The 20 Best Peruvian Dishes You Need to Try (Ranked)

Peru has been named the World's Best Culinary Destination at the World Travel Awards for over a decade running. But you don't need to fly to Lima to understand why — you just need to taste these 20 dishes.

From street-cart anticuchos sizzling at sunset to jungle juanes wrapped in tropical leaves, Peruvian cuisine spans three dramatically different worlds: the Pacific coast, the Andes mountains, and the Amazon rainforest. The result is one of the most diverse and delicious food traditions on the planet.

Here are the 20 best Peruvian dishes, ranked — from beloved classics to hidden gems that deserve a place on every food lover's bucket list.

1. Ceviche

If Peru had a single edible ambassador, this would be it. Fresh raw fish is "cooked" in a rush of lime juice, tossed with slivers of red onion, fiery aji limo pepper, and fresh cilantro. The result is electric — bright, tangy, and impossibly fresh.

Ceviche is so central to Peruvian identity that the government declared it a national heritage dish in 2004, and UNESCO added it to the Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2023. It even has its own national holiday on June 28th. A proper Classic Ceviche marinates for only minutes, never hours — the fish should still be silky at the center, served with sweet potato and crunchy cancha corn.

2. Lomo Saltado

Peru's most perfect fusion dish. Tender strips of beef are seared in a screaming-hot wok with red onion, ripe tomato, aji amarillo, and a splash of soy sauce — then served over french fries and white rice simultaneously. Carbs on carbs, and it's glorious.

Lomo Saltado is the tastiest proof of chifa, the Chinese-Peruvian culinary marriage that began when Cantonese immigrants arrived in the 1800s. The wok technique is Chinese; the aji and beef are Peruvian. The result is something uniquely its own — the dish Peruvians order when they can't decide, because it never disappoints.

3. Pollo a la Brasa

Peru's most consumed dish — and the only one with its own national holiday. Día del Pollo a la Brasa falls on the third Sunday of July, and Peruvians celebrate by devouring millions of rotisserie chickens in a single day.

Invented in Lima in the 1950s, the chicken is marinated in a closely guarded blend of spices — dark beer, cumin, soy sauce, garlic, and aji panca are common threads — then slow-roasted over charcoal until the skin shatters and the meat surrenders to the bone. It arrives with a mountain of fries, salad, and a lineup of dipping sauces. Simple, primal, and perfect.

4. Ají de Gallina

The ultimate Peruvian comfort food. Shredded chicken is swaddled in a thick, golden sauce of aji amarillo peppers, walnuts, bread, Parmesan, and evaporated milk — creamy, gently spicy, and deeply warming. It's spooned over white rice with boiled potatoes, a hard-boiled egg, and a few black olives.

Aji de Gallina is what Peruvian grandmothers make when you're sick, when you're sad, or when it's Tuesday. It won't win beauty contests on a plate, but one bite and you understand why it's been a household staple for generations.

5. Anticuchos de Corazón

Grilled beef heart skewers — and one of the most delicious things you'll ever eat. The tradition traces back to pre-Columbian times, when Andean peoples grilled meats on sticks. After the Spanish arrived, beef hearts were given to enslaved African cooks, who marinated them in aji panca, vinegar, and cumin, then grilled them over open coals. The result was so extraordinary it became a national obsession.

Today, anticucho carts appear on Lima's streets at dusk, filling the evening air with smoke. The heart meat is surprisingly tender, the marinade deeply savory, and the charred edges impossibly addictive — served with a boiled potato and drizzled with more aji sauce.

6. Pisco Sour

Peru's national cocktail — and the subject of an ongoing, only-half-joking rivalry with Chile. The recipe is elegant: pisco brandy, fresh lime juice, simple syrup, egg white, and a few drops of Angostura bitters. The egg white creates a luxurious foam, the lime balances the pisco's warmth, and the bitters add a whisper of spice.

Peru celebrates Día Nacional del Pisco Sour on the first Saturday of February. One sip and you'll understand why it has earned its place among the world's great classic cocktails.

7. Causa Limeña

A cold layered terrine of mashed yellow potato seasoned with lime and aji amarillo, filled with chicken or tuna salad, and often crowned with avocado. Vibrant yellow, beautifully layered, and served chilled as a starter — it's a Peruvian potato showpiece.

The name may come from the Quechua word "kausay," meaning sustenance or life — fitting for a dish built on the potato, Peru's gift to the world. With over 3,000 native varieties, no country does potatoes like Peru, and Causa Limeña is the dish that proves it.

8. Papa a la Huancaína

Boiled yellow potatoes draped in a velvety, bright-orange sauce of aji amarillo, fresh cheese, evaporated milk, and crackers — served cold over lettuce with a boiled egg and black olives. Named after the city of Huancayo in the central Andes, this is the appetizer on every menu in Peru.

The huancaína sauce is the star — creamy, with a gentle warmth that makes you reach for another potato before you've finished the first.

9. Rocoto Relleno

The pride of Arequipa. A whole rocoto pepper — which looks deceptively like a small bell pepper but packs serious heat — is stuffed with seasoned ground beef, onions, olives, and raisins, topped with melted cheese, and baked until bubbling.

The secret: the peppers are boiled multiple times to tame the fire without killing the flavor. Rocoto Relleno is warm and complex rather than face-melting, and arequipeños are fiercely proud of their signature dish.

