Hispanic times, Humitas is a traditional food in several South American countries, including Ecuador. This dish involves slowly steaming or boiling corn in a pot of water. Ecuadorian Humitas are prepared with fresh ground corn, combined with onions, eggs, and region-specific spices. The mixture is wrapped in a corn husk and steamed. In Ecuador, Humitas may also contain cheese. A sweeter variant known as Quimbolitos may include raisins.
• Bolones: Bolones de Verde (Green Plantain Balls) consist of green bananas stuffed with cheese, chorizo, chicharrones, or peanut butter. Mashed green plantain is formed into a dough, its texture varying based on the banana variety, and filled with corresponding cheese, pork, peanut, or combinations of ingredients. The dough is shaped into round balls and fried until crispy. Enjoy them with Aji for the full experience.
• Empanadas: These pastries, baked or fried, are staples in Latin Europe and Latin America. Empanadas are made by folding dough or bread around fillings that encompass a range of options, from meat and cheese to vegetables and fruits. Ecuador features various empanada variants, including Empanadas de Morocho (made from a grain called Morocho), Empanadas de Verde (using green plantains), and Empanadas de Viento (filled with cheese and sugar, inflated for a substantial texture).

Quimbolitos

• Ceviche de Chochos: A vegetarian ceviche created from chocho beans (a protein-rich seed), tomato, onion, coriander, salt, lime, and optional aji (hot sauce), served with chifles (plantain chips). It can also include fish, typically tuna.
• Choclo con Queso: Also known as Peruvian corn, this type of corn boasts larger kernels and a slightly distinct taste. Often sold as street food, it’s paired with cheese or sweet plantain or mixed with minced meat in some Ecuadorian regions.
• Pan de Yuca: A bread type made from yuca starch and cheese, known for its unique texture. Often enjoyed with fruit-flavored yogurt, Yuca bakeries may offer various variations, such as Tortilla de Yuca.
• Patacones: These are fried green plantains flattened with a utensil, usually accompanying main dishes in the coastal areas of Ecuador.
• Pinchos: Skewers featuring various types of meat, potato, and vegetables. Often available at busy street corners during the day and especially at night.
• Salchipapa: One of the most popular street fast foods in the country, Salchipapa is a combination of “salchicha” (sausage) and “papas” (French fries). A quick and affordable Ecuadorian snack, it’s often served with a variety of sauces like ketchup, mayonnaise, and occasionally Aji (hot chili sauce).

Ceviche de chochos

Ecuadorian Beverages

• Canelazo: A hot beverage commonly made with fruit juices like naranjilla, mora (blackberry), or passion fruit, mixed with cane sugar and water boiled with cinnamon. Sugarcane alcohol is often added, making it a popular choice during events like Fiestas de Quito in December.
• Chicha: A fermented or non-fermented beverage derived from maize, Chicha includes corn beer, like chicha de jora, and non-alcoholic variations such as chica morada. Chichas can also be made from yuca, grapes, apples, or various other fruits. Traditionally, Chicha involved chewing and spitting yuca into the beverage, although this tradition now primarily exists in specific communities and rituals rather than everyday life.
• Morocho: A hearty and sweet drink featuring morocho (dried, cracked corn kernels), milk, cinnamon, sugar, and raisins.

• Rompope / Ponche de Leche: A versatile hot or cold beverage enjoyed during holidays, made with milk, sugar, vanilla, egg yolks, condensed milk, cream, and sugarcane alcohol. It can be served with or without alcohol and even transformed into ice cream.
• Guayusa: A holly tree native to the Ecuadorian rainforest, its leaves have energetic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. It’s used to make tea and it’s enjoyed hot or cold.
• Colada Morada: A thick, purple drink prepared with typical Ecuadorian fruits and spices, along with purple corn flour. Traditionally consumed in November for Día de los Difuntos (Day of the Dead), it features fruits like naranjilla, pineapple, strawberry, babaco, guava, blackberry, or mortiño (wild blueberry from the Andean paramo). Aromatic herbs and barks, such as cinnamon, cloves, ishpingo, sweet pepper, orange leaf, and luisa grass, are often included.

Colada Morada

This Ecuadorian Food Guide accentuates the wide-ranging and diverse gastronomy of Ecuador, shedding light on the country’s abundant culinary heritage even within its compact size . Compose a list of dishes to sample; undoubtedly, you’ll uncover fascinating flavors and sensations that will expand your palate. And, as the saying goes in Ecuador, “Barriga llena, corazón contento!”, meaning “ A full belly equals a happy heart! “.

Ecuadorian Culinary Tours

If we’ve captivated your attention and intrigued your senses, exploring the following culinary tours might be an excellent choice for you. Immerse yourself in local culture and learn everything you need to know about the delightful world of Ecuadorian cuisine from the locals themselves. For food enthusiasts in search of new culinary adventures, these tours are precisely what you need. Similarly, if you’re keen on learning how to prepare various Ecuadorian dishes, feel free to get in touch with us to arrange an engaging cooking class in Quito’s Historical Center.

Quito Food Private Tour

7 Days Galapagos Food Tour Small Group

9 Days Ecuador Food Private Tour

Quito Cooking Class

BOOK THE BEST CULINARY EXPERIENCE!

Did you like this post? You might also be interested in:

• The Best Restaurants in the Galapagos Islands
• Top 10 Restaurants in Quito
• Top 5 Family Restaurants Around Quito

*Some images courtesy of the Ecuadorian Ministry of Tourism

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A culinary guide to Quito, Ecuador

Emerging from the shadow of its gastronomic neighbours, Ecuador shines as an exciting hub for South American cuisine, with a new generation of chefs rediscovering the country’s incredible produce.

While Quito is a superlative spot for an education in Ecuador’s blossoming culinary scene, I hadn’t expected to find myself actually spending the day at school. “For many years, this was a kindergarten,” says Santiago Rosero, one of the pioneers behind Fermento. Part-cooking cooperative, part-bar, the project hosts a rotating lineup of chefs in the old classrooms, with tables and chairs arranged in the former playground.

Located in the not-so-trendy La Vicentina neighbourhood, at the front of the space there’s a small organic market, which leads through to the old school. I order an Ecuadorian IPA while we talk, with an artisanal blue cheese burger on the way. A   short walk away, in the Plaza José Navarro, 30 or so people are queuing up for street food:   tripa mishqui   (barbecued tripe) and deep-fried empanadas. The scene stands in   sharp contrast to the cutting-edge cool of   Fermento. Is any of this for them? Santiago   seems to know what I’m going to ask next.

“Look, I don’t want to be part of the gentrification here,” he says. “I want to be part of this neighbourhood. In the future, hopefully we’ll have food festivals to involve more of the local businesses. For now, everything is promoted   boca a boca   — by word of mouth only.”

Fermento would be a remarkable project in any city at any time, but it seems truly extraordinary in Quito — especially when Santiago tells me it was launched immediately after the city’s initial lockdown ended in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. He’d never have chosen it this way, but the virus and the business are now inseparable.  

“I don’t want to get too carried away or overstate it, but what we did was kind of heroic,” he says. “To stand and fight in the middle of this crazy moment.” I take a bite of the burger and don’t disagree for a second. “We were born while a lot of people were dying.”

The tentacles of the disease still spread through Quito, but it was impossible to ignore just how much the city is thriving. There are trendy cafes charging as much for a flat white as other places are for an   almuerzo, the popular three-course set-menu lunches found across this corner of the continent. The value of putting Ecuador’s astonishing larder to the fore has also been recognised — up here, high in the Andes, the capital has made a real effort to resist Americanisation compared to its coastal rival Guayaquil.

Even at the top end of the capital’s dining scene, there’s been a move towards something more indigenous — drawing on a mind-boggling array of local ingredients that includes recently rediscovered varieties of ancient grains, myriad endemic root veg, maize and fruits for which we’d struggle to find English names, not to mention Ecuador’s prized quinoa and avocados.  

“We’re a fairly small country with a lot of diversity — from the Galápagos to the mountains here and the coast and, of course, a lot of seafood. We also have the Amazon,” explains chef Emilio Dalmau inside Casa Gangotena. The grand hotel has been here in one form or another for centuries and its kitchen has long been at the highest end of Quiteño cuisine. While it isn’t priced with locals in mind, the head chef insists the menus reflected the nation. “Our cuisine is like that, a mix of the traditions of the people from all over Ecuador as well as our ancestors. One of the dishes on the menu is   locro de papas, a soup made with three types of potato and local spices.”

Rudimentary though it may be,   locro   is ever-present at this formal, French-influenced restaurant, but also at some of the plastic-chair, cheek-by-jowl joints in other neighbourhoods around Quito.

“Every six months, we search the country again and try to find new things from Ecuador,” continues the chef. “Go back 10 or 15 years, all the fine-dining cuisine here in Quito was French or Italian. Those are lovely, of course, but there were no good-quality local options. Now I think there’s a generation trying to make very good food based on the recipes of our grandmothers.”

Leading this rustic renaissance are such organisations as Quito’s Canopy Bridge, a nonprofit network that connects indigenous farmers with food suppliers, who in turn provide many of the ingredients found in Quito’s high-end restaurants. Over in the La Carolina neighbourhood, Somos is another of the fancier food addresses in town. It’s the sort of place that would surely catch the eye of Michelin, if the guide ever deigned to cast an eye in this direction (an oversight that includes Ecuador’s continued omission from The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list; the country only recently made its Latin America list, with a single inclusion for chef Alejandro Chamorro’s Quito restaurant, Nuema). Then the pandemic hit and Somos’ entire business model seemed dangerously irrelevant. Rather than sit back and wait for things to get better, chef Alejandra Espinoza and husband Signo Uddenberg simply created something new.

