Ecuador Street Food Guide — What to Eat, Where to Find It, and What It Costs

Ecuador's street food is one of the best-kept secrets in Latin American food culture. While Peru gets the culinary spotlight and Mexico dominates the conversation, Ecuador quietly serves some of the most satisfying, cheapest, and most varied street food on the continent — and almost nobody outside the country is talking about it.

The prices are almost comically low by North American standards. An entire meal for $1.50–$3.00. Individual snacks for $0.25–$1.00. A freshly squeezed juice for $0.75. You can eat well in Ecuador without ever sitting down in a restaurant, and in many cases the street food is better than what restaurants serve. The señora with the steaming pot on the corner has been perfecting her recipe for 30 years. The restaurant opened last month.

This guide covers the essential items you will encounter everywhere, the regional specialties worth traveling for, where to find the best street food, and how to eat it all without spending the next day in the bathroom.

The Essentials — Find These Everywhere

These are the dishes that cross regional boundaries. You will find them on streets, in markets, and outside schools in every province of Ecuador.

Empanadas de Viento

Fried cheese empanadas, dusted with sugar. The name means "wind empanadas" because they puff up with air when fried, creating a crispy, hollow shell with a core of melted cheese. Served with a small cup of aji (Ecuador's ubiquitous hot sauce) for dipping.

Cost: $0.50–$1.00 each Where: Literally everywhere. The best are from market stalls and street vendors who fry them fresh to order. In Cuenca, the empanada ladies outside Mercado 10 de Agosto and along Calle Larga are reliable. In Quito, the stands near Plaza Grande and inside Mercado Central serve them piping hot.

The move: Eat them hot. An empanada de viento that has been sitting for 20 minutes is a flat, greasy disc. Freshly fried, it is transcendent. Dip in aji, bite through the crispy shell, hit the melted cheese. The sugar-on-savory combination is weird until you try it. Then it is genius.

Humitas

Sweet steamed corn cakes wrapped in corn husks. The dough is made from ground fresh corn (not the dry kind), mixed with butter, cheese, eggs, and sometimes a touch of sugar, then wrapped in the corn husk and steamed. The result is somewhere between a tamale and a corn muffin — moist, slightly sweet, with a rich corn flavor.

Cost: $0.75–$1.50 each Where: Look for señoras sitting next to large steaming pots or metal tubs. In Cuenca, you will find them at the markets (10 de Agosto, Feria Libre) and on street corners in the afternoon. In highland towns like Ambato and Riobamba, humitas are practically a religion.

Tamales too: Ecuador's tamales are humitas' savory cousin — corn dough stuffed with chicken or pork, wrapped in a plantain leaf instead of a corn husk. Same vendors, same price range. If the pot has both, get one of each.

Bolon de Verde

A fist-sized ball of mashed green plantain (verde) stuffed with cheese or chicharron (fried pork cracklings), then fried until the outside is golden and slightly crunchy. This is the breakfast of the coast — heavy, starchy, deeply satisfying. Often served with a fried egg on top and a cup of coffee.

Cost: $1.00–$2.00 Where: Every breakfast spot on the coast, every coastal-style restaurant in the highlands. In Guayaquil, you cannot throw a rock without hitting a bolon vendor in the morning. In Cuenca and Quito, look for restaurants advertising "desayuno costeno" (coastal breakfast).

Cheese or chicharron? Try both. Cheese is simpler and milder. Chicharron is richer and has that pork-fat depth that makes you understand why the coast eats this every morning. The correct answer for your first time is "mixto" — both.

Salchipapas

French fries with sliced hot dogs, drowned in mayonnaise, ketchup, and aji. This is the definitive late-night cheap eat in Ecuador — the thing you buy at 11 PM from the cart outside the bar, the thing every Ecuadorian kid grows up eating after school.

Cost: $1.00–$2.50 Where: Outside bars and nightlife areas after dark. Near schools between 1–2 PM. At any street corner that has a flat-top grill and a deep fryer. The carts are unmistakable — piles of fries, a tub of sliced hot dogs, squeeze bottles of condiments.

