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Cuy al horno is a traditional preparation of baked guinea pigs originating from Peru. This dish is popular in the region of Cusco, but it can be found in most tourist-oriented restaurants in the country. The guinea pigs are marinated in a combination of garlic, aji amarillo, cumin, oil, chicha de jora, huacatay, black pepper, and salt for at least one hour.
It's then placed into a pan with potatoes and baked for an hour. Once done, the guinea pigs are served with the baked potatoes and a salsa consisting of tomatoes, onions, coriander, lemon juice, and salt. One guinea pig is usually served for more than one person because the dish is accompanied by various side dishes.
MOST ICONIC Cuy al horno
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Picante de cuy is a traditional dish originating from Peru. It's usually made with a combination of cuy (guinea pigs), potatoes, garlic, ají peppers, oil, and salt. The guinea pigs are cut into pieces and seasoned with salt and garlic. They're fried on both sides in hot oil, and once fried, the boiled potatoes, ground ají peppers, and minced garlic are added to the pan and everything is lightly roasted.
Picante de cuy is traditionally served with white rice and salsa criolla on the side.
MOST ICONIC Picante de cuy
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Pepián de cuy is a traditional stew originating from Peru. The stew is made with a combination of guinea pig meat, potatoes, corn, onions, peanuts, salt, pepper, garlic, and oil. The guinea pig is cut into quarters, lightly fried in oil, then placed into a pot with onions, garlic, potatoes, corn, salt, and pepper.
Before the pot is removed from the fire and near the end of cooking, roasted and ground peanuts are added for extra flavor. Once done, the stew is traditionally served with white rice on the side.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Tortilla de raya is a simple Peruvian dish, a ray omelet that is one of the most popular ray dishes in the country. The dish is prepared by frying strips of cooked ray with eggs, garlic, and aji amarillo. It is traditionally served with the spicy rocoto chile on the side.
Although it may seem quite unsophisticated, this dish makes up for it in portion size, as tortilla de raya is so large that it usually covers the whole plate.
OTHER VARIATIONS OF Omelet
MOST ICONIC Tortilla de raya
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Cuy frito or cuy chactado is one of the oldest traditional Peruvian dishes that has been consumed since Incan times. It is made with guinea pigs, which are obviously not kept as pets in Peru – instead, they are fried to crispy perfection.
The fried guinea pigs are said to taste similar to chicken (or as a cross between rabbit a chicken), but with a fattier flavor. The head is also edible, and that's the favorite part for many people. Cuy frito is usually eaten with your hands, and it's recommended to keep some napkins on hand as things can get a bit messy while eating it.
This dish is typically served in cuyerías with corn on the cob, rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, salsas, and salads.
MOST ICONIC Cuy frito
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Higado encebollado is a traditional dish that's popular throughout South America, especially in Mexico and Peru. It consists of beef liver and onions as the key ingredients. The liver is cut into thin slices, then seasoned with salt and pepper before it's sautéed in oil with bell peppers, onions, and sometimes tomatoes.
Once cooked, the dish is served hot, usually with rice or mashed potatoes on the side.
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Olluquito con charqui is a traditional dish originating from Cusco. This stew consists of two main parts – olluco, a tuber that grows in the Andes, and charqui – dried and salted llama or alpaca meat. The potatoes are cut into thin strips and mixed with garlic, oil, chili peppers, charqui, salt, pepper, and cumin.
Once cooked, the stew is garnished with chopped parsley and served with rice on the side. In Cusco, this stew can be found in most restaurants at any time of the year.
MOST ICONIC Olluquito con charqui
MAIN INGREDIENTS
Apanado de alpaca is a traditional meat dish originating from Peru. The dish is made with a combination of alpaca meat, flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs. Once seasoned and breaded, the alpaca meat is fried in oil until golden brown and fully cooked, and the dish is then ready to be enjoyed.
Apanado de alpaca is traditionally accompanied by rice, potatoes, and often a tomato-cucumber-lettuce salad on the side.
MOST ICONIC Apanado de alpaca
Cremolada is a popular frozen dessert from Peru, often described as a cross between a smoothie and shaved ice. It's made by blending fresh fruit pulp with sugar and water, then freezing the mixture. Sometimes, a bit of lime or lemon juice might be added to enhance the fruit's natural flavors.
Once it's frozen, the cremolada is scraped or shaved into a granulated texture, similar to a granita or a slushie. Cremolada is typically served in cups or glasses and is consumed with a spoon or a straw. It's especially popular in the hot months as a refreshing treat.
Arroz con pato a la chiclayana (also known as arroz con pato de lambayeque) is a traditional dish originating from the city of Chiclayo. It's usually made with a combination of duck meat, oil, garlic, onions, rice, peas, pumpkin (squash), red peppers, scallions, aji limo peppers, lime juice, and salt.
The garlic, onions, and squash are cooked in oil, then combined with the browned duck meat and water. Once the duck becomes tender it's taken out and the rice, peas, pepper, and coriander are simmered in the cooking liquid. Once cooked, the rice mixture is seasoned with lime juice and served alongside duck meat.
OTHER VARIATIONS OF Arroz con pato
MOST ICONIC Arroz con pato a la chiclayana
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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 “30 Worst Rated Peruvian Foods” list until March 27, 2025, 13,810 ratings were recorded, of which 4,670 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.
En total desacuerdo, el cuy es uno de los platos más deliciosos en el Perú, al igual que el arroz zambito, la sangrecita que además es nutritiva, el picante de langostinos, el pulpo al olivo, los choritos a la chalaca, las humitas, los tamales, esta lista debe de ser actualizada.