Looking to prepare a Peruvian feast? We’re rounding up our favorite recipes from one of our favorite South American countries. From savory lomo saltado to creamy aji de gallina to sweet bread pudding, you have plenty of options for appetizers, entrees, and desserts.
1) Peruvian Chicken with Green Sauce
Our take on Peruvian chicken relies on a fragrant blend of herbs and spices to mimic the smoky flavors found in this traditional rotisserie dish. Smoked paprika adds warm smoky notes while cumin and oregano add earthiness and herbaceousness. Peruvian chicken is often served with a mayonnaise-based green sauce that’s fresh and vibrant, but not usually spicy.
2) Lomo Saltado
We couldn’t resist recreating this traditional Peruvian dish in Suvie. Flavored with soy sauce and vinegar, this stir-fry is a chifa dish, which seamlessly marries Chinese and Peruvian cuisine. Served with rice and French fries, this meal is a crowd pleaser.
3) Papas Rellenas
Papa rellenas or “stuffed potatoes”, are a popular Peruvian dish that makes for a scrumptious appetizer. We love using leftover mashed potatoes for this recipe because they are pliable enough without being sticky, and perfectly conceal the meaty stuffing. The ground beef filling uses a uniquely Peruvian ingredient, aji panca, a type of chili pepper that is a mild, dark red chili with oodles of smoky flavor.
4) Peruvian Empanadas
Empanadas are tasty turnovers popular all over South and Central America. This Peruvian version showcases some of Peru’s most popular fillings, including aji panca-seasoned steak, green olives, and hard boiled eggs. For our empanadas we use refrigerated biscuit dough as a shortcut to reduce prep time, while still getting super flaky crust.
5) Beef Anticuchos
Anticuchos are a popular style of street food found throughout Peru. These meaty meals consist of skewers or marinated meat typically served with corn and potatoes. What makes these beef sirloin skewers (and their satisfying sides) so delicious and so popular are ají chili peppers. These vibrant peppers are considered the backbone of Peruvian cuisine and impart sweet, smoky, fruity, and spicy flavors to any dish.
6) Aji de Gallina
Ají de Gallina is pure comfort in a bowl. A creamy combination of shredded chicken, onion, ají pepper paste, and evaporated milk is served with roasted potatoes over rice. This classic Peruvian dish is served with briny black olives and crumbly hard boiled egg for a mix of textures and flavors.
7) Budin de Pan: Peruvian Bread Pudding
Budin de Pan is not your average bread pudding. The texture, coloring, and consistency resembles that of flan, complete with the silky interior and caramelized exterior. This Peruvian dessert was actually created to mimic the iconic custard, developed as a way to use inexpensive or leftover ingredients, like stale bread, and stretch out the more expensive ingredients, like eggs and cream.
8) Quinoa Con Leche
Quinoa found widespread popularity among health enthusiasts in the early 2010s, but this “mother grain” has been a Peruvian staple for centuries thanks to the crop’s resistance to frost, heat, and high altitude. Quinoa con Leche, or Quinoa Milk Pudding, is a traditional Peruvian dessert made with whole milk and warm spices. It makes for a great breakfast or dessert.