Upgrades: Some vendors offer choripapas (chorizo instead of hot dogs) or add a fried egg on top. In Quito, the salchipapa carts along Avenida Amazonas in La Mariscal are a late-night institution.

Is it gourmet? No. Is it exactly what you want at midnight after three Pilseners? Absolutely.

Ceviche Ecuatoriano

Ecuadorian ceviche is not Peruvian ceviche. Get that out of your head immediately. Here, shrimp (camaron) or fish (pescado) is cooked, then bathed in a tomato-and-citrus broth loaded with red onion, cilantro, and lime. It is served cold, usually in a glass or a bowl, accompanied by a side plate of canguil (popcorn) and chifles (thin fried plantain chips) for scooping and crunching.

Cost: $2.00–$5.00 depending on the seafood and the portion Where: Cevicherias exist in every city, but the coast is where ceviche reaches its full potential. In Guayaquil, the cevicherias near the Malecon 2000 and in Urdesa are legendary. In Cuenca, Las Palmeras (Calle Bolivar near Mercado 9 de Octubre) serves a reliable version. In Quito, any cevicheria run by a costeno (coastal person) is a good bet.

Types to know:

• Ceviche de camaron: Shrimp, the most popular
• Ceviche de pescado: Fish, usually corvina (sea bass)
• Ceviche de concha: Black clam — the most intensely flavored, an acquired taste, and the one locals consider the real deal
• Ceviche mixto: Mixed seafood, the safe choice when you cannot decide

Encebollado

Fish soup with yuca, pickled red onion, tomato, and cilantro. Encebollado is Ecuador's official hangover cure, the national breakfast of the coast, and one of the most satisfying soups you will eat anywhere. The base is albacore tuna (albacora), simmered until the broth is rich and aromatic. The yuca provides the starch, and the curtido (pickled red onion with lime and tomato) piled on top cuts through the richness.

Cost: $2.50–$4.00 Where: Encebollado shops are everywhere on the coast — dedicated storefronts that serve nothing else, open at 6 AM for breakfast and closing by early afternoon. In Guayaquil, the shops along Avenida 9 de Octubre and in the Centenario neighborhood are local favorites. Cuenca has them too, though they tend to be tucked inside markets. In Quito, look near the major markets (Mercado Central, Mercado Inaquito).

How to eat it: Add lime, add aji, crush the chifles or canguil into the bowl. Stir. Eat it with a spoon. If you are hungover, you will feel human again within 20 minutes. This is not a metaphor.

Regional Specialties

Ecuador's geography creates wildly different food traditions across short distances. These dishes are tied to specific regions, and eating them in their home territory is always better.

Cuenca and the Southern Highlands

Mote Pillo: Hominy corn sauteed with scrambled eggs, cheese, green onion, and sometimes milk. A highland breakfast staple. Simple, cheap, filling. Found at market stalls for $1.50–$2.50. Mercado 10 de Agosto in Cuenca has multiple stalls serving it every morning.

Cuy (Guinea Pig): The one everyone asks about. Cuy has been eaten in the Andes for thousands of years — it is a delicacy, not a novelty. A whole cuy is roasted on a spit or deep-fried and served with potatoes and salad. The meat is dark, gamey, and has a texture somewhere between rabbit and pork. Most of what you eat is the crispy skin, which is the best part. $15–$25 for a whole one (feeds 1–2 people). Try it at Guajibamba or Tres Estrellas on the outskirts of Cuenca, or at any of the cuy restaurants in the town of Gualaceo (30 minutes east). Try it at least once.

Llapingachos: Thick potato cakes stuffed with cheese, pan-fried golden, and served with peanut sauce (salsa de mani), a fried egg, chorizo, avocado, and curtido. A complete plate at the market costs $3–$5. The best llapingachos in Ecuador are said to come from Ambato, but Cuenca's mercados do an excellent job.

