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Dish · Arequipa
Chupe de camarones
Thick river shrimp soup with potato, egg, milk and cheese. It is called the ambassador of traditional Arequipa cuisine and is served as a main course in the picanterías.
Flavors · Huancayo
Papa a la huancaína
Boiled potatoes covered with a yellow ají cream made with fresh cheese and milk, ground on the batán, served with lettuce, egg and olive. The recipe from the tradition of the province of Huancayo is a Traditional Specialty Guaranteed registered by Indecopi.
Traditional dish from Huancayo, Junín
Also known as: papas a la huancaína
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Papa a la huancaína — Huancayo, Peru
Papa a la huancaína is made with boiled potatoes, sliced and covered by a thick yellow cream. The cream contains yellow ají, fresh cheese, salt and fresh or evaporated milk. The dish is assembled on lettuce leaves, with a boiled egg and an olive.
In the tradition of the province of Huancayo, the cream is ground on the batán, the flat grinding stone used in Andean kitchens, which gives the creamy texture. This is the recipe recognized by Indecopi as a Traditional Specialty Guaranteed, under the name "Papa a la huancaína, según la tradición de la provincia de Huancayo", by Resolution 015594-2025/DSD-INDECOPI, dated May 19, 2025. It was the second recipe in the country to receive this registration.
At the registration ceremony, the city celebrated with a festival in Plaza Huamanmarca, where Huancayo was founded. The recognition protects the traditional way of preparation and the ingredients, without preventing creative versions by other cooks.
The exact origin of the dish is debated, and there are accounts linking it to the railway between Lima and Huancayo. What sources confirm is the Huancaíno tradition of preparation. Today the dish is eaten throughout Peru as a starter, and the huancaína cream also accompanies other dishes.
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Where it comes from
Huancayo , Junín
Recipe protected as a tradition of the province of Huancayo.
Ingredients
Potato, yellow ají, fresh cheese, fresh or evaporated milk, salt; lettuce, boiled egg and olive for serving.
How it is eaten
Cold or at room temperature, as a starter: potato slices covered with cream, on lettuce, with egg and olive.
When it is eaten
Everyday starter, at home and in restaurants.
Your questions
Questions about Papa a la huancaína
What is papa a la huancaína?
Boiled potatoes covered with a yellow ají cream made with fresh cheese and milk, served with lettuce, boiled egg and olive.
Is papa a la huancaína protected by law?
The recipe from the tradition of the province of Huancayo is a Traditional Specialty Guaranteed by Indecopi since May 2025, a registration that protects the traditional ingredients and method of preparation.
Is papa a la huancaína spicy?
Only mildly. The yellow ají gives flavor and a light heat, mellowed by the cheese and the milk.
Flavors of Peru
Discover other flavors of Peru
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Dish · Lima
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Cold mashed yellow potato dough seasoned with ají amarillo and lime, layered with a filling of chicken, tuna, or seafood. It bears Lima in the name and is linked to the history of Independence.
Drink · Lima
Pisco sour
Cocktail of pisco, lime juice, sugar syrup and egg white, shaken with ice and served with drops of bitters.
Sweet · Lima
Suspiro a la limeña
Lima sweet in two layers: a manjar blanco of milk, sugar and egg yolks, topped with meringue made with Port wine and cinnamon. The name means "suspiro de la limeña" (the limeña’s sigh).
Sweet · Lima
Turrón de Doña Pepa
Sticks of flour dough flavored with anise, layered, coated in chancaca honey and topped with colorful sprinkles. It’s the October sweet in Lima, the month of the procession of the Señor de los Milagros.
Dish · Piura
Seco de chabelo
Fried, mashed green banana with dried beef, chicha de jora, ají panca and cilantro. It is one of Piura’s most representative dishes, recognized by Indecopi as a Traditional Guaranteed Specialty in 2026.
Dish · Puno
Chawlla thimpo
Fish broth from Lake Titicaca, such as carachi, cooked whole with potato, chuño and muña. It is everyday food in Puno, with its own day on the city calendar.
Dish · Trujillo
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