La Paz is a vibrant city that truly eats on the go, boasting thousands of food stands that offer a delicious array of local flavors at incredibly affordable prices. From the iconic morning salteñas to the late-night savory anticuchos, exploring the street food scene is an essential experience for any traveler visiting Bolivia.
Whether you are looking for a quick breakfast to fuel your high-altitude adventures or a hearty snack after a night out, the streets of La Paz provide a unique culinary journey. Discover the most popular local snacks and where to find the best versions of these traditional treats in our guide to the city's best street food.
Salteñas
Salteñas are the Bolivian version of the Latin American empanada and is the Bolivians way of beginning their day. Salteñas are jam-packed with meat, peas, carrots, potatoes and lots of sweet juice, all cooked inside an oven-baked pasty. The trick to eating a salteña without getting covered in its filling, is to take a bite out of one end and drink all the juice before finishing the rest. Visit Paceña La Salteña, who serve up the best selection of this tasty treat in La paz.
Tucumanas
Tucumanas are the fried version of salteñas, and are a lot easier to eat without getting messy. They are usually served up with many different delicious sauces of different sauces that add a different taste to each bite full allowing a different taste explosion with each serving. Tucumanas del Prado on Calle Mexico, probably offer the best tucumanas in La Paz.
Anticucho
Anticucho is a favourite amonst the carnivores with flame-grilled, cow’s heart accompanied with potato and a spicy peanut sauce. It is basically the Bolivian version of the kebab! Those who don’t find animals vital organs appealing should still give them a try, they are surprisingly tasty. An inexpensive dish that dates back hundreds of years, anticuchos are particularly popular with the evening party-goers, so look out for the local lady with a barbecue on wheels waiting outside bars at 2AM in La Paz.
Choripan
As the name suggests, choripan consists of chorizo sausage and bread. This sausage sandwich is served day and night, and is usually accompanied by lettuce, tomato and onions. A generous dose of yummy llawja, a spicy, tomato-based Bolivian sauce. The top floor of Mercado Lanza has a number of excellent choripan stands.
Sandwich de Chola
This traditional sandwich got its name because it’s typically served by a “cholita” indigenous woman. It comes packed with roast pork, pickled carrots and onions, fresh tomato, garlic and a variety of herbs and spices. In La Paz the favoured place to try this simple and delicious sandwich is at Parque de las Cholas and are the perfect accompaniment to a cold Paceña beer in the afternoon sun.
Tripa
Tripa is only for the more adventurous traveller. This dish of fried cow intestines is a little chewy and a bitter aftertaste. Some people love it though and it certainly comes down to personal preference, give it a try!
Api with buñuelos
Api is a thick purple corn drink served with cinnamon and sugar somewhat similar to “chicha morada” found in neighbouring Peru. The perfect accompaniment are hot fried buñuelos, which can be sweet or savoury and are often stuffed with cheese. Found all-year-round in most Bolivian cities, in both restaurants and at street-food stalls, api is normally served for breakfast. Originally from the Altiplano, this will take the edge off the morning, high elevation chill.
Pasankallas
This enormous, puffed, white corn, usually sugar coated, is Bolivia’s super-sweet take on popcorn and a great snack to take on long bus rides. Pasankallas are less crunchy than popcorn, but still just as addictive. Large bags of pasankallas can be found at most confectionery stands in La Paz, where the high altitude creates just the right low air pressure for perfect popping of the corn!
