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Panamanian · Central American

Carimañolas

Non-vegetarian

Torpedo-shaped fritters of mashed yuca stuffed with savoury ground-beef picadillo and fried until crisp — a favourite Panamanian breakfast and snack.

Carimañolas is a Panamanian street food, ready in about 1 hour 25 minutes and made with cassava and ground beef. It serves 6 and is rated intermediate to cook.

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Three golden fried carimañolas cassava fritters on a plate
Photo: Jdvillalobos / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-3.0
Prep
40 min
Cook
45 min
Total
1 h 25 min
Serves
6
Level
Intermediate
Calories
452

Ingredients

6 servings (12 carimañolas)

Dough

Filling

For frying

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Boil the cassava (opens in a new tab) in salted water until very tender, about 25 minutes. Drain, remove any fibres and mash smoothly with the butter (opens in a new tab) while hot. Cool until easy to handle.

    Potatoes being mashed
    How it looks · Photo: Mateusz Feliksik on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile fry the onion (opens in a new tab), garlic (opens in a new tab) and pepper in the oil, add the beef and cook until browned. Stir in the tomato paste (opens in a new tab), cumin (opens in a new tab), salt and a splash of water and cook until dry. Add the cilantro (opens in a new tab).

    Food safety: Cook beef until no pink remains.

    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    With damp hands, flatten an egg-sized piece of yuca (opens in a new tab) dough, add a spoonful of filling and close it into a torpedo shape, sealing well.

    • 20 min

  4. Step 4

    Fry in oil at 180 °C, a few at a time, until golden and crisp, 4–5 minutes. Drain on paper.

    Food safety: Lower them in gently; never fill the pot more than half full of oil.

About this dish

Origin
Panama · Origin disputedEqually loved on Colombia's Caribbean coast; both countries claim them.Also popular in ColombiaMore food from Panama
Dish
Breakfast · Snack · Street food · Finger food
Cooking method
Boiled, Deep-fried
Taste
savoury, mild, earthy
Diet
No gluten ingredients · No nut ingredients
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free
Without the optional extras: Dairy-freeWith the listed swaps: Vegetarian (lacto-ovo), Eggetarian, Lacto-vegetarian, Pescatarian, Beef-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Street food · Freezer-friendly · Make-ahead
Cook more with
Cassava · Ground beef · Onion · Garlic · Red bell pepper · Tomato paste
Techniques
Deep-frying · Boiling

Allergens

  • Contains, can be adapted: Milkfrom butter

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

452 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 236 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 10%
  • Carbohydrate 53%
  • Fat 37%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy452 kcal192 kcal
Protein11.8 g5 g
Carbohydrate59.5 g25.3 g
Net carbohydrate56.3 g23.9 g
Sugars3.7 g1.6 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre3.2 g1.4 g
Fat18.6 g7.9 g
Saturated fat3.8 g1.6 g
Trans fat0.5 g0.2 g
Cholesterol34 mg14 mg
Sodium639 mg271 mg
Salt equivalent1.6 g0.7 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
624 mg
Calcium
39 mg
Iron
1.7 mg
Magnesium
44 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
22 µg
Vitamin C
45 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
1.1 µg
Folate (DFE)
50 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: butter.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Serve with

  • Serve with a hot pepper sauce or ketchup and a cup of coffee.

Food safety

  • Never eat raw cassava; it must be fully cooked.

Storage

  • Freeze shaped, unfried carimañolas up to 2 months.

Reheating

  • Fry from frozen, adding a couple of minutes, or re-crisp cooked ones in a hot oven.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

Structure

Dough

Used in step 1

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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