Food in Uruguay

On this page you will find information about food in Uruguay for Kids. Here we show which Uruguayan dishes are really popular with kids as well as with adults.

What you will find on our page:

Typical Food in Uruguay
Everyday Meals
Popular Dishes (see below)

National Dish
Shared Food Traditions
Uruguay Food Quiz
Useful Resources

Now let's get to know some of the traditional Uruguayan dishes in more detail.

Alfajores
Dulce de Leche
Chajá
Tortas Fritas
Queso Colonia
Mate
Garrapiñadas
Bizcochos
Chimichurri
Picantina

Typical Uruguayan Food

You will learn about typical food in Uruguay and which delicious Uruguayan dishes you simply must try when you travel to Uruguay.

Uruguayan cuisine is a mix of foods from many different cultures. People from many countries settled in Uruguay over time. Read our Uruguay Facts here for more info.

Uruguay is famous for its high-quality beef, fresh dairy products and generally simple home-cooked meals. Traditional in Uruguay is the parrilla, or grill. Different types of meat and sausages are cooked slowly on an iron grill over glowing wood embers.

Beef is very important in the Uruguayan cuisine and is eaten as grilled meat, in stews or the traditional milanesa, similar to a breaded and fried schnitzel or beef steak. Many Uruguayans also eat sandwiches, empanadas or pasta, which shows the European influences.

Many foods are cooked slowly and enjoyed together with the traditional mate herbal drink that is part of everyday life in Uruguay.

Commonly used vegetables are tomatoes, onions, carrots, spinach and potatoes and a variety of tropical fruits such as oranges, bananas, guavas and papayas.

Fast food and ready-made meals are generally less common in Uruguay than in the USA or in Europe where also soft drinks and coffee are more popular than herbal tea or the herbal drink mate.

Like in other Latin American or Southern European cultures, daily routines often start and end later in Uruguay and thus meal times are different from those in many places of Europe or in the USA as you will read below.

What do Uruguayan people eat every day?

Food in Uruguay is strongly influenced by the traditions in beef farming and a strong family-centred lifestyle. Meals are often shared with family, and people regularly drink mate, a traditional herbal drink, throughout the day.

Breakfast is usually light and often includes bread, pastries or toast with cheese or jam. Sometimes breakfast is taken with tea or milk or mate cocido, which is a mild mate tea.

A mid-afternoon snack called merienda is eaten between 5 and 7 pm and often includes cookies, cake, or a small sandwich with tea or mate. Meals are usually shared with family, and mate is a common drink enjoyed throughout the day.

Lunch and dinner are more substantial meals. Dinner is usually eaten only around 9 pm. Beef is the main ingredient in many dishes, such as asado, which is barbecued meat or stews that might include beans and vegetables as well.

Uruguayans also enjoy desserts and sweets, such as alfajores, chajá cake or garrapiñada, which are sweet roasted peanuts.

Now here are some of the most popular Uruguayan dishes:

Typical Uruguayan Dishes

Asado

Asado - image by Don Mammoser/ shutterstock.com

Asado is the national dish of Uruguay. Asado consists of South American barbecue meat. It is made using beef, sausages and sometimes lamb, which have been prepared and seasoned mainly with salt and is slowly grilled over hot wooden logs or glowing embers on a barbecue iron that is called a parrilla.

Did you know that Uruguayans eat more beef per person than almost any other country in the world? Uruguayans eat between 50 kg - 60 kg beef per person each year! Argentina and Uruguay swap top places in the ranking regularly!

Most Uruguayan homes have an asador or grill that is built in the patio. This is an iron and brick structure with a chimney and has a huge grill tray.

Chivito | Steak Sandwich |

Chivito - image by Julian Borhoquez

The chivito is a staple food in Uruguay. This beef sandwich is one of the country's most famous foods. A chivito sandwich is made with grilled beef steak, ham, bacon, mozzarella cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion and egg. This sandwich is very large and usually served with fries.

Fun fact: Chivito means "little goat", but the sandwich is always made with beef.

Empanadas

Empanadas are pastry pockets filled with a large variety of ingredients. These can include beef, cheese or vegetables. The savoury pastry is baked in the oven or sometimes is fried until golden. Empanadas are eaten as snacks or light meals.

