24 traditional Peruvian foods & drinks you MUST try in Peru

Last updated on December 21st, 2024

Unsure which foods to try in Peru? We’re sharing 24 traditional Peruvian foods and drinks that you must try, plus where you can find them!

One of our favorite things about traveling is trying new foods. And if you’re like us, you’re in for a treat in Peru!

Not only is Lima said to be the culinary capital of South America, with multiple Michelin star restaurants, but the entire country is full of delicious Peruvian eats, from quick snacks and treats, flavorful drinks, savory dishes, and fresh seafood. Plus some items that may be a bit out of your comfort zone.

And in this guide we’re sharing 24 traditional Peruvian foods and drinks that you must try in Peru. Plus where to try them, from specific cities to our favorite restaurants.

Peruvian Fruits

One of our favorite traditional Peruvian foods was definitely the fruit! The country is home to some of the most delicious, juiciest, and freshest fruit we have ever had. Including some fruit varieties that we had never heard of or tried before!

Below are the 4 Peruvian fruits that we suggest trying during your trip. For all of these, the best spots to try them will be at fruit stands at markets, like Mercado No. 1 Surquillo and Mercado No. 2 Surquillo in Lima or San Pedro Market in Cusco.

However, you also may have the chance to try these at hotels. We saw quite a few of these at our hotel buffet breakfasts. There are also a couple different forms to try them, which we will share below!

1. Cherimoya

One classic Peruvian fruit to try is cherimoya (also spelled chirimoya). This green fruit has almost a scaly exterior, with a creamy, fleshy interior. It’s very tropical tasting and some people compare it to a mix of pineapple, banana, strawberry, and kiwi. It is unlike any fruit flavor we have ever tried!

Since the interior is very soft, it’s best to cut it open and eat it with a spoon. Just make sure you don’t eat its large seeds. They are toxic and have even been used to create insecticides when crushed.

If you want to try cherimoya in its natural state, you can get this at any market. But for an extra tasty treat, get it in gelato form! Blu Gelateria in Lima often sells this flavor and it’s delicious.

2. Lucuma

Hands down our favorite fruit in Peru was lucuma. This fruit is grown in the Andes and has a green exterior with an orange starchy flesh. Because of its starchiness, it’s not something you will want to eat on its own, but rather mixed with milk to turn it into a milkshake or gelato.

And once mixed with milk, it becomes an incredibly thick and creamy treat, with a sweet caramel flavor. It is heavenly!

You can often find this flavor at many ice cream shops and fruit stands all across Peru. We had it as a milkshake at La Bodega Verde in Lima and at the San Pedro Market in Cusco. Blu Gelateria in Lima also sometimes has it as a gelato flavor!

3. Granadilla

Granadilla was a fruit that took us by surprise in Peru. The outside is orange and it looks like it would be an orange. But once you crack it open (we say crack because it’s almost like an eggshell!), you’ll find a gelatinous, seed filled interior, similar to passion fruit, but clear.

To eat it, you’ll scoop out the jelly-like interior with a spoon. The seeds are edible on this one! It has a light, refreshing, and tangy flavor.

4. Aguaymanto

Aguaymanto is a small goldenberry, with a paper-like skin (similar to a tomatillo) that covers its bright orange exterior. They are small, kind of like a miniature tomato. And inside, you’ll find a solid interior, with small seeds, which kind of reminded us of a firm grape texture-wise. They are said to be one of the healthiest fruits in Peru, with tons of antioxidants.

But the flavor is definitely not what we expected! We thought they’d be very sweet, but instead, they are more tart and tangy. If you need a break from the sweeter fruits, this is a good one to cleanse your palette! 

Peruvian Drinks

Out of all of the places we have traveled to, Peru seems to have the most unique drinks to choose from! It seemed like every day we learned of a new drink that Peruvians love to enjoy, from both non-alcoholic options to cocktails. Here are a handful that we suggest trying!

5. Chicha Morada

If you can only try one drink in Peru, make sure it’s chicha morada! This is a drink made out of purple corn, fruit, and spices like cinnamon, cloves, allspice, or nutmeg. It tastes like the holidays in a cup and reminds us a lot of the kinderpunsch we had at the German Christmas Markets.

Chicha morada is super easy to find. You can get it at basically every restaurant or market in Peru!

