Colombian Cuisine

Traditional Dishes
The following recipes are traditional Colombian dishes and some of the more popular authentic Colombian recipes.

Appetizers Breads Varieties of Arepa Salad Soup Side Dishes Seafood Beef Dishes Desserts
 * Papas Chorreadas
 * Bollo de Pescado
 * Pan de Maiz
 * Carimanolas
 * Arepas de Chocolo
 * Arepas Fritas de Queso o Chicharron
 * Mango Jicama Slaw
 * Sopa de Aguacate y Papas
 * Ajiaco
 * Arroz con Coco
 * Frituras de Caracol
 * Mondongo
 * Colombian Beef and Sweet Potato Stew
 * Colombian Mango Delight
 * Colombian Cake with Vanilla, Rum, and Raisins
 * Arequipe

Colombian Recipe Categories

 * Browse All Colombian Recipes
 * Colombian Appetizers
 * Colombian Beverages
 * Colombian Soups
 * Colombian Salads
 * Colombian Vegetarian
 * Colombian Meat Dishes
 * Colombian Snacks
 * Colombian Desserts

Overview of Colombian Cuisine History
Colombian is blessed with a rich natural space, a variety of the fauna and flora and a high agricultural potential. The most significant agricultural possessions are the coffee plantations (Colombia is the second exporter in the world, but Colombian coffee is recognized as the best one), banana trees, cocoa, beans and sugar cane. Cows and other horned cattle are breaded. All these aspects explain the trends of Colombian traditional cuisine.

Colombia is beneficially situated between a sea (Carebean Sea) and an ocean (Pacific Ocean) and has various exotic plants; this fact is felt in the local cuisine, which includes seafood and wild plants meals: lulo, Curuba, Mamoncillo, uchuva, feijoa, sweet granadilla, mamey, guama, tree tomato and pitahaya, yucca, plantains, anise and even cactus. The main influences found in the Colombian cuisine are those of the Mexico and Argentina, but also Brasilia and Peru: bean and corn meals and Mercado beverages, but Colombian culinary spectrum also contains Italian and other European influences. Some of the most common aliments found in the Colombian diet are: corn, beans, tomatoes, Beef meat, plantains and coffee and cocoa drinks. The Colombian bean meals are best represented by the Antioquian beans, which are made with kidney beans, chopped Bacon, green plantains, tomatoes, onions and garlic. Beef is the main ingredient in the Colombian traditional meat recipes and it is prepared in a variety of ways: fried, grilled, roasted, barbecued, and stewed and as a filling for various Colombian dishes.

With coffee being one of the country’s most important products, Colombia quickly developed a tradition and coffee became almost a national symbol (not as shiny as Brazil’s tradition in coffee though). Colombian coffee is highly regarded and became a must-have on Colombian food menus.

Combining the Spanish cuisine with that of the Africans and the Native Americans, the Colombian cuisine is known for its exoticness and spicy taste. Some of the most famous recipes of Colombian dishes are: Arepas (white corn with a touch of butter and salt), Empanadas Paisas (meat-filled turnovers with cumin seed and brown sugar), the spicy Aji (a side-dish composed out of green onions, cilantro, red hot chilly peppers and vinegar) and the Hojuelas (an extremely sweet desert made out of fried puff squares with Sugar and orange juice). Some Spanish recipes were “borrowed” by the Colombians and added to their cuisine, having most of these dishes spiced up. Although originally of Spanish foundation, these dishes are considered as being part of the Colombian cuisine.

With all the torment that has torn Colombia in the last centuries, culture rarely had the chance to raise its head from the crowd. This however, didn’t stop the Colombian people to gain cultural and social independence and form their own traditions, lifestyles and culture.

Cuisines of Colombia


The Colombian cuisine is very much representative for the Native American cuisines, especially because there are many elements that belonged to the pre-Colombian civilizations and cultures, which established the agricultural features and lifestyle of the Colombian culture of today. Native American cuisines include a variety of meals, coming from all kinds of sources: corn breads and corn pastries, fried breads (frequent in the Native American reservations), lima beans with tomatoes and corn, Beef meat, milky desserts, bird stews and rice meals as garnish.

