Ecuador’s food by region
Ecuador is small but varied, and its food is usually described by region. The coast leans on seafood, plantain and rice. The Andean highlands rely on potatoes, corn, pork and cheese. The Amazon has its own ingredients and cooking methods. Understanding that split makes it much easier to choose what to try.
Coastal specialties
Encebollado
Often called Ecuador’s most famous dish, encebollado is a warm fish soup, typically made with albacore tuna and yuca (cassava), topped with pickled red onion and served with lime. It is widely seen as a breakfast or hangover-cure kind of soup.
Ceviche
Ecuadorian ceviche is typically served in a citrusy, tomato-based broth, with shrimp, fish or other seafood, and accompanied by toasted corn (chifles or chulpi) or plantain chips. It differs from the Peruvian style, which uses less broth.
Encocado and bolón de verde
Pescado encocado is fish cooked in a coconut sauce, especially linked to the northern coast. Bolón de verde is a dumpling of mashed green plantain stuffed with cheese, pork, or both, and is a classic breakfast on the coast.
Andean specialties
- Locro de papa: a creamy potato soup with cheese, often served with avocado.
- Llapingachos: pan-fried potato and cheese patties, usually served with a fried egg, salad, and sometimes chorizo or peanut sauce.
- Hornado: slow-roasted pork, typically served with llapingachos, hominy (mote) and salad.
- Fritada: chunks of fried pork, often served with mote, plantain and a fresh condiment.
- Seco de chivo: a stew of goat (or chicken or beef), simmered with spices and often beer or fruit juice, served with rice.
- Cuy: roasted guinea pig, a traditional Andean dish. It is considered a delicacy and is usually eaten on special occasions or by travelers seeking a local experience.
Amazon region
Amazonian cooking includes dishes such as maito, where fish or chicken is wrapped in leaves and cooked over coals. Ingredients and availability vary by area, and visitors should buy from reputable vendors.
Snacks
- Empanadas: found in several styles, including filled with cheese or morocho, or fried with plantain.
- Humitas: steamed fresh corn cakes, often with cheese, wrapped in corn husks.
- Quimbolitos: sweet steamed cakes wrapped in achira leaves.
- Chifles: thin fried plantain chips.
- Pan de yuca: small cheese bread.
If you enjoy corn-wrapped steamed cakes, you can compare them with the humintas of Bolivia.
Festive foods
Fanesca is a thick soup made with grains, beans and salt cod, traditionally eaten around Easter. Its salt cod fits the wider tradition of fish and legume dishes during Lent, covered in recipes for the Lenten season. Colada morada, a spiced, thick purple-corn and fruit drink, is paired with sweet bread figures called guaguas de pan around the Day of the Dead in early November. Both are tied to specific times of year, so they are not always easy to find otherwise.
Drinks
- Canelazo: a warm cinnamon drink with sugarcane spirit, popular in the mountains.
- Chocolate: Ecuador is known for its cocoa.
- Fresh juices: made from local fruit, including naranjilla, which is also used in sauces.
- Coffee: grown in several regions of the country.
For another country that pairs coffee with street snacks, see food and drinks in Colombia.
Frequently asked questions
What is Ecuador’s most famous food?
Encebollado and ceviche are often named as national favorites; in the Andes, hornado and llapingachos are common answers.
What are the top five most popular foods?
A reasonable shortlist is encebollado, ceviche, llapingachos, hornado and bolón de verde.
What is a common snack in Ecuador?
Empanadas, humitas, chifles and bolones are everyday snacks.
What is a delicacy in Ecuador?
Cuy (guinea pig) is the most commonly cited traditional delicacy, along with fanesca during Easter season.