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What to eat in South America? Top 76 South American Seafood Dishes

Last update: Fri Feb 14 2025
Top 76 South American Seafood Dishes
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Ceviche
Ceviche infographic
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Ceviche is the national dish of Peru consisting of slices of raw fish or shellfish that is spiced with salt, onions, and chili peppers, then marinated in lime juice. Due to the acidity of lime juice, the texture of the fish changes, as does its color – from pink to white.


The acidic marinade, also known as leche de tigre (lit. tiger's milk) "cooks" the meat without any heat involved in the process. For ceviche, fresh fish is an imperative, as fish and shellfish that are not fresh can cause food poisoning. Peruvians are used to fresh ingredients, so the fish will sometimes be prepared for ceviche less than an hour after being caught. 

MOST ICONIC Ceviche

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Conchitas a la parmesana is a traditional dish that's served as an appetizer. It consists of scallops that are topped with grated parmesan, then placed under the broiler for a few minutes. When served, the cheese should be bubbling, but the scallops will remain almost raw.


The ingredients used for the dish include scallops, Worcestershire sauce, lime juice, butter, salt, pepper, and grated parmesan cheese. The dish is served immediately, while still piping hot, ideally with lime wedges on the side.

MOST ICONIC Conchitas a la parmesana

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Corvina al horno is a traditional saltwater fish dish in Latin American cuisine, especially popular in Chile and Peru. The dish is made with a combination of corvina sea bass, tomatoes, onions, garlic, white wine, lemon, olive oil, parsley, and salt.


The onions and tomatoes are sliced, placed into a baking dish, seasoned with salt, drizzled with olive oil, and baked in the oven for ten minutes. The sea bass is placed on top of the vegetables, and it’s seasoned with salt and dressed with a mixture of wine, lemon juice, garlic, and parsley. 
04

Stew

BRAZIL
4.4
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Moqueca is a seafood stew with a base of palm oil and coconut milk or olive oil, combined with fish or shrimps (or both). The dish is stewed in traditional clay pots along with vegetables and fresh herbs, and it is traditionally served over rice.


It can be traced back to 300 years ago, when it was first invented due to the fact that the Portuguese brought coconuts to the country, and slaves from Africa introduced palm oil to Brazilian cuisine. There are numerous versions of moqueca, such as moqueca Capixaba, or moqueca Baiana, from the Bahia state in the northeast of the country.


The dish is traditionally garnished with fresh chopped cilantro on top, and accompanied by rice, pirão, or farofa.

MOST ICONIC Moqueca

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Ceviche mixto is a classic Peruvian appetizer that differentiates itself from other types of ceviche by the addition of various seafood ingredients to regularly used fish. Those include shrimp, squid, octopus, clams, or scallops. A few mussels or small crabs are sometimes also added to the dish.


The seafood is typically marinated in lime juice, onions, garlic, celery, coriander, hot chili peppers, and salt. Ceviche mixto is often served with glazed sweet potatoes and Peruvian corn.

MOST ICONIC Ceviche mixto

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06

Seafood

PIURA REGION, Peru and  one more region
4.4
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Peruvian jalea is a seafood dish of lightly breaded and deep-fried fish - most often tuna, halibut, cod, or striped bass - and other mixed seafood like octopus, squid, shrimps, and scallops. It is traditionally served with thinly sliced and fried plantains called chifles, and topped with a refreshingly tart salad of lime-marinated red onions, tomatoes, and cilantro.


With an abundance of fresh local seafood during Lent weeks which coincide with the end of the summer in South America, jalea has become one of the Peruvian favorites of the fasting season, widely available in numerous cevicherias, restaurants specialized in ceviche and other seafood dishes. 

MOST ICONIC Jalea

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07

Stew

BAHIA, Brazil
4.4
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A classic dish of the Brazilian Bahia region, bobó de camarão is a stew made with puréed cassava (bobó), fresh shrimps, coconut milk, and dendê palm oil. The word bobó comes from the Ewe people who were brought to Brazil as slaves, denoting a dish made with beans, although there are no beans in bobó de camarão as we know it today, due to the fact that the Afro-Brazilians enthusiastically took to cassava when they were first introduced to it.


The dish is traditionally accompanied by rice on the side, and is a staple of most traditional Brazilian eateries and Bahian self-service restaurants.

MOST ICONIC Bobó de camarão

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Chupe de camarones is a popular Peruvian shrimp (or prawn) chowder with a long and unusual history. The chowder is typically made with fish stock, fresh shrimps, onions, garlic, and yellow potatoes, while rice, beans, carrots, and peas are used often, but not always.


The dish is traditionally served in deep bowls and garnished with parsley. In recent years, food historians have revealed that chupe de camarones actually evolved from a thick Arequipeño stew made with potatoes, llama meat, and herbs. The dish was called chuwa misa (lit. deep bowl) and was prepared before the 16th century. 

MOST ICONIC Chupe de camarones

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09

Stew

BAHIA, Brazil
4.4
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Moqueca Baiana is a seafood stew originating from the Brazilian state of Bahia, hence the word Baiana in its name. It consists of white fish, shrimps, or other seafood combined with coconut milk, dendê oil, lime juice, and various vegetables such as red and yellow peppers, tomatoes, spring onions, garlic, onions, and sometimes ginger.


When done, the dish is typically garnished with chopped coriander, then served with rice and farofa. This seafood stew was originally prepared by the native people of Brazil. Over time, new elements were added to the stew, such as coconut milk, which was first introduced to Brazil by Portuguese colonists, and palm oil, which was brought over to the country by African slaves.

MOST ICONIC Moqueca Baiana

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Machas a la parmesana is a typical Chilean dish consisting of razor clams that are topped with salt, white wine, butter, and parmesan cheese. The clams are then broiled until the cheese melts, and it is recommended to serve them immediately, preferably with a glass of white wine on the side.


This Chilean classic is typically served as an appetizer and it was invented by an Italian immigrant named Edoardo Melotti Ferrari in Viña del Mar in the 1950s.

MOST ICONIC Machas a la parmesana

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Stew
ESPÍRITO SANTO, Brazil
4.3
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Seafood Soup
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil
3.9
35
Feast
CHILOÉ ISLAND, Chile
3.8
36
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Appetizer
LAMBAYEQUE, Peru
3.6
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Fish Soup
AMAZONAS, Peru
n/a
51
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Freshwater Fish Dish
PANDO DEPARTMENT, Bolivia
n/a
60
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Stew
ENTRE RÍOS PROVINCE, Argentina
n/a
70
71
Freshwater Fish Dish
PASTAZA PROVINCE, Ecuador
n/a
72
Fish Soup
LORETO REGION, Peru
n/a
73
Seafood
TUMBES REGION, Peru
n/a
74
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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 76 South American Seafood Dishes” list until February 14, 2025, 5,663 ratings were recorded, of which 2,063 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 Seafood Dishes