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Ecuadorian

Llapingachos

Non-vegetarian

Golden potato patties stuffed with cheese and coloured with achiote, griddled until crisp and served with a peanut sauce, a fried egg and a fresh tomato-onion salad.

Llapingachos is an Ecuadorian main course, ready in about 1 hour 40 minutes and made with potato, queso fresco and roasted peanuts. It serves 4 and is rated intermediate to cook.

Start cooking
Llapingachos potato patties with sausage, fried egg and beet salad
Photo: young shanahan from Bratislava, Slovakia / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-2.0
Prep
25 min
Cook
45 min
Rest
30 min
Total
1 h 40 min
Serves
4
Level
Intermediate
Calories
668

Ingredients

4 servings (8 patties)

Patties

Peanut sauce

To serve

Salad

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Boil the potatoes (opens in a new tab) in salted water until tender, drain well and mash smoothly while hot with 1 tsp salt.

    Potatoes boiling in a pot
    How it looks · Photo: Lionel Ntasano on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Warm 1 tbsp oil with the achiote (opens in a new tab) and fry the onion (opens in a new tab) until soft. Mix into the mash and chill for 30 minutes so it firms up.

    • 5 min
    • medium heat
    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Divide the mash into 8 balls, press a little cheese into the centre of each, close and flatten into 2 cm-thick patties.

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

  4. Step 4

    Blend the peanuts, milk (opens in a new tab), garlic (opens in a new tab) and a pinch of salt until smooth, then simmer for 5 minutes until thickened.

  5. Step 5

    Fry the patties in the remaining oil over medium heat, 4 minutes per side, until crusty and golden. Fry the eggs (opens in a new tab) (and chorizo (opens in a new tab)) in the same pan.

    Food safety: Cook eggs until the whites are set.

  6. Step 6

    Toss the tomato (opens in a new tab) and red onion (opens in a new tab) with lime juice (opens in a new tab) and a pinch of salt. Serve two patties per plate with peanut sauce, an egg (opens in a new tab), the salad and avocado (opens in a new tab).

    • 3 min

About this dish

Origin
Ecuador · Well documentedAssociated with the central highlands, especially Ambato.More food from Ecuador
Dish
Breakfast · Lunch · Main courses · Street food
Cooking method
Boiled, Pan-fried, Blended
Taste
savoury, nutty, creamy, fresh
Diet
No gluten ingredients · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Beef-free · High-protein
Without the optional extras: Vegetarian (lacto-ovo), Eggetarian, Pescatarian, Pork-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Make-ahead
Cook more with
Potato · Queso fresco · Roasted peanuts · Annatto (achiote) seeds / ground · Onion · Milk
Techniques
Pan-frying · Boiling · Simmering · Wet grinding · Emulsification

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom queso fresco, milk
  • Contains: Eggsfrom egg
  • Contains: Peanutsfrom roasted peanuts
  • May contain: Sulphitesfrom chorizo

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

668 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 517 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 15%
  • Carbohydrate 33%
  • Fat 52%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy668 kcal129 kcal
Protein25.6 g4.9 g
Carbohydrate57.2 g11.1 g
Net carbohydrate49.2 g9.5 g
Sugars9.6 g1.9 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre8 g1.6 g
Fat39.3 g7.6 g
Saturated fat10 g1.9 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol217 mg42 mg
Sodium1270 mg246 mg
Salt equivalent3.2 g0.6 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
1562 mg
Calcium
355 mg
Iron
3.6 mg
Magnesium
123 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
213 µg
Vitamin C
61 mg
Vitamin D
2.7 µg
Vitamin B12
1.3 µg
Folate (DFE)
98 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: chorizo, avocado.
  • Not counted (tiny amounts or “to taste”): annatto (achiote) seeds / ground.
  • “—” 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

Tips

  • Don't flip the patties until a crust has formed or they'll break.

Serve with

  • With ají on the side.

Storage

  • Shaped uncooked patties keep 2 days in the fridge or freeze well.

Reheating

  • Re-fry or reheat 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.

The spice and seasoning backbone

Spices, masalas & pastes

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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