My Favorite Colombian Foods

Colombia is a fascinating country, with spectacular views, culture, and food. In this article, we'll take a look at a few meals that will absolutely wow your tastebuds, especially if you're traveling and tasting them within the country. While there are many similarities in the South American foods in general, I sought out to write about my favorite ones that I experienced in my trip to Colombia, and that were fairly unique to Colombia. Here they are:

1. Bandeja Paisa

If you've never heard of bandeja paisa, you need to get out from under that rock you've been living under! This is bandeja paisa:

By Dtarazona - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15705199

The bandeja paisa is a traditional Colombian dish originating around the Paisa region of Colombia. This area is generally composed of the Antioquia department of Colombia:

By TUBS - This vector image includes elements that have been taken or adapted from this file:, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17366277

Antioquia is home to Colombia's second most populated city: Medellin. The bandeja paisa is made up of a few different components, including an egg, an arepa, rice, beans, and plantains.

While these ingredients can be replaced by other alternatives, these are some of the primary ingredients present in many variations of the dish. It is a must-try when visiting Medellin!

2. Pan de Bono

The pan de bono is a small dish that is very similar to bread, but isn't quite considered to be bread.

De vasquezcarlosm - originally posted to Flickr as Pandebono Cartagenero, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8964602

This is a small doughy dish that contains egg and cheese inside, and is made of corn flour. It is generally saltier than it is sweet, and is made to be slightly chewy and soft. It is generally found in bakeries in Colombia, and doesn't really constitute a full meal. It makes a great snack, and fills you up faster than expected as it is pretty dense.

3. Colombian Ceviche

While ceviche is typically associated with having origins in Peru, Colombia also has its own version of this dish:

https://www.mycolombianrecipes.com/ceviche-de-pescado-colombian-style-fish-ceviche/

Colombian ceviche is made of small cubes of fish, some shrimp, and other seafood topped with herbs and red onion. It's often served with plantains on the side or salt crackers.

It is worth noting that different cities in Colombia offer different versions of ceviche, and there can be major differences between cities that lie along the Pacific ocean and those that lie along the Atlantic. Fish ceviche is often served as a soup or stew, with the juices from the cooking sitting in the bowl below the fish.

Several restaurants serve this in Cartagena, and it has been my favorite kind of ceviche so far!

Next time you're traveling the country, make sure to stop by some local restaurants and try these foods out. Let me know what your favorite Colombian dishes are in the comments below!

Thanks for reading!