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Food and Recipes of Ecuador
Students in our programs learn to cook Ecuadorian foods. Here, some students are eating a typical Ecuadorian meal together

Food of Ecuador
Bananas are one of the most important crops. Ecuador grows about 9% of the world's supply and provides nearly 29% of the bananas available for import by other countries.

Food of Ecuador
Fruit is one of the delicious pleasures of Ecuador. These mangos need to ripen a bit before being eaten...

Home arrow Destinations arrow Ecuador arrow About Ecuador arrow Food

Food of Ecuador

The food in Ecuador varies substantially between the regions of the country. Ecuadorians typically eat three meals per day. The morning meal is typically a light meal, while lunch and dinner are usually a bit heavier.

Breakfast in the Andean region, including Quito, usually consists of coffee and a bread pastry. A very common breakfast (or snack throughout the day) is empanadas, which are bread dough with another ingredient (like cheese or some type of meat) rolled in the middle. The roll is then baked all together in the oven. Also common in the highlands are a kind of sweet tamales called humitas.

Lunch is the biggest meal of the day. It is usually the cheapest meal of the day as well because restaurants prepare the lunch, or almuerzo, in bulk and only offer one or two set options. Many Ecuadorians eat in restaurants for lunch. Lunch always consists of soup and a main dish. The main dish always has rice and usually is served with a meat stew. The dinner is very similar to lunch. The set dinner menu is called merienda.

Restaurants we recommend in Ecuador

In Quito and other larger cities, the international traveler will find all sorts of restaurants with menus from all over the world. Here are two we recommend. Both are reasonable in price and serve good local dishes.

  • Menestras del Negro – An Ecuadorian chain that serves generous portions of hearty meat, beans and rice. The food is safe and the service in friendly. The restaurant is located in the larger Ecuadorian cities like Quito and Guayaquil.
  • Tropi Burger – Originally a restaurant chain from Venenzuela, Tropi Burger is like the Ecuadorian version of McDonalds. The food is safe and the burgers and hot dogs have an Ecuadorian flavor. Tropi Burger is found in larger Ecuadorian cities.

Cookbooks

Want to learn more about Ecuadorian food and cooking? Check out:

Remember, all of our Spanish programs in Ecuador include cooking classes, so if you really want to learn about cooking in Ecuador, check out one of our programs!