Flavors · Zaruma

Tigrillo

Cooked green banana mashed and mixed with egg and cheese until yellow with white spots, served with coffee. Zaruma’s tigrillo received a cultural recognition certificate in 2020.

Traditional dish from Zaruma, El Oro

Also known as: Tigrillo zarumeño, Tigrillo de Zaruma

Updated October 2026

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Tigrillo — Zaruma, Ecuador

Tigrillo is made with green banana. The banana is cut and boiled or fried in a sauté of onion, garlic and achiote, then mashed. In Zaruma this is done in a grinding machine called a molloquera, with a wooden mortar and pestle, or on a stone. The mash goes into the skillet with beaten criollo eggs and, at the end, with crumbled cheese, and is stirred until it becomes yellow with white patches from the cheese.

In July 2020, Zaruma’s tigrillo received a recognition certificate from the Ministry of Culture and Heritage, after a technical review by the National Institute of Cultural Heritage. The certificate raises visibility for the culinary tradition; its issuance does not mean inclusion on Ecuador’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The name would recall the dish’s appearance: the cheese spots and the golden banana would evoke a feline’s coat, according to one of the explanations told in the region.

In Zaruma, tigrillo is a breakfast or afternoon snack, served with the region’s highland coffee, one of the products the town is most proud of. It can be served alone or with beef, pork, chicken or seafood.

The dish spread throughout Ecuador, with versions in several towns, but Zaruma is still regarded as its birthplace.

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Where it comes from

Zaruma , El Oro
Zaruma’s tigrillo received a cultural recognition certificate in 2020.

Ingredients

Green banana, criollo eggs, crumbled cheese (queso amasado), onion, garlic, achiote, cilantro, oil and salt.

How it is eaten

Served hot, at breakfast or as a snack, with black coffee. Sometimes accompanied by meat, chicken or seafood.

When it is eaten

Breakfast or afternoon snack, year-round.

Your questions

Questions about Tigrillo

What is tigrillo?

Cooked green banana mashed and mixed with egg and cheese until yellow with white spots. It is served at breakfast with coffee.

Is tigrillo heritage?

Zaruma’s tigrillo received a cultural recognition certificate in 2020. That certificate acknowledges the tradition, but does not amount to inclusion on the national intangible heritage list.

Why is it called tigrillo?

According to an explanation told in the region, the cheese spots and the golden banana resemble a feline’s coat.

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