Latin America & Caribbean

Llapingachos: Ecuadorian Cheese-Stuffed Potato Patties

Name: Llapingachos: Ecuadorian Cheese-Stuffed Potato Patties
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 105 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Ecuadorian
Ingredients: 1 kg unpeeled Potatoes; 80 g White onion; 2 tsp Annatto seeds; 30 ml Mild-flavored oil; 1 tsp Ground cumin; 8 g Salt; 160 g Low-salt cheese; 30 ml Oil for cooking; 120 g Unsweetened peanut butter; 180 ml Milk; 50 g White onion; 1 tbsp Annatto oil; 1/2 tsp Ground cumin; 10 g Cilantro; 1/4 tsp Ají or red chili; 3 g Salt; 100 g Red onion; 150 g Tomato; 30 ml Lemon juice; 10 g Cilantro; 2 g Salt; 4 Eggs; 200 g Chorizo or fresh sausage; 1 Avocado; 100 g Lettuce

Llapingachos, the specialty of Ambato in central Ecuador, made with potatoes and cheese. The aroma of annatto oil, salsa de maní, curtido, regional differences, substitutes, how to keep the patties from falling apart in the pan, and storage.

Published: October 25, 2026Total: 1 hr 45 minLevel: Intermediate

Cooking flow

Cooking steps

STEP 11 / 8

Make the aroma of annatto oil and onion

8 min

A pan warming annatto seeds in oil over low heat and cooking onion until translucent — Check the color of the annatto oil and the translucency of the onion

Put 30 ml mild-flavored oil and 2 tsp annatto seeds in a small pan and warm over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes. When the oil turns red-orange and an earthy aroma comes from the seeds, turn off the heat. Heating until the seeds turn black brings bitterness, so strain them out with a tea strainer before the color deepens.

Set aside 1 tbsp of the annatto oil for the salsa and move the rest to a larger pan. Cook 80 g white onion over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, and when the edges turn translucent and soft, add 1 tsp cumin and 4 g salt. Turn off the heat before the onion browns and let the residual heat blend the aroma.

STEP 22 / 8

Boil the potatoes and drive off the water

25 min

Boiled potatoes drained in a colander and dried by the heat of the pot — Potatoes where a skewer goes through and the surface water has gone

Peel the potatoes, cut them to a uniform size of about 4 cm and put them in a pot. Add water to cover and 2 g salt, bring to a boil over medium heat, then cook at a gentle bubble for 15 to 20 minutes. The signal is when a bamboo skewer goes through to the center without resistance and the corners have started to break down slightly.

Drain in a colander and return to the pot. Without a lid, shake over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes to drive off the surface water. When the steam has lessened and the floury look of the potato surface is even, turn off the heat. If you mash them with cooking water still on them the dough becomes loose, so do not shorten this step.

STEP 33 / 8

Mash while hot, then cool to let the dough settle

30 min

A bowl of potatoes with annatto oil and onion mashed into a floury dough — Do not overwork the dough; mash until the floury look is even

While the potatoes are hot, mash them with a masher and add the onion cooked in annatto oil, the cumin and the salt. Stop when no large lumps remain on the pressed surface and the floury look is even. Mixing as if kneading makes them gluey, so keep the folding with a spatula within 5 minutes.

Spread in a tray and cool at room temperature for 20 to 25 minutes. When it has cooled to a temperature you can touch, holds together but does not stick heavily to your fingers, go on to shaping. If there is still a lot of steam and it is watery, extend the cooling time by 10 minutes. Driving off the water at the start preserves the potato texture better than adding potato starch.

STEP 44 / 8

Wrap the cheese and even out the thickness

15 min, then rest 30–60 min

Wrapping cheese in potato dough and shaping a disc 1.5 cm thick — Put the cheese in the center, close the edges and make an even thickness

Divide the dough into 8 portions and spread each into a circle 8 cm across. Put 20 g cheese in the center and draw the edges together to close. Round it while pushing out the air, and press it flat into a disc 1.5 cm thick. If there are cracks in the edge, wet your fingertips with water to join them.

