What to Eat in Bolivia

Are you heading to Bolivia? Here are some tips on dishes to try and foods to taste!

Also, read my more general article on South American cuisine: >.

Can we talk about cuisine in Bolivia? The variety of menus in this beautiful country greatly depends on the region you are in and the climate of that region.

Peanut soup is a Bolivian equivalent to pot-au-feu.

Its ingredients include milk, potatoes (or chuño, dehydrated potatoes), vegetables and spices, parsley; and sometimes a bit of meat.

Other soups to try:

You will also find chicken on all the menus, everywhere chicken!

Well, regarding the fries that accompany them, maybe coming from Belgium doesn't help appreciate fries in another country, but is it so hard to let them cook a few minutes longer to avoid eating them white and raw?!

In terms of menu options, you'll have fried chicken, fried chicken... And oh, baked chicken!

Bolivia has plenty of chickens, fields of mani (peanuts), and potatoes, and the variety in your menus will reflect that!

But aside from chicken, you will surely have the chance to discover cuy (to be pronounced coo-ee...!) - see the article >. These are large guinea pigs skewered and cooked barbecue-style. I didn't dare to try it, as the appearance barrier was too difficult to cross for me!

If you have no issues with eating cuy, you might also enjoy llama steak. You can find it in restaurants of a certain standing, as well as in small joints lost in the middle of nowhere.

On the other hand, don't hesitate to try lomo saltado (thin slices of steak) often served with fried eggs and rice (and if you're lucky, with fried bananas!).

And there are still many other things to discover, such as chicken milanesa (breaded fried chicken), chicarrón (pork rib with garlic - oregano - lemon), tamales...

You'll be surprised to find cakes like they don't make anymore back home: large, round, very tall, colorful... There's always a celebration in the display cases of bakeries!

For more information and ideas, check out the Bolivian Cuisine (in Spanish).

Feel free, to complete the list, to read the article on Latin American cuisine, and for good addresses, the article Where to Eat in Bolivia?.

Enjoy your meal!