6. Inca Kola

THE soda of Peru is Inca Kola. It was created back in 1935 and is known for its bright yellow color. When looking at the color, you may think it’s lemon or citrus flavored. But when you smell it, it will very likely smell like bubblegum. However, to us, it didn’t taste the same as it smelled. It tasted more tropical than bubblegum.

We aren’t huge soda drinkers, so it’s not something we would want everyday, but it is pretty good. You can get it at any convenience store in Peru, so you’ll have zero issue finding it! 

7. Emoliente

One of the more unique drinks we tried in Peru was emoliente. This drink is made out of barley, plus a variety of herbs. 

It can be consumed hot or cold (we tried it hot!) and is said to have medicinal properties as well, so you may even feel a bit better after you drink it! To us, the hot version kind of tasted a bit like a weaker apple cider, due to the mix of herbs.

We tried this at Isolina, but you will see it on menus across the country.

8. Coca Tea

If you visit Cusco and the Andes Mountains in Peru, you will very likely try coca tea. This is a tea made out of coca leaves, which are actually used to make cocaine. However, they are safe to consume in this form. Just don’t bring them back home, as they are illegal in many countries, including the US.

So why would you want to drink coca tea? Because it helps with altitude sickness, as well as headaches and upset stomachs!

Most hotels in Cusco will have this available in the lobby, but you can also buy the leaves at many stores around town. To make the tea, simply just put coca leaves in a cup and add hot water. It tastes kind of like an earthy green tea. You can also add sugar, which our Ausangate trek cooks did for us and we liked it even more this way!

Besides using the leaves for tea, you can chew them slightly (not too much), letting your saliva mix with them and softening them, and then keep it in the inside of your mouth. This is an easy way to get the benefits while hiking!

9. Pisco Sour

The most iconic drink in Peru is the pisco sour. This is a cocktail with pisco (a spirit), egg whites, simple syrup, lime, and bitters. 

We don’t drink alcohol, so this is the only traditional Peruvian food and drink item on this list that we didn’t try. But we have heard great things from friends who have tried it! You can find this at any bar or nicer restaurant, but Gran Hotel Bolivar is said to be a great place to try it!

Must-try Peruvian seafood dishes

With 3,000 km (1,864 miles) of coastline, you can guarantee that you’ll find some fresh seafood in Peru! And there are two Peruvian seafood dishes you must try. Even as someone who isn’t very used to raw fish, I LOVED both of these!

10. Ceviche

Quite possibly the most famous traditional Peruvian food is ceviche, which is raw fish that is marinated in lime juice, with onion, chile pepper, and salt. In fact, it’s Peru’s national dish! 

You will see two types of ceviche in Peru: ceviche de pescado and ceviche mixto. Ceviche de pescado is just white fish, while ceviche mixto has a mix of seafood, including shrimp, squid, and octopus, to name a few. Both are typically served with sweet potato, choclo (huge corn kernels), onions, and cancha (crispy corn kernels).

Ceviche is a dish you can find all over Peru. Since Lima is a coastal city, we highly suggest trying it there. We went to Al Toke Pez for our first taste of Peruvian ceviche, which has become very popular due to Netflix. They are cash only and only open from 12 PM-4 PM, with just a handful of seats that surround the kitchen. So you get to watch them cook as you eat! Make sure to get their ceviche pescado and their combinado, which comes with ceviche mixto.

A few other highly rated ceviche spots in Lima are Ceviche House, Cevichería Barra Maretazo, La Mar Cevichería Peruana, and Punto Azul.

And even though Cusco is not on the coast, Morena Peruvian Kitchen is one of the best restaurants in the city and makes some delicious trout ceviche. It’s a much fancier iteration, with a sweet potato puree and beautiful presentation. They also pour some of the leche de tigre (ceviche marinade) over the top right in front of you, which is fun. We also loved the trout ceviche at Indio Feliz in Aguas Calientes!

11. Tiradito

Tiradito is a Peruvian dish with raw fish, cut like sashimi, and served with a tangy ají based sauce. It’s similar to ceviche, served with sweet potato, huge corn kernels, and onions, but has a slightly different flavor. 

We recommend trying this dish in Paracas, a cool coastal town with some fun things to do. We tried it at Milla Cero, but we hear Valhalla also has a delicious tiradito!

