Food of Argentina
Argentine cooking centers on beef grilled over wood or charcoal, but it also carries strong Italian and Spanish roots in its pasta, pizza, and pastries. Meals are slow and social, with the asado gathering as the heart of weekend life. Sweet things, especially dulce de leche, are everywhere, and mate is sipped throughout the day. Patagonia adds lamb and berries, while the north leans on corn, squash and spicy stews.
Asado
A social barbecue of beef ribs, sausages and other cuts cooked slowly over embers.
How to make Asado- Main dishes (4)
- Breakfast (3)
- Street food (4)
- Soups (2)
- Salads (2)
- Breads (2)
- Desserts and sweets (5)
- Drinks (5)
- Fruits and produce (5)
Staples
- beef
- wheat
- corn
- potatoes
- milk
- cheese
- lamb
- squash
Signature flavors
- chimichurri
- oregano
- paprika
- cumin
- garlic
- dulce de leche
Main dishes
A social barbecue of beef ribs, sausages and other cuts cooked slowly over embers.
Key ingredients: beef short ribs, flank steak, chorizo, morcilla, coarse saltFull guide →
Thin breaded and fried cutlets of beef or chicken, often served with fries or topped with ham, cheese and tomato sauce.
Key ingredients: beef cutlet, breadcrumbs, eggs, garlic, parsleyFull guide →
A thick hominy, bean and squash stew with pork and beef from the Andean northwest.
Key ingredients: white corn, beans, squash, beef, pork, chorizo, scallions
Thick slices of provolone grilled until bubbling and sprinkled with oregano.
Key ingredients: provolone cheese, oregano, chili flakes, olive oilBreakfast
Small, buttery crescent pastries glazed with sugar syrup, eaten with coffee.
Key ingredients: flour, butter, yeast, sugar, milkA thin toasted ham and cheese sandwich.
Key ingredients: white bread, ham, cheeseAn assortment of pastries from bakeries with cream, jam or dulce de leche.
Key ingredients: flour, butter, pastry cream, dulce de lecheStreet food
Half-moon pastries filled with beef, chicken, ham and cheese or corn, baked or fried.
Key ingredients: flour, beef, onion, egg, olives, cuminFull guide →
The essential street sausage sandwich with salsa criolla.
Key ingredients: chorizo, bread, chimichurri
Fresh corn paste with onion, wrapped in corn husk and steamed.
Key ingredients: fresh corn, onion, cheese, paprika, husks
The Argentine hot dog topped with potato sticks and sauces.
Key ingredients: sausage, roll, potato sticksSoups
A hearty lentil soup with chorizo and vegetables.
Key ingredients: lentils, chorizo, potatoes, carrots, onionA boiled stew of beef, chicken and vegetables.
Key ingredients: beef, chicken, potatoes, squash, corn, carrotsSalads
A simple salad of lettuce, tomato and onion dressed with oil and vinegar.
Key ingredients: lettuce, tomato, onion, olive oil, vinegar
A fresh relish of diced onion, tomato and pepper.
Key ingredients: onion, tomato, bell pepper, parsley, vinegarBreads
Rustic country bread baked over coals.
Key ingredients: flour, lard, salt, waterCheesy cassava-flour rolls from the northeast.
Key ingredients: cassava starch, cheese, eggs, milkDesserts and sweets
A thick, caramelized milk spread eaten on bread, cakes and pastries.
Key ingredients: milk, sugar, vanilla, baking sodaFull guide →
Soft cookies sandwiched with dulce de leche and coated in chocolate or coconut.
Key ingredients: flour, cornstarch, butter, dulce de leche, chocolateFull guide →Egg custard topped with a spoonful of dulce de leche and cream.
Key ingredients: eggs, milk, sugar, dulce de leche, cream
Crepes filled with dulce de leche and folded.
Key ingredients: flour, eggs, milk, dulce de lecheQuince or sweet potato paste served with a slice of fresh cheese.
Key ingredients: quince paste, queso frescoDrinks
Bitter herbal tea sipped from a gourd through a metal straw and shared among friends.
Key ingredients: yerba mate, hot waterFull guide →
A bar of dark chocolate dropped into a glass of steamed milk.
Key ingredients: milk, dark chocolate bar
Cold yerba mate infusion with ice and herbs.
Key ingredients: yerba mate, cold water, mintEspresso cut with a little hot milk, served with a sweet on the side.
Key ingredients: espresso, steamed milkFresh lemonade, often with mint and ginger.
Key ingredients: lemons, sugar, mint, gingerFruits and produce
Mendoza and San Juan grow table grapes in the sunny Andean foothills.
Key ingredients: eaten fresh, juice, raisins
Juicy peaches from Mendoza, eaten fresh and canned in syrup.
Key ingredients: fresh, preserves, tarts
Fragrant quince cooked into membrillo paste for dessert.
Key ingredients: paste, jelly, bakedWild raspberries, blackcurrants and calafate berries from Patagonia.
Key ingredients: jam, sauces, pies
Oranges and lemons from Tucuman and Entre Rios.
Key ingredients: juice, zest, dessertsDish guides from Argentina
More cuisines of South America
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Chile
- Colombia
- Ecuador
- Falkland Islands
- French Guiana
- Guyana
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Suriname
- Uruguay
- Venezuela
Descriptions written by Intercontinental Chef. Dishes are listed as commonly eaten today; many are shared across neighbouring countries.
- Asado 2005: Unknown, Attribution (Wikimedia Commons)
- Milanesa con fritas: Unknown photographerUnknown photographer, CC BY 2.5 ar (Wikimedia Commons)
- Locro argentino: Matías Repetto/GCBA, CC BY 2.5 ar (Wikimedia Commons)
- Asado argentino en parrilla a carbón: by felixion from Argentina, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Tapa de empanadillitas: Tamorlan, CC BY 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Choripan: SimpleFoodie, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
- Humitas: Unknown, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Hot dog with mustard: Czar, original photographed by Renee Comet, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
- Salsa criolla: No machine-readable author provided. Manuel González Olaechea assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- DulceDeLeche: audinou from Paris, France, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- AlfajoresP1115215 02: Alex Lozupone, CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Crepes dsc07085: David Monniaux, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Mate en calabaza: No machine-readable author provided. Jorgealfonso assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 2.5 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Submarino (bebida) - 1: Beatrice Murch from Buenos Aires, Argentina, CC BY-SA 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Terere ñana: Genialnico, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Grapes, Rostov-on-Don, Russia: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Illustration Prunus persica clean no descr: File:Illustration Prunus persica0.jpg: PLEASE COMPLETE AUTHOR INFORMATION derivative work: Kenraiz, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
- Pancrace Bessa00: Pancrace Bessa, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
- OrangeBloss wb: Ellen Levy Finch (Elf), CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
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