Flavors

Flavors of Paraguay

Three Guaraní words unlock the Paraguayan table: mandi'o, avati and kesu, that is, cassava, corn and cheese. From the meeting of Cario-Guaraní cooking with the meat and dairy brought by the Spanish came sopa paraguaya (a savory cornbread you cut with a knife), the chipa (cheese bread) sold on the street by chiperas, and the vori vori of cool days. Add to that the rivers and their surubí catfish, beef from the Chaco, the legacy of German, Italian and Japanese colonies, and a calendar packed with patron-saint festivals, town food fairs and chopp (draft beer) festivals. All of it washed down with tereré, iced yerba mate with fresh herbs, listed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2020.

Mains 8

Must-see

plato · Vegetarian

Sopa paraguaya

The “soup” you eat with a fork: a fluffy cornbread with cheese, onion and milk. An absolute must.

Must-see

plato

Surubí

surubi

The great catfish of the Paraguay and Paraná rivers: firm white flesh and the star of the riverside table.

Must-see

plato · Vegetarian

Mandioca

mandi'o

The root that takes the place of bread on the Paraguayan table: boiled, fried or transformed.

plato

Bife koygua

bife koygua

Beef steak smothered in onion and tomato and topped with a fried egg: the quintessential home-style lunch.

plato

Milanesa de surubí

Breaded, fried surubí fillets: the perfect introduction to river fish.

plato · Vegetarian

Mbaipy

mbaipy

Paraguayan polenta of cornmeal with cheese, onion and milk; served plain, with meat or sweet.

plato · Vegetarian

Arroz kesu

arroz kesu («arroz con queso»)

Creamy rice with queso Paraguay, milk and onion: a comforting home-style side.

plato

Tallarín con pollo

Noodles cooked in the thick sauce of a chicken or beef stew: a hearty family lunch.

Chipas 6

Must-see

chipa · Vegetarian

Chipa almidón

chipa aramirõ

Paraguay’s daily bread: a ring or roll of cassava starch, cheese and anise, best eaten warm.

Must-see

chipa · Vegetarian

Chipa guasu

chipa guasu («chipa grande»)

A baked pie of fresh sweet corn, cheese and egg: moister and a little sweeter than sopa paraguaya.

Must-see

chipa · Vegetarian

Chipa Barrero

The chipa named after a town: it was born in Barrero Grande, today Eusebio Ayala (Cordillera).

chipa · Vegetarian

Chipa manduvi

chipa manduvi (manduvi = maní)

A rustic chipa made with cornmeal and ground peanuts, with a deep, toasty flavor.

chipa

Chipa so'o

chipa so'o (so'o = carne)

Starch chipa stuffed with ground beef and egg: a full meal you can hold in one hand.

chipa · Vegetarian

Chipa kavure (chipa asador)

chipa kavure

Chipa dough wrapped around a stick and roasted over embers: crisp, hollow and smoky.

Snacks 9

Must-see

snack · Vegetarian

Mbeju

mbeju («torta aplastada»)

A flat cake of cassava starch and cheese browned in a skillet: crisp outside, chewy inside.

Must-see

snack

Pastel mandi'o

pastel mandi'o («empanada de mandioca»)

A fried cassava-dough empanada filled with beef: the star of the San Juan fairs.

snack · Vegetarian

Mbeju typyraty

typyraty (bagazo o afrecho de mandioca)

A rustic mbeju made with typyraty, the cassava pulp left over after the starch is extracted.

snack

Payagua mascada (lampreado)

payagua mascada

Fried patties of boiled cassava and ground beef: a country snack that keeps for days.

snack

Empanadas

Fried or baked empanadas filled with beef, chicken, sweet corn or ham and cheese: the city snack.

snack

Chicharõ trenzado

chicharõ trenzado

Three strips of beef braided together and fried in their own fat, served with cassava.

snack · Vegetarian

Tortilla paraguaya

A fritter of flour, cheese, egg and milk: nothing like the Spanish potato tortilla.

snack · Vegetarian

Reviro

A flour dough cooked and crumbled in the pot: the “bread” of the south and east, eaten with cocido.

snack · Vegetarian

Queso Paraguay

kesu

A fresh, white, lightly salted cow’s-milk cheese: the secret ingredient in chipas and sopa paraguaya.

