The Emblematic Dishes of Argentina

Empanadas might be the most popular food in Argentina. This handheld pocket can be baked or fried, and filled with an assortment of fillings. Most regions are known for their signature empanadas. Salteñas, from Salta, tend to be smaller in size and filled with chopped steak, onion, hard-boiled egg, boiled potato, and is eaten with a spicy tomato dipping sauce. In Tucumán, it is filled with chopped matambre steak and seasoned with onion, cumin, paprika, and a lemon wedge. 

Choripán consists of sausage (chorizo) and bread (pan). It’s a common street food found at fast food grills, and is also a popular appetizer at a barbecue. The sausage sandwich usually is topped with chimichurri sauce.

This hearty stew with Andean roots is customarily eaten during cold winter months, especially around Argentina’s patriotic holidays. While every cook has a different recipe, locro generally is made from hominy, pumpkin, squash, potato, and various meat cuts.

Asado con cuero, or barbecue with leather, is a traditional way of roasting large slabs of beef with its leather intact, often prepared in the campo (countryside). Here, gauchos stick an iron cross in the beef and grill it over an open fire spit. The grilling method is low and slow, and a salmuera (salt and herb brine) is constantly added to enhance flavor and keep the beef moist. When it is ready, gauchos also eat the beef liquid that forms between the leather and the meat, referring to it as the sopa (soup). 

Veal, chicken, pork, or soy is pounded, battered, deep-fried, and dressed with a plethora of toppings. The milanesa napolitana celebrates Argentina’s Italian heritage and is topped with tomato sauce and cheese. Milanesas can be served alongside mashed potatoes, french fries, and a caballo, with a fried egg on top. The Tucumán region is known for its milanesa sandwiches. 

These corn dishes are associated with Argentina’s patriotic holidays like the 25th of May and 9th of July. Humita is usually ground fresh corn mixed with cheese, wrapped inside a corn husk, and steamed, while tamales are made with corn flour masa and stuffed with beef and spices. Both are especially popular in northwestern Argentina. Humita empanadas, on the other hand, consist of sweet corn and cheese inside an empanada. 

Fugazzeta pizza is thick-crusted, with no tomato sauce, and loaded with cheese and caramelized onions. Fugazzeta rellena, or stuffed fugazzeta, usually has ham inside. La Mezzetta Pizzeria in Villa Ortúzar is most famous for the cheesy slice. While pizza is popular across the country, Buenos Aires is known for its Porteño-style pizza: thick crust with a lot of cheese. 

Chipa is a cheese bread typically eaten in the Misiones province. There are over 70 types of chipa, coming in all shapes and sizes. Most are made from tapioca starch, milk, cheese and egg. 

“Miga” is the Spanish word for “crumb”, which means the internal part of the bread without the crust. The crustless sandwich can be compared to English tea sandwiches and Italian tramezzini. It can come with dozens of fillings, like ham and cheese, hard-boiled egg, tuna, or chicken. Miga sandwiches are found at most traditional bakeries, and it is the food that many eat when celebrating birthdays or at family gatherings.

Most desserts in Argentina contain dulce de leche, the sweet confection made from slowly heated milk and sugar, similar to a caramel sauce. Dulce de leche can be found in chocotorta cake, pastries, crepes, ice cream, and even is spread on toast for breakfast. It is also the major ingredient in alfajores, the wildly popular dulce de leche filled cookie.

Sorrentinos are a stuffed pasta, similar to a ravioli, except larger in size. Despite sharing a name with Sorrento, the coastal town in southwestern Italy, sorrentinos originated in Argentina. They are usually stuffed with ham and cheese and served with tuco (tomato sauce). 

It’s difficult to travel to Patagonia and not try cordero al asador, or roasted lamb, the region’s defining dish. Here, lamb is prepared similar to asado con cuero, it is pierced with an iron cross, which is then stuck in the ground, and grilled over an open flame. 

Breakfast isn't breakfast unless medialunas are present, the half-moon shape pastry similar to a croissant. Medialunas can be sweet, savory, and even stuffed with ham and cheese. Other popular breakfast dishes include ham and cheese toasted sandwiches called "tostados".