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Okay, real talk — Argentina is one of those places that completely wrecks you for food everywhere else. You come back home, open your fridge, and just stare into it feeling vaguely disappointed. Whether you’re losing yourself in the chaotic, beautiful streets of Buenos Aires or sipping wine somewhere in Mendoza with a mountain view that doesn’t feel real, one thing is certain: you will not go hungry, and you will not be bored.
Argentine cuisine is the kind that makes you loosen your belt and order another round without even feeling bad about it. It’s hearty, it’s soulful, and it’s got this incredible backstory built on Italian immigrants, indigenous traditions, Spanish heritage, and a national obsession with red meat that is frankly inspiring.
So here’s your unofficial food guide to Argentina. No fluff, just the good stuff.
Best Foods (and Drinks) to Try in Argentina
1. Asado — Forget Every Barbecue You’ve Ever Had
Look, I know you think you’ve had good barbecue. You haven’t. Not until you’ve sat around an Argentinian asado, anyway.
This is the national dish of Argentina, and calling it a “barbecue” almost feels like an insult. It’s more of a ceremony. Families and friends gather around an open fire, someone takes on the sacred role of asador (the grill master), and nobody is in a hurry. There’s Argentinian wine flowing, conversation going, and the kind of relaxed, unhurried energy that makes you wonder why the rest of the world eats lunch at a desk.
The food itself? Unreal. A proper asado includes a variety of meats — tira de asado (short ribs), blood sausage, chorizo sausage, and the absolute legend that is bife de chorizo, a thick, beautifully seared cut of red meat that will genuinely change your life. Everything is cooked low and slow over an open flame, which is the only correct way to do it according to every Argentine ever.
Slap some chimichurri sauce on the side — made with herbs, olive oil, lemon juice, and red pepper — and maybe some salsa criolla if you’re lucky, and you’ve got a meal that you will talk about for years. Not exaggerating.
2. Empanadas — Pocket-Sized and Dangerously Addictive
Empanadas are Argentina’s greatest street food, and honestly one of the best things you can eat anywhere in the world for under a dollar. These little half moon shaped parcels of joy are everywhere — grabbed from street vendors on the go, passed around at family gatherings, eaten standing over a kitchen counter at midnight. They have absolutely no bad timing.
The filling varies depending on where you are. In Buenos Aires, the classic version is ground beef with cumin, paprika, olives, and hard-boiled eggs baked into a flaky, golden shell. Head further north toward the Andean region and you’ll find versions stuffed with sweet potatoes, fresh corn, or white corn that taste completely different and are equally incredible.
The best way to eat one is fast, slightly recklessly, and definitely without a plate. That first bite where the steam hits your face and you burn your mouth a little? That’s the experience. And you will immediately want three more. Everyone does. It’s not a willpower issue — they’re just that good.
3. Provoleta — Grilled Cheese, But Make It Argentine
Provoleta is the dish that Italian immigrants gave Argentina, and Argentina has never stopped being grateful. Take a thick round of provolone cheese, throw it directly on the grill, and let it do its thing until the outside is caramelized and slightly crispy while the inside is melted and gooey and absolutely ridiculous.
It sounds simple because it is simple. That’s the whole point. A drizzle of olive oil, some dried oregano, maybe a little tomato sauce or chili flakes on top, and a hunk of bread to scoop it all up with. That’s it. That’s the dish.
Provoleta is usually served as a starter at an asado, and it sets the tone perfectly — this is a meal that takes pleasure seriously. The Italian influence on Argentine cuisine is enormous, and provoleta is one of the most delicious examples of what happens when Italian immigrants land somewhere new and just start adapting their food to whatever’s available. In this case, big fires and excellent cheese. Good call.
4. Chimichurri — The Sauce That Goes on Everything
Chimichurri sauce gets its own spot on this list because it deserves it. This is the herby, garlicky, tangy green sauce that Argentinians drizzle, dollop, and pour over pretty much everything grilled, and honestly they’re not wrong.
The basic recipe is parsley, garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, and red pepper. It’s fresh and punchy and bright, and it cuts through rich grilled meat in a way that makes the whole thing sing. It’s not a spicy sauce exactly, but there’s enough kick to keep things interesting.
Here’s the thing about chimichurri — it’s not just a condiment, it’s a philosophy. It says “we don’t need to overcomplicate things, we just need good ingredients and a little confidence.” Make it fresh, let it sit for twenty minutes so the flavors get friendly with each other, then put it on everything. You’ll never look at a plain steak the same way again.
5. Dulce de Leche — Argentina’s Answer to Everything Sweet
If you have a sweet tooth and you haven’t discovered dulce de leche yet, buckle up. This stuff is made from cow’s milk and sugar, slow-cooked until it turns into a thick, golden, deeply caramel-y spread that Argentinians use on absolutely everything — and I do mean everything.
Breakfast toast? Dulce de leche. Ice cream? Dulce de leche swirled through it. Pastries, cakes, cookies? All dulce de leche. Eaten directly from the jar at an unreasonable hour? Obviously. Nobody judges you here.
The most iconic vehicle for it is the alfajor — two soft, crumbly shortbread-style cookies with a thick layer of dulce de leche sandwiched in the middle, usually covered in chocolate or rolled in coconut. They’re sold literally everywhere in Argentina, from fancy bakeries to petrol stations, and the quality is consistently great. You’ll stuff several in your bag for the flight home and feel completely fine about it.
6. Yerba Mate — Less of a Drink, More of a Lifestyle
Mate deserves a spot on any list about Argentine food culture because it’s not just something people drink — it’s how people connect. Yerba mate is a bitter, earthy herbal infusion made by steeping dried leaves in hot water and drinking it through a metal straw called a bombilla from a small gourd. It sounds niche. It is, in fact, a way of life.
The whole ritual around sharing mate is genuinely lovely. One person makes it, drinks the first round (which is the bitterest — they’re taking one for the team), and then passes it around the group. You don’t say thank you until you’re completely done for the day — saying thanks mid-session means you’re opting out, which is treated as a mildly dramatic social statement.
Mate is everywhere in Argentina — people carry their gourd and thermos of hot water to work, to the park, to the beach. It’s popular across many South American countries but Argentinians have a particular dedication to it that borders on romantic. Think of it less like tea time and more like a handshake with warmth. If someone offers you mate, just say yes and go with it. You’ll figure out the etiquette as you go, and the people sharing it with you will love you for trying.
7. Argentine Wine — Especially the Malbec
Argentina produces some of the best wine in the world, full stop. And while that’s a big claim, anyone who’s sat on a terrace in Mendoza with a glass of local Malbec and those ridiculous Andean peaks in the background will back it up without hesitation.
Malbec is Argentina’s flagship grape — deep, rich, and full of dark fruit flavors with just enough earthiness to make it feel grown-up. It’s the perfect match for a long asado or a juicy steak, and drinking it in the country where it’s made is a genuinely different experience from anything you’ll get at home. There’s also Torrontés, a floral white wine from the northern Salta region that’s worth seeking out, and a bunch of other varieties that don’t get nearly enough international attention.
What’s great about wine culture in Argentina is that it’s not pretentious. Nobody’s swirling glasses and talking about tannin structure for forty-five minutes. You open a bottle, you pour generously, you drink it with food and friends and let the evening stretch out as long as it wants to. If you get the chance to visit a winery in Mendoza, do it — the wine tourism there is excellent and the scenery alone is worth the trip.
8. Medialunas — Your New Favourite Breakfast
Every single morning in Argentina starts the same way: café con leche and a medialuna. And once you’ve done it a few times, you’ll completely understand why nobody’s in a rush to change the formula.
Medialunas are Argentina’s take on the croissant — smaller, softer, and brushed with a light sweet glaze that makes them slightly sticky and completely irresistible. The name means “half moon” in Spanish, which is very poetic for something you’re shoving in your face at 8am. They have a brioche-like texture that’s more pillowy than flaky, and that hint of sweetness pairs perfectly with strong, milky coffee.
You’ll find them stacked in baskets at every café counter in Buenos Aires, and the unspoken rule is that one is never enough. Two is the minimum. Three is perfectly acceptable. Nobody is counting, and if they are, they’re also eating three.
9. Pizza Porteña — Thick, Cheesy, and Unapologetically Argentine
Argentina doing pizza its own way is one of those beautiful things that happens when Italian immigrants land somewhere new and slowly adapt their traditions over generations. Buenos Aires has a serious pizza culture, and the local style is nothing like what you’d find in Naples — and that’s not a criticism, it’s just a fact.
Argentine pizza is thick and doughy, loaded with cheese, and deeply satisfying in the way that only carb-heavy food can be. The most iconic version is fugazza — a pizza piled high with caramelized onions and sometimes provolone cheese, with zero tomato sauce involved. It sounds weird if you’re used to traditional Italian cuisine. It tastes incredible once you’re actually eating it.
The best places to have it are the old-school standing pizzerias in Buenos Aires where you eat a slice of pizza directly from the tray at the counter, wash it down with something cold, and lean into the whole informal, no-fuss vibe completely. It’s unpretentious, delicious, and very Buenos Aires.
10. Alfajores — The Cookie You’ll Be Ordering Online When You Get Home
We touched on alfajores under dulce de leche, but they absolutely need their own moment. Two soft, crumbly cookies — usually made with cornstarch, which gives them that melt-in-your-mouth texture — sandwiched around a generous, almost obscene amount of dulce de leche, then dipped in chocolate or white chocolate or rolled in coconut. That’s an alfajor. That’s all it is. And it’s perfect.
The word itself has roots in the Arab world, arriving in Argentina via Spanish influence centuries ago, but Argentina has claimed alfajores so completely that it’s hard to imagine them belonging anywhere else. They come in dozens of varieties — artisan, mass-produced, regional specialties — and the famous Havanna brand from Mar del Plata has been making them since the 1940s with a loyal following that hasn’t wavered for a second.
They’re the first thing Argentinians pack when they travel abroad. When you try one, you’ll completely understand why.
The Bottom Line on Foods (and Drinks) to Try in Argentina
Argentina feeds you in every sense of the word. From a shared gourd of yerba mate passed around a circle of friends to a glass of Malbec poured at a table that’s been set for a four-hour dinner, from street empanadas eaten on the go to a slow asado that stretches from afternoon into evening — food here is never just about eating. It’s about time, and people, and the very Argentine belief that a good meal is always worth doing properly.
Having spent almost four years of my childhood in Argentina, these foods are comfort and take me back to when things were easy. To me, it tastes like home.
Go hungry. Say yes to everything. Worry about the calories literally never.
Check out these related posts:
- Discovering Buenos Aires in 24 or 48 Hours
- Argentinian Souvenirs to Bring Home
- Bolivian Foods to Try
Happy travels,
Annick, The Common Traveler
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Raised as a third culture kid living in South America and Europe, Annick caught the travel bug early. As an empty-nester, Annick enjoys sharing her tips for traveling for those with champagne taste and beer budgets.