“With Covid-19, we never know how many people would come in, so we launched La Guaguasería,” says the chef as we sit down to a kaleidoscopic array of dishes from her newly evolved menu. The titular guaguasa, a flatbread named after the Quechua word for ‘small child’, is stuffed with Alejandra’s favourite Ecuadorian dish, seco de pollo — chicken cooked with orange and beer. A celebrated staple of the Day of the Dead festivities, in some early iteration of the restaurant, guaguasa was supposed to be one of the only dishes offered, but now in front of me there’s also a colourful poke-like salad bowl of camote (sweet potato), a rainbow of empanadas and a way-better-than-it-sounds dish of guinea pig dumplings.  

“By June, we knew the pandemic wasn’t going to be over any time soon and we didn’t want to lose our flow of clients, or for them to forget us,” says the chef, who had to let two-thirds of her staff go due to the economic downturn. “This was an idea we wanted to do in the future, so we moved it forward. It’s less elaborate, so we can operate with fewer staff.”

They aim to bring back the high-end restaurant in 2021, but La Guaguasería has proven so popular it’s already earned a future in some guise — perhaps in the basement of the current property. The big draw at the moment is a sprawling brunch on weekends — that and a striking indoor mural that hangs over the bar where some of Quito’s most inventive cocktails are created; most notable is the miske margarita (made from Ecuador’s much-overlooked answer to tequila). “We’ll see what happens,” says Alejandra. “For now, I just keep trying new things. If I don’t do something, I’ll go nuts!”  

A taste of Quito: three unmissable restaurants  

  1. Salnés Gastro-Picantería

Chef-owner Mauricio Acuña seeks out ‘lost’ local produce: ferns that double as asparagus, overlooked Amazonian fish and black pork that serves as buttery ibérico. The small, regularly changing menu of simple-yet-refined dishes is centred on local produce largely drawn from a growing network of indigenous farmers.  

2. Chez Tiff

Ecuador’s pedigree native chocolate — by the likes of Pacari, To’ak and Mindo — have been storming the international stage of late. In the historic city centre, chocolate master Bertrand Indemini, originally from Switzerland, has set up shop running demos and tastings explaining the entire process of chocolate production.  

3. Agave Spirit Ecuador

Just north of the city, almost on the Equator, this complex champions miske, Ecuador’s version of tequila, as the would-be national drink. Tour the excellent agave museum , sip the Andean agave cactus spirit and nibble pickled agave flowers. You can even take part in a naming ritual for your very own baby cactus.  

Four foods to try in Quito

  1. Bolón de verde

Originally from the coast but now popular nationwide, these balls of mashed plantain and cheese make for a hearty and comparatively healthy breakfast by local standards.

2. Tripa mishqui

Yes, they could be described as flame-seared cow guts, but   tripa mishqui   is undeniably a local speciality, especially in Quito’s La Vicentina neighbourhood.

3. Locro de papas

A Quiteño staple, the   locro de papas   comes in many guises, but should always contain plenty of potato and be served piping hot, often topped with native avocado.

Quito may not be on the coast, but Ecuadorians from any part of the country will insist that their citrus-seasoned fish is as good as anything you’ll find in Chile or Peru.

4. Llapingachos

These fried potato cakes are something like stuffed fritters, often filled with cheese and served with peanut sauce. Don’t ask about the calorie content.

Published in the April 2021 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK)  

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7 Ecuadorian Food Favorites – What To Eat In Ecuador

By Author Cory Lee

Wondering what to eat in Ecuador? Cory Lee shares his tips for seven must-eat traditional Ecuadorian food favorites.

Ecuador is famous around the world for its magnificent natural wonders. Highlights include the renowned Galapagos Islands, the incredible Amazon rainforest and the awe-inspiring Andes mountains.

But many people don’t realize that Ecuador also has a flourishing food scene. With so many great choices, the food in Ecuador is worth a visit on its own.

Ecuador Food Guide | What To Eat In Ecuador

Ecuadorian cuisine is hearty and unique with a diverse whirlwind of flavors. I’m back from Ecuador and ready to share the seven Ecuador foods that all visitors to this equatorial nation must try.

1. Guinea Pig

If you ever set foot in a traditional outdoor Andean food market, one of the first things you’ll notice are the cages full of guinea pigs. No, it’s not that guinea pigs are the favorite pet of Ecuadorians — instead, they’re a famous Andean delicacy, often cooked or ordered on special occasions. Since my trip to Ecuador was a special occasion, I had to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime chance to try a type of cuisine you won’t find outside these mountains.

If you’re at an Ecuadorian restaurant, simply ask for “cuy” (pronounced koo-ey, rhyming with “gooey”). The guinea pig will come roasted on a spit with some delicious side dishes.

Since the small animals usually don’t have a whole lot of meat on them, you’ll probably need to use your hands to lift the cooked guinea pigs to your mouth in order to lick the bones clean. The flavor is quite similar to duck or rabbit, and it’s finger-licking good!

2. Fried Plantains

Fried plantains are everywhere in Ecuador, and there’s a reason for that! Plantains, which look like large bananas and must be cooked to be consumed, grow abundantly in this tropical country.

Not just a popular Ecuador street food, they’re often served as a side with a meal or can be ordered as an appetizer from an Ecuadorian menu. As a traveler, it’s important to know that there is more than one way to enjoy fried plantains.

Yellow plantains (called “maduros”) are ripe plantains, and when they’re fried they are mushy and sweet, almost dessert-like. Green plantains aren’t ripe, so when they’re fried they maintain a crispier consistency.

When green plantains are twice-fried (this is the norm) they’re called “patacones” and they’re really good with salt, though some people like to dip them in ketchup or mayo.

3. Chocolate

Ecuadorian chocolate has been rated as the best in the world. Local Ecuadorian brand Pacari placed first at the International Chocolate Awards more than once, and for good reason. Try unique flavors like rose, lemongrass, chile, coffee, or even Guayusa – a chocolate bar that mixes decadent cacao with a famous Amazonian tea.

Of course, there are many other local brands of world-class chocolate, and I think they’re all worth a try. With its newfound fame, Pacari and other brands of Ecuadorian chocolate can be found everywhere from indigenous artisanal markets to regular old supermarket shelves, so it’s easy for tourists to come by these popular Ecuador desserts.

Pro Tip Ecuadorian chocolate makes a great gift for those who weren’t fortunate enough to go to Ecuador with you.

Ceviche is something that can be found in a number of Latin American countries, but no one else does it quite like the Ecuadorians. Ceviche comes in many forms, but its base will always be some type of Ecuador seafood with shrimp, fish, lobster, octopus, crab, oyster, or sometimes a mix of one or more of those. Since Ecuador has a long Pacific coastline, whatever fish you pick, it’s bound to be fresh!

The fish sits in a flavorful broth of its own juice, is spiked with lime and sometimes orange juice, and is complemented with finely chopped tomatoes, green peppers, and red onions. It’s often consumed with a side of crunchy plantain chips, which locals love to crush and mix in.

In other countries, like Costa Rica and Peru, ceviche is made by letting raw fish sit in lime but that gives it a tart flavor that many who are new to this type of cuisine don’t enjoy. In Ecuador, however, the fish (or other types of seafood) is often cooked, giving the ceviche a much better consistency, with the flavor of lime present but not overwhelming.

Since the names are so similar, many travelers confuse viche with ceviche. In reality, the only things they have in common are that they contain seafood and they’re both exceptionally tasty!

Unlike ceviche, which is served cold or room temperature, viche is a thick, hot soup. It’s usually made with fish, shrimp or both which cook in a thick broth made from ground peanuts and water.

In addition to the fish, this Ecuadorian soup includes vegetables like corn, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, yucca, sweet plantain and a surprise treat of peanut and green plantain rolled up into a rich, meatball-esque shape. Often consumed with a little bit of rice, this is one of the heartiest soups you’ll ever taste. Viche is a great and filling fuel for your vacation.

6. Bolon De Verde

By tasting a bolon, you’ll witness yet another innovative way that locals base the Ecuador cuisine around the plantain. Green plantains are cooked and smashed, making up a doughy base which is then usually mixed with cilantro as well as an additional ingredient like ground peanuts, local cheese or pork. Sometimes both cheese and pork are added to the mix.

My favorite part about eating a bolon is that you can find it anywhere – on the menu at restaurants and cafes (often for breakfast) or readily available as street food. It makes an excellent breakfast, a light dinner or a filling snack.

7. Encebollado

Encebollado may be Ecuador’s famous hangover cure, but even many sober tourists laud Encebollado as a perfect breakfast or late-night snack. Encebollado is one of those Ecuadorian dishes that Ecuadorian grandmothers cook best, and many families from the coast have their own secret recipes that they swear by. Basically, it’s a stew made with tuna fish and yucca, cooked in an energizing broth filled with mellow spices, red onions, and cilantro.

If you’re eating Encebollado in Guayaquil, one of Ecuador’s major cities, it will often be served with rice and/or large pieces of toasted corn. If you’re eating it coastal style, you’ll find it served with plantain chips which are meant to be crushed up and mixed in.

Perhaps my favorite part about encebollado is that everyone likes to add his or her own touch — some people season it with a dab of ketchup or mustard, while others like to top it with lime juice, hot sauce or even oil.

Final Thoughts

In summary, travel with an empty stomach and an open mind to the food of Ecuador. Even if you don’t have an adventurous palate, you’re sure to find a local Ecuadorian dish you’ll love — whether it’s a regal bite of guinea pig, a spoonful of warming viche or refreshing ceviche, or a locally-made bar of the best chocolate on earth.

As they say in Ecuador when you’re about to take a bite of something extraordinary – Buen Provecho !

Frequently Asked Questions

Ecuador is famous for Cuy (guinea pig), Fried Plantains, Chocolate, Ceviche and Viche Bolon de Verde.

Traditional food in Ecuador is as diverse as the country itself. The country’s cuisine features soups, stews, fish dishes, fresh produce, chocolate and guinea pig. Yes, guinea pig.

No. Tipping is optional in Ecuador.

People in Ecuador have unique drinks. Typical Ecuadorian drinks include Canelazo, Chicha de Piña, Colada Morada, Horchata Lojana and Pinol.

No. Since the water isn’t chlorinated throughout the country, the safer option is to drink bottle water in Ecuador.

