Last Updated on October 13, 2023 by Carne Diem
Origin: South American, Peruvian
Jump to RecipePeruvian Papas a la Huancaina are a South American potato dish typically consisting of boiled potatoes covered in a rich and creamy cheese sauce. These Peruvian potatoes are one of our favorite side dishes to order at Peruvian restaurants, but it is also incredibly easy to make these flavorful potatoes at home. The dish is typically served cold, but here we also show you how to make a hot version of the Peruvian dish with fire roasted potatoes.
Table of contents
Making Peruvian Papas a la Huancaina
To make this Peruvian potato recipe with cheese sauce, you will need to make the Huancaina sauce and cook the potatoes. This Peruvian potato dish only takes a few minutes to make, and can be made ahead of time, if desired.
Making Homemade Peruvian Huancaina Cheese Sauce
To make the Peruvian cheese sauce, first gather your huancaina sauce ingredients. You will need garlic, aji amarillo peppers, onion, Queso Fresco evaporated milk, olive oil, and saltine crackers.
Cook the onions in the olive oil over medium heat, until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Next, add in the garlic and cook for 1 additional minute. Do not brown the onions or garlic, you just want them softened.
Next, rinse the Aji Amarillo chile peppers and remove seeds and stems. We use jarred Aji Amarillo peppers for this recipe, which can be found in many Latin markets, or can affordably be ordered from Amazon.
What are Aji Amarillo Chiles?
Aji Amarillo is a Peruvian hot chile pepper, used extensively in Peruvian cuisine. These yellow chiles are moderately spicy with a Scoville heat rating of 30,000-50,000. These peppers are considered part of the Holy Trinity of Peruvian cooking, along with red onion and garlic, and are found in many Peruvian dishes like loma saltado, Aji Verde sauce, and salsa criolla.
If you have extra Aji Amarillo chiles, why not make our Grilled Picana Sandwich with Salsa Criolla.
Blend the sauce in a food processor
Traditional Huancaina sauce is made in a batan, which is a large stone slab which is used to crush and mix the ingredients with a second large stone. As most of us do not have a traditional batan laying around we make this Huancaina Sauce in a food processor.
Add all ingredients for the huancaina sauce to a food processor and blend until smooth.
Once the Peruvian cheese sauce is smooth remove from the food processor and place in a bowl with a lid. Refrigerate the Peruvian cheese sauce until needed. The sauce can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
What cheese is best for Papas a la Huancaina?
Traditional Papas a la Huancaina is typically made with fresh farmer's cheese. In North America, Mexican Queso Fresco will most closely resemble the traditional cheese used in the dish. Some Latin markets may also