Traditional Panamanian food: a guide to the dishes you need to know

Panamanian food is bold, comforting, and deeply rooted in culture. And if you haven’t explored it yet, you’re in for a treat. Growing up in a Panamanian household, food was never just fuel. It was how we celebrated, how we connected, and how we passed down stories from one generation to the next.

In this guide, I’m sharing the traditional Panamanian dishes you need to know, from the breakfast classics to the slow-cooked stews that taste like home. Whether you’re Panamanian yourself, have Panamanian roots, or you’re just curious about this incredible cuisine, this is your starting point.

Let’s dig in.

What makes Panamanian food unique?

Panama sits at the crossroads of the world, literally, and its food reflects that beautifully. Panamanian cuisine is shaped by African, Spanish, and Indigenous influences, all layered together over centuries. The result is a food culture that is rich, varied, and unlike anything else in Latin America.

The African influence is especially strong, and as an Afro-Panamanian, this is the part of our food story I hold most dear. Dishes like coconut rice with pigeon peas (arroz con guandú y coco) and patacones trace directly back to African culinary traditions brought to Panama generations ago. These aren’t just recipes, they’re history on a plate.

Spanish colonization introduced rice, pork, and slow-cooking techniques, while Indigenous Panamanian communities contributed root vegetables like yuca and ñame (yam). Today, all three traditions show up together in a single pot of sancocho, Panama’s beloved national soup.

Traditional Panamanian breakfast foods

Breakfast in a Panamanian home is never an afterthought. It’s warm, filling, and almost always made from scratch.

Hojaldras

Hojaldras are Panama’s version of fried dough, crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside. They’re eaten for breakfast alongside fried eggs, cheese, or stewed hot dogs. If you grew up Panamanian, the smell of hojaldras frying is one of those scents that immediately takes you home.

Get my full recipe here: “Have You Had Panamanian Hojaldra”

Tortillas Panameñas

Not to be confused with Mexican tortillas, Panamanian tortillas are thick, round corn cakes that are pan-fried until golden. They’re hearty and slightly crispy, and they pair perfectly with butter, cheese, or eggs. A staple in many Panamanian households, especially in the interior provinces.

Carimañolas

Carimañolas are yuca (cassava) fritters stuffed with seasoned ground beef or cheese. They’re shaped like a football, fried until golden, and absolutely irresistible. You’ll find them at breakfast tables and street food stalls alike.

Main dishes and everyday Panamanian meals

These are the dishes that show up week after week in Panamanian kitchens, the ones that feel like home no matter where you are in the world.

Sancocho

Sancocho is Panama’s national dish and with good reason. This hearty chicken soup is made with yuca, ñame, otoe (a type of taro), cilantro, and culantro (a stronger, leafy herb). It’s slow-cooked until everything is tender and the broth is deeply flavorful. Panamanians eat sancocho at celebrations, after late nights out, and whenever someone needs comfort. It fixes everything.

Arroz con pollo

Panamanian arroz con pollo is a one-pot rice and chicken dish cooked with sofrito, vegetables, and sazón. It’s different from the Puerto Rican or Cuban versions, Panamanian style tends to be drier, almost like a pilaf, with the chicken tucked into the rice as it cooks. It’s a crowd-pleaser that feeds a family with ease.

Beef empanadas

Panamanian beef empanadas are fried (not baked) golden pockets of seasoned ground beef. The filling is savory and well-spiced, wrapped in a simple dough and fried until crispy. They’re served as a snack, appetizer, or side dish, and they disappear fast at any gathering.

Try my recipe: Beef Empanadas

Ropa vieja

Ropa vieja translates to “old clothes” a nod to how the shredded beef looks in the pan. It’s a slow-cooked dish of tender beef simmered in a tomato-based sauce with peppers, onions, and garlic. Served over white rice, it’s one of those meals that tastes even better the next day.