Useful Ecuador Facts

• Ecuador is in South America.
• Ecuador’s currency is the US Dollar.
• Spanish is Ecuador’s official language.
• Service is often included. If not, it’s typical to round up the bill or leave a small tip.

Ecuador Planning Checklist

• Buy discounted travel insurance from Heymondo .
• Find a great hotel via Expedia or Hotels.com .
• Find an apartment in Ecuador with a kitchen .
• Buy an Ecuador travel guide from Amazon so that you don’t miss any bites or sites.
• Buy a universal travel adaptor from Amazon so you can charge your laptop, cell phone and camera in South America.
• Arrange a rental car for your trip.
• Book a fun Ecuador tour with GetYourGuide or Viator .
• Book a tasty Ecuador food experience .

Hungry For More International Food?

About the Author

After being diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy at the age of two, Cory Lee’s thirst for adventure never ceased. He went on many trips around the US when he was younger, and then started taking things internationally when he turned fifteen. Since then, Cory has traveled across 7 continents, all while managing to start up his travel blog curbfreewithcorylee.com , where he shares his accessible, and sometimes not so accessible, travel adventures with others. Cory is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) and the North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA). Cory has been fetured n the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, in a nationwide segment for CBS News, Lonely Planet and many others. He hopes to inspire other wheelchair users to roll out of their comfort zone and see all of the beauty that the world has to offer.

We update our articles regularly. Some updates are major while others are minor link changes and spelling corrections. Let us know if you see anything that needs to be updated in this article.

Original Publication Date: June 20, 2017

Sunday 6th of November 2022

Very good descriptions of each plate, Encebollado, Bolon de Verde and Viche, should probably be first in your list. All is good and cold be e very long list if You make it by regions Congratulations

Thursday 1st of September 2022

Thursday 18th of August 2022

Caldo de manguera Guatita Bandera Arroz con menestra y carne. Con chifle o patcones Lo invito a comer en l la costa del Ecuador. Aqui no ha cuy. Pero hay mejor comida

Saturday 9th of July 2022

Contrary to your comments here, Peruvian "Ceviche" is regarded as the most sought after ceviche around the world. The freshness of fish cooked by lemon in combination with simple but exquisite mix of herbs makes this Peruvian flagship dish the undisputed champion in the world of ceviches. If you are writing for the world to read, I recommend to inform yourself better in the subject so that "your personal preference" does not taint the article. There is social media for personal opinions. Ecuadorian ceviche is good, but it does not even compare to Peruvian ceviche. On a side note, I think your list is backwards, most Ecuadorians I know have recommended " Encebollado" first and " Cuy" last. By the way, you should look up " Cuy chactao" from Arequipa- Peru.

Tuesday 2nd of May 2023

@Herly, toda la razón

Monday 13th of February 2023

@Herly, Dude I have tried your Peruvian ceviche and it taste terrible, Peru always tries to make Ecuador look bad, don’t believe this guy, Ecuador ceviche taste a LOT better, what you are saying in your article is true Ecuadorian ceviche is better.

María Julia

Thursday 28th of July 2022

@Herly, ceviche from Ecuador is completely different from Peru, it is could be the champion worldwide because they didn’t try the one from Ecuador which is juicier than the Peruvian ceviche which is dryer and personally I don’t like it.

Friday 27th of May 2022

2. Fried Plantains :You got it wrong. This ones are grilled.. to perfection... this ladies do an amazin job..you have to try it with fresh cheese and sal prieta.

Fried platains are served as well in the majority of restaurants with fresh cheese.

Daryl and Mindi Hirsch

Monday 30th of May 2022

Thanks for the clarification. We'll let the author know.

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10 Delicious Dishes To Try In Ecuador (& Where To Find Them)

Explore the gastronomic delights of Ecuador's up-and-coming food tourism scene in Quito, Manta, and Guayaquil!

• Ecuadorian cuisine celebrates traditional recipes and locally-sourced food, using diverse flavors like quinoa, yucca, seafood, and cacao beans.
• Manabí region in Ecuador is known for its delicious food, which has helped the people persevere through hardships and move towards the future.
• Tourists should not only focus on the stunning views of Ecuador, but also dedicate a large portion of their trip to discovering the unique and delicious foods found here.

Ecuador is quickly becoming a top destination in South America for food tourism. With a palette that utilizes the many diverse flavors of this region, the cuisine of Ecuador is a celebration of traditional recipes and locally-sourced food. Traditional Ecuadorian cuisine focuses on natural ingredients found in their environment, like quinoa, yucca, plantains, seafood, peanuts, avocado, and cacao beans. Local chefs are expanding upon their traditional, indigenous recipes by giving these unique flavors a modern twist.

While traveling in Ecuador, one of South America's most breathtaking countries , tourists should not only focus on the stunning Pacific views and mountain heights, but should dedicate a large portion of their trip just to discovering the many unique foods found here. From the banana-leaf-wrapped tonga of Manabí to the rich quinoa soups of Quito, there is so much gastronomy to explore in Ecuador!

Keen-eyed readers will notice that many of these dishes are from the Manabí region. The province of Manabí, although a center of stunning dry forests filled with spiny ceiba trees and beautiful Pacific coastline, once faced its share of hardships. Between an economic crash in the 1990s and several natural disasters, many people of this province were left feeling depressed about the future. However, the people of Manabí had one crucial hope through this time: their delicious food.

Considered to have the best food in Ecuador, Manabí's people have persevered through these hard times by reclaiming the traditional recipes passed down through the generations. Despite these hardships, the Ecuadorians of Manabí are moving towards the future by bringing with them the best that the past has to offer and combining it with the wonders of the present. It's time to discover some of the best dishes in Ecuador and where to find them.

Related: Here's An Essential Guide For Visiting Galapagos, Ecuador

10 Ceviche In Guayaquil

Any list of Ecuadorian food would be remiss without the country’s iconic ceviche. This traditional dish made from white fish, onions, avocados, and tomatoes marinated in citrus juice. Exploring this dish can be quite fun, as almost every restaurant has their own brand and version! So as tourists explore the country of Ecuador , they can also explore the many versions of ceviche found in each city and town.

The origins of ceviche are disputed by historians and archeologists, but it is likely that the dish was originally created in Ecuador by the Valdivians, an intrepid, seafaring people who lived along the coast. This indigenous recipe is the perfect introduction to the world of Ecuadorian cuisine.

• A great place to find ceviche in Guayaquil is at Picanteria La Culata

9 Tuna Tartare With Avocado At Bodega Dos Hemisferos

One of the most modern examples of Ecuadorian cooking is the scrumptious tuna tartare that is served at Bodega Dos Hemisferos . Dos Hemisferos is known around the world as Ecuador's top winery, and recently, they have moved into the world of fine-dining with the opening of their restaurant in Guayaquil. The food here is truly amazing, with many dishes that blend modern classics with a unique Ecuadorian touch.

Like many locations in Ecuador, this restaurant aims to serve food that is produced locally. Ecuador’s coastal city of Manta is one of the top locations for tuna fishing, packaging, and exporting, making the tuna tartare found in this country extra-fresh.

This appetizer is so good, tourists will want to order a second plate just for themselves!

• The Dos Hemisferos Guayaquil Winery location is Av. del Rotarismo 316, Guayaquil 090511, Ecuador

8 Seafood Soup At Restaurante Rafaelito

Served with rice and fried plantains, this maritime delight is the perfect thing to eat while overlooking the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean. Found at the beachfront Ristorante Rafaelito , this restaurant is the perfect place to rest and relax after a long day spent by the water.

What makes this dish so delicious is the exorbatant amount of fresh seafood that is included, from shrimp to clams to whitefish, and even octopus! The restaurant also has other great dishes, too, like whitefish cooked in banana leaves and maritime rice.

Ristorante Rafaelito serves not only delicious food, but warm hospitality, stunning Pacific views, and the charm of home-away-from-home. The owner of the restaurant, Rafaelito, is very kind and welcoming, giving this eatery a personal and friendly atmosphere.

• The address for Restaurante Rafaelito is 4778+R9X, Simón Bolívar, Ecuador

7 Traditional Ecuadorian Dishes: Experience A Blend Of The Traditional And The Modern At Iche Culinary School

One of the most famous and prestigious places in Manabí for food tourism is the renowned Iche Culinary School and Restaurant in the city of San Vicente. This culinary school was created as a way to bring the delights of the traditional food of Manabí to haute cuisine restaurants around the world, while also opening restaurants in the province to bring opportunity and hope to the local people.

What separates the Iche School from ordinary culinary schools and makes it so special is the program's integration of indigenous cooking techniques with a state-of-the-art, modern kitchen. Right outside the facility's stainless-steel kitchen, where students learn the techniques of haute cuisine, is a traditional fogón stovetop.

The fogón is an innovative piece of cooking technology developed by the indigenous peoples of Ecuador. When the Spanish first came to Ecuador around 500 years ago, they prohibited the people from using their traditional cooking methods, which featured cooking in shallow pits dug into the ground and filled with coals and fire. By placing ceramic pots into or above these pits, the pre-Colombian people were able to utilize and regulate the heat of these fires to create delicious food.

The Spanish demanded that the people cooked standing upright instead of using this traditional method. The clever people of this region, not wanting to give up the cooking methods that had served them so well for thousands of years, created a new invention that combined the old with the new. They built a large, upstanding box of wood, filled it with dirt, and dug their cooking pits into that, creating an oven that functioned the same way as their traditions but still acting within the restraints that the Spanish imposed on them.

Now, 500 years later, this cooking technology is being implemented by the Iche School in their recipes. By teaching their students (many of whom are locals to Manabí) how to use the fogón, this school is giving the people of Manabí a chance to reconnect with their past in an amazing way.

Along with the traditional fogón oven and a modern kitchen, the school also has a spirit brewery and a food lab. They have dozens of spirits to try, all fused with local ingredients. Some of these infused ingredients include coffee, cacao, mango, maize, and more.

Tourists to the Iche Culinary School and Restaurant can taste the delicious flavors of Manabí by ordering dishes such as the classic ceviche, a'pingacho (yucca patties with pork and beans), and local steak.