Morocho: A thick, warm drink made from cracked white corn, milk, sugar, and cinnamon. Served in a mug from market vendors. Think of it as a corn-based hot chocolate — rich, slightly grainy, sweet. $0.50–$1.00. Addictive on a cold highland morning.

Quito and the Northern Highlands

Hornado: A whole pig, slow-roasted in a wood-fired oven until the skin crackles and the meat falls apart. Served sliced with llapingachos, mote (hominy), agrio (a pickled vegetable relish), and lettuce. The hornado stalls at Mercado Central in Quito are excellent, but the true mecca is the town of Sangolqui (30 minutes south of Quito), where hornado is the entire economy. $4–$7 for a full plate.

Fritada: Chunks of pork braised in their own fat with cumin, garlic, and beer until crispy on the outside and tender inside. Served with mote, llapingachos, maduro (sweet plantain), and a simple salad. Found at markets and dedicated fritada restaurants across the highlands. $4–$6. The fritada at Mercado Inaquito in northern Quito is a local favorite.

Locro de Papa: A thick, creamy potato soup made with cheese, milk, and topped with avocado and a small pile of popcorn. This is the quintessential highland comfort food — simple, warming, and surprisingly rich. Found at virtually every almuerzo (set lunch) restaurant in Quito and the highlands for $2–$4.

The Coast (Manabi, Guayas, Santa Elena)

Corviche: A torpedo-shaped dumpling made from grated green plantain mixed with peanut butter and stuffed with a seasoned fish filling, then deep-fried. Found mainly in Manabi province (Manta, Portoviejo, Jipijapa). $1–$1.50 each. Crispy, savory, uniquely Ecuadorian.

Pan de Yuca: Chewy, stretchy bread rolls made from yuca (cassava) flour and cheese. Served warm, they are soft, slightly tangy, and naturally gluten-free. Found at bakeries and street vendors throughout the coast and increasingly in the highlands. $0.25–$0.50 each. The chain Yogurt Persa sells them alongside yogurt drinks in most Ecuadorian cities.

Encocado: Fish or shrimp cooked in coconut milk with onion, garlic, pepper, and cilantro. Primarily from Esmeraldas province — this is Afro-Ecuadorian cooking at its best. Rich, creamy, with a depth of flavor that comes from the coconut base. $4–$7 at coastal restaurants. If you find a restaurant in any city advertising "comida esmeraldena," order the encocado.

The Amazon (El Oriente)

Maito: Fish (usually tilapia or the river fish cachama) wrapped in bijao leaves (similar to banana leaves) and roasted over coals. The leaves steam the fish while infusing it with a subtle, earthy flavor. Served with yuca and a simple salad. Found in Tena, Puyo, and jungle lodge restaurants. $5–$8. Simple and very good.

Chonta: Palm heart, served fresh in salads or cooked into soups. You have probably had canned palm hearts — fresh chonta from the Amazon is a different product entirely. Crunchy, slightly sweet, with a clean vegetal flavor. Ask for ensalada de chonta at any Oriente restaurant.

Where to Find Street Food

Knowing what to eat is only half the equation. Knowing where to find it is the other half.

Mercados (Markets)

The epicenter of Ecuadorian street food. Every city and town has a municipal market, and the food courts (comedores) inside them serve the cheapest, most authentic meals you will find anywhere. The format is universal: rows of stalls, each run by a woman (almost always a woman) cooking 2–3 dishes. You sit at her counter, she hands you a plate.

Key markets:

• Cuenca: Mercado 10 de Agosto (hornado, mote pillo, llapingachos, fresh juices), Feria Libre (massive, chaotic, everything)
• Quito: Mercado Central (hornado, fritada, jugos), Mercado Inaquito (fritada, encebollado)
• Guayaquil: Mercado Artesanal (ceviche, encebollado)
• Ambato: Mercado Central (the llapingacho capital)

Almuerzo pricing: The set lunch (almuerzo) at a market comedor is $2.00–$3.50 for soup, a main plate, juice, and sometimes dessert. This is the best food value in the country.

