Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Encebollado
A brothy tuna-and-cassava soup topped with a tangle of pickled red onion, Ecuador's midday cure-all.
Ecuadorian · easy · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 30 min
~467 cal · 35g protein · 62g carbs · 8g fat · 6g fiber · 8g sugars · 1g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Encebollado is Ecuador's unofficial national dish, a fish soup so widely loved it is eaten for breakfast, for lunch, and above all as a restorative after a long night. Its name comes from the cebolla, the raft of thinly sliced red onion that crowns every bowl.
At its heart is albacore tuna, simmered until it flakes, and () that turns soft and slippery in the broth. The base is seasoned with tomato, cumin, and cilantro, and the onions are curtido, quickly pickled in lime so they turn sharp and pink.
Served with crunchy toasted corn nuts (chifles or tostado) and a squeeze of lime, it is bright, tangy, and warming all at once, the kind of bowl Ecuadorians will cross a city to eat from their favourite stall.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
1 lb fresh albacore tuna
1 lb (), peeled and chunked
2 red onions, thinly sliced
2 tomatoes, chopped
3 limes, juiced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder or paprika
1 handful fresh cilantro
2 tbsp oil
1/2 cup toasted corn nuts, to serve
Instructions
1
Curtido the onions: toss the sliced red onion with the juice of 2 limes and a pinch of salt and set aside to soften and turn pink.
2
Simmer the tuna in seasoned water with half the tomato, the cumin, and the chili powder until it flakes, about 15 minutes, then lift out and flake, reserving the broth.
3
Cook the cassava in the same broth until tender, then return the flaked tuna.
✎ Chef’s note
Pull the woody central fibre out of the cassava chunks before cooking, and stop as soon as it is tender. Overcooked yuca falls apart and clouds the broth.
4
Blend the remaining tomato smooth and stir it in with the last lime juice and most of the cilantro; season well.
5
Ladle into bowls, pile on the pickled onions, and finish with cilantro and toasted corn nuts.
Ecuadorian coastal cooking.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Pichincha (Andes). Ecuador's Andean Pichincha, around Quito, cooks highland food, hearty potato-and-cheese locro soup, hominy, and hornado roast pork. Altitude and Indigenous roots define its table.
🗺️
Ecuador. Ecuadorian food shifts from coast to Andes, bright ceviches and plantain on the coast, hearty potato and hominy soups in the highlands. Llapingachos, encebollado, and aji sauces define its regional variety.
🌍
South America. Migration reworked the plate within living memory. Japanese arrivals in Peru and Brazil produced Nikkei cooking, Italians made pasta and pizza entirely ordinary in Argentina, Uruguay and Sao Paulo, and West African cooking carried into Bahia by the slave trade gave Brazil dende palm oil, okra and a whole ritual repertoire.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Ecuador
LlapingachosGolden potato patties with melting cheese centers, griddled and served with peanut sauce and pickled onions.
Bolón de VerdeA ball of mashed green plantain stuffed with cheese, pan-crisped golden, the filling coastal breakfast of Ecuador.
Higos con QuesoWhole figs slow-cooked in dark panela syrup and served with a slice of fresh cheese, an Ecuadorian classic.
Browse all Ecuador recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Blender.
Storing it: Soup keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and freezes well. Reheat gently and loosen with a little water or stock if needed.
Make it a Ecuador meal
Colada MoradaDrink
Higos con QuesoDessert
LlapingachosDinner
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Frequently asked questions
What is Encebollado?
A brothy tuna-and-cassava soup topped with a tangle of pickled red onion, Ecuador's midday cure-all.
Where does Encebollado come from?
Encebollado is a Ecuadorian dish from Pichincha (Andes), Ecuador.
Can Encebollado be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Encebollado recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Encebollado safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Encebollado take to make?
About 50 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 30 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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