Related: More Than Peru: What To Know Of Inca Ruins In Ecuador

6 Quinoa Soup In Quito

After a chilly night spent sitting near a wood-burning furnace and looking out at the dark slopes of the Andes, a warm bowl of quinoa soup with potatoes is a much-welcomed lunch. Although the country is located right on the Equator and is known for its hot weather, Ecuador is famous for its soups. What better way to celebrate the culture of Ecuador than to have two cultural staples in one dish? Especially when traveling in the Andes, trying the quinoa in Ecuador is a must!

Although this dish can be found commonly all over Ecuador, one of the best places to find this dish is at Hacienda Jimenita , a wildlife reserve and hotel. This nature reserve is located just near Quito, one of Ecuador's oldest cities ( Quito is also home to tons of adventurous activities for thrill seekers). Here, tourists can eat their warm Andean soup while emerald-green hummingbirds visit the many hanging feeders around the hotel's dining hall.

• Hacienda Jimenita is located at Barrio Andrango, Pasaje 2, Casa 19, Parroquia Pifo, Quito, Ecuador

5 Empanadas

Empanadas are the perfect street food. Fitting perfectly in one’s hand, these fried pockets of goodness are found all over the country of Ecuador. The come in a wide variety of fillings, including Queso Ecuatoriano cheese, beef, fish, chicken, and more.

The dough composition has as much variety as the fillings, with some common examples being those made from yucca, plantains, corn, or wheat. Tourists should try to find empanadas that come with flavorful dipping sauce. It is so easy to fill up on these tasty treats!

Where to find empanadas in Ecuador: Although empanadas are street food and are commonly sold by street vendors, tourists can find them at many restaurants, as well.

4 Carrot Cake With Raspberry Sauce At Hacienda Jimenita

One of the most unique desserts in Ecuador is the sweet carrot cake found at Hacienda Jimenita. Made from corn flour and, of course, carrots, this delicious dessert is served with bright red raspberry sauce and rose petals. After having a good meal at the Hacienda, this dessert hits the spot perfectly. This cake is so good that tourists will be begging for the recipe!

What makes Hacienda Jimenita the perfect place for a meal isn't just their amazing food, but their incredible ambiance, as well. Hanging all around the dining area are bird feeders so that visitors can enjoy their meal alongside of some of Ecuador's most beautiful birds.

The gardens surrounding the dining hall are stunning, with cascading vines, bright flowers, and a luxurious fishpond. As tourists eat the first bite of their carrot cake, sitting in a luxurious garden surrounded by hummingbirds, they will feel like they've entered paradise.

Related: Art Lovers: These Are The 10 Best Small Art Towns In South America ( & Their Best Hotels)

3 Tonga At Seleny Gastronomía Manabita

One of the most impactful experiences a tourist can have while traveling to Ecuador is to visit the restaurant Seleny Gastronomía Manabita . Taught from the prestigious Iche School, Seleny is a woman whose transformative cooking has created a unique pocket of true beauty in this world.

By cooking with a tradition fogón stovetop, Seleny is able to create flavors that connect people back to the universal human experience of eating delicious food cooked by the heat of an open flame. Many of the ingredients are grown and produced on location, just a stone’s throw away from the hearth where they’re prepared and cooked. This is truly what food is meant to be!

Some of the dishes that Seleny provides include empanadas with cheese (yum!), steak, and mango ice cream with corn-flour cookies. One of the most iconic dishes that Seleny serves is tonga. Tonga is a traditional Ecuadorian recipe in which rice, chicken, fried plantains, and peanut sauce are wrapped together in banana leaves and cooked over an open fire.

Originally, this recipe was used to keep workers' lunches warm and portable, kind of like a modern day Tupperware. The tonga from Seleny's is delicious, so visitors should be sure to try it when they stop in for a bite.

• Seleny Gastronomía Manabita is located at El Bálsamo, San Vicente, Manabí, San Vicente, Ecuador

Seleny Gastronomía Manabita requires a reservation.

2 Indulge In A Chocolate Brownie At Chocolates Pacha

Ecuador is famous all around the world for its chocolate, and with good reason. Cacao is a plant indigenous to Ecuador, meaning that the locals have had thousands of years to perfect the craft of turning the seeds into delicious chocolate.

Something that many people don't know is that there are many different varieties of cacao plant from which chocolate can be made. And of these different subtypes, one of the most flavorful and delicious comes from Ecuador, and is one of the country's most important plants: the Arriba Nacional Cacao.

Grown in rich, yellow pods, the chocolate that comes from this plant is some of the most amazing chocolate that a traveler can ever eat. Eating cacao chocolate also has a great side effect: depending on its purity, it gives a happy, almost euphoric feeling that can last for 30 minutes to two hours (depending on cacao purity and personal physiology).

When driving to Guayaquil, tourists should absolutely stop at Chocolates Pacha, which gives travelers the chance to try some of this incredible chocolate. Their brownies are rich, flavorful, and a delight to put in one's mouth, and their hot chocolate is out-of-this-world-amazing.

Related: These Are The 10 Warmest Fall Destinations In South America

1 Chocolate Ice Cream At San Fernando Chocolateria

When staying in Ecuador, tourists should try to indulge in all the chocolate that they can. That means stopping for ice cream and warm chocolate cookies at San Fernando Chocolateria !

This location is right next to the Museo del Cacao in Guayaquil, which makes it the perfect place to go after taking a tour of the museum and learning all about chocolate production in Ecuador. The ice cream is so luxurious, tourists might have to treat themselves to seconds!

• Address: Guayaquil 090507, Ecuador

There is so much to do in Ecuador , from rainforests to mountains to the Pacific coast, and exploring food is one of the best ways to get a feel for this incredible country. The only difficulty is deciding which of these amazing dishes to try!

• Travel Guides

Food and Drink in Ecuador

Ecuador’s cuisine relies heavily on the rainbow of potato varieties that grow in its chilly highlands. Typical for an Andean country, Ecuador boasts hundreds of varieties of native potatoes, including spuds that come in rich shades of blue and purple. In the mountainous regions of Ecuador, food typically reflects the rugged climate, and revolves around meat and thick stews. On the coast , lighter dishes of seafood and coconut define the native palette.

The culture of the Ecuadorian people has been skillfully crafted into their cuisine. The largest meal of the day in Ecuador is lunch, typically followed by a relaxing siesta. Breakfast is usually simple, and comes with many options familiar to Americans. Soup often accompanies most meals, and there are several popular varieties. Caldos can be creamy or not, and dense locros have potatoes and cheese.

Usually, lunch and dinner will come with one or more of the following: fried or baked plantains, rice, yucca, and quinoa. Corn, beans, mild cheese, and hominy are also common accompaniments to a meal. Ají peppers usually take the form of a bottled sauce. Ecuadorians like to put it on everything. It goes with almost any meal besides breakfast.

Ecuador: A Land of fruits

Ecuador has the perfect climate for growing pineapple, mango, and banana. It’s also an ideal place to grow lots of fruits you’ve probably never tried.

Traveler’s tip — remember not to wash your fruit in tap water. Bring bottled water with you to the market, or buy a commercial fruit scrub.

Taxo is a long, orange fruit, filled with globules of orange flesh clinging to black seeds. It is typically used to make juice (with the seeds strained), or used to top ice cream. It has a tart, citrus flavor.

Ecuadorians use the same preparations for naranjilla , a small fruit that resembles a yellow tomato, with green innards. It has a flavor often described as a cross between an orange and a tomato.

You’ve probably heard of passion fruit. In Ecuador, you’ll find more than one variety. What you may know as passion fruit they refer to as maracuya . A variety of sweet treats in the passion fruit family grow in Ecuador, including the popular, purple granadilla .

Guanábana combines the flavor of a variety of fruits you already know. It is said to evoke strawberry, kiwi, and banana all at once. You’ll also find it quite sweet, with an unusual, spongy texture.

Mora is translated as either mulberry or blackberry. It has dark flesh and a very sweet flavor, and is a popular flavor of ice cream.

Tuna is the Spanish word for prickly pear, a squishy and sweet bulb that grows from a cactus.

You may have seen uvilla in some parts of the U.S., although you rarely find them in American supermarkets. In the U.S. they’re called ground cherries. Uvillas have papery leaves that close around a small globe of sweet, yellow fruit.

Tomate de arbol , or “tree tomato” in English, tastes like a sweet tomato, without the acidity.

If you don’t want to bother with peeling and slicing the fruits yourself, sample a selection of Ecuadorian fruits in a cocktail called a rosero quiteño . This cocktail is made with a blend of papaya, passion fruit, pineapple, strawberries, peaches, and whatever else the bartender feels like adding.

You might also visit your local ice cream shop, known as a heladería in Spanish. When you find yourself at the Plaza de la Independencia (Plaza Grande) in the heart of historic Quito , stop by the San Augustin Heladería. Opened in 1858, this shop makes ice cream according to tradition — in a large, copper bowl called a paila. Their ice creams are all made with fresh local fruit, and have a light, sorbet-like texture.

What To Drink in Ecuador

In Ecuador, it’s important to avoid drinking tap water. Make sure you purchase purified, bottled water before you set out on your explorations. And when you’re looking for some refreshment, there are plenty of drinks available here that you won’t find at home.

Naturally, fresh fruit juices are common. You’ll find them sold in stands along the road and in outdoor markets.

Although known for its coffee, the best of Ecuador’s coffee is exported. At most coffee stands in Ecuador you’ll be served tinto , the Ecuadorian term for coffee made from inferior beans or instant Nescafé.

Maize grows in abundance in South America. Chicha , a beer made from fermented corn, is popular throughout the Andes. It has a strong flavor, so you may want to have a chaser nearby. This drink dates back at least to the Inca, but we don’t know for sure which bygone civilization came up with the revered recipe.