Soups 3

Must-see

sopa

Vori vori (bori bori)

vori vori («bolitas»)

A thick chicken broth with little balls of cornmeal and cheese: winter comfort in a bowl.

Must-see

sopa

So'o josopy (soyo)

so'o josopy («carne apisonada»)

A thick soup of mortar-pounded beef with rice and vegetables, mellow and deeply Paraguayan.

Must-see

sopa

Pira caldo

pira caldo (pira = pescado)

A thick river-fish soup with sofrito, cheese and milk, with hot pepper on the side for the brave.

Stews 3

Must-see

guiso

Jopara (yopará)

jopara («mezcla»)

A stew of locro corn and beans eaten on October 1 to ward off Karai Octubre.

guiso

Locro

A stew of hulled white corn with beef and vegetables, slow-cooked in a big pot.

guiso

Batiburrillo

A stew of beef offal with green pepper and hot chili, the emblem of San Juan Bautista (Misiones).

Grill 4

Must-see

parrilla

Asado a la paraguaya

Flame-grilled meat with cassava, sopa paraguaya, chipa guasu and salad: the weekend social ritual.

parrilla

Asado a la estaca

Whole rib racks and large cuts skewered on stakes beside the fire: the Misiones tradition.

parrilla

Asadito

Charcoal-grilled beef skewers with cassava: the go-to street food at dusk.

parrilla

Butifarra

A homemade pork sausage, grilled or fried, and a faithful companion to chipa at southern festivals.

Sweets 6

Must-see

dulce · Vegetarian

Kosereva

kosereva (de «conserva»)

Bitter-orange peel candied in dark cane molasses: sweet, tart, bitter and good for digestion.

dulce · Vegetarian

Kiveve

kiveve («rojizo»)

An orange cream of andai squash with cornmeal, milk and cheese, sweet and savory at once.

dulce · Vegetarian

Dulce de mamón

Papaya strips in a thick golden syrup, perfect with a slice of queso Paraguay.

dulce · Vegetarian

Dulce de guayaba

arasa (guayaba)

Guava paste or jam, the soul of the Paraguayan pastafrola.

dulce · Vegetarian

Kaguyjy (mazamorra)

kaguyjy

Locro corn cooked until soft, served with dark cane molasses or milk.

dulce · Vegetarian

Ka'i ladrillo

ka'i ladrillo («ladrillo de mono»)

A rustic brittle of toasted peanuts and dark cane molasses, cut into brick shapes.

Infusions 4

Must-see

infusion · Vegetarian

Cocido quemado

Yerba and sugar scorched with a live ember, then boiled: Paraguay’s hot breakfast drink.

Must-see

infusion · Vegetarian

Tereré

tereré

Yerba mate with ice-cold water and crushed herbs: the national drink and a UNESCO-listed heritage.

Must-see

infusion · Vegetarian

Pohã ñana (remedios yuyos)

pohã ñana («hierba medicinal»)

Fresh medicinal herbs crushed in a mortar and added to tereré or mate.

infusion · Vegetarian

Mate

ka'a (yerba)

The same yerba as tereré, with hot water: the companion of cool mornings and winter.

Drinks 8

Must-see

bebida · Vegetarian

Mosto helado

Freshly pressed sugarcane juice, served ice-cold at summer roadside stands.

Must-see

bebida · Vegetarian

Carrulim (karrulim)

karrulim

Caña, rue and lemon: three or seven sips on an empty stomach every August 1 to keep misfortune away.

bebida · Vegetarian