Milanesa

Milanesa a la Napolitana

A milanesa is a dish made from beef or chicken that has been dipped in egg and covered in breadcrumbs before frying. The meat is fried until the milanesa is crispy and golden. Milanesa is similar to schnitzel and is a common family meal.

The name comes from the Italian dish "cotoletta all milanese" which means "cutlet Milan-style". Milanesa a la Napolitana is a popular type of milanesa. A la napolitana means "Naples-style", which means tomatoes, basil and mozzarella are included in the topping of the cutlet.

Choripán

Choripan

Choripán is a popular snack in Uruguay and Argentina. It is made by putting a grilled chorizo sausage inside a fresh bread roll. This popular street food is usually eaten with the hands and is often found at street food stalls, at barbecues and at festivals.

Chorizo

The Uruguayan chorizo is a freshly made sausage with pork or beef meat that is mixed with spices such paprika, oregano and garlic. This sausage is cured as the Spanish version of this spicy sausage.
Chorizo is usually grilled on the barbecue as part of an asado.
Chorizo is often eaten in a bread roll which then is called a choripán and also a popular ingredient in Uruguayan stews.

Picada

Picada is served with most asado or barbecue. The starter dish is often served on a wooden board. The little snacks include bread, fried snacks such as empanadas, olives and a variety of dips, cheeses or salted peanuts.

Pascualina

Pascualinas

Pascualinas are a savoury pies made with pastry, spinach, eggs and cheese. The pie is baked in the oven and can be eaten warm or cold. Whole eggs are baked inside the pie and can be seen when it is cut.

Ñoquis

Ñoquis

Potato gnocchi, or ñoquis, are a traditional dish in many Uruguayan homes, especially in those with an Italian heritage. In Uruguay, it is a special tradition to gather the family on the 29th day of the month and eat ñoquis. This follows the century old-tradition of honouring Saint Pantaleon. All family members put a coin under the plate in hope for prosperity, wealth and good fortune for the coming month.

Calamares Fritos

Calamares fritos are a popular seafood dish in Uruguay. These are deep fried squid rings, that are usually made from fresh squid, which has been cut into rings, lightly coated in flour or batter and then deep-fried until the rings are golden and crispy.

This food is usually served with lemon wedges and sometimes with a dipping sauce or spicy pimiento mayonnaise. Many people enjoy them at restaurants, seaside towns, or as a street food treat.

Alfajores

Alfajores are soft biscuit sandwiches made from flour, butter and sugar and that are filled with dulce de leche.
Often alfajores are covered in chocolate.

Dulce de Leche

Dulce de leche is a thick caramel-like cream that is made from milk and sugar that has been cooked slowly over heat. As sweet filling it is used in cakes, biscuits and desserts in Uruguay. Dulce de leche is so delicious and popular that many people enjoy it straight from the jar.

Meringue Cake | Chajá

Chaja

Chajá is a traditional dessert in Uruguay. The soft sponge cake has layers of sponge biscuit, dulce de leche, peaches, and cream and is often covered by meringue.
This dessert was created in the city of Paysandú in western Uruguay.

Tortas Fritas

Tortas fritas are made from a soft dough using flour, water, salt and lard or butter. The dough is shaped into flat pieces with small holes, then deep-fried in oil until golden.

The holes help the tortas fritas cook more evenly and prevent the dough from puffing up too much. They are popular snacks enjoyed with mate, especially on rainy days.

Cheese | Queso Colonia

Queso Colonia is a mild yellow cheese made from cow’s milk. It is pressed and aged for four to twelve months. Colonia cheese is eaten either on its own or used in sandwiches. This unique cheese that has a smooth texture was first produced by Swiss settlers in Uruguay.

A traditional dessert that is enjoyed in Argentina and Uruguay, is a cheese and sweet potato or quince pairing. In Uruguay, the cheese is paired with some sweet firm jelly which is usually made with sweet potatoes, called dulce de batata, or from quince paste.

Cheese and sweet potato jelly dessert

Mate

Mate is a traditional herbal drink made from dried yerba mate leaves and hot water. People drink this mate from a small cup using a metal straw called a bombilla.