In the highlands, hardworking mountain people sip on trago de caña , also known as aguardiente. This liquor is made from fermented sugar cane. It is known for the warming, perhaps even fiery, sensation it produces. It is popularly served warm with lemon, sugar, and cinnamon in a cocktail known as canelazo . This drink is extremely potent, and said to lessen the effects of altitude sickness. Because of its high alcohol content, it is well known for producing another form of discomfort. Go easy with these, especially if you have a lot planned for the next day.

There’s good reason to give these drinks a try — Ecuador doesn’t have much of a reputation for wine or beer, and you will probably find the imported beers cost more in Ecuador than they do at home.

Ecuadorian Classics

Make sure to try some popular potato dishes when you dine out. Llapingachos are fried potato-and-cheese cakes, often served with meat, avocado, and a fried egg. Salchipapas is a dish of fried sausages or hot dog served with potatoes.

Visit a roadside stand for a meaty snack on a skewer. Sometimes these savory offerings will include cuy , the Quechua word for guinea pig. Guinea pigs are considered a treat in Ecuador, but have become a valuable source of protein for some families, since they take up much less space than cattle. Newlyweds frequently receive a pair as a wedding present. They are usually served whole, paws and all.

Ecuadorians love their meat, and beef especially. Try some of the local product at a parrillada , an Ecuadorian steakhouse. For a casual meal on the go, try tallarines – an Ecuadorian take on noodles, and one of the few meals you can find for vegetarians. In the larger cities you’ll find take-out venues serving chaulafan , the Ecuadorian version of Chinese fried rice.

Seafood From Ecuador’s Coast

Fresh seafood from Ecuador’s coast makes its way into several signature dishes. Encocadas embodies many of the flavors of the coast, a dish of white fish cooked in coconut milk, usually with peppers. There’s another popular marriage of fish and fruit on the coast - bollos de pescado , a filet of fish steamed with peanuts inside a banana leaf. Banana leaves impart a delicate flavor that’s difficult to describe, and even harder to replicate. Besides these classic dishes, try the many different versions of seafood curries and chowders that are available up and down the coast.

Ceviche is a popular dish in Ecuador. You may encounter some new variations here — it’s not unheard of to find a ceviche prepared with citrus and tomato sauce, much like a gazpacho. Ecuador’s ceviches usually include white fish and shrimp, and have usually marinated in citrus juice for long enough for the fish to feel completely cooked.

Holiday Foods

From the beginning of Lent through Easter, you’ll see a seafood chowder called fanesca on menus throughout Ecuador. It’s made with fish, vegetables, squash, beans, and hominy. Typical garnishes include avocado and hard-boiled egg. This nourishing stew gets Ecuadorians through the long days when Catholic tradition dictates believers should avoid meat.

On November 2nd, Ecuadorians observe All Soul’s Day, a day to pray for the dead. They also enjoy a sweet treat called t’anta wawa . T’anta wawa is a Quechua term that translates to “bread baby.” This sweet roll vaguely resembles a swaddled infant – an oblong shape topped with a round ball of a head. According to legend, these rolls represented the children who passed on, and consuming the sweet bread honors their memory. It is served alongside a chilled glass of colada morada , a fuchsia fruit juice made from corn, fruit, and berries.

Frequently asked questions

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Is the Food the Same Everywhere in Ecuador?

The food in Ecuador varies with the different climates. No matter where you go, you’ll have access to a wider variety of fruit than you’ll find anywhere in North America. There are almost as many varieties of ice cream, Ecuador’s dessert of choice. Ice cream is often made with fruit, much like a sorbet, or topped with fresh fruit.Throughout the Andes, hardworking farmers withstand the chilly mountain air with the help of hot soups and stews, laden with potatoes and cheese. In the Oriente jungle, locals take advantage of whatever food they can hunt or gather. This often includes large jungle rodents, or fish from the river. For vegetables, the Oriente people sometimes eat hearts of palm, called palmitos . A dense, fibrous vegetable known as yucca makes a good side dish, steamed or fried. Plantains and bananas are readily available.

On the coast, seafood is much more common. Many dishes also feature coconut, or coconut milk. Food is often cooked over a fire, wrapped in banana leaves. Ceviche , a dish of citrus-marinated fish, is one of the most ubiquitous menu items.

What is Ecuadorian Food Like?

Unlike much of Latin American cuisine, Ecuadorian food is not known for its spiciness. Instead, Ecuadorian palettes relish sweet local fruits and savory grilled meats. But you can always add spicy ají hot sauce to your dish; a condiment available almost everywhere in Ecuador.For breakfast, Ecuadorians typically eat something simple, like bread and butter. The largest meal of the day is lunch, and necessitates a short nap to recover. Street food is extremely popular, and the smell of skewered meat and deep-fried plantains waft from roadside stands.

Most main dishes include meat and potatoes. Slices of avocado or a fried egg will add some color to the meal. It’s not always easy to find food for vegetarians, or for someone who prefers to eat lightly.

Ecuador serves up a variety of soups and stews, such as locro, chupe, sopa, mazamorra , and sopa seca. Caldo is usually made with a clear broth, simmered with meat, grains, and vegetables. Each of these dishes varies according to the cook. Sometimes soups will contain ingredients not usually seen in North America, like blood or organs.

If you’re on the coast, try some of the local seafood. Fish stews and soups are quite common. You’ll also find fish fried in dense fritters, called corviche .

Ecuadorians typically eat a diet rich in carbohydrates. In addition to potatoes, Ecuadorian cooks serve meals with quinoa, barley, and hominy. Some varieties of corn here have large kernels, and these often round out simple, rustic meals.

What is Dessert Like in Ecuador?

Ecuador’s most famous dessert is a traditional, fruity ice cream, made in an iced copper bowl called a paila. It is often referred to as helado, the Ecuadorian word for ice cream, although it typically contains no dairy. You’ll also see plenty of bread pudding, flan, and dulce de leche — desserts that are popular all over Latin America.At festivals and marketplaces vendors sell heaps of homemade candy. Try espumillas , a meringue shaped like an ice cream, and served in an ice cream cone. Panela , a type of unrefined cane sugar, is a common ingredient in Ecuadorian sweets. Melcochas are sticky candies made from panela sugar, cooked with honey or molasses.

Local produce is the main ingredient in a number of popular Ecuadorian desserts. Cocados are coconut candies, sweetened with caramel. You should also try bien me sabe , a fluffy coconut cake. Its name translates to “seems good to me” in English. Dulce de guayaba is a type of candy made from guava. Morocho is a warm pudding made from corn, cooked with raisins, cinnamon, and milk. It goes perfectly with a chilly evening in the Andes .

Is There Vegetarian Food in Ecuador?

Vegetarian food is available in Ecuador. In popular destinations , there will usually be a couple vegetarian restaurants. At small, local restaurants, vegetarians can eat staples like rice, plantains, yucca, and potatoes. In the highlands , be on the lookout for llapingachos , a traditional dish made of cheesy potato cakes. Chinese restaurants, known as chifas , are also widespread in Ecuador and typically offer fried rice, noodles, and vegetables.

What Kinds of Alcohol Are Available in Ecuador?

Local beers, including Club and Pilsner, are found throughout Ecuador. Microbreweries are beginning to appear, but it will be a while before their beer is widely available. Ecuadorian wine tends to be of poor quality; your best bet is a Chilean wine. Beer and wine imports are also available but tend to be much more expensive. Chicha is homemade beer made from fermented corn. Trago de caña (also known as aguardiente ) is a liquor made from fermented sugar cane that is popular in rural Ecuador. It is often served warm with lemon, sugar, and cinnamon, a drink which is known as a canelazo .

How Much Do I Tip Drivers and Other Service Workers in Ecuador?

Tipping is a personal decision and depends on the service provided. If the person has been helpful, feel free to tip them. If they have been less than helpful (or flat out unfriendly), don't feel obligated to tip.For most most services (including porters and hairdressers), tipping $1 is sufficient. For guided tours, a tip is expected, and should be around $5-$10. Taxi drivers do not expect a tip.

Do note that upscale restaurants may automatically include a tip on the bill.

Does Ecuador Have Good Seafood?

Ecuador is bordered by the Pacific Ocean , ensuring a steady supply of fresh seafood. Ceviche is an especially popular dish in Ecuador. This usually includes white fish and shrimp that are marinated in citrus juice. Encocadas is a dish of white fish cooked in coconut milk, and bollas de pescado is a filet of fish steamed with peanuts inside a banana leaf. Seafood curries and chowder are also widely available along the coast. Camarones al ajillo , shrimp with garlic sauce, is tasty and available throughout much of Ecuador.

How Much Should I Tip After a Meal in Ecuador?

Tips are not required, but are still a nice way to put a little money into the pockets of local Ecuadorians. Nice restaurants will add a 10 percent service tax and 12 percent value-added tax to your bill. At cheaper restaurants, try to tip 5 to 10 percent.

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A Foodie’s Guide to Ecuador: Exploring the Country’s Delicious Cuisine

Ecuador is a country full of surprises, including its cuisine. With its diverse geography, the country is home to a variety of delicious dishes that reflect the local ingredients and cooking styles of each region. Whether you’re a foodie or just someone who loves to try new things, Ecuador’s cuisine is sure to delight your taste buds.

In the coastal region, you’ll find an array of seafood dishes. The famous ceviche, a dish made from raw fish marinated in lemon and lime juice, is a staple here. Fresh seafood is abundant in coastal cities, making it the perfect place to try this delicious dish. The coast is also famous for its plantain dishes, including bolon de verde, a dish made with mashed plantains and cheese.

In the highland region, you’ll find dishes that are hearty and comforting. The Andes Mountains provide an ideal climate for growing potatoes, corn, and other hearty vegetables. The traditional locro de papas, a creamy potato soup, is a popular dish here. Another must-try dish is the fanesca, a fish soup that is made with a variety of ingredients, including corn, beans, and herbs. This dish is only served during Holy Week and is considered a symbol of Ecuadorian culture.

