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What to eat in South America? Top 100 South American Foods

Last update: Sun Feb 16 2025
Top 100 South American Foods
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01
Picanha
Picanha infographic
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MAIN INGREDIENTS

Picanha is a fresh cut of beef that's especially popular and highly prized in Brazil. In the US, it's called sirloin cap, and in the UK, it's known as the rump cap. Picanha is situated on the back side of the animal, above the butt, where it sits on a fat cap.


It's mostly used for churrasco – the meat is first grilled, then sliced off of a skewer. This cut holds very little fat in the meat, so it must be cooked perfectly in order not to make it tough. In Brazil, every churrasco has picanha, and all of the best churrascarias feature picanha on their menus. 
OTHER VARIATIONS OF Churrasco

MOST ICONIC Picanha

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02
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Aji criollo or salsa de aji is a spicy Peruvian salsa prepared with a combination of yellow aji chili peppers and oil. The sauce is usually pleasantly spicy, but it can also be extremely hot and spicy, so one should be careful when tasting it for the first time.


The sauce is traditionally used as an accompaniment to various meat and fish dishes, but it's also often used as a dip for french fries and tequeños. Although it shares the name with an Ecuadorian sauce, those two differ significantly, both in appearance (Ecuadorian version is green), and in the method of preparation and ingredients used.

03

Soup

PARAGUAY
4.7
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Vori-vori (bori-bori) is a hearty Paraguayan soup filled with meat (usually beef or chicken), fluffy dumplings consisting of cornmeal and cheese, and vegetables such as carrots, celery, and onions. The soup is traditionally flavored with bay leaves, cloves, and parsley, while saffron gives it a rich golden color.


Vori-vori is especially popular during the cold winter months, although it is sometimes also consumed during the summer. It is recommended to serve vori-vori warm, sprinkled with parsley and accompanied by grated parmesan cheese on the side. The soup is very rich in nutrients, and there are many varieties such as the one with the addition of grilled chicken pieces. 

MOST ICONIC Vori-vori

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04

Dip

VENEZUELA
4.7
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Guasacaca is Venezuela's version of guacamole, although it is not as thick. This simple combination of avocado, coriander, parsley, bell peppers, onions, garlic, salt, oil, and vinegar is typically consumed with barbecued meats such as beef, chicken, sausages, and morcillas.


It is used as a dip with fried plantain and yuca, but it can also be drizzled on empanadas. The sauce is usually made in a blender, resulting in a creamy sauce, while some prefer the mashed version, resulting in a chunkier sauce.

05
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Salsa de rocoto is a hot Peruvian sauce or dip that's a staple at most tables in the country. It is prepared with fiery red rocoto peppers, oil, and lime juice, with the occasional addition of parsley, cilantro, or milk. Due to the fact that this salsa is so popular in the country, there are numerous variations, ranging from medium hot to insanely hot, so be careful when trying it for the first time.


Use the salsa with a variety of fish and meat dishes, potatoes, or try it in sandwiches.

06
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MAIN INGREDIENTS

Bife de chorizo is an Argentinian beef cut equivalent to the US New York strip steak, strip steak, sirloin, and top loin traditionally used for asado. It is a thick, juicy steak with a sizable layer of fat on top. It comes in several varieties, namely the bife de chorizo angosto (thin sirloin) and the bife de chorizo mariposa (butterflied sirloin).


And if you want to judge the quality of someone’s barbecue or the quality of a barbecue place, ask for this steak. Also, if you get one with more than a generous amount of fat, know you've been served a cheap and bad-quality one.

07

Dessert

ARGENTINA and  one more region
4.5
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MAIN INGREDIENTS

Dulce de leche is a type of condensed milk sweet from Argentina and Uruguay. Traditionally, it is made by heating sweetened cow's milk until it caramelizes and achieves a thick consistency, enough to act as a spread, a filling for cakes and pies, or an ice cream topping.


The legend says that dulce de leche originated in Buenos Aires in 1829, when a maid of Argentinian leader Juan Manuel de Rosas was preparing la lechada by heating sugar and milk. As she left it on the fire a bit longer than usual, she noticed it had become a dark brown substance, and that's how dulce de leche was born. 

MOST ICONIC Dulce de leche

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08
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Pollo a la brasa is a popular Peruvian dish consisting of crunchy and juicy charcoal-grilled chicken that is traditionally served with French fries and salads. Today, it is one of the most consumed meals in Peru, so much that 27 million Peruvians eat it daily.


The dish was first invented in Lima in the 1950s, when it was seasoned only with salt, but nowadays the chicken is often marinated in a special combination of ingredients, usually consisting of vinegar, salt, pepper, rosemary, chili, and dark beer.

MOST ICONIC Pollo a la brasa

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09

Bread Roll

MINAS GERAIS, Brazil
4.5
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Literally translated to cheese bread, pão de queijo has its origins in the culinary inventions of African slaves, when they started to use the residue of the cassava plant. A fine white powder, or starch, was rolled into balls and baked.


At the time, no cheese was added, so it was just baked starch, but at the end of the 19th century, when slavery ended, other foods started to become available to the Afro-Brazilians for the first time. In the state of Minas Gerais, the dairy center of Brazil, cheese and milk started to be added to the starchy balls, and pão de queijo was created. 

MOST ICONIC Pão de queijo

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Escondidinho is a traditional casserole. It can be made with a variety of ingredients – beef, chicken, fish, pork, or shrimp. The original one is called escondidinho de carne seca, made with a combination of dried and salted meat and mashed potatoes.


The carne seca is cooked with tomatoes, onions, garlic, and various spices. It is placed into a baking dish, then topped with mashed potatoes, and often grated cheese. The combination is baked in the oven until golden brown on top. The name of the dish means little hidden one, referring to the meat hidden underneath a layer of mashed potatoes.

MOST ICONIC Escondidinho

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11
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Pork Dish
TOLIMA DEPARTMENT, Colombia
4.5
13
14
Beef Dish
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina
4.5
15
16
17
18
Soup
NORTH REGION, Brazil
4.5
19
Side Dish
AMBATO, Ecuador
4.5
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
Snack
SÃO PAULO, Brazil
4.4
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
Sandwich
CÓRDOBA PROVINCE, Argentina
4.4
35
Seafood
PIURA REGION, Peru
4.4
36
Meat Dish
MINAS GERAIS, Brazil
4.4
37
38
39
Stew
MINAS GERAIS, Brazil
4.4
40
Cheese
NORTHEAST REGION, Brazil
4.4
41
42
43
Seafood Soup
AREQUIPA REGION, Peru
4.4
44
Vegetable Soup
PICHINCHA PROVINCE, Ecuador
4.4
45
Stew
BAHIA, Brazil
4.4
46
Cheese
MINAS GERAIS, Brazil
4.4
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
Breakfast
ANTIOQUIA DEPARTMENT, Colombia
4.3
56
57
58
Cheese
MINAS GERAIS, Brazil
4.3
59
60
61
62
63
64
Bread Roll
ANTIOQUIA DEPARTMENT, Colombia
4.3
65
66
67
Stew
BAHIA, Brazil
4.3
68
Appetizer
PERNAMBUCO, Brazil
4.3
69
70
Side Dish
MINAS GERAIS, Brazil
4.3
71
Snack
LOS TEQUES, Venezuela
4.3
72
73
74
Breakfast
AMAZONAS, Peru
4.3
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
Dessert
PERNAMBUCO, Brazil
4.2
89
90
91
Rice Dish
SOUTH REGION, Brazil
4.2
92
93
94
95
96
97
Sweet Bread
CARACAS, Venezuela
4.2
98
99
100

TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “Top 100 South American Foods” list until February 16, 2025, 45,115 ratings were recorded, of which 22,794 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.

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South American Food