Panama Recipes
Two oceans’ worth of cooking at the crossroads of the Americas. Not sure what to eat in Panama? Start with Ropa Vieja Panameña, Arroz con Pollo Panameño, Sopa Borracha and Tortilla Panameña con Queso. Here are 8 authentic Panama recipes, each from a specific region, with cultural context and dietary substitutions for every table.
8 recipes
Sancocho de GallinaPanama City, Panama · easy · 1 h 35 minA restorative hen soup with yam, yuca, and a mountain of culantro, Panama’s cure for everything from hangovers to heartbreak.
Sancocho de Gallina Tortilla Panameña con QuesoPanama City, Panama · easy · 25 minA thick, crisp-fried corn cake, not a thin tortilla at all, split hot and stuffed with melting white cheese, a staple Panamanian breakfast.
Ceviche PanameñoPanama City, Panama · easy · 25 minDiced corvina cured in lime with onion, celery, and habanero, the fish-market lunch sold in cups across Panama City.
Sopa BorrachaPanama City, Panama · medium · 6 h 55 minSponge cake drenched in a spiced rum-and-prune syrup, Panama's boozy celebration dessert, despite the 'soup' in its name.
Ropa Vieja PanameñaPanama City, Panama · medium · 2 h 55 minPanama's shredded beef: flank steak simmered tender then stewed in a sofrito of tomato, peppers, and onion with olives, capers, and culantro, served over rice.
Arroz con Pollo PanameñoPanama City, Panama · easy · 1 h 10 minPanama's one-pot chicken and rice, tinted with achiote and studded with peas, carrots, and green olives; the family dish that feeds a crowd.
Carimañolas (Panamanian Beef-Stuffed Yuca Fritters)Panama City, Panama · medium · 1 h 30 minTorpedoes of soft mashed yuca dough wrapped round a savory filling of ground beef cooked with onion, garlic, sweet pepper and tomato, deep-fried until crisp and golden.
Arroz con Guandú y Coco (Panamanian Rice with Pigeon Peas and Coconut)Panama City, Panama · easy · 45 minLong-grain rice cooked in coconut milk with green pigeon peas, onion, garlic and culantro until fluffy, gently sweet and rich, the festive rice of the Panamanian table.
📋 Teaching Panama?A free, printable Country of the Week guide for the classroom: geography, a kid-friendly recipe, and discussion prompts.
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