In the Amazon rainforest, the cuisine is heavily influenced by indigenous ingredients and cooking styles. The people of this region cook dishes that incorporate fresh ingredients from the jungle, such as yucca, plantains, and exotic fruits. One of the most popular dishes here is maito, which is a dish made with grilled fish wrapped in banana leaves. A traditional drink in this region is chicha, a fermented beverage. A great way to experience Ecuadorian cuisine is to attend a cooking class. In these classes, you’ll learn how to prepare traditional dishes and get an inside look at the ingredients and cooking methods used in Ecuadorian cuisine. You’ll also get to taste the dishes you’ve prepared, allowing you to take a piece of Ecuador’s cuisine home with you.

Ecuador is also home to many traditional food markets, where you can sample a variety of local dishes and ingredients. These markets are a great place to try traditional Ecuadorian food, as well as local specialties like chocolate, cheese, and coffee. Whether you’re looking for a snack or a full meal, you’re sure to find something delicious at one of Ecuador’s food markets.

No matter what region of Ecuador you visit, there is no shortage of delicious food to try. From the coastal seafood dishes to the hearty highland cuisine, you are sure to find something that will satisfy your appetite. So, pack your appetite and get ready to explore the delicious cuisine of Ecuador!

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From the mountain caps of the Andes to the Amazon forests and the Pacific coast, Ecuadorian cuisine is rich and diverse. The country’s menu is a mix of traditional dishes dating back to the Inca times and regional varieties of flavors drawn from Spanish arrivals. What’s more, as you travel around the country you will find different versions of national delicacies composed from ingredients typical of the region.

Ecuadorian cuisine has been influenced by the Incan heritage and colonial rule. You will find many dishes that resemble other South American menus and a variety of fresh ingredients like plantains, yucca, tomatoes, onions, corn, and fruit. Foods tend to be rich in carbs such as potatoes and rice, too. On the coast, there are plenty of meals with fresh fish and seafood.

We’ve gathered a list of seven local dishes that sum up Ecuador’s food culture. If you want to find out what to eat when traveling in this amazing part of the world, read on.

Table of Contents

Cuy – probably the best-known dish of Ecuador food culture

Brace yourselves – cuy is a Guinea pig. The same Guinea pig that many of us kept as pets when we were younger. Yes, the mini rodent of the cavia family is one of the main dishes of Ecuadorian cuisine. Also called cobayo or conejillo de indias in different places throughout the region, it’s one of the most common national meals you’ll find on offer in this South American nation.

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The history of cuy actually dates all the way back to the Incas. That mighty empire first cooked the rodents, and the meat is still considered a delicacy up and down the Andes and in neighboring Peru, the former center of the Inca peoples.

It’s usually made by marinating the full body of the animal in a mash of garlic and chili, then cooking over an open flame on a skewer for several hours. Other restaurants will serve their cuy deep-fried in hot oil with a patting of cumin. The hardest part of the cooking process is usually the preparation stage, which involves removing every bit of hair from the animal from top to bottom.

These days, cuy is mainly considered as a meal for special occasions in Ecuador. However, it’s also become a bit of a challenge for adventurous eaters, so don’t be surprised to see travelers like yourself tucking into a Guinea pig in places like Quito, Guayaquil, Montanita, and other tourist towns

Locro de papa soup

The main ingredients in locro the papa , as the name might suggest, are potatoes. They’re made into a delicious thick stew with rinds and cheese thrown in on top. This hearty Ecuadorian delicacy is one of the nation’s favorites, and its popularity doesn’t come as a surprise considering the love for potatoes in these parts – over half a million tons of them are consumed in Ecuador every year.

The soup is traditionally made with an Ecuadorian variety of potatoes, that, some locals say, you can’t find anywhere else. Other ingredients include milk, garlic, onions, cumin, and achiote (a coloring spice common in the tropical parts of the Americas). It’s usually served with soft cheese and avocado as a garnish. Meat isn’t an essential ingredient, either, so the soup is often vegetarian.

The name of the soup comes from a mix of Quechuan words for stew and a Spanish word for potatoes. If you’re visiting Ecuador, you should make sure that you try this delicious dish. You can find it all over the country, especially in the highlands, in most restaurants serving traditional Ecuadorian food.

Ceviche isn’t only popular in Ecuador. It’s also a major part of the food culture up and down the coast of South America, in Peru and Chile in particular. Basically, anywhere close to the Pacific Ocean tends to do this dish well, because it’s based on raw seafood with herbs, citrus, and a few spices, although ceviche varies considerably from place to place.

The Ecuadorian version of the dish is typically based on fish cuts and sometimes octopus and shrimp. It’s served with cilantro and garlic and loads of lime juice, along with a dousing of virgin olive oil and chopped red onion. There’s no cooking involved. Instead, ceviche making relies purely on maceration, which is the ability of acidic liquids to break down proteins and absorb them into certain food types (fish included) to enhance the flavor.

If you’re planning a trip around more than one country in South America and Latin America, then be ready to hear some conflicting stories about where ceviche comes from. The Peruvians claim it for their own, saying it was once a mainstay of the ancient Incan diet. The Mexicans also have a version, only theirs is a lot spicier, making use of powerful jalapeno and habanero peppers in the mix.

Llapingachos

Another traditional Ecuadorian dish loved by tourists and locals alike is llapingachos . The reason why is that these are fried cheese and potato pancakes. Yummy. They are usually griddled on a hot pan until crispy and brown, and then bathed in a tasty peanut sauce with fried egg and avocados.

These small potato patties are most popular in the mountainous parts of the country but can also be found in the coastal provinces. The dish originates from the city of Ambato located in the central Andean valley. You will also often find them as a side to hornado , a roasted pig.

People often have llapingachos as a snack, and the locals will say they go with pretty much anything. Sometimes, llapingachos are cooked with mashed, cooked cassava root instead of potato. 

Encocado de Pescado

Encocado de pescado , otherwise known as fish in coconut sauce, is an exotic coastal dish that traditionally consists of lemony fish with herbs, coriander sauce, onions, bell peppers, and coconut milk. It’s usually made with corvina fish but can also be made with other types of fish or shrimp, clams, crab, or even squid.

The recipe actually originates from Africa. It was brought by the African settlers to the northwestern shores of the Esmeraldas province in colonial times. Now, however, it’s considered as one of the traditional coastal dishes of Ecuador food culture.

The fish is marinated in lime juice, coriander, garlic, and spices before being cooked in a coconut sauce. It’s usually served as a main dish with rice or salad or plantain chips. You will mainly find it in restaurants in the seaside regions throughout the country.

Encebollado soup

Citrusy, lively, and packed with seafood, encebollado soup is the exact sort of thing you’d expect of a coastal country in Latin America. From salty tuna steak to hearty yuca carbs and fresh coriander with pickled onions and chilies, this traditional broth is one of the trademark flavors of Ecuadorian cuisine. It’s also said to be a favorite hangover cure, so consider choosing this if you’ve been on the Pisco sours!

Encebollado is made by broiling tuna with spices like cumin and pepper in a big pot. Once the fish is done, you remove it and use the same water to cook the yucca root. That adds a saltiness throughout the dish that’s distinctly Pacific-influenced. The lime-doused salsas and pickled veg are then added on top before serving for extra punch and flavor.

The best place to eat encebollado is in the coastal areas of Ecuador. It is made inland and up in the Andes, but the fish doesn’t tend to be quite as fresh there. It’s served throughout the whole day, for both breakfast and brunch and dinner later on. Historically, the dish has been linked to Spanish seafood broths that were probably brought over with the conquistadors in the 16th century. It’s now considered one of Ecuador’s national staples.

Empanadas are popular in many places, not only in Ecuador. They’re often associated with Spanish and Mexican cuisine more than Ecuador food culture. Essentially fried pastries shaped like a dumpling with different kinds of fillings ranging from meat to cheese and veggies, they are filling and pretty fantastic.

The Ecuadorian version of empanadas is deep-fried and packed with cheese and seasoned with onions. What makes them different from the other types is a special ingredient: Sugar. That’s added as soon as the pastries are taken out of the hot oil. Empanadas are a popular snack rather than a main dish. You can buy them at street stalls throughout the country.

Although they are a very popular snack in Ecuador, empanadas actually originate from Galicia in Spain. They date back to a 16th-century cookbook that mentioned empanadas filled with seafood.

What is the most famous food in Ecuador?

The dish that gained the most popularity in the country is cuy, or roast guinea pig. Although it isn’t usually present on the everyday menu, it’s considered a delicacy for special occasions. For tourists, tasting cuy is an unforgettable part of Ecuador’s food culture.

What is a typical breakfast in Ecuador?

The typical breakfast in Ecuador is usually pretty simple and quick. People like to have a small bite with a coffee rather than an elaborate meal. But some people prefer the more complex breakfast, which often starts with fruit and is followed by some kind of protein such as scrambled or fried eggs with plantains or avocados.

What makes the food in Ecuador unique?

Ecuadorian cuisine consists of unusual ingredients like yucca, plantains, and even guinea pig, things not often present on a typical menu in most parts of the world. As you travel around the country, you will experience different flavors in different regions, so the food in Ecuador is also very rich and diverse.

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• Ecuadorian Cuisine
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From exotic to traditional, tropical to Andean, Ecuadorian cuisine is diverse and delicious. It offers a taste of two different worlds, as many of the traditional dishes have merged Incan culinary heritage with the influence of Old World ingredients and cuisine. But more than that, Ecuador’s food tells the story of the local people and the environment that plays such an important part of their lives.

Like much of everything in Ecuador, the diverse terrain plays a pivotal role in the various region’s cuisine because each region incorporates the unique ingredients they have at hand. Ecuador’s Sierra (Andean highlands), Oriente (Amazon), and Costa (the western coast) each have unique culinary traditions and distinctive dishes. Traveling through the country really truly is a culinary experience where each location literally brings something new to the table.

Soups are Ecuador’s forte, and they know it. Savory soups usually accompany lunch and dinner as the first course. Several internationally renowned chefs have even gone as far as to say that Ecuador is the world’s authority on making soup. Several soup highlights are included here, but when traveling through Ecuador it’s important to remember that each principality, each region, and each town can have their own unique take on a similar soup. Oftentimes people find they do not merely have a favorite soup, but they can narrow down which region’s particular recipe they prefer.   

