The following highlights some of the popular Traditional Uruguayan Foods. If you manage to be in an Uruguayan restaurant or you are visiting Uruguay, I recommend the following:
1. Tortas Fritas
Uruguayans are never defeated by a rainy day, and one of the main reasons they stay so positive is this dish. A torta frita is fried bread, sometimes served with a pinch of sugar on top. Most of the time they are sold as street food on rainy days, but many Uruguayan families prepare the snacks themselves and share them during a rainy afternoon.
2. Pasta Frola
This is the name given to the traditional Uruguayan cake, filled with quince and decorated with long pastry strips. Although it is a great breakfast, it is usually served in the afternoon as a snack (which is like a second breakfast that Uruguayans have around 4-6 PM) with grated coconut on top. Sometimes, dulce de membrillo is substituted for dulce de leche.
3. Reggianito
Conaprole Reggianito cheese is a hard mature cheese. It is made from standardised, sterilised and pasteurised milk. It undergoes a ripening and coagulation process by adding lactic acid cultures, calcium chloride and coagulation enzymes, respectively. It is very popular and is used in many ducks in Uruguayan cuisine.
4. Pancho
It is often confused with a traditional hot dog or Frankfurt sausage, but the truth is that this typical Uruguayan food is much more than that. Although the bread and sausage can be obtained in the rest of the world without any problem, the seasoning that Uruguayan gastronomy gives to this food makes it extremely special. The toppings, in this case, are central: different sauces, different flavours, condiments and everything that is allowed in this special Uruguayan dish.
5. Martín Fierro
Martín Fierro is a simple sweet and sour Creole dessert, very popular among Uruguayans, consisting simply of a slice of cheese and another slice of the same size of quince jelly on top. The name of the dessert is an allusion to the book called Martín Fierro, written by the Argentinean author José Hernández. In general, the cheese used is an Uruguayan variety, colonia cheese, but it can also be prepared with fontina, cuartirolo, danbo or goat cheese.
6. Lengua a la Vinagreta
The cuts of meat that many diners value most are not the most common and traditional cuts, but those that have a special flavour and texture and require special preparation. However, in Uruguay, given the traditional flavour of beef and a country whose strengths lie in agriculture and livestock, the Uruguayan language is a culinary delight, a commitment to good food and good taste. Lengua con vinagre balsámico is a simple starter that tells us that Uruguay is more than chorizo and beef tenderloin.
7. Choripán
Choripán is a grilled chorizo sandwich served with toppings such as onions and tomatoes, served on a baguette bun with some chimichurri. Choripán is also considered an Argentinian dish and is enjoyed in other parts of the continent such as Chile. Although it looks like a super simple dish, it is so tasty because of the smoked chorizo sausage.
8. Chivito
Everyone should try a chivito while in Uruguay. Although its name means “little goat”, it is not actually made of goat meat. It consists of a beef sandwich with many ingredients, usually including a fried egg, lettuce, tomato, ham, mozzarella, bacon, olives, pepper and mayonnaise. And no chivito is complete without a large portion of fries.
9. Chajá
Chajá is a dessert that was invented in Uruguay, and although nowadays people don’t eat it often, it is one of Uruguay’s most traditional dishes, favoured among the older generations. It consists of a spongy square that combines pastry, meringue and peaches. Some recipes swap the peaches for strawberries, and others add chocolate or dulce de leche.
10. Garrapiñada
Garrapiñada is a very popular snack in both Argentina and Uruguay, but in the latter there is a very particular attachment, as there is no square in which there is not a street stall selling them. This snack is consumed at sporting and musical events, at the theatre or in any situation during the winter season thanks to its caloric content, as it is a kind of caramelised peanut with vanilla.
If you found this list useful, here are some more Traditional South American Foods to try out on my Pinterest channel.