Savory Peruvian dishes

Peru’s savory dishes include comforting meals with an emphasis on potatoes, Asian flavors, plus some meat choices that you may not normally eat. But before we jump into these savory traditional Peruvian foods, there are a couple important terms and ingredients to know.

Criollo: You will see the term “criollo” on menus all across Peru. And this essentially just means traditional Peruvian food, like lomo saltado, ají de gallina, etc. Some restaurants call themselves a criollo restaurant, while others will have a criollo section of the menu.

Ají: This is a pepper that is used in SO many Peruvian dishes. It comes in many types, but ají amarillo seems to be the most popular one used. When you see that this pepper is used in most dishes, you may be concerned about the spice level. But we were surprised to find that most dishes in Peru with ají weren’t that spicy. It mostly just adds a different flavor element!

12. Lomo Saltado

The second most popular Peruvian dish, after ceviche, is lomo saltado. This is beef that is stir fried in a soy sauce and aji based sauce and served on a bed of french fries, with onion and tomatoes.

It’s extremely flavorful, savory, and hearty. And a great hybrid of Latin American and Asian flavors, which we will share more about below!

This was one of our favorite traditional Peruvian foods and we made sure to eat it as often as we could while in Peru. We tried it at Isolina in Lima, Morena Peruvian Kitchen in Cusco, and Full House Peruvian Cuisine & Craft Beer in Aguas Calientes. Each restaurant had a slightly different spin on it! But one of our favorite ways to eat it was in pizza form at El Pisonay in Cusco. We had it multiple times because we loved it so much!

13. Causa

Potatoes are a HUGE part of Peruvian cuisine. The Inca were the first to cultivate potatoes around 8,000 BC to 5,000 B.C. And Peru now has more than 4,000 varieties of native potatoes!

As you’ll notice, many traditional Peruvian foods incorporate potatoes in some way. And one popular potato based dish is causa. This is layers of mashed potatoes seasoned with lime and ají, with avocado and a mixture of meat and mayonnaise in between. And then hard boiled egg on top.

While it may look kind of bland at first, it’s very flavorful! You get good hints of lime and the subtle flavor of the ají. And despite being filled with heavier ingredients, it felt refreshing and light. We loved the iteration at Isolina in Lima, but you can find this on the menu at tons of Peruvian restaurants.

14. Papa Rellena

Papa Rellena is mashed potato that is stuffed with a mix of seasoned beef, raisins, olives, and hard boiled eggs, and then fried to give it a crispy exterior. 

We tried this at Isolina and their iteration was perfectly savory, with a hint of sweetness. It came with a nice spicier sauce on the side, as well as salsa criolla, which is a Peruvian red onion salsa. The acidity and freshness of the salsa really helps balance out the heartiness of the potato and beef!

15. Ají de Gallina

Another one of the must-try traditional Peruvian foods is ají de gallina. This is a Peruvian chicken stew with a creamy and nutty ají pepper based sauce and hard boiled eggs on top. It’s the ultimate comfort dish! And kind of reminded us of a spicier and more flavorful cream of chicken soup. We tried this at multiple places and some of our favorite versions were at Isolina in Lima and Full House Peruvian Cuisine & Craft Beer in Aguas Calientes.

16. Sopa Criolla

If you ask Adam what his favorite Peruvian dish is, he will say sopa criolla! This is a Peruvian beef soup with a creamy broth made with ají panca and tomato, plus beef, angel hair pasta, egg, and oregano. We first tried this at Siete Sopas in Lima and it was love at first bite! And then we had it multiple times from El Pisonay in Cusco.

17. Cuy

Easily the most polarizing traditional Peruvian food is cuy, which is guinea pig. And while you may think of guinea pigs as pets, in Peru, they have been considered a sacred animal to the Incas and staple of Andean cuisine for hundreds of years. 

Eating guinea pig meat is out of most people’s comfort zones to begin with. But how they serve it makes it even more mentally challenging. It is typically served whole at most places, which means you see the guinea pig itself. This may not be for everyone, but if you can get past its appearance, we recommend trying it!

And since this is an Andean dish, we suggest eating this in Cusco. We had cuy at KUSYKAY Peruvian Craft Food and it wasn’t half bad! The seasoning was delicious and the meat tasted like chicken thighs to us. They brought it out to us whole (and with an outfit on) and then after we took some photos, they took it back to cut it up, which we appreciated. We still did have the face on the plate though. 😬

18. Anticuchos de Corazón

For another item possibly outside of your comfort zone, try anticuchos de corazón! Anticuchos are marinated and grilled meat skewers. And the most common form is anticuchos de corazón, which is cow hearts.

