Traditional Colombian Food / Top 10 Dishes / What to eat in Colombia

Traditional Colombian Food / Top 10 Dishes

1. Patacones

Crispy flat pancakes made out of mashed plantain. Served as a side dish or as a snack with spicy sauce. Available all over the country.

Traditional Colombian Food - Patacones with sauce — Patacones

2. Trucha or Mojarra

Trout and Mojarra are the most popular fishes in Colombia. Eat it grilled or fried- it will always taste delicious. Served usually with rice and salad. The best ones we had were near Santa Rosa de Cabal in the Finca La Marcelandia, where you can fish your lunch by yourself.

Trout on a wooden cutting board and patacones with rice and salad in a bowl — Trout

Mojarra with rice, french fries and salat on a plate — Mojarra

3. Chorizo Santarosano

Chorizo in Colombia is delicious but tastes nothing like the one we know from Spain. It is surely not that spicy and does not contain hot red pepper but certainly tastes great and is worth trying. The town of Santa Rosa de Cabal is famous for Chorizos and even holds the world record for the longest with 1,917.8 m (6,291 ft 11 in).

Traditional Colombian Food / Chorizo with an arepa, rice a piece of bread and an egg on a plate — Chorizo Santarosano

4. Sancocho

Sancocho is a soup cooked with chicken meat and many vegetables such as manioc, corn, potatoes, and plantain. Served with rice on the side, a salad, and a big piece of delicious Colombian avocado. The best one we had was served in Finca Guadalupana.

collage of 3 pictures, colorful house, a hotel sign and two smiling people sitting on a table — It’s All About Location!

5. Ajiaco soup

Another Colombian soup. It’s a chicken broth cooked with 3 kinds of potatoes, corn, chicken meat, and cilantro. It is served, like Sancocho with rice and avocado on the side but also with cream and capers- delicious and very filling. We recommend the one served in Balsora Hotel Boutique.

6. Calentao

Is breakfast for you also the most important meal of the day? Well, in Colombia it is taken it very seriously to eat well in the morning. Calentao is a mix of beans and rice served for breakfast. It usually comes with scrambled eggs and arepas. In Quindio they even add a piece of chicken or pork to it. So, forget about your cereals.

Traditional Colombian Food / Calentao dish on a plate — Calentao

7. Arepa de Chocolo

We have already mentioned arepa in our Venezuelan article. It is a corn pancake eaten instead of bread. Chocolo is a special kind of corn that makes all the difference. Those arepas are fluffy, sweet and DELICIOUS. Filled with local, melted cheese it makes the best snack. It is available in every second street to stand all over the country.

2 arepas de Chocolo on a plate — Arepa de Chocolo

8. Chicharron

Now that’s a dish for real meat-eaters. It’s pork belly deep-fried with skin, fat and a little bit of meat. It is served usually with rice, potatoes and a bit of a salad.

9. Sopa de Frijoles

Beans fuel the entire population of Colombia. Be certain of that. Sopa de frijoles is a thick bean soup prepared with herbs and pork meat. It can be served on its own or with rice and a salad. The best one we had was definitely in Centro Campestre Mawa.

two bowls of bean soup, two glasses with juice and a rice dish with salat on a table — Sopa de Frijoles

10. Bandeja Paisa

This is the national dish of Colombia. It’s a plate with rice, fried plantain, beans, meat, and avocado. This dish is usually served in huge portions.

Traditional Colombian Food / Bandeja Paisa dish on a plate — Bandeja Paisa

11. Bunuelos

These sweet rolls filled with cheese can be found in almost every bakery in Colombia. Taste the best fresh and warm!

Bunuelos with arepa on a plate — Bunuelos

12. Jugos Naturales

They come with every meal in Colombia, thick and delicious. It is a fresh juice pulp mixed with water or milk. Try guanabana or tomate de arbol (tree tomato) if you have the chance!