What to Eat in Peru

Peru’s cuisine draws on desert coast, Andean highlands, and Amazon basin, each with distinct microclimates. Markets brim with potatoes, maize, quinoa, ají chiles, citrus, river fish, and Pacific seafood. Fresh herbs like huacatay and muña shape sauces and marinades from coast to sierra.

Meals center on a hearty midday almuerzo, with soups, stews, and rice plates anchoring set menus. Street snacks and small plates appear in the evening when grills fire up. Seasonality matters: citrus and ají drive coastal freshness, while altitude favors tubers, broad beans, and slow, stone-based cooking in the highlands.

Peruvian ceviche relies on very fresh, firm white fish—often corvina or lenguado—cut into bite-sized cubes and seasoned with salt, freshly squeezed limón sutil, thin-sliced red onion, and ají limo or rocoto. Cooks may enrich the citrus with a splash of fish stock to form the milky leche de tigre. It is assembled to order and rests only minutes so the surface cures yet the center remains tender. The plate typically arrives with chilled camote, choclo kernels, and cancha for contrast. Bright acidity, clean ocean aromas, and a measured chile heat define the flavor, while sweet potato and corn soften the edge. Ceviche is a lunchtime ritual in coastal cities like Lima, favored earlier in the day when fish is at its freshest and temperatures rise. It reflects centuries of coastal fishing and the widespread availability of citrus, now essential to Peru’s national identity.

Lomo saltado is a fast, high-heat stir-fry of beef strips—often sirloin—tossed in a wok with red onion wedges, tomato, ají amarillo, garlic, soy sauce, and a splash of vinegar. The beef is briefly marinated, then seared to capture a smoky edge before the vegetables are added to keep their texture. The pan juices reduce into a glossy sauce that coats meat and vegetables, and the dish is finished with cilantro. Served with white rice and thick-cut fries on the same plate, it delivers savoriness, chile warmth, and a mix of juicy and crisp bites. Its technique shows the chifa tradition that blended local peppers, potato, and rice with Cantonese-style cooking tools and methods introduced by migrants. In Lima and other urban centers, lomo saltado is a dependable lunch or dinner choice in home kitchens and casual eateries, bridging pantry staples with a satisfyingly quick preparation.

Pachamanca is a communal, highland method where meats—typically a mix of pork, lamb, chicken, and sometimes cuy—are marinated with Andean herbs like huacatay and chincho, garlic, cumin, and ají panca. A pit is lined with river stones heated by fire until they glow; the meats, seasoned potatoes, sweet potatoes, broad beans, and humitas are layered atop, covered with leaves and earth to trap heat. After one to two hours, the pit is opened and the food emerges smoky, herbaceous, and gently roasted, with potatoes absorbing aromatic juices. The texture ranges from crisped edges to tender, bone-pulling meat, without aggressive charring. Pachamanca is closely tied to agricultural cycles and family gatherings in the central Andes and around Cusco, where altitude and dry mountain air suit the technique. It is typically prepared on weekends or festivals, honoring Pachamama and reinforcing community through shared labor and a long, unhurried meal.

Anticuchos are skewers traditionally made with beef heart, cut into even pieces and marinated in red ají panca, garlic, cumin, black pepper, vinegar, and salt. The skewers are grilled over charcoal, basted with the same marinade to build a lacquered surface while keeping the interior juicy. The result is lightly smoky, pleasantly chewy, and rich, with a gentle pepper fruitiness rather than searing heat. Vendors typically serve anticuchos with boiled or griddled potatoes, large-kernel choclo, and a bright ají-based dipping sauce, sometimes scented with huacatay. The dish traces to colonial times and became emblematic of Afro-Peruvian street cooking, where offal cuts were turned into flavorful, affordable food. Anticuchos appear in the evening across cities like Lima and Cusco, especially during festivities and national holidays, when grills dot plazas and corners. Today they remain a popular street bite and a lesson in thrift turned into culinary heritage.

A hallmark of Arequipa, rocoto relleno uses the thick-walled rocoto chile (Capsicum pubescens), whose heat is tempered by blanching the seeded pods in salted, vinegared water. The filling blends ground beef or pork sautéed with onion, garlic, ají panca, oregano, peanuts, and sometimes raisins or olives, yielding a savory-sweet balance beneath the chile’s fruity spice. Each rocoto is capped with a slice of queso fresco and baked until the cheese browns and the pepper softens. It is almost always accompanied by pastel de papa—layered potatoes enriched with milk and egg—which steadies the heat and adds creamy texture. The dish reflects Arequipa’s picantería tradition, where lunchtime plates are robust and chile-forward but carefully calibrated. Rocoto relleno is eaten mostly at midday or for Sunday family meals in Arequipa, and its technique—tempering, stuffing, and baking—shows how local cooks work with highland chiles to create depth without overwhelming burn.

Peru’s cuisine thrives on biodiversity: coastal citrus and seafood, Andean tubers and herbs, and Amazon produce. Techniques range from quick wok searing to earth-oven cookery, united by careful seasoning with ají varieties. Travelers can taste this range in cities like Lima, Arequipa, and Cusco—then explore even further on Sunheron for food, climate, and culture insights.