Argentine Cooking: Ingredients, Guides & Where to Start

Sliced Asado Steak from Argentina with chimichurri served on a cutting board

Sabores que nos unen ♥

🇦🇷 Traditional Argentine Food: 32 Dishes You Need to Try

Your complete guide to Argentine cuisine. Discover must-try dishes, staple ingredients, cooking techniques, and everything you need to know about the food of Argentina.

Read the Complete Guide → Browse All Argentine Recipes →

✦ October’s Featured Dish

Choripán

Grilled chorizo split open in a crusty roll and spooned over with chimichurri. The first thing off the parrilla as Argentina's grilling season returns with spring.

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Alfajores

The cornstarch classic, the best brands and the dulce de leche inside.

Breakfast

Medialunas, facturas and the mate that starts an Argentine day.

Desserts

Alfajores, dulce de leche and more.

Drinks

Yerba mate and traditional beverages.

Empanadas

Every filling, every fold, every region.

Holiday Dishes

Nochebuena and festive traditions.

Ingredients

Dulce de leche, chimichurri, and the pantry staples behind Argentine cooking.

Main Dishes

Asado, carbonada criolla, matambre and locro.

Sauces & Condiments

Chimichurri, salsa criolla and salsa golf.

Seafood Dishes

Cazuela de mariscos and Patagonian catch.

Side Dishes

The perfect plate, completed.

Snacks & Appetizers

Small bites with big flavor.

Soups & Stews

Comforting bowls of tradition.

Street Foods

Choripán and other city-corner classics.

The Complete Argentine Food Guide

32 traditional dishes, ingredients, and cooking guides in one place.

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The Ultimate Empanada Guide

Types, fillings, folds, and how to make them at home.

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Yerba Mate & Key Ingredients

Learn about yerba mate and the ingredients that define our cuisine.

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How to Cook Milanesa

Step-by-step guides for Argentina's favorite breaded cutlet.

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Alfajores & Dulce de Leche

Argentina's iconic cookie and the sweet stuff inside it.

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Latest Argentine Recipes

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Medialunas: How to Make Argentina’s Sweet Croissants

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Vitel Toné: Argentina’s Christmas Beef in Tuna Sauce

Argentina Food: 32 Traditional Argentine Dishes to Try

Chocotorta: Argentina’s Classic No-Bake Chocolate Cookie Cake

Yerba Mate Guide: What It Is, How to Drink It & Best Brands

Alfajores: Argentine Dulce de Leche Cookies (Classic Recipe)

Argentina Breakfast: 15 Foods Locals Actually Eat

Locro Argentino: Traditional Argentine Stew Recipe

A little Argentine curiosity

Fun Facts About Argentine Foods

Big flavors. Little surprises. There’s a story in every bite.

A wooden yerba mate gourd with a metal bombillaMate manners

Never say “gracias” to the mate.

In a mate circle, “thank you” means “I’m done.” Say it after your first sip and the gourd skips you for the rest of the afternoon.

Slices of fainá, Argentine chickpea flatbreadBuenos Aires pizza

Pizza with bread on top.

Porteños order their pizza “a caballo,” meaning “on horseback”: a slice of fainá, a chickpea flatbread, laid right on top of the cheese. Carbs on carbs, and nobody complains.

Argentine Food FAQs

A little curious? Open a question.
Is Argentine food spicy?

Rarely. Argentine cooking is built on salt, grilled beef, olive oil, oregano and chimichurri. Ají molido, the mild red pepper flakes in chimichurri, is about as hot as it usually gets.

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What’s the national dish of Argentina?

The asado, a slow wood-fire grill of beef cuts, chorizo and morcilla shared with family and friends, is the dish most Argentines would name. Locro and empanadas are close behind.

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What is yerba mate?

A caffeinated herbal drink made from the dried leaves of the yerba mate plant. It’s sipped through a metal straw called a bombilla from a shared gourd, refilled with hot water and passed around the circle.

Learn the yerba mate ritual →
What are alfajores?

Two soft, crumbly cookies sandwiched with dulce de leche, often dipped in chocolate or rolled in coconut. Every kiosk in Argentina sells them, and nobody stops at one.

Read about Argentine alfajores →
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Argentine Food 101: From Asado to Empanadas

Argentina is home to one of South America’s most celebrated culinary traditions, known for its world-famous beef, smoky asados, flaky empanadas, rich dulce de leche, and exceptional Malbec wines. Influenced by Spanish, Italian, and Indigenous cuisines, Argentine food combines simple ingredients with bold flavors and time-honored cooking techniques that have been passed down through generations.

Whether you’re planning a trip to Argentina, looking for authentic recipes, or simply curious about the country’s most popular dishes, you’ll find everything you need here. Explore traditional favorites like choripán, milanesa, locro, provoleta, and alfajores, along with regional specialties from Patagonia, the Pampas, Mendoza, and Northwest Argentina. You’ll also discover classic desserts, traditional drinks like yerba mate, cooking guides, and the rich culinary traditions that make Argentine cuisine unique.

If you’re new to Argentine cuisine, start with our comprehensive guide to Argentina Food: 32 Traditional Argentine Dishes to Try, then continue exploring our authentic recipes, desserts, drinks, and regional food guides. Whether you’re cooking at home or discovering Argentina’s incredible flavors for the first time, AmigoFoods is your trusted resource for authentic Argentine food.