Paraguayan Food Guide: 15 Dishes to Try in Asunción

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Photo: Ekem / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0). Chipa, Paraguay’s cheese bread.

Paraguayan food is one of the great unknown cuisines of South America. It is built on three things: corn, mandi’o (cassava) and fresh cheese, with very good beef and river fish alongside. Many dishes carry Guaraní names, and the cooking reflects the country’s bilingual, mixed heritage. It’s comforting, filling and often surprising. The most famous dish, sopa paraguaya, isn’t a soup at all.

Here are the fifteen dishes and drinks to know before you sit down to eat in Asunción, and where to try them.

The quick answer: Don’t leave Paraguay without trying sopa paraguaya (a savory corn-and-cheese bread), chipa (cassava-starch cheese bread), chipa guasu (fresh-corn version), mbejú (a cheesy cassava-starch pancake), vori vori and pira caldo (soups), and a glass of cold tereré. The easiest place to try several at once is a classic like Lido Bar.

Corn and cheese: the heart of Paraguayan cooking

1. Sopa paraguaya

The national dish: a dense, savory cornbread made with cornmeal, fresh cheese, onion, eggs and milk or whey. Local lore says it was born when a cook added too much flour to a soup and baked it anyway. It’s served in squares alongside grilled meat, and it is the one thing every Paraguayan table has on a holiday.

2. Chipa guasu

Sopa paraguaya’s softer cousin, made with fresh corn kernels rather than cornmeal. Moist, slightly sweet and custardy. If you only try one, many people prefer this.

3. Chipa

Paraguay’s national snack: ring- or roll-shaped bread made with cassava starch, cheese, eggs and anise. You’ll see chiperas selling it from baskets on buses, at traffic lights and outside churches. It’s best warm, at breakfast, with a cocido.

4. Mbejú

A flat, crumbly-chewy pancake of cassava starch and cheese, cooked in a pan. Guaraní in origin and very much an afternoon snack food. Gluten-free, like most of the cassava-starch breads here.

5. Kiveve

A bright orange, sweet-and-savory purée of squash with cornmeal and cheese. Home cooking more than restaurant food, but worth ordering when you see it.

Soups and stews

6. Vori vori

A golden chicken soup with small dumplings of cornmeal and cheese. The Paraguayan equivalent of chicken noodle soup, ordered for comfort on the rare cold day.

7. Pira caldo

A rich fish soup made with river fish, milk, cheese and vegetables. It’s a Lido Bar classic and a local hangover remedy.

8. So’o yosopy

A beef soup made with finely ground meat, rice or noodles. Light, peppery and very traditional.

9. Bori bori and locro

You’ll see vori vori spelled bori bori too, and in winter many restaurants serve locro, a hearty white-corn stew shared with Argentina.

Meat, cassava and street food

10. Asado

Paraguay grills like its neighbors, with a love of ribs (costilla) and vacío, served with mandi’o and sopa paraguaya. Sunday asado is a social institution. See the parrillas in our best restaurants in Asunción list.

11. Mandi’o

Boiled cassava is the everyday side, served with almost everything instead of bread or potatoes.

12. Empanadas and payagua mascada

Fried or baked empanadas are everywhere, and El Bolsi downtown is famous for them. Look out also for payagua mascada, fried patties of cassava and ground beef.

13. Lomito árabe

Asunción’s late-night favorite: shawarma-style wraps of shaved meat, a legacy of the city’s Lebanese and Syrian communities. Order one after a night in Carmelitas.

Drinks and sweets

14. Tereré and cocido

Tereré is yerba mate served ice-cold with herbs, and it is on UNESCO’s intangible heritage list. Cocido is its warm breakfast cousin: yerba toasted with sugar and a hot coal, then brewed and served with milk. Our tereré guide explains the ritual.

15. Dulce de mamón, kosereva and mbaipy he’ẽ

Paraguayan desserts are simple and very sweet: dulce de mamón (papaya in syrup, often served with fresh cheese), kosereva (candied bitter orange peel with molasses) and mbaipy he’ẽ, a sweet corn pudding.

Where to eat Paraguayan food in Asunción

Lido Bar (since 1953): the best single place to try the classics side by side.
El Bolsi (since 1960): empanadas and comfort food at almost any hour.
Tierra Colorada Gastro: the same ingredients in a modern tasting-menu style. Read our review.
Mercado 4: for the market version, stalls and cheap lunches. Go in the morning, with little cash on you. See our shopping guide.

Food tours and experiences in Asunción

See more Asunción experiences on GetYourGuide ↗ · Compare tours on Viator ↗

Paraguayan food FAQ

What is Paraguay’s national dish?

Sopa paraguaya, a savory cornbread with cheese and onion. Chipa is the national snack and tereré the national drink.

Is Paraguayan food spicy?

No. It is mild, rich and cheese-heavy. Hot sauce is available but rarely part of the dish.

Is it good for gluten-free travelers?

Many traditional breads (chipa, mbejú) use cassava starch and corn rather than wheat, but recipes vary and cross-contamination is common, so always ask.

What do vegetarians eat in Paraguay?

Sopa paraguaya, chipa guasu, chipa, mbejú and kiveve are all meat-free, which makes Paraguay easier for vegetarians than its beef reputation suggests.

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Some links on this page are affiliate links: if you book through them, Jet Set LatAM may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Researched in October 2026.

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Paraguayan Food: 15 Dishes to Eat in Asunción (and Where to Try Them)