Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Locro de Papa (Potato and Cheese Soup)
A thick, golden Andean potato soup enriched with milk and fresh cheese, served with avocado and cilantro.
Ecuadorian (Andean) · easy · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 35 min
~370 cal · 11g protein · 49g carbs · 14g fat · 8g fiber · 7g sugars · 3g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Locro de papa is a thick, creamy potato and cheese soup from the Ecuadorian Andes, especially associated with Quito and the highlands where potatoes have been grown for millennia. It is comfort food, offered on almost any menu of comida tipica.
It starts with a refrito of onion, garlic and cumin cooked in () oil, which gives the soup its warm golden colour. Starchy potatoes are simmered until part of them breaks down and thickens the broth, then milk and crumbled fresh cheese are stirred in near the end for richness.
It is served hot, almost always with slices of avocado, and often with cilantro and a spoonful of aji on the side. Rich enough to be a meal on its own, it is especially welcome after a cold or rainy day in the sierra.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and gluten-, nut-, egg- 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
2 lb floury potatoes, peeled and diced
2 tbsp () oil, or neutral oil with 1 tsp sweet paprika
1 white onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
5 cups water or vegetable
1 cup whole milk
1 cup queso fresco, crumbled
1 avocado, sliced, to serve
a handful cilantro, chopped, to serve
to taste salt and black pepper
Instructions
1
Build the refrito: cook the onion in the achiote oil until soft and translucent, then add the garlic and cumin and cook a minute more until fragrant.
2
Add the potatoes and stir to coat them in the golden oil, then pour in the water or stock and season with salt.
3
Simmer 20 to 25 minutes until the potatoes are very tender and some pieces start falling apart.
4
Mash about half the potatoes against the side of the pot so the broth thickens but plenty of chunks remain.
✎ Chef’s note
Mashing only part of the potatoes gives locro its signature body while keeping it rustic, not a smooth puree.
5
Lower the heat, stir in the milk and the crumbled cheese, and warm gently 2 to 3 minutes until the cheese softens in, without boiling.
6
Ladle into bowls and top with sliced avocado and cilantro; offer aji on the side.
Quito and the Ecuadorian highlands.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Pichincha (Andes). The Quito plate is assembled rather than served. Hornado, a pig roasted whole in a wood oven, is pulled apart and set out with llapingachos, potato cakes griddled with cheese inside, plus mote hominy, toasted maize and a sauce made from tree tomato and aji. Sangolqui, just outside the city, runs a market of competing hornado stalls.
🗺️
Ecuador. Ecuadorian ceviche is not a failed attempt at the Peruvian kind: the shrimp are cooked first and the dish is served swimming in its own tomato-and-citrus juice, often with popcorn or plantain chips tipped in. Encebollado, albacore tuna with yuca and pickled red onion, is the closest thing to a national dish and is eaten for breakfast.
🌍
South America. South America's cooking follows its dramatic geography, potatoes and quinoa in the high Andes, cassava and river fish in the Amazon basin, and grass-fed beef on the pampas. Indigenous ingredients like maize, ají peppers, and cacao meet Spanish, Portuguese, African, Italian, and Japanese influences brought by five centuries of migration. Ceviche, feijoada, arepas, and the smoke of the asado are its most beloved icons.
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.
EncebolladoA brothy tuna-and-cassava soup topped with a tangle of pickled red onion, Ecuador's midday cure-all.
Browse all Ecuador recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
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 Locro de Papa (Potato and Cheese Soup)?
A thick, golden Andean potato soup enriched with milk and fresh cheese, served with avocado and cilantro.
Where does Locro de Papa (Potato and Cheese Soup) come from?
Locro de Papa (Potato and Cheese Soup) is a Ecuadorian (Andean) dish from Pichincha (Andes), Ecuador.
Can Locro de Papa (Potato and Cheese Soup) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Locro de Papa (Potato and Cheese Soup) 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 Locro de Papa (Potato and Cheese Soup) 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 Locro de Papa (Potato and Cheese Soup) take to make?
About 50 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 35 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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