Arrange on a tray lined with parchment paper without overlapping, cover with plastic wrap and rest in the refrigerator for 30 to 60 minutes. Resting tightens the surface and makes it less likely to crack when you slide the spatula in. Hold off on cooking until the next step; if the surface is dry and the edge springs back when pressed with a finger, it will keep its shape when you start cooking. For any with cheese showing from the center, add a little dough and close them again before cooking.

STEP 55 / 8

Simmer the warm salsa de maní

15 min

A small pot simmering salsa de maní of onion, peanut butter and milk over low heat — A thick peanut sauce where the spatula leaves a slight track

Put the 1 tbsp of annatto oil you set aside in a small pot and cook 50 g white onion over medium-low heat for 3 to 4 minutes. When the onion is translucent, add 120 g unsweetened peanut butter, 180 ml milk, 1/2 tsp cumin and 3 g salt, and simmer over low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring.

It is done when fine bubbles appear on the surface and it has a thickness where the track of the spatula does not close at once. If it has reduced too far, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time. Keeping it at a boil makes it likely to separate, so lower the heat before the bottom of the pot burns, and add the cilantro and heat at the end or serve them on the side.

STEP 66 / 8

Prepare the curtido and accompaniments

15 min

Curtido of red onion and tomato, cooked chorizo and fried eggs prepared before plating — Prepare the sharp curtido and accompaniments separately from the patties

Cut 100 g red onion 3 mm wide and 150 g tomato into 5 mm dice, and toss with 30 ml lemon juice, 2 g salt and 10 g chopped cilantro. After 10 minutes the onion softens, a little liquid comes out and the acidity settles in. If the tomatoes release a lot of water, drain off a little right before plating.

In another pan, cook 200 g chorizo over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes, rolling it, until cooked through and the juices run clear. Fry the eggs in a pan with a thin film of oil over medium heat until the whites are set. To avoid soft yolks, cover and set the yolks too. Do not reuse the plate or cooking chopsticks that handled raw meat for the curtido or the cooked patties.

STEP 77 / 8

Cook the patties over medium heat on both sides

10 min

Llapingachos cooking over medium heat in a flat pan, with a golden crust on one side — Do not move the patties; turn once after the crust forms

Brush a flat pan thinly with the cooking oil and preheat over medium heat for 1 minute. Put in 4 patties at a time and, without moving them, cook one side for 4 to 5 minutes. When the bottom is golden brown and the edge does not collapse when you slide in the spatula, turn once.

Cook the other side for 3 to 4 minutes and turn off the heat when the surface has a dry browned crust and a little cheese is melting out from the sides. High heat blackens only the outside while the cheese inside stays cold. Pressing repeatedly with the spatula lets cheese run out of cracks, so press only at the start when evening out the thickness.

STEP 88 / 8

Plate with the warm sauce and accompaniments

5 min

Finished llapingachos with salsa de maní, curtido, fried egg, chorizo and avocado — A finished plate of freshly cooked llapingachos with accompaniments

Warm the salsa de maní taken out of the refrigerator over low heat for 2 minutes until the spatula leaves a track. Lay lettuce on the plate and add 2 llapingachos, then salsa, curtido, chorizo, fried egg and avocado in that order.

It is a success if the cheese stretches softly when you break the patty and the outside is crisp. If the dough is firm and tight, eat it with a little more sauce. If the salsa feels heavy, add the lemon from the curtido a drop at a time to adjust between the potato's sweetness and saltiness.

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Ingredients

1 / 3

Potato patties

Ingredient	Amount	Substitutes & notes
Potatoes	1 kg unpeeled	Russet or Yukon Gold. Waxy potatoes make the dough sticky
White onion	80 g	Minced into 5 mm pieces
Annatto seeds	2 tsp	Also called achiote. Infuse the oil with color and aroma
Mild-flavored oil	30 ml	Rice bran oil, canola oil, etc.
Ground cumin	1 tsp	For the potatoes
Salt	8 g	Divide between the potatoes and onion
Low-salt cheese	160 g	Mozzarella, queso fresco, processed cheese, etc.
Oil for cooking	30 ml	Brush thinly for each patty