We typically are not a fan of organ meat, but we decided to try it anyway (when in Peru!) and were very pleasantly surprised! The flavor of the meat was delicious and the meat itself was kind of just like a leaner piece of steak. We tried anticuchos de corazón at Anticuchos Bran, but there are many other places to try this in Lima, like Romulo Anticuchos and Anticuchería Doña Pochita.

19. Chifa

Beyond the more traditional Peruvian foods, another must-try cuisine in Peru is Chifa, which is a fusion of Chinese and Peruvian flavors. This dates back to the 19th century, when Chinese immigrants arrived in Peru. 

You may not think eating Chinese food in Peru is an authentic Peruvian experience. But it is! Our tour guide in Lima told us that Chifa IS Peruvian food. So we highly suggest trying some during your time in Peru.

There are countless Chifa dishes to choose from, but some popular ones to try are sopa wantan (wonton soup), arroz chaufa (Peruvian fried rice), kam lu wantan, and duck focused dishes. If we’re being honest, we struggled to find Peruvian flavors in these foods. They mostly just tasted like delicious Chinese food to us, but we still recommend giving it a shot!

You will see Chifa places all over Peru, especially in Lima. We opted to go to TITI, which is a nicer spot. But some other top rated Chifa options are Chifa Hou Wha, Chifa Hot Wok, and Chifa Fu Jou. 

20. Pollo a la brasa

A super simple, yet iconic Peruvian food is pollo a la brasa, which is Peruvian roasted chicken. On the outside, it looks just like your standard roasted chicken. But we found it to be extra flavorful and juicy compared to roasted chicken we have had before. It’s often served with fries, a salad, and an ají based yellow sauce. 

Like many of these traditional Peruvian foods, you can find pollo a la brasa all over the country. In Lima, we went to Primos Chicken Bar, which is one of the more popular spots. A couple other popular pollo a la bras restaurants in Lima are Don Tito Miraflores and Tori Pollería.

21. Alpaca

Besides cuy, another classic meat source in the Andes Mountains is alpaca. To us, alpaca meat is similar to steak, but leaner. And it can be served in a variety of ways! We had alpaca loin at KUSYKAY Peruvian Craft Food in Cusco, which was served over a delicious bed of quinoa. But you can also get it in burger form!

22. Pan con chicharrón 

Last, but certainly not least, one of the best savory traditional Peruvian foods is pan con chicharrón. This sandwich is typically a breakfast item and consists of pork, slices of sweet potato, and salsa criolla. It’s perfectly sweet and spicy at the same time. You can get it all over Peru, but we heard that El Chinito in Lima has one of the best ones! 

They have a handful of locations around the city and we went to both this location in Miraflores and their location in Centro Histórico. That’s right, we loved it so much we had it twice!

Peruvian Desserts

No list of traditional Peruvian foods is complete without dessert! There are countless dessert options in Peru, but these are two of our absolute favorites.

23. Picarones

When in Peru, you MUST try picarones! These are donuts made out of squash and sweet potato and served with chancaca, which is a Peruvian sauce made out of sugarcane. They are crispy on the outside and light on the inside. And while the donut itself isn’t sweet, the chancaca adds the perfect amount of sticky sweetness to them.

We tried picarones at a couple places in Peru. First, at Picarones Mary in Lima’s Kennedy Park. This little stand is popular from Netflix and while the picarones were good, it was hard to enjoy them, as we got attacked by bees in the process. So for a less chaotic picarones experience in Lima, you may want to check out La Picaronería instead.

We also went to this picarones shop in Cusco. And what makes them stand out is that they offer three different flavors. The chicha morada picarones were our favorite!

24. Mazamorra Morada

Our favorite Peruvian dessert was mazamorra morada. This is a warm pudding-like dessert made out of purple corn, similar to chicha morada, plus other fruits and spices, and thickened with starch. And while you can eat it alone, one popular way to eat it is combined with arroz con leche, which is a rice pudding. And with cinnamon, condensed milk, and shredded coconut on top!

We tried this at a stand in Lima’s Kennedy Park and it was SO good! It is sweet, creamy, and has a delicious fruity and spiced flavor. It tastes like something you’d eat for the holidays!

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