Afro-Panamanian dishes you should know

This is the part of Panamanian food that is closest to my heart. Afro-Panamanian cuisine carries the fingerprints of African ancestors who brought their cooking traditions, ingredients, and resourcefulness to Panama. These dishes are deeply flavorful, culturally significant, and honestly some of the best food you will ever eat.

Arroz con guandú y coco (coconut rice with pigeon peas)

This is the dish that says “I’m home.” Coconut rice with pigeon peas is a staple of Afro-Panamanian and Afro-Caribbean cooking. The rice is cooked in rich coconut milk with pigeon peas (guandú), creating something nutty, creamy, and deeply satisfying. It’s served alongside almost everything. Fish, chicken, stewed meats, and it never gets old.

Get the full recipe: Coconut Rice with Pigeon Peas

Patacones

Patacones are twice-fried green plantain slices, smashed flat and fried again until golden and crispy. They’re one of the most beloved snacks and side dishes in Panama and across the Afro-Caribbean diaspora. Serve them with hogao (a tomato-onion sauce), avocado, or just salt. Simple, perfect, and completely addictive.

See my patacones recipe: Patacones

Guacho

Guacho is a thick, porridge-like rice dish cooked with pigeon peas, coconut milk, and often seafood or pork. It’s hearty, comforting, and packed with flavor. Think of it as the Panamanian cousin of rice porridge. But richer, more savory, and deeply rooted in Afro-Caribbean food traditions.

Panamanian street food and snacks

Some of the best Panamanian food is eaten standing up. Wrapped in a napkin, bought from a cart, or passed around at a family cookout.

Raspados

Raspados are shaved ice treats drizzled with sweet fruit syrups. Tamarind, mango, passion fruit, and more. On a hot Panama City afternoon, a raspado is non-negotiable. They’re found on street corners throughout the country and are one of the most nostalgic foods for any Panamanian raised there.

Chicheme

Chicheme is a sweet, creamy drink made from whole corn kernels, milk, cinnamon, and vanilla. It’s thick, refreshing, and unlike anything you’ll find outside of Panama and Central America. Served cold, it’s both a drink and a snack in one glass.

Pio pio (roasted chicken)

In Panama, pio pio refers to roadside roasted chicken. Slow-cooked on a rotisserie with Panamanian seasonings until the skin is crispy and the meat falls off the bone. It’s affordable, deeply flavorful, and a staple of casual family meals. You’ll smell it before you see it.

Panamanian drinks and desserts

No meal is complete without something sweet to finish, and Panama does not disappoint.

Ron Ponche

Ron Ponche is a traditional Panamanian holiday drink. A creamy, spiced rum-based punch similar to eggnog. It’s made with eggs, milk, rum, and warm spices, and it shows up at every Christmas gathering without fail. Sweet, rich, and potent, a little goes a long way.

Get my Ron Ponche recipe: Ron Ponche

Tembleque

Tembleque is a silky coconut pudding made from coconut milk, cornstarch, sugar, and a pinch of salt. It’s chilled until set and served dusted with cinnamon. The name means “trembling” in Spanish. A nod to its delicate, wobbly texture. It’s light, elegant, and one of my favorite Panamanian desserts.

Chicha de piña

Chicha de piña is a refreshing pineapple drink made by simmering pineapple rinds with water, sugar, and cinnamon. It’s sweet, slightly tangy, and made from what would otherwise be scraps. A beautiful example of the resourcefulness at the heart of Panamanian cooking.

Final thoughts on Panamanian food

Panamanian food is more than a list of dishes, it’s a living, breathing expression of who we are as a people. Every plate of coconut rice, every warm hojaldra, every pot of sancocho carries the stories of the people who made it before us.

If you’re new to Panamanian cuisine, I hope this guide gives you a real starting point. Not just a list of names, but a sense of the culture and love behind each dish. And if you’re Panamanian, I hope this feels like a little piece of home.

Which dish are you most excited to try? Drop a comment below. I’d love to know!

Kish

Posted By: Kisha Gulley · In: Culture, Recipes