2 / 3

Salsa de maní

Ingredient	Amount	Substitutes & notes
Unsweetened peanut butter	120 g	Do not use one with sugar or chocolate
Milk	180 ml	Unsweetened oat milk also works, but the flavor changes
White onion	50 g	2 to 3 mm pieces
Annatto oil	1 tbsp	Set aside from the oil made for the patties
Ground cumin	1/2 tsp	For the salsa
Cilantro	10 g	For finishing. Leave out if you dislike it
Ají or red chili	1/4 tsp	Can be omitted if the heat is served on the side
Salt	3 g	Adjust for the saltiness of the peanut butter

3 / 3

Curtido and accompaniments

Ingredient	Amount	Substitutes & notes
Red onion	100 g	Sliced 3 mm wide
Tomato	150 g	5 mm dice. Drain a little if very juicy
Lemon juice	30 ml	Lime juice is closer to the local acidity
Cilantro	10 g	Roughly chopped
Salt	2 g	To soften the red onion
Eggs	4	Fried
Chorizo or fresh sausage	200 g	Coarse-ground sausage if you have no Ambato-style
Avocado	1	Cut into wedges
Lettuce	100 g	Washed and dried

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The Ambato market, and a plate of griddled potato

Just before the potato discs go from the pan to the plate, press one lightly with the spatula and only the surface crackles. Melted cheese stays inside, and the scent of orange-colored oil and potato rises. Llapingachos is an Ecuadorian dish in which these thick, browned potato patties are eaten with salsa de maní, curtido, egg, chorizo and avocado.

In Spanish it is written llapingachos, and some sources spell it yapingachos. It is less a single snack than a dish in which accompaniments are layered around the potato to make a meal, and it serves as breakfast, brunch, a midday set meal or a side to meat.

Llapingachos and accompaniments, evoking a table at the Ambato market — Llapingachos served with accompaniments at a market table

In Ambato, in Tungurahua province in central Ecuador, llapingachos has long been spoken of as the plate that represents the place. A local newspaper report describes a cook at a market stall run for three generations who insists on starchy papa chola potatoes and Ambato-style chorizo. Treating the potato variety and the accompaniments as the memory of a place gives it an outline different from simply "potatoes with cheese."

As for its origin, one cook recalls an Indigenous woman who began selling it on Calle Colón in Ambato, while the way of eating it has also changed across households and regions. Rather than fixing a single year of origin, it is closer to the truth to see how it took root as an Ambato market dish and became today's plate with the addition of chorizo and egg. Some recent sources introducing Ecuadorian food culture spell it yapingacho, so the name too keeps its variation from place to place.

What to decide first when cooking it elsewhere is how much to keep the potato as the star. The starchy papa chola is not a variety you can always get, so substitute a floury potato such as russet or Yukon Gold. But if water is left in the boiled potatoes, the dough sags before it even reaches the pan and cannot hold the cheese. Drying the potatoes before mashing is the judgment to protect before the aroma of annatto or peanut.

To get closer to an Ambato table, pour warm salsa de maní on the plate and add sharp curtido. The ají is not mixed into the pot but kept separate so that each diner can add it. Set beside encocado, the coconut stew of seafood, or encebollado (in Japanese), known as a breakfast soup, it shows how the axis of the table changes between the coast and the mountains even within Ecuador.

The order of this dish

Boil the potatoes, drive off the steam, mash, cool, wrap the cheese, cook. If you do not rush this order, the browned outside and the soft inside can both be had. Finish the sauce and curtido while the patties rest.

Ingredients: what firms up the dough, and what completes the plate

Llapingachos ingredients: potatoes, annatto seeds, cheese, peanut butter, onion, eggs, chorizo and more — Potatoes, annatto, cheese and the salsa ingredients for llapingachos

This makes 8 cheese-stuffed patties for 4 servings. Rather than weighing the potatoes after peeling, it is easier to deal with differences in water if you prepare 1 kg unpeeled, boil them, and adjust after looking at the state once peeled. Choose a floury variety such as russet or Yukon Gold, and avoid making it with waxy potatoes alone.

Annatto is not a hot chili but a seed that dyes oil red-orange. Its aroma is not strong, but it has an earthiness that receives the cumin and onion. Powdered annatto works, but warming the seeds in oil and watching the color change shows why you should not hurry the heat. If you want to know the difference in aroma after making it once, whole seeds are worth buying rather than powder.

If you only want to add color for a single batch of llapingachos, you can replace it with 1 tsp paprika. But paprika does not reproduce the aroma of annatto, so do not think of it as the same dish; use it as a landing point made with what you have.

Salsa de maní is made in some places by grinding roasted peanuts, but at home unsweetened peanut butter is easier to handle. Make it as a warm sauce combining peanut butter, milk, onion, cumin, achiote and cilantro. Sweet peanut cream or sweetened types bring sweetness ahead of the potato's saltiness, so check the ingredient label.

Method: dry the boiled potatoes before cooking

Because the patties need to rest, allow about an hour and a half for cooking. Make the annatto oil while the potatoes boil, and finish the salsa and curtido during the 30 to 60 minutes after shaping, and you can serve without keeping the patties waiting.

When mashing the potatoes, working them in a food processor or with an immersion blender tends to make them gluey. Pressing them with a perforated masher while hot, until no coarseness remains, makes the patties less likely to crack after they cool.

The Ambato plate, seen through regional differences

Llapingachos plated as at an Ambato table: griddled potato, red sauce, egg, chorizo and avocado — Llapingachos eaten with accompaniments at an Ambato table

Ambato's llapingachos does not close the plate with the potato patty alone. The basic combination described in local articles is a cheese-stuffed patty layered with peanut sauce, chorizo, fried egg, salad, avocado, curtido and ají. Because the hot sauce can be added afterward, the strength of flavor changes with each diner even on the same plate.

At Ambato's markets some people eat it as a morning meal and others choose it as a side for meat. Some Ecuadorian recipe sources also have examples of serving llapingachos with hornado or fritada. Because the potato is placed like a staple and meat and egg are added in small amounts, the plate has more presence as a meal than the patty alone.

Regional differences are not a contest of methods. Where starchy potatoes are available the dough is the star, and at places proud of their chorizo the savoriness of the meat stands out. Some households leave out the egg and avocado and serve just the patty and salsa. That the spelling yapingacho survives in sources on Ecuadorian food culture is because the dish has not come down by a single recipe card alone.

Even within the same country, the aromas on the table differ between encocado, with coconut and seafood from the coast, encebollado, combining fish and yuca, and llapingachos, with the potatoes of the highlands as the star. Compared with the Peruvian cold potato dish causa limeña, causa builds layers with acidity and cold, while llapingachos pulls the plate together with browned crust and warm sauce.

What to change and what to keep in a home kitchen

Baked llapingachos and salsa divided into separate containers and cooling slightly for refrigerator storage — Storing the patties and sauce separately makes it easier to restore the crust

If you make salsa de maní with roasted peanuts, you can keep the texture of coarsely ground nuts better than with unsweetened peanut butter as is. Warm 120 g unsalted peanuts in a pan over low heat for about 5 minutes, cool slightly, grind in a mortar, then add 180 ml milk, onion and cumin and simmer. If you do not want to go that far every time, peanut butter is enough; a mortar is only worth getting if you want to try the grain of this sauce once.

Granite mortars suit spices and herbs too, but for a single cooking this time you can use a bowl and a wooden spoon and skip buying one.

Japanese potatoes, or potatoes elsewhere, do not have a water content decided by variety name alone. New potatoes and large pieces tend to keep water, and if you shorten the boiling time the center is firm. Give priority to driving off the steam in the pot after the skewer goes through, and cooling the dough enough. If the dough is loose, extend the cooling time before judging, and only if it still cannot hold its shape add 1 tsp potato starch. Too much brings a mochi-like springiness ahead of the potato.

Annatto can be replaced by paprika, but this is not a dish where you only add color. The oil in which onion and cumin were cooked goes into the dough, so even with paprika warm it lightly in oil before mixing. Ají or red chili can be left out if someone in the family dislikes heat. Changing the peanut sauce to tomato sauce makes another taste, but if there is a peanut allergy there is no need to force it close. If milk and cheese are also allergies, make it as a dough without dairy and state clearly that it is an adaptation different from the background of the dish.

For storage, move the cooked patties, salsa, curtido, egg and chorizo to separate clean containers. After cooling slightly, divide into shallow containers and refrigerate without leaving them long at room temperature. Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare advises dividing leftovers into shallow containers to cool them quickly and reheating thoroughly, with 75°C or higher as a guide. If eating the next day, re-cook the patties over medium-low heat for 3 to 4 minutes per side, and warm the salsa over low heat, stirring. The acidity of the curtido and the texture of the egg fade easily, so add them on the day if you can.

Watch for peanuts, dairy, eggs and fresh sausage

The salsa de maní uses peanuts, the patties cheese, and the accompaniments eggs and fresh sausage. If you have allergies, check the ingredient labels and do not reuse the same utensils. Cook fresh sausage thoroughly to the center, and discard stored food without eating it if there is any off smell, sliminess or abnormal moisture in the container.

FAQ

Breaking open a browned llapingacho to check how the cheese melts and the thickness of the dough — Check the browned outside and the cheese inside of a llapingacho together

The cheese runs out during cooking

The edge may have been thin when shaped, or the rest time too short. Move the cheese to the center, close the edge firmly with your fingers, and then shape to 8 cm across and 1.5 cm thick. Chill for 30 minutes or more before cooking and do not move them for the first 4 to 5 minutes, and you will reduce cracking when you slide in the spatula.

The potato dough is too soft

Often cooking water or steam remains. Return it to the pot and dry it over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes, then spread on a tray to cool. If it still sticks to your hands, add 1 tsp potato starch and bring everything together. Putting in a cooling step before adding starch avoids increasing the amount you need too much.

I have no annatto

Blend 1 tsp paprika into 30 ml oil over low heat for about 30 seconds, then cook the onion in it. The color gets closer, but the aroma special to annatto is weaker. Adding turmeric or curry powder gives a different aroma, so try paprika alone first.

Can I use sweetened peanut butter?

Choose unsweetened, because sweetened throws off the balance between the saltiness of the salsa and the sweetness of the potato. If you only have the sweetened type, rather than reducing the amount and adjusting with salt and lemon, it is easier to settle on a flavor by switching to a separate side sauce using milk and unsweetened sesame paste.

Can I make just the patties ahead?

You can go as far as the stage where they are shaped and have rested in the refrigerator for 30 to 60 minutes. If you store them after cooking, keep the salsa and curtido separate. Reheating cold patties in a microwave alone softens the surface, so restore the crust in a pan.

Sources

Laylita's Recipes, "Llapingachos or Ecuadorian stuffed potato patties", https://www.laylita.com/recipes/llapingachos-or-stuffed-potato-patties/ (accessed and checked 11 August 2026)
Laylita's Recipes, "Salsa de maní or peanut sauce", https://www.laylita.com/recipes/salsa-de-mani-or-peanut-sauce/ (accessed and checked 11 August 2026)
Primicias, "En Ambato, el llapingacho es con papa chola y chorizo, 'o no es llapingacho'", https://www.primicias.ec/noticias/entretenimiento/gastronomia/llapingacho-ambato-ecuador-ingredientes-papa/ (accessed and checked 11 August 2026)
El Universo, "El llapingacho, plato emblema de Ambato", https://www.eluniverso.com/noticias/2020/02/26/nota/7755831/llapingacho-plato-emblema-ambato/ (accessed and checked 11 August 2026)
Escuela Superior Politécnica de Chimborazo, Ecuador, un país de gastronomía infinita, https://publicaciones.espoch.edu.ec/docs/books/2025-07-21-221604-libro_ecuador_un_pais__de_gastronomia_infinita_compressed.pdf (accessed and checked 11 August 2026)
Teka Ecuador, "Receta fácil de llapingachos", https://www.teka.com/es-ec/inspiracion/receta-y-gastronomia/receta-facil-llapingachos/ (accessed and checked 11 August 2026)
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan, "Preventing food poisoning at home" (in Japanese), https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/kenkou_iryou/shokuhin/syokuchu/01_00008.html (accessed and checked 11 August 2026)