What to Eat in Quito: Essential Foods of Ecuador’s Highland Capital

Quito’s cuisine reflects high-altitude Andean life at the equator. Cool days and strong sun favor hearty soups, slow-roasted meats, and energy-dense snacks. Markets structure daily eating with a soup-and-main almuerzo, and a bright ají is nearly always on the table.

Local cooks rely on potatoes, choclo corn, legumes like chochos, dairy, and pork, with produce arriving from the surrounding Sierra. Catholic holidays shape seasonal dishes, while weekday meals remain affordable and filling. Vendors respond to the climate, serving hot broths early and citrusy, refreshing bowls at midday.

Hornado quiteño centers on a whole pork shoulder or leg marinated with garlic, cumin, achiote, salt, and sour orange or chicha, then roasted low and slow until the meat is silky and the skin turns into crackling cuerito. Cooks often score the skin and baste repeatedly so fat renders gradually, yielding succulent slices with a gentle smokiness and annatto-stained juices. The plate typically includes mote (hominy), a potato side such as llapingacho, lightly pickled red onions, and a tart, spicy agrio made from naranjilla, panela, and ají. In Quito, hornado anchors weekend market stalls and family celebrations, reflecting highland pig husbandry and communal feasting traditions, and it is eaten from late morning through mid-afternoon when the roast is at its peak.

Yaguarlocro is a rich Andean potato soup whose name comes from Kichwa, where yawar means blood, a reference to its defining garnish. The base simmers papa chola or other starchy potatoes with onions, garlic, cumin, and annatto, then enriches the broth with milk and crumbled queso fresco until it thickens to a velvety, slightly earthy stew. Just before serving, vendors crown the bowl with crisp bits of blood sausage or fried, coagulated blood, plus sliced avocado and scallions, creating a contrast of creamy, spicy, and mineral notes. It is a classic Quito market dish for breakfast or lunch, valued for warmth and sustenance in the cool highland climate and recognized as a hallmark of the city’s serrano identity.

Empanadas de viento are wheat-flour turnovers rolled thin, filled with queso fresco or quesillo, and deep-fried until they puff with steam into light, ballooned shells. A modest dough—flour, water or milk, a touch of fat, salt, and often baking powder—blisters in hot oil, creating a crackly exterior that shatters over a molten, mildly salty cheese center. Sprinkled with sugar and served with ají de tomate de árbol, they deliver a sweet-salty interplay and a dramatic airy bite unique to the highland style. In Quito, they are a popular merienda or afternoon snack in cafés and street stalls, eaten hot from the fryer and appreciated for their affordability and the textural contrast that feels both indulgent and familiar.

Cevichocho reimagines the ceviche concept with Andean chochos (lupini beans) as the protein, rinsed well to remove bitterness and mixed to order with diced tomato, red onion cured in lime, cilantro, and a bright citrus dressing. Vendors often add a splash of tomato juice, then pile on crunchy tostado corn and chifles (plantain chips), with optional avocado and a dash of hot sauce, yielding a bowl that is tangy, crisp, and satisfying without seafood. The dish showcases a pre-Hispanic legume adapted to a modern, portable street format, offering balanced nutrition and a refreshing acidity ideal for sunny high-altitude afternoons. In Quito, it’s a lunchtime favorite sold from carts near parks, bus stops, and markets, aligning with urban work rhythms and the city’s appetite for quick, fresh snacks.

Fanesca is a once-a-year Lenten stew prepared during Holy Week, built from a dozen or so Andean grains and legumes—commonly chochos, habas, peas, beans, choclo, and squash—combined with milk, cheese, and flaked salt cod. Cooks desalt the bacalao over several water changes, simmer each legume separately to preserve texture, then fold everything into a creamy base scented with onions and annatto, finishing with herbs. Bowls are garnished with hard-boiled egg, fried ripe plantain, strips of cheese, and sometimes tiny empanaditas, creating layers of sweetness, brine, and gentle spice. In Quito, families and community kitchens make fanesca collaboratively, reflecting both Catholic fasting practices and the Andean harvest cycle, and it is eaten at home and in markets from midweek to Good Friday while fresh beans and corn are abundant.

Highland ingredients, market-centered meals, and a climate that favors hot broths and bright acids define Quito’s table. From slow-roasted pork to lupini bean street bowls, flavors balance depth and freshness without excess spice. Explore more food guides and plan tastings by season and weather using Sunheron’s filters to make the most of Ecuador’s capital.