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Bolivia Food And Drinks

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What to eat in Bolivia?

One of the best parts of traveling is to try and sample different food. Eat like the locals eat will give you instantly a sense what a country or even just a city is all about. I do have to admit that I'm a very picky eater but I would take a bite off basically anything. Well almost ;)!

In this article I will describe different kind of foods, fruits and give you a great tip on where you can eat cheap! How does filling your belly for 1 Dollar sound?

We spent 3 month in Bolivia sampling a lot of different food in restaurants, in markets and from street stands. And this is what we liked and recommend.

The Bolivian Chirimoya

So Sweet!

The Bolivian Chirimoya

I'm not saying that Bolivia is the only country where you can get Chirimoyas (Spain, Sri Lanka are some other places) but I must say the Chirimoya fruits I have eaten in Bolivia are the best. And the best market to your Chirimoya fix the market in Sucre. Fresh, huge, sweet and cheap.

Eating a Chirimoya is easy! Cut the fruit into half and scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Don't eat the seeds!

Chirimoya History

Pique a lo Macho

Can you finish a plate?

Pique a lo Macho

This is probably my most favorite Bolivian Dish. So filling, rich and yummy and it's a real belly burster. A lot of restaurants serve you a portion which can fill two people. That's why you will see a lot of people sharing a plate.

Found out the ingredients of this dish here: Pique a lo Macho

Chicharrón

Pig Kettle

Chicharrón

Chicharrón is probably the fovorite dish of Bolivians and people claim you will get the best Chicharrón served in Cochabamba. We had Chicharrón several times and loved it. I can't always eat it but it's yummy and nothing for vegetarians. Wondering what Chicharrón is? Well it's basically Kettle cooked piglet. Done!

A similar dish to Chicharrón is: Fricassé

Sopa de Mani

Peanut Butter Soup of Heaven

Sopa de Mani

I could eat Sopa de Mani every single day. If you see it in a restaurant get it. It's so yummy and filling and you will have the most amazing flavor in your mouth for the rest of the day.

Also yummy: Bolivian Hangover Dish

Api Morado & Pasteles

Breakfast

Api Bolivia

This is the ultimate breakfast combination. Api is a drink made of sweet corn which almost always comes a long with fried dough called pasteles. This is the ultimate Bolvia experience. You will find these breakfast places at markets, on Sundays just set on sidewalks and at festivals. We had our first Api and Pasteles after celebrating the Aymara New Year in Tiwanaku.

Making Pasteles for your Api

Not just Fun to Watch

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Chicha

The Bolivian Party Drink

Chicha

We got to love and hate Chicha. It's a homemade brew and drunk in Chicherías or during festivals. If you drink too much you will upset your stomach but if at a festival you will get offered to drink Chicha every minute or so and refusing it is very impolite and upsetting a drunk Bolivian is a bad idea. If you ask me in the comments I will share the secret on how they make Chicha.

Why we have a love hate relationship? Read here: Too Much Chicha

How you can Eat for 1 Dollar

The Secret

Eating Cheap in Bolivia

Now .... here is the deal! After your stomach adjusted to the local food you should try eating at the markets. You will get a stew or soup, main dish for only 1 - 2 Dollars! Choose a popular stand, there is a reason why others are less popular!

The probably best market food we had was at the Mercado in Sucre

What is your favorite Bolivian Food Listed Here

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Guestbook Comments

  • mamabush Mar 20, 2012 @ 1:57 pm | delete
    I love to learn about the food of different cutures...great lens! :)
  • vincente Mar 20, 2012 @ 9:44 pm | delete
    Thank you ... what would be your choice of Bolivian food?
  • Coe Mar 18, 2012 @ 9:35 am | delete
    Great lens. Keep writing about food in other countries, please!
  • vincente Mar 20, 2012 @ 9:44 pm | delete
    I will! We are right now in Sri Lanka and they have some interesting food as well.
  • JaguarJulie Mar 15, 2012 @ 5:48 pm | delete
    Holy smokes, those look like some pretty hearty meals. I'll go for the party drink.
  • vincente Mar 16, 2012 @ 6:10 am | delete
    I agree but we actually lost weight while we were in Bolivia. It must have been the thin air :)
  • davespeed Jan 18, 2012 @ 4:17 pm | delete
    Meals for a dollar! How cool is that? I would love to go to Bolivia to try some of these dishes.
  • Inkhand Jan 15, 2012 @ 8:08 am | delete
    I want to try Bolivian Chirimoya. A delicious lens.
  • AndyPo Jan 14, 2012 @ 9:58 am | delete
    Excellent lens. I have never been to Bolivia, although I have travelled quite a lot to other countries in that part of the world. The food looks wonderful.
  • dc64 Jan 13, 2012 @ 1:56 pm | delete
    I want to try all of them! I like trying to make foods from other cultures and some of these look like I may have a chance of getting close, especially knowing the ingredients.
  • JoshK47 Jan 12, 2012 @ 1:16 pm | delete
    Pretty much all of this sounds positively delicious to me - thanks for sharing! Blessed by a SquidAngel!
  • sousababy Jan 12, 2012 @ 8:28 am | delete
    I have never had this kind of food (haven't traveled much). Thank you for the education.
  • vincente Jan 12, 2012 @ 8:30 am | delete
    I'm normally not adventures with my food and wished that I had a lens to prepare me before going to Bolivia. But everything (well mostly) was really good. So I'm very happy to share. Thank you!
  • waldenthree.net Jan 11, 2012 @ 9:54 pm | delete
    Great topics. What do the Native Americans like to eat best ? This is a country with sizable Native American population and culture. Congrads on your Squidoo Lense. Going for my next one. See you soon again. Self Help and Mutual Help. Ben Franklin. Thanks.
  • cffutah Jan 11, 2012 @ 9:55 am | delete
    its morning where I'm at but I sure wouldn't have any problem eating this for breakfast! enjoyed the read and photos, thank you!
  • vincente Jan 11, 2012 @ 9:56 am | delete
    There is nothing against a good heavy breakfast :) Hehe Thank you so much for stopping by and for the comment.
  • funmate Jan 11, 2012 @ 7:41 am | delete
    I like the Sopa why don't you make lenses with recipes for all this nice food?
  • vincente Jan 11, 2012 @ 8:31 am | delete
    Love the idea but I never cooked any of these dishes myself so I wouldn't really like to post a recipe of them in a lens without cooking them myself first. But we are actually thinking of opening our own restaurant combining all the different flavors we encountered during our travels. Like in 5 years or so and only if we have too much money on the hand :)
  • crstnblue Jan 11, 2012 @ 4:34 am | delete
    Great lens!
    Never tried Bolivian food, but ssounds soooo appetizing experience, worth to try your recipes! :)
  • JackieSonia Jan 10, 2012 @ 8:12 pm | delete
    Nice lens. I have eaten Chicharrón. Pique a lo macho looks interesting, too. I'd like to try that.
  • vincente Jan 11, 2012 @ 2:15 am | delete
    I think you would love it - we thought we are going to gain tons of weight while in Bolivia but we were so active there that all that heavy food was burned off right away.
  • heehaw Jan 10, 2012 @ 2:10 pm | delete
    i like to have a taste "chicha"
  • vincente Jan 10, 2012 @ 2:12 pm | delete
    We drank so much of it!!!! It really you gets you drunk!!! ;)
  • vincente Jan 10, 2012 @ 3:12 am | delete
    Thank you all for voting! Love how everyone is staying away from the CHICHA .. lol!
  • vincente Jan 8, 2012 @ 1:21 am | delete
    Have you ever tried Bolivian food or beverages?
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