Ecuador Breads & Sides

🇪🇨 Ecuador

Ecuadorian Sides & Breads

Ecuadorian sides center on the potato and the plantain — pan-fried cakes, buttery corn, and sweet bread shaped like tiny figures for the Day of the Dead.

Guaguas de Pan Mote Pillo Patacones Maduros +9
13 breads & sides, each with a recipe ↓
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Ecuadorian sides center on the potato and the plantain — pan-fried cakes, buttery corn, and sweet bread shaped like tiny figures for the Day of the Dead.
Llapingachos
Ecuador's Beloved Potato Cakes

Llapingachos

Ecuador's beloved potato-and-cheese pancakes, pan-fried until golden and typically served with peanut sauce and avocado.

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More Ecuador Breads & Sides to Try

Guaguas de Pan
Guaguas de Pan
Ecuadorian sweet bread shaped like little figures, baked for Day of the Dead celebrations in November.
Mote Pillo
Mote Pillo
Hominy corn sautéed with eggs, onion, and achiote — a hearty Andean breakfast side.
Patacones
Patacones
Twice-fried green plantains, smashed flat and crisped — a coastal Ecuadorian staple.
Maduros
Maduros
Sweet ripe plantains fried until caramelized at the edges.
Empanadas de Viento
Empanadas de Viento
Airy, cheese-filled fried empanadas dusted with sugar — a beach-town classic.
Arroz con menestra lentils and rice
Arroz con Menestra
Rice with stewed lentils, patacones and grilled meat, the Guayaquil plate.
Curtido de cebolla y tomate
Curtido de Cebolla
Lime-cured onion and tomato relish that goes on everything.
Ecuadorian yellow rice
Arroz Amarillo
Yellow rice with achiote and peas.
Ecuadorian pan de yuca cheese bread
Pan de Yuca
Warm cassava-and-cheese rolls, sold with yogurt on the coast.
Ecuadorian humitas
Humitas
Fresh corn steamed in husks with cheese, served with coffee.
Ecuadorian empanadas de morocho
Empanadas de Morocho
Crisp cracked-corn empanadas filled with meat and rice.
Bollos de maíz corn rolls
Bollos de Maíz
Sweet corn dough steamed in leaves.

A Guide to Ecuadorian Sides & Breads

Ecuadorian sides are mostly corn, potato and plantain. Llapingachos, cheese-stuffed potato cakes, are the highland standard, mote pillo scrambles hominy with eggs in Cuenca, and patacones and maduros cover the coast. Empanadas de viento are the puffy cheese empanadas dusted with sugar, and guaguas de pan are the bread babies baked for Day of the Dead.

Start with the recipes above, then see all Ecuadorian side dishes, or explore all Ecuadorian food and Latin American and Spanish breads and sides.

Craving more Ecuador flavors?

Explore our complete roundup, or browse all Ecuador food guides and recipes.

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