Because yuca is such a predominate carbohydrate, Ecuadorians use it to make a variety of meals. While in the rainforest it is common to grate yuca to make into tortillas, the larger cities are filled with restaurants that serve Pan de Yuca , a bread made from yucca starch, butter, eggs, and cheese. These baked rolls are usually served with yogurt smoothies in Ecuador, a delightful combination although it might seem a bit odd at first. 

Plantains make an appearance throughout the country, but they are a staple along the Costa. As they play such a prominent role in the Ecuadorians’ diet, people have gotten creative. Though plantain chips, or chifles , make for a tasty light snack, thick chunks of plantain can also be fried, smashed a bit, and fried again to create patacones if you’re looking for something more filling. Ecuadorians also love their cheese, and so they have created maduro con queso where whole, barbecued plantains are split open and stuffed with cheese. Plantains are served as soups, in soups, empanadas, as dumplings and more. These banana-esque fruits are common in street food dishes, so keep your eye out for some plantain specialties.

SUSTENANCE ON THE SIERRA

In Ecuador’s highland region, many traditional dishes are based around potatoes, cheese, corn, and avocados. Unlike other regions of Ecuador, the Sierra also incorporates lots of pork in their dishes, so if you’re achin’ for some bacon, head to the Sierra.

Roadside restaurants in the Sierra have several distinctive dishes that make for good eats. Llapingachos , small fried patties made of mashed potatoes and cheese, are often served as a side dish, especially with fried eggs and breakfast meat. Llapingachos can actually be found everywhere in Ecuador, but the Sierra has some more possessive pride over their local potatoes. Another common sight at small restaurants lining the roads in the Sierra are hornandos — whole roasted pigs—cracking away over a spit. If you stop in, you can purchase fritada , chunks of deep fried pork, that are commonly served with mote , a dish of boiled corn. Cayambe, a town outside of Quito, is also known for their bizcochos , a regional specialty. These butter-filled biscuits are baked in wood-fired ovens in the same method perfected over the ages. 

Cuy, or guinea pig, are a delicacy reserved for special occasions. Although they are a cuddly pet many wouldn’t dare to eat in America, they are bred to be food in Ecuador so no emotional attachments are formed. If you’re an adventurous eater not immediately turned off by the thought of eating a cuddly rodent that might have been your childhood pet, cuy should be one of your culinary adventures. Although the small creatures do not have much meat on them, what meat they do have is incredibly tasty. In order to get all the meat and skin off the bones, the locals eat the cuy with their fingers.

Choclo Cancha

Choclo Cancha is pretty much Andean popcorn. However, it’s not really America’s popcorn, as cancha is really what Americans would consider corn nuts. It’s a popular snack throughout Andean countries, not just Ecuador. When heated in a skillet, the cancha corn toasts and puffs up a bit, but it doesn’t burst like American popcorn. Ecuadorians season it and then serve it alone at markets or as a side dish. It’s most popular culinary accompaniment is ceviche.

This soup is a staple of the Ecuadorian diet, and it has been for over 500 years since the Spanish made their way to the New World. The name “locro” is derived from the Quechuan “ruqru” or “luqru.” Although it’s primarily thought of as a cheesy potato-based soup called Locro de Papas , locro soup can be made of a variety of bases. For instance, in Quito, cheese locro, or Locro Quiteño , is the preferred locro soup. Some Ecuadorian chefs have assembled a collection of over 200 different locro recipes.

COOKING A LA COSTA

The coast’s unique local ingredients not only make an appearance in the local cuisine but constitute much of its personality. Taken from the land, the costa’s typical dishes feature plantains, yuca, rice, and coconut. The region’s tropical fruits also play a larger role, and the locals’ diets include starfruit, papaya, and pineapple and more. These tropical treats are often mixed with the wealth of food taken from the nearby sea, the combination that makes Ecuador’s coastal cuisine so remarkable.

The ceviche must be good in Ecuador since it’s the country’s national dish. Archeologists have verified that the famous dish was being made in South America before the Spanish came, although the recipe was a bit different. Since the Spaniards were responsible for bringing over onions and lime, the indigenous people marinated the fish in passion fruit before the dish evolved to its modern presentation.

Even to this day, Ecuadorian ceviche differs from Peruvian ceviche. Whereas the Peruvians ‘cook’ their assortment of sea food in lime juice, hot peppers, and onions, the Ecuadorians cook their seafood before marinating it in lime juice and salt.

If you’re a picky eater, the Ecuadorian version might be for you since you often get to choose between shrimp, fish, black clam, or mixto ceviche. It’s also much less hot than the Peruvian ceviche, who are so particular about their spice levels that different regions use different hot peppers to flavor the dish. If you’re not huge into seafood, you can always snack on the popcorn that the Ecuadorians serve with ceviche!

Chupe de Pescado

According to some, this soup was created to be eaten during the Easter season when religious followers abstained from eating red meat. Of course, fish was a common substitute. To this day, this dish is commonly served during Easter. Although the word “chupe” comes from Quechua, which suggests pre-Spanish roots, its origins aren’t clear. No matter what its origin story may be, this fish chowder is delicious and distinctive of its coastal roots. Made with the ever-present potatoes, cheese, and corn, it is the added ingredient of fish—a variety of fish, but often of the ‘sucker’ variety—that make this fish chowder a coastal delicacy.

Esmeraldas is known for their signature dish encocado, a seafood specialty that brings in the creamy notes of coconut milk and grew from the region’s strong Afro-Ecuadorian heritage. Although it is typically made with fish, it has evolved over time and you will now often find it with shrimp or other seafood. Because it incorporates fresh seafood and coconut, it’s most commonly found on the beach or in other coastal areas. However, it’s also difficult to find outside of the Esmeraldas province, so if you’re in the area, eat up!

RUSTLING UP GRUB IN THE ORIENTE

Many of the traditional dishes of the Ecuadorian Amazon are definitely a gastronomic adventure not for the faint of heart. The cuisine of the Amazon is as exotic as the Amazon itself, and it definitely incorporates local ingredients.

In terms of exotic fruits, locals can be found munching on cocona, borojo, arazá, chonta, and more. Of course, those fruit don’t often make an appearance in dishes outside the Amazon and many people need a quick Google search to figure out what they even are. Nevertheless, these unconventional fruits are a tasty part of the Amazon experience.

Luckily, the Oriente’s list of preferred meats are more recognizable, if just as unorthodox. The animals most commonly found on a plate in the Oriente are turtles, monkeys, guantas (large rodents), giant ants, snakes, and chontacuro (chonta worms). These diverse proteins are often combined with more mundane starches, mostly bananas and yuca.

Several dishes are common, though the sides are often similar. Stewed guanta is often paired with beef, banana, and garlic with a side of rice or potatoes. Zarapatoca has similar sides but incorporates turtle meat. If the Ecuadorians are feeling like an assortment of meat, they prepare a unique dish called uchumanga that uses an array of intestines taken from the Amazon’s wild animals. Another is the Tamal , or maito , where banana or yucca pieces are combined with roasted chontacuro (chonta worm) wrapped in palm leaves.

The Tamal is relatively unique in its presentation of roasted chonta worms, as the chonta worm is often served alive and wriggling with a side dish of rice and bananas. As Timon and Pumbaa believe, they’re slimy yet satisfying. Hakuna Matata!   

JUICES AND TIPPLES: ECUADOR’S TROPICAL LIBATIONS

Ecuador makes the most of its fruit-filled countryside by embracing juice, and most Ecuadorians begin their day with a refreshing glass of it and continue to sip on some throughout the day. With so many exotic fruits to choose from, Ecuadorians have chosen not to choose at all and instead have made juices out of anything and everything. The most common fruit juices are made from passion fruit ( maracuyá ), naranjilla , pineapple ( piña ), babaco , blackberry ( mora ), and more. The juices can be served pure ( puro ) or mixed with milk ( batidos ).

Fruit also makes it into the Ecuadorian’s adult beverages, and If you’re going to tipple in Ecuador, make it tropical! Ecuador’s history of cultivating sprawling sugar cane plantations has led to the creation of several sugar cane spirits that can be found throughout the country and are often mixed with a variety of fruit juices as cocktails.

The one fruit it seems elusive to the country’s mastery is the grape. While some local wineries are slowly beginning to turn out better vino, Ecuador largely relies on imports from Chile and Argentina because the home-grown goods tend to be sketchy and on the sweet side. That being said, Ecuador’s enjoy a good pilsner, a widespread preference made obvious in Ecuador’s most popular beer brand, Pilsener.

Traveling through Ecuador, try to find two of their most culturally distinctive beverages! It gets chilly up in the Andes, and canelazo cocktail personifies the spirit of the Ecuadorean highlands and warms the belly. The hot libation made from rum, cinnamon ( canela ), and naranjilla has been made in Ecuador since the 17 th and 18 th centuries when sugar cane was first cultivated and fermented in the country.

Chicha , a drink made from fermented corn or yucca, was popular before the Spanish arrival, and it remains a popular indigenous beverage in the Amazon Oriente as well as the Andean highlands. Historically, indigenous women masticated the corn or yucca and then spit it into pots where the chewed up remains were left to ferment with the aid of the saliva’s enzymes. Although today chicha is usually produced with more sanitary measures, you may have the opportunity to taste the authentic recipe if you happen upon a festival at an indigenous village.

BEEF UP YOUR FOOD PREP VOCAB

Apanado: batter-fried and breaded

Brosterizado: deep-fried

A la brasa: grilled

Al vapor: steamed

Encocado: stewed in coconut

Frito: pan-fried

Seco: stewed meat plate

Reventado: skillet-fried

Hornado: roasted

Home » Culture in Ecuador, Cuisine, Religion, People and Tradition » Ecuador Cuisine, Food, Recipies, Culture

Ecuador Cuisine, Food, Recipies, Culture

Ecuador is well known for its abundance of varied exotic fruits, excellent fish and seafood and the countless varieties of Andean potatoes. Ecuador has some very tasty and very strange combinations in their dishes. You can expect to find lemon marinated shrimps, toasted corn on the cob and a huge variety of pastries filled with all types of interesting ingredients.