The regional cuisines of Colombia are represented by important cities and the areas surrounding them. Around Bogotá, there is the Andean region, where the traditional dish is the ajiaco, which contains yucca, guasca and potatoes. The soups are flavored with plantain chips, lemon and avocado. Soup is also traditional in Cali, where the Chicken soup sanchocho de gallina is prepared on special occasions. On the Caribbean coast, there is the spicy cooking style, represented by spicy lobster with coconut rice. In the Llanos area, the meats are barbequed, like the terra llanera or the Amarillo. In the Amazons, the Brazilian and the Peruvian cuisines are very much felt in the local dishes.

Preparation Methods for Colombian Cooking
There are many fried dishes, as frying seems to be the most frequent preparation method of the Colombian cooking: fried puff squares (hojuelas), fried plantains, fried cheese puffs (bunuelos) and various kinds of fried meat. The frying is done in vegetable oil, which is pre-heated in a pot. The traditional Colombian dough requires mixing the ingredients in wide bowls and then rolling them. Some meals, like the Chicken based soups require marinating the meat. The marinating is done 1 day before making the soup and garlic and salt are added in the water. Some of the Colombian recipes require sacrificing a lot of time; this is the case of the traditional dessert arequipe, which must be mixed for 4 to 5 hours until it gets thick. Colombians use many herbs and spices, which are usually dried before cooking and chopped. Almost all onions and garlic’s included in the meals are chopped, as well and tomatoes are peeled and then mashed for sauces.

Special Equipment for Colombian Cooking
Charcoal fires are used for tortillas; if these are not available, the wire racks over the burner of the stoves are used. A heavy nonstick skillet is used for the preparation of the typical Colombian beans. A tumbler is needed for all the shakes or the mixed coffee drinks. The hojuelas (fried puff squares) require mixing the butter with 2 forks at the same time and then a special technique of not touching the dough with the fingers, while rolling it. The resulted dish is laid, after refrigerating, on a paper towel to drain. Some exotic hard fruits (coconuts, pineapples) require braking, so heavy and powerful instruments are needed. Wooden spoons are needed to mix milk recipes, in order to avoid sticking to the pan. Other needed instruments are: ccondensate pots, orifice plate, flow elements, catch pots in different shapes and sizes and most important, all sizes of frying pans, as frying is the most used Colombian cooking technique.

Colombian Food Traditions and Festivals
Colombian people have a wide range of festivals, carnivals, national holidays and rituals, which all imply culinary traditions. The national day of Colombia is celebrated on the 20th of July, representing the Day of Independence, which was gained in 1810. On this special day, Colombian families serve the traditional beans and corn meals, together with Beef dishes on family dinners and feasts. Other fiestas include Epiphany, celebrated on the 6th of January, Battle of Boyaca in August, the catholic All Saint’s Day in November, Christmas and Immaculate Conception Day in December. On festivities, there is the Latin tradition of cacao drinking. The recipe of cacao includes ground chocolate, corn, lima beans and anise. Colombian people enjoy celebrating and expressing themselves in carnivals and festivals: Barranquilla`s Carnival, Green Moon Festival, Bogotá’s Carnival, Joropo National Festival and others are great celebrations. During Mainzales Fair (Feria de Mainzales), which is celebrated in the city with the same name, a queen of coffee is selected to represent Colombia’s most valuable product. The Colombian culture also includes, like many other Latin cultures, a special dace and ritual dedicated to corn, as this used to be for centuries a basic aliment: there were ancient agricultural rituals which was transformed into cyclic festivities and catholic celebrations.

People in Colombian Food

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Colombians eat the almuerzo (lunch) and sena (dinner) and the middle day meal is the most important one. The regional influences and ethnic heritage affected the Colombian cuisine and lifestyle of the people, too: Mexican and European influences are combined by the gifted cooks and transformed into authentic Colombian cuisine. The chefs on the coastal area are masters when it comes to preparing seafood dishes and the ones in the central region are specialized on pastries, beans and Beef specialties. The Colombian people are gifted, besides creativity and cooking skills, with a wide range of culinary possibilities, as Colombia is a rich country regarding the cereals and plants that grow here and as well, diary and meat products. One of the greatest innovations of the Colombian chefs is the variety of coffees and sweets that include cocoa, as these are one of the most important national agricultural resources of Colombia.