Top 5 Street food

In Colombia you can eat delicious food, in restaurants, but especially at street stalls. The quality (and hygiene) at the stalls can vary quite a bit. The best way to try the street food, we therefore find with an organized street food tour. You taste the specialties of the city at the best stalls, selected by the tour operator.

Here is our Top 5 street food: the best snacks in Colombia.

Colombia’s most popular snack and side dish. The arepa can be eaten throughout the day: at breakfast with a piece of cheese, plain at lunch or with a savory filling as a snack. The arepa is made from cornmeal, fried or grilled and stuffed with chicken, meat, cheese and all kinds of varieties. Each region has its own variant, such as this arepa con huevo (arepa with egg) in Cartagena. A good arepa is nice and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

What makes this popular snack so yummie? The delicious sauces that are offered for dipping, such as salsa picante, hogao (tomato onion sauce) or chimichurri. The filling of the empanada usually consists of cheese, pork, chicken or beef.  The gastronomic town of Popayán has a unique variation; the empanada de Pipián, filled with roasted peanuts and potato.

These “cheese fingers” are made from long strips of dough, which are filled with cheese and then deep-fried. The outside is crispy and the cheese nice and creamy.

Sweet guava pasta, with a piece of white soft cheese on the side. For us, the perfect combination of sweet and savory.

For the healthy cravings! Pieces of green, unripe mango with lime and salt. A nice refreshing change from all the fried snacks.

Check out our Top 5 comfort food and learn more about food and drink in Colombia here.