Although my heart belongs to New Jersey with its disco fries and taylor ham, I was born in Colombia. This means that I am one of the lucky few who actually know Colombian food. The issue with Colombian food in the US is that most restaurants all serve the same food and barely touch upon the diversity of Colombian food. Colombian food is not just Bandejas Paisas. There are more things to eat in Colombia than that.
What makes Colombian food so good is its influences. It is a mix of European, Indigenous, Middle Eastern, and African flavors. While most typical dishes (keep in mind this is poor, humble, highly caloric food meant to keep workers going through a long and arduous work day) include a protein (pork, beef, or chicken) potatoes, beans, and rice.
Your main meal is usually lunch, eaten between noon to 4pm depending on what region you live in. The meal consists of a soup, a seco (main course), and dulce (dessert).
Dinners are smaller, and usually had much later, around 8 o’clock, so that parents can enjoy time with their kids.
Top 10 Things to Eat in Colombia
Arepas Colombianas
Every Colombian eats arepas. While they may not eat the same type of arepas, believe you me…they are eating it in one form or another. An arepa is a patty made of cornmeal and cooked on a grill. They can be eaten alone (with butter) or served along with other dishes (like you would serve bread).
If you go to the Coast (Cartagena), you can enjoy my favorite arepa. The Arepa de Huevo. These are sold on the street and are deep fried a first time with ground beef. It is then taken out of the fryer and an egg (or two) are put inside and deep fried again. Healthy, not so much. Delicious – absolutely!
Her second favorite is the Arepa de queso. To make these, you mix in quesillo into the dough. When you bite into them you get the deliciously gooey cheese as a special surprise.
If you want to sweeten things up a bit, try an Arepa de Choclo. These are made of sweet corn, and usually made into a sandwich of cheese. Not my cup of tea, but people love these.
The arepa you will probably have most often is the Arepa Antioqueña. These are tiny little arepas that look like a hockey puck. They are served as a side with dishes such as a Bandeja Paisa (you will read about that one later). This is bland, and IMHO a waste of calories, but don’t tell Colombians that. Talking badly about an arepa is a good reason for a fight.
You will probably also run into the Arepa Paisa. These are flat and wide and usually topped with either butter or some sort of beef.
There are tons other types of arepas, but before they take over this post, we’ll move onto other food types.
Ajiaco
Soups are quite popular all over Colombia. Even in tropical areas where temperatures reach 100 degrees, people will eat soups. This soup comes from the Cundinamarca area (where Bogota is located). it is made of chicken, multiple types of potatoes, corn, and avocado. The most important ingredient in ajiaco is guascas. Without guascas, this soup is not an ajiaco. In the US it is known as a gallant soldier. While this soup is from the Andean region, it has taken hold all over the country, so you will probably be able to taste it anywhere. It’s a great hangover cure.
Bandeja Paisa
Although this dish originates from the Medellin area, it has become Colombia’s national dish. If you’ve been to a Colombian restaurant in another country, you’ve probably seen this on the menu. A word of warning, it is a hearty dish, so make sure you don’t eat anything when facing this dish. Bandeja means “platter” and the Paisa Platter is made up of either steak or powdered steak (ground beef that is so fine it feels like a powder), chicharron (pork cracklins), white rice, morcilla (blood sausage), sweet fried plantains, avocado, an arepa, and a fried egg.
Lechona Colombiana
You cannot…I repeat you CANNOT go to Colombia and not taste this delicious dish. Lechona is a typical dish of the Tolima region, but can be found throughout Colombia. This roasted piggy goodness is stuffed with rice, peas, onions and spices. The best part of a lechona is taking a bite off the crispy skin. Yum!
Arroz Con Coco
Colombians make two types of coconut rice; a white and a dark version. The white version is a bit similar to Thai coconut rice, but the one you have to try is the dark version. It’s sweet and salty and somehow it is perfectly suited for fried fish.
Sancocho
I mentioned soups were big in Colombia. This is probably Colombia’s most well known soup. There are versions of it all throughout South, Central America and the Caribbean. Colombian sancochos vary per region. They are usually made with a protein (chicken, meat, or pork), and always with potatoes, yica, and plantains. A proper sancocho is served with white rice topped with a fried egg and a side of cilantro to garnish the soup.
Papas Criollas
These tiny potatoes are amazing. They are fried and salted and super creamy on the inside. These will become a favorite of yours in seconds.
Fritanga Bogotana
The Fritanga is all about fried foods. This one means chicken, pork ribs and beef, papa criolla (creole potatoes), with Chunchullos (fried cow intestines) and comes with a spicy aji or lime to pour on top.
Empanadas Caleñas
Colombian empanadas are a great go-to snack. These are their version of a dumpling. They are fried and are usually filled with beef and potato (although other fillings can also be found).
Changua
I hate this dish. Blanca loves it. It is another dish from the Andes region. Changua is a breakfast soup made of milk, water, eggs, cheese and scallions (and stale toast). I almost forgot, this one is also garnished with cilantro. The cheese melts at the bottom and if you are lactose intolerant, this could put you out for the count.
Hormiga Culona
Every country has that one dish that just seems weird as hell to the rest of the world. Colombians enjoy their big butt ants. Yup. Ants. They roast them, salt them and roast them. They kinda taste like peanut butter.
Tamales
Tons of countries make tamales. Colombia’s are great and (as I am sure you’ve noticed with most of the dishes mentioned here) they vary by region. A tamal is basically dough that has been filled with meats and veggies. It can be pork, chicken, beef or all three. Sometimes they have a hardboiled egg. They usually have peas, carrots, and potatoes inside. They are wrapped in a banana leaf and boiled when they are ready to be eaten. My favorites are Tolimenses, but I urge you to try some from every region to check out the differences for yourself. These make for an awesome breakfast.
Bonus – Fruits
Colombia is an incredibly diverse country, and one of the best things to eat there is fruit. When you go, make sure to try granadillas, mamoncillos, maracuya, gulupa, curuba, lulo, and pitaya. If you want to make the fruit adventure more fun, then grab a juice. All over Colombia there are juice stands of freshly squeezed fruit. You will fall in love.
If you want to learn a little more about foods in Colombia, check out my posts on the Galeria Alameda in Cali.
Hola. I Love Colombia. But colombian’s food is perhaps the worst on the continent? One the world? Quizas.
Colombian people think they have the world best food, but they do not ask themselves why there are no colombian restaurant all around the globe or why we never hear “I’m so angry, I’m gonna eat colombian”.
The food is so gross. Chicken are from US and obviously fulled with OGM, antibiotics. I don’t know if they know what fresh meat here. They eat fish from China, even in Cali, city near to the cost.
Their bread is awfull. I believe they put sugar inside. Basically there is sugar everywhere, even in the salad or the pizza (hawaiana). Their ham is made from flour and a mix of meats. Their cheese is disgusting.
They eat arepas, which basically is air solid. Their national plate is the Bandeja Paisa: fried eggs, fried meat, fried pork thing, frijoles, rices….
In Colombia, you eat because you gotta eat. But don’t expect colombian food to be peruvian or mexican food.
Lol…Antonio feels the same overall. I felt the same when I was in Cali. It seems all the chickens come from the same supplier…and Hawaiian pizza is a travesty. The key is to get out of the main cities and explore. I found amazing food on the coast, there it was a lot of seafood with both African and Middle Eastern influences. I hated the supermarkets in Colombia, you can get much better food in the markets (if you can get over the eww factor at how it is presented and stored).
Gotta admit that Colombian food is so BLAND that it keeps preventing me for living there on a long time basis. As they say, eating an arepa is like eating air.
Where in Colombia are you located. The food can vary a lot by the region you are located at. Maybe I can suggest a few dishes according to your regular tastes. And lol..yeah…arepas can be pretty bland, but they are pretty much an accompaniment to other foods. Arepas de queso and arepas de huevo (while not healthy) are quite tasty 😉