If you are an adventurous eater, then Ecuador is the place for you. You can taste some roasted cuy (guinea pig), tronquito (bull penis soup) or yaguarlocro (potato soup made with sprinklings of blood). But for those of you who prefer eating more usual, familiar foods, Ecuador has plenty of tasty familiars.

Ecuadorians have a regular diet of rice, potatoes, and meat (beef and chicken can be found anywhere but pork is only found in the sierra). Most dishes in Ecuador are complimented by a traditional hot sauce called Aji. You will find Aji on almost every food table in restaurants and homes, each with its own intensity of ‘picante’ so taste a bit before you smother your food with it. In addition to Aji, most dishes are accompanied by rice, a small salad and potatoes or patacones (squashed, fried green bananas).

If you are planning on cooking, Ecuador has an abundance of street markets and stalls in major towns that sell a good assortment of fresh fruit and vegetables. These markets also sell exotic spices, and fresh picked herbs to make sauces, infusions and remedies. If your taste buds are longing for something fancy you should head to the bigger cities where you can enjoy some world-class delis and specialty stores.

Some dishes you will most likely find in most restaurants are: seco de pollo (a stew made of chicken, accompanied by rice and avocado slices), lomo salteado (thin beef steaks smothered in onions and tomatoes) and seco de chivo (goat stew served with a load of rice). At street vendors you are likely to find Tortillas de maiz (thin corn pancakes) and choclo (barbecued Andean corn). Both make great snacks at any time of the day.

Most Ecuadorians prefer beer, and in second place rum. You can find almost any imported beer brand in Ecuador as well as some pretty good local brewed ones.

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World Travel Guide

Must try Local Cuisine in Ecuador

Tuchman Travel Guide

Updated on: February 15, 2023

Local Food and Cuisine in Ecuador

Ecuadoris home to a unique and flavorful cuisine that has evolved over centuries. From the highlands of the Andes Mountains to the coastal regions, Ecuadorian cuisine has been influenced by both Spanish and indigenous traditions. With an array of fresh ingredients, bold flavors, and colorful dishes, there is something for every palate! Whether you’re looking for traditional dishes like ceviche or empanadas or trying out more modern fare such as rice bowls with grilled shrimp or plantain chips with guacamole dip – Ecuador’s food scene offers plenty of delicious options.

• Introduction of Food in Ecuador
• ian Ceviche
• Locro de Papas
• Fanesca Soup
• Llapingachos
• Weather in Ecuador
• Hotels Ecuador
• Reviews and Stories from Ecuador
• About Quito the capitol of Ecuador
• 1. What are the most traditional dishes in Ecuador?
• 2. Are there any unique ingredients used in local cuisine?
• 3. What is the best way to sample Ecuadorian food while visiting?
• 4. How has the food culture changed over time in Ecuador?
• 5. Is it easy to find vegetarian and vegan options when eating out in Ecuador?

There are so many things types of amazing food in Ecuador, South America we couldn’t list them all but we want to highlight 5 popular dishes from Ecuador to give you a feel of what to expect. If you think we have missed anything major or if your favourite local food is not in the list let us know and we would be happy to add it to our travel guide.

Popular Foods in Ecuador

• ian Ceviche in Ecuador
• Locro de Papas in Ecuador
• Fanesca Soup in Ecuador
• Llapingachos in Ecuador
• Humitas in Ecuador

ian Ceviche in Ecuador – ian Ceviche is a flavorful dish that originated in Peru centuries ago. It consists of fresh raw seafood marinated with citrus juices, such as lemon or lime, and spiced with chili peppers. The flavor is both tart and spicy, making it a delicious treat for the taste buds! This traditional South American dish has become increasingly popular on menus all around the globe. Ceviche pairs perfectly with white rice and can be served alone or topped off with some avocado slices for extra creaminess. With its bold flavors and unique history, ceviche is sure to add an exciting twist to any dinner plate!

Locro de Papas in Ecuador – is a traditional Ecuadorian potato stew. It’s made up of potatoes, cheese, and onions cooked in a creamy peanut sauce. This hearty dish has been enjoyed for generations by the people of Ecuador as it makes an excellent comfort food. Its flavor is rich and savory yet still light enough to be enjoyed any time of year. Locro de Papas is so beloved that it can often be found served at family celebrations or special occasions such as weddings and baptisms. The combination of warm potatoes, salty cheese, sweet onion, and nutty peanut sauce give this stew its unique taste – one that will have your mouth watering even before you take your first bite!

Fanesca Soup in Ecuador – are a traditional breakfast pastry that is enjoyed in Spain and throughout Latin America. These fried, doughy treats are made with flour, eggs, sugar, salt and usually some type of oil or lard for frying. The result is a crunchy exterior with a soft center and light sweetness from the added sugar. Spanish churros have become popular around the world as an indulgent snack or dessert to be eaten alongside coffee or hot chocolate. There’s something truly special about biting into one of these deliciously crispy treats – it’s no wonder they’re so beloved!

Llapingachos in Ecuador – are a traditional Ecuadorian dish consisting of two corn pancakes, served with a special potato and cheese filling. The flavor is creamy, slightly sweet and savory, balanced with the texture of the crisp pancake exterior. Llapingachos are an iconic dish in Ecuador and are often served as part of a larger meal alongside other traditional dishes such as seco de pollo or guatita. They also tend to be popular for street vendors who serve them as snacks during festivals and holidays throughout the country.

Humitas in Ecuador – are a traditional dish in Peru and other Latin American countries. Made of ground corn, these savory treats taste like sweetened cornbread with a hint of nutmeg. Humitas are often served during special occasions and holidays as an accompaniment to the main meal or as a snack. They can be prepared either steamed or boiled, then wrapped in corn husks before being cooked. The result is a soft and fluffy treat that melts in your mouth – perfect for sharing with friends and family!

Weather Ecuador

When booking a holiday in Ecuador one of the main things to look at is what the weather will be like when you get there. Due to these common weather questions, we have created a separate page talking about what the Whats the weather like in Ecuador? .  This included a month-by-month breakdown of what the weather is like and questions travellers have had regarding the climate.

LANDMARKS IN Ecuador

After the weather and food, our attention normally turns to what is there to do in Ecuador or what’s worth visiting. We have created a list of landmarks, places or interests and attractions to get your travel journey started – What tourist attractions are in or near Ecuador?

Hotels in Ecuador

Finally, after reading about Ecuador’s weather, food, and tourist destinations, you might want to spend some time reading about the best hotels in Ecuador . Hotel information is always changing so please let us know if any of our reviews need updating and please feel free to share your stories and reviews from hotels you visit in both Ecuador to help others on their travels. Also, feel to check out our hotel map from Booking.com to quickly find a hotel in Ecuador

Booking.com

The Capitol of Ecuador is Quito

When heading off to a country for the first time it’s always a good idea to read up on the capital city. and we have prepared a short guide about the captiol Quito to get you started.

Stories and Reviews from Our Team/Clients in Ecuador

Ecuador was my first international food experience and I couldn’t have been more excited. The moment I stepped foot in the country, the smell of traditional dishes filled the air and made me want to try them all. One of my favorites was ceviche, a traditional seafood dish consisting of fresh-caught fish marinated with lime juice, onions, peppers and spices. It had an amazing flavor that burst with every bite – tangy from the lime juice mixed with a hint of spice from the peppers.

I also tried locro de papas – a creamy potato soup which is said

Do you have a story to share about a visit to Quito or Ecuador? We would love to hear about it and add it here! Please feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or fill in our contact form .

Frequently Asked Questions About  Quito, Ecuador

Here at Tuchman Travel Guide, we are always trying to help if you have a question about an upcoming trip that our site does not answer just leave a comment below and we will try to get back in touch ASAP!

1. What are the most traditional dishes in Ecuador? – Ecuador has some amazing traditional dishes to try! My personal favorites are ceviche, a citrus-marinated seafood dish; fanesca, an Ecuadorian soup made with twelve different grains and vegetables; and seco de pollo, a stew of chicken cooked in cilantro sauce. All three dishes have their own unique flavor that will make your taste buds dance!

2. Are there any unique ingredients used in local cuisine? – Absolutely! The local cuisine here is full of flavor and features a variety of unique ingredients. One of my favorites is the chili pepper paste that’s used to make many traditional dishes. It adds a spicy kick to everything from noodle soup to stir-fry, and always leaves me wanting more. There are also plenty of herbs like cilantro and lemongrass used in traditional recipes, which give every dish its own distinctive flavor.

3. What is the best way to sample Ecuadorian food while visiting? – The best way to sample Ecuadorian food while visiting is by exploring the local markets and restaurants. You can find a wide variety of fresh, delicious dishes made with locally sourced ingredients. From classic ceviches and fried plantains to hearty stews and unique desserts, there’s something for everyone in Ecuador! Be sure to try some of the traditional beverages like Chicha de Jora or Colada Morada as well – they’ll make any meal complete!

4. How has the food culture changed over time in Ecuador? – The food culture in Ecuador has changed a lot over time. Many traditional dishes are still popular, but there’s been an emergence of new flavors and ingredients as the country continues to grow and evolve. Dishes like Ceviche made with fresh seafood, spicy Locro soup filled with potatoes, yucca root, cheese curds and avocado slices, or fanesca stew full of grains have become staples of the local cuisine. But now you can also find international favorites like pizza or sushi at some restaurants too!

5. Is it easy to find vegetarian and vegan options when eating out in Ecuador? – Yes, it’s definitely easy to find vegetarian and vegan options in Ecuador. Many restaurants offer dishes like rice and beans, lentils, quinoa salads with vegetables, veggie stir-fries, and plantain chips. Even the traditional ceviche can be made without fish or seafood! There are plenty of delicious meals that cater to vegetarians and vegans alike.

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