Mate drink

Mate contains caffeine, which affects sleep, so children usually only drink a milder version of mate, that is made like tea, and thinned down with milk or sugar. This version is called mate cocido and is available in tea bags that are sold in many shops and markets in Uruguay.

Uruguayans often carry a thermos to keep the water hot, so they can share mate with friends and family. Mate is a popular drink in many South American countries, however, most mate is consumed in Uruguay. On average, Uruguayans drink 19 litres of mate every year, which is about the same amount of coffee that an Italian drinks in a year.

Did you know?

Mate is a herbal drink or infusion.
Mate comes from the Quechua language. "Mati" is the word for the calabash container where the yerba is poured.
The infusion is sipped through a bombilla, a metal straw.

Garrapiñadas

Snack trolley - image by Jose Carvallido

Garrapiñadas are made from peanuts cooked and stirred in a big pan with sugar and a little water until they become crunchy and sweet. Garrapiñadas are a popular winter street snack sold in paper cones from carritos, as the Uruguayans call the snack trolleys on the streets.

More Popular Food in Uruguay

Other delicious food in Uruguay also include:

Bizcochos: These are small flaky pastries made from flour, butter or lard, milk and sometimes sugar. They are baked until flaky and are often eaten for breakfast or enjoyed with mate.
Chimichurri: The spicy sauce is served with most asado. Chimichurri is made with vinegar, garlic and herbs and is similar to a thin but spicy pesto.
Picantina: This is a mustard-like sauce that accompanies many a hamburger or choripán.

Food in Uruguay
Shared Traditions with Neighbouring Countries

Mate and mate cocido are drunk in many South American countries. Uruguay shares many food traditions with its neighbouring countries, especially Argentina. Mate is enjoyed in many South American countries while mate cocido is an especially popular drink in Uruguay and Argentina. Uruguayan mate is usually stronger and more bitter than the Argentinian version of the herbal drink.

Both Uruguay and Argentina also share a strong Italian influence in their cuisine due to the large amount of Italian immigrants who settled in these countries. Foods such as pizza, pasta and milanesa are very similar to the traditional Italian dishes. European influences can be seen in many dishes across Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. The Brazilian food is more strongly influenced by Portuguese cooking, however, the Spanish Chorizo sausage tradition however is also part of the Uruguayan cuisine.

The asado tradition is shared by Argentina and Uruguay as well. It is rooted also in the gaucho tradition that both countries share. Beef is the main meat eaten in Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil. The traditional chimichurri sauce is often added to grilled meats in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay.

Hearty stews made with beans are enjoyed in many South American countries. The Brazilian feijoada uses black beans and pork meat while the Uruguayan feijoada also includes potatoes and chorizo sausages.

Uruguay Food Quiz

Comprehension Questions: Food in Uruguay

Why is beef an important part of food in Uruguay?
Which drink is commonly shared by people in Uruguay?
What does the word asado mean and how is it cooked?
What ingredients are used to make a chivito sandwich?
How is dulce de leche made?
Which food was influenced by Swiss settlers?
Which Uruguayan food is deep-fried?
What is a chorizo?

Find the answers here.

Food in Uruguay | Useful resources

Find out more information about food in Uruguay in these resources:

Uruguay Travel. "Gastronomy and Wine Tourism." Uruguay.uy. Last accessed 22 January 2026
Uruguay Natural Ministerio de Turismo. "Gastronomy." UruguayNatural. Last accessed 22 January 2026

Uruguay Food Quiz Answers:

Beef is important in Uruguay because the country has many farms and is famous for high-quality beef.
The drink commonly shared in Uruguay is mate.
Asado means a barbecue, and the meat is cooked slowly over hot wooden embers.
A chivito sandwich is made with beef steak, ham, cheese, egg, lettuce, tomato, onion and bread, often served with fries.
Dulce de leche is made by slowly heating milk and sugar until it becomes thick and the colour of caramel.
Queso Colonia was influenced by Swiss settlers.
Milanesa as well as tortas fritas are deep-fried.
Chorizo is a fresh sausage made from pork or beef mixed with spices.

More Popular Pages

Uruguay Facts for Kids

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World Food Facts by Kids World Travel Guide

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Image Credits on Food in Uruguay: shutterstock.com, freeimages.com

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