Chilean Seafood Recipes: Paila Marina, Machas & Locos

🇨🇱 Chile

Chilean Seafood Recipes

From tender locos served with mayonnaise to hearty paila marina simmered in clay, Chile's long Pacific coastline and cold Humboldt Current waters give rise to some of South America's most distinctive shellfish and seafood dishes.

Machas a La Parmesana: Chilean Clams & Parmesan Seafood Dish

Paila Marina, Traditional Chilean Seafood Stew

Guiso de Cochayuyo: A Traditional Chilean Seaweed Stew

Locos con Mayonesa: A Classic Chilean Seafood Delight

10 seafood dishes, each with a recipe ↓

📖 See the Full Roundup: 16 Must-Try Chilean Seafood Dishes →

Chile's more than 4,000 miles of coastline and the nutrient-rich Humboldt Current make it home to prized shellfish like locos and machas, along with rustic stews like paila marina and cochayuyo-based guisos passed down through generations of coastal cooking.

Chile's Most Iconic Seafood Dish

Locos con Mayonesa

Chile's beloved shellfish delicacy: tender loco (Chilean abalone) served chilled with a rich, tangy mayonnaise, a simple classic found at seaside restaurants up and down the coast.

Get the Recipe

More Chile Seafood Dishes to Try

See all 16 →

Machas a la Parmesana

Razor clams on the half shell broiled under a blanket of butter, white wine, and parmesan, a Chilean coastal favorite.

Paila Marina

A hearty seafood stew brimming with fish, shellfish, and broth, traditionally simmered in a clay bowl and finished with a splash of white wine.

Guiso de Cochayuyo

A rustic stew built on cochayuyo, Chile's prized kelp, simmered with onions, tomatoes, and potatoes into a deeply savory coastal dish.

Chilean Sea Bass

Also called Patagonian toothfish, this buttery, richly flavored deep-water catch from Chile's cold southern seas has become a prized delicacy on menus worldwide.

Caldillo de Congrio

Conger eel soup with potato and tomato, immortalized by Pablo Neruda.

Empanadas de Mariscos

Baked or fried empanadas filled with shellfish and cheese.

Pastel de Jaiba

Crab baked with bread, cream and cheese in a clay dish.

Chupe de Centolla

Patagonian king crab chowder baked under a cheese crust.

Choritos al Vapor

Mussels steamed with white wine, onion and cilantro.

A Guide to Chilean Seafood

Chile has more than 4,000 miles of coastline, and its cooking shows it. Paila marina is the seafood soup served in a clay bowl, machas a la parmesana are razor clams baked with cheese, and locos con mayonesa are Chilean abalone served cold. Guiso de cochayuyo is a seaweed stew from the south, and Chilean sea bass is the export that made the country's seafood famous abroad.

Start with the recipes above, then see the full roundup of must-try Chilean seafood dishes, or explore all Chilean food and recipes from across Latin America and Spain.

Craving more Chile comfort food?

Explore our complete roundup, or browse all Chile recipes and stories.

See All 16 Chile Seafood Dishes 🇨🇱 Explore All Chile Food