Paraguayan Recipes

Paraguayan cooking grew from Guaraní food traditions combined with the cattle, cheese and wheat that Spanish settlers brought. Corn and cassava (mandioca) are the foundations: cornmeal goes into sopa paraguaya and thick soups, cassava starch makes chipa and mbejú, and boiled mandioca often takes the place of bread at the table. Queso Paraguay, a mild, salty white cow's milk cheese, goes into most savory baking. Beef leads festive meals, with the Sunday asado served alongside sopa paraguaya and chipa guasu, and soups are hearty enough to be a meal. Food is mild, with flavor coming from onion, garlic, sweet pepper and oregano rather than chili. The day is marked by tereré, a cold infusion of yerba mate passed around a circle of friends, and by hot mate cocido with chipa at breakfast or the afternoon snack. In Holy Week, families bake chipa and sopa paraguaya in large batches.

Staple ingredients

• corn and cornmeal
• cassava (mandioca)
• queso Paraguay
• beef
• eggs
• onion
• yerba mate
• peanuts

• Soups 2
• Main Dishes 1
• Side Dishes 2
• Breads 1
• Snacks 1
• Drinks 1

Soups

• So'o Yosopy (Paraguayan Ground Beef and Rice Soup)PY1 h 15 minEasy
• Vorí Vorí (Paraguayan Chicken Soup with Cornmeal and Cheese Dumplings)PY1 h 45 minMedium

Main Dishes

• Asado Paraguayo (Paraguayan Grilled Beef Ribs)PY2 h 20 minMedium

Side Dishes

• Chipa Guasu (Paraguayan Fresh Corn and Cheese Cake)PY1 h 25 minMedium
• Sopa Paraguaya (Paraguayan Cheese and Onion Cornbread)PY1 h 30 minEasy

Breads

• Chipa (Paraguayan Cheese and Cassava Starch Bread)PY55 minMedium

Snacks

• Mbejú (Paraguayan Cassava Starch and Cheese Pancake)PY50 minMedium

Drinks

• Tereré (Paraguayan Iced Yerba Mate)PY5 minEasy