Outside Schools at Dismissal Time

At 1 PM, when schools let out, food vendors materialize around the entrance like magic. Empanadas, ice cream, candy, bolon, and whatever the local specialty happens to be. The quality is surprisingly high because these vendors depend on repeat daily customers (students and their parents). Prices are rock-bottom — everything under $1.

Church Plazas on Sunday Morning

After Sunday mass, many church plazas fill with food vendors. In highland towns, this is where you find humitas, tamales, morocho, and empanadas. The after-church food scene in small Sierra towns (Gualaceo, Sigsig, Banos de Cuenca) is one of the most charming eating experiences in Ecuador.

Festival Days

Ecuador has fiestas constantly — religious holidays, civic celebrations, patron saint festivals, and harvest festivals. During any fiesta, the food stall count multiplies dramatically. You will find roasted pork, ceviche, canelazo (a hot cinnamon-sugar cane liquor drink), and regional specialties you might not see on a normal day. If you see a fiesta happening, eat there.

The Aji — Ecuador's Hot Sauce

Every stall, every market comedor, every restaurant has a small bowl or squeeze bottle of aji. This is Ecuador's universal condiment — a fresh hot sauce made from aji peppers (similar to habaneros but milder), blended with cilantro, onion, lime juice, and sometimes tree tomato (tomate de arbol).

Every cook has their own recipe. Some are mild and herby. Some will make your eyes water. The correct approach is to ask "es picante?" (is it spicy?) and add a small amount first. Or just taste a drop on your spoon before committing.

In the highlands, aji tends to be milder and chunkier. On the coast, it skews thinner and hotter. In the Amazon, some versions include jungle peppers that are legitimately volcanic. You will develop a favorite. You will miss it when you leave.

Food Safety for Expats

Street food anxiety is the number one thing that keeps new expats from eating the best food in Ecuador. Here is the practical reality.

The rules that actually matter:

1. Eat where the crowd is. A busy stall means high turnover, which means the food is fresh. An empty stall at noon is a red flag.
2. Hot food from a hot surface is safe. If it is fried, grilled, boiled, or steamed to order, the heat kills anything worth worrying about. Empanadas fresh from the fryer, soup from a simmering pot, grilled meat from the flame — all fine.
3. Raw produce from street carts is the risk zone. The salads and uncooked vegetable garnishes served alongside meals are where most travelers get stomach trouble. In the first few weeks, skip the raw lettuce and unpeeled tomato from market stalls. Once your gut adjusts to the local bacteria, you can gradually add them back.
4. Ceviche from a busy cevicheria is fine. The shrimp and fish are cooked (remember, Ecuadorian ceviche is not raw). The risk is the same as any restaurant — freshness and hygiene. A cevicheria with a line is almost always safe.
5. Juice stands: Fresh-squeezed juice (jugo) is one of the great pleasures of Ecuador. The risk is whether they use purified water for the ice or to dilute the juice. At established market stands with good reputations, the risk is minimal. At a random cart you have never visited, you can ask for juice "sin hielo" (without ice) to be safe.

The adjustment period: Almost every expat gets a mild stomach upset in the first 2–4 weeks. This is normal — your gut is adjusting to new bacteria, not because the food is bad. Carry Imodium or loperamide. Stay hydrated. It passes. After a month, most people can eat everything without issue.

What a Day of Street Food Costs

Here is a realistic day of eating entirely from the street and markets:

Meal	What	Cost
Breakfast	Bolon de verde with coffee	$2.00
Mid-morning snack	Empanada de viento with fresh juice	$1.50
Lunch	Almuerzo at a market comedor (soup + main + juice)	$3.00
Afternoon snack	Humita	$1.00
Dinner	Salchipapas from a street cart	$2.00
Total		$9.50

Under ten dollars. For an entire day. And you ate well — not just adequately, but genuinely well. This is one of the reasons Ecuador keeps showing up on "cheapest countries to live" lists, and the food is a major part of why people stay.