Nicaraguan Cuisine & Recipes

Typical Nicaraguan Dishes

Appetizers

• Queso Frito (Fried cheese)
• Tajadas (Plantain chips)

Soups & Stews

• Mondongo (Tripe soup)
• Sopa de Cola (Oxtail soup)

Salads

• Ensalada de Repollo (Cabbage salad)

Poultry

• Pollo Horneado (Roast chicken)

Meats

• Baho (Steamed beef with yuca and plaintain)
• Bistec Encebollado (Steak topped with onions; see Pollo Encebollado recipe)
• Bistec Entomatado (Steak in tomato sauce)
• Carne Asada (Mexican grilled steak)
• Cerdo Frito (Fried pork)
• Churrasco (Grilled beef steak)
• Lengua en Salsa (Beef tongue with sauce)
• Salpicón (Shredded, marinated meat)
• Vigorón (Pork with yuca)

Fish & Seafood

• Camarones al Ajillo (Shrimp in garlic-butter sauce)
• Chuleta de Pescado (Breaded fish filet)
• Pescado a la Tipitapa (Whole red snapper Tipitapa-style)

Vegetables & Beans

• Frijoles Rojos (Red beans)
• Gallo Pinto (Rice & beans)
• Plátanos Maduros con Crema (Fried ripe plantains with sour cream)
• Yuca (Boiled yuca root)

Breads & Grains

• Arroz (White rice)
• Nacatamales (Steamed corn tamales)
• Quesillos (Tortilla with cheese & onions)
• Tortillas (Corn flatbread)

Desserts

• Arroz con Leche (Rice pudding)
• Buñuelos de Yuca (Yuca fritters)
• Flan de Leche (Caramel custard)
• Pastel de Tres Leches (Central American cake of three milks)
• Pío Quinto (Rum cake)

Beverages

• Café con Leche (Coffee with milk)
• Cebada (Barley beverage)
• Chicha (Fermented corn beverage)
• Horchata (Sweet rice beverage; see recipe notes)
• Pinolillo (Cocoa cornmeal beverage)
• Pitahaya (Dragon fruit beverage)
• Pozol (Fermented corn beverage)
• Tiste (Corn & cacao beverage)