10. Tiradito

Ceviche's elegant cousin. Paper-thin slices of raw fish are fanned across a plate and bathed in a vibrant aji sauce — no onion, no marination, just pure, clean intensity.

Tiradito is Peru's greatest Nikkei creation, born where Japanese sashimi precision meets Peruvian ceviche tradition. The fish is sliced like sashimi and sauced like ceviche, but the result is entirely its own — silkier, more refined, and hauntingly delicious.

11. Arroz con Leche

Peru's most beloved dessert is also its simplest: rice simmered slowly in milk with sugar, cinnamon, and condensed milk until thick and creamy. Every Peruvian family has their own recipe, and every family's version is "the best."

Arroz con Leche is comfort in a bowl — warm, sweet, fragrant with cinnamon. It's traditionally paired with Mazamorra Morada, and ordering the combo is practically a national requirement.

12. Suspiro Limeño

"The sigh of a Lima woman." The poet José Gálvez coined the name, declaring the dessert "light and sweet as a woman's sigh." It's a rich base of manjar blanco — dulce de leche made with milk, sugar, and egg yolks — topped with a cloud of port wine meringue.

Suspiro Limeño is intensely sweet, unabashedly indulgent, and absolutely irresistible. Served in a glass to show off its layers — golden caramel below, pink meringue above — it tastes even better than it looks.

13. Pachamanca

The most ceremonial dish in Peru. "Pacha manka" means "earth pot" in Quechua — and that's exactly what it is. Meats, potatoes, corn, and fava beans are layered over superheated stones in a pit dug into the earth, then buried and slow-cooked for hours.

Pachamanca is how the Andes have cooked for thousands of years, predating the Inca Empire. Today it's prepared for festivals and community gatherings. The result is smoky, impossibly tender, and infused with the earthy fragrance of huacatay and chincho herbs. Eating Pachamanca isn't just a meal — it's an experience.

14. Leche de Tigre

"Tiger's milk" — the tangy, fiery citrus marinade left over from making ceviche, served as a shot in a small glass. In Peru, it's considered both an aphrodisiac and the world's best hangover cure.

Modern Leche de Tigre is made from scratch: fresh fish stock, lime juice, aji limo, celery, ginger, and garlic — a concentrated blast of everything that makes ceviche great. Some restaurants serve it in a tall glass with chunks of fish and shrimp. It's electric, invigorating, and wildly addictive.

15. Chicha Morada

Peru's most iconic non-alcoholic drink: a deep purple beverage made by boiling dried purple corn with pineapple, cinnamon, and cloves. It's sweet, fruity, warmly spiced, and unlike anything else on earth.

Purple corn has been cultivated in Peru for thousands of years and is rich in anthocyanins, the same antioxidants found in blueberries. Chicha Morada is served ice-cold with a squeeze of lime and pairs perfectly with any Peruvian meal.

16. Chupe de Camarones

Arequipa's legendary shrimp chowder — a thick, hearty soup loaded with fresh river shrimp, potatoes, rice, corn, eggs, milk, and fresh cheese. It's somewhere between a chowder and a stew, and one of the most satisfying bowls of soup you'll ever eat.

Chupe de Camarones is traditionally served on Fridays and considered the perfect recovery meal. One bowl and you'll understand why Arequipa considers itself the culinary capital of Peru.

17. Picarones

Peruvian donuts — but better. A dough of sweet potato and squash is fried into golden rings and drizzled with chancaca, a warm syrup of unrefined sugar, orange peel, and spices.

The tradition predates the Spanish — indigenous peoples were already frying similar rings before European buñuelos arrived. Picarones are street food at their finest: denser and more flavorful than regular donuts, drenched in a dark, complex syrup that's absolutely heavenly.

18. Tacu Tacu

A golden, crispy cake made from yesterday's rice and beans, pan-fried until crunchy outside and creamy within. Tacu Tacu is Afro-Peruvian ingenuity at its most delicious — transforming humble leftovers into something extraordinary.

The name is said to mimic the sound of mashing rice and beans together. On its own, it's a satisfying side. But order "Tacu Tacu a lo Macho" and it arrives crowned with a rich seafood sauce of shrimp, squid, and mussels — one of Lima's great indulgences.

19. Juane

The Amazon's signature dish. Seasoned rice, chicken, olives, and hard-boiled egg are wrapped in fragrant bijao leaves and steamed into a dense, aromatic bundle.

Juane is the centerpiece of the Festival de San Juan on June 24th, the biggest celebration in the Peruvian Amazon. Named after John the Baptist, the round shape is said to represent his head. The bijao leaves infuse everything with a subtle, earthy fragrance no other cooking method can replicate — pure jungle flavor in every bite.

20. Mazamorra Morada

The traditional partner of Arroz con Leche — ordering one without the other is practically against the rules. This thick, glossy purple pudding is made from the same purple corn as Chicha Morada, cooked down with dried fruits, cinnamon, cloves, and thickened with sweet potato starch.

Mazamorra Morada is ancient, stunning, and deeply comforting. The natural purple color is otherworldly, the texture falls between pudding and jelly, and the warm spice with dried fruit makes it taste like the holidays. Together with Arroz con Leche, it forms Peru's most beloved dessert duo.

Ready to Cook?

Every dish on this list has a full recipe right here on Peruvian Pot — with ingredients, step-by-step instructions, and cooking tips in English, Spanish, and Quechua. The only question is: which one will you try first?