Food of Paraguay
Paraguayan cooking is built on corn and cassava, blended with beef, cheese and eggs. Dishes often come from the oven or the grill rather than the pot, from the cheesy cornbread called sopa paraguaya to chipa baked in clay ovens. Guarani traditions shape the flavors, and terere, the cold yerba mate infusion, is shared daily in the heat. Meals are simple, filling and meant for the family table.
Sopa paraguaya
A dense, savory cornbread baked with cheese and onions despite its name.
How to make Sopa paraguaya- Main dishes (4)
- Breakfast (3)
- Street food (3)
- Soups (2)
- Salads (2)
- Breads (2)
- Desserts and sweets (5)
- Drinks (4)
- Fruits and produce (5)
Staples
- corn
- cassava
- beef
- cheese
- eggs
- milk
- rice
- beans
Signature flavors
- onion
- fresh cheese
- anise
- cilantro
- oregano
- lard
Main dishes
A dense, savory cornbread baked with cheese and onions despite its name.
Key ingredients: cornmeal, queso paraguay, onion, milk, eggs, butterFull guide →Chicken soup with cornmeal-and-cheese dumplings.
Key ingredients: chicken, cornmeal, cheese, vegetables
Grilled beef ribs and sausages served with boiled cassava.
Key ingredients: beef ribs, chorizo, cassavaFull guide →
Breaded cutlets with fries and salad.
Key ingredients: beef, breadcrumbs, eggsFull guide →Breakfast
Cassava pancake enjoyed with coffee.
Key ingredients: starch, cheeseSweet hot tea made with toasted yerba and burnt sugar.
Key ingredients: yerba mate, sugar, milk
Cheesy cassava bread.
Key ingredients: cassava starch, cheese, egg, aniseStreet food
A corn pudding baked with cheese.
Key ingredients: fresh corn, cheese, milk, eggs
Fried pastry filled with seasoned beef.
Key ingredients: beef, flour, egg, cuminFull guide →Chipa stuffed with meat filling.
Key ingredients: starch, beef, cheeseSoups
Chicken soup with small corn-and-cheese dumplings.
Key ingredients: chicken, cornmeal, cheese, onionThick corn and beef soup.
Key ingredients: corn, beefSalads
Tomato and onion salad with vinegar.
Key ingredients: tomato, onion, vinegarBoiled cassava salad with onion and lime.
Key ingredients: cassava, onion, limeBreads
The famed cheese bread, baked in clay ovens.
Key ingredients: cassava starch, cheese, eggs, aniseStarch flatbread.
Key ingredients: starch, cheeseDesserts and sweets
Sweet squash puree thickened with cornmeal and cheese.
Key ingredients: squash, cornmeal, cheeseCorn pudding with milk.
Key ingredients: corn, milk, sugarPapaya cooked in syrup.
Key ingredients: papaya, sugarGuava sweet.
Key ingredients: guava, sugarRice pudding.
Key ingredients: rice, milk, cinnamonDrinks
Cold yerba mate with ice and herbs, shared in a circle.
Key ingredients: yerba mate, ice, mintFull guide →Hot mate tea.
Key ingredients: yerba mate, sugarFresh sugarcane juice.
Key ingredients: sugarcaneGrapefruit juice.
Key ingredients: grapefruit, sugarFruits and produce
Sweet pineapples.
Key ingredients: juice, freshFull guide →
Fresh mangoes.
Key ingredients: fresh, juice
Sweet oranges.
Key ingredients: juice
Starchy root, a daily staple.
Key ingredients: boiled, fried, flour
Sweet papaya.
Key ingredients: fresh, jamDish guides from Paraguay
Explore Paraguay on Geographical EffectMaps, capital and cities, population, climate, landscapes and landmarks.More cuisines of South America
- Argentina
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Chile
- Colombia
- Ecuador
- Falkland Islands
- French Guiana
- Guyana
- Peru
- Suriname
- Uruguay
- Venezuela
Descriptions written by Intercontinental Chef. Dishes are listed as commonly eaten today; many are shared across neighbouring countries.
- Sopa Paraguaya 2: Aterovi, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
- Asado 2005: Unknown, Attribution (Wikimedia Commons)
- Milanesa con fritas: Unknown photographerUnknown photographer, CC BY 2.5 ar (Wikimedia Commons)
- Mbeyú paraguayo: Overkill53, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Chipa Paraguay: Ekem at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Chipa guazú: Horacio Cambeiro, CC BY 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Tapa de empanadillitas: Tamorlan, CC BY 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Vorí vorí paraguay: Overkill53, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Calabaza kivevé: Mil va, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
- Mate en calabaza: No machine-readable author provided. Jorgealfonso assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 2.5 (Wikimedia Commons)
- കൈതച്ചക്ക: Suniltg at Malayalam Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Mangos - single and halved: Ivar Leidus, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Oranges - whole-halved-segment: Ivar Leidus, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
- Manihot esculenta - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-090: Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhlers Medizinal-Pflanzen, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
- Carica papaya - Köhler–s Medizinal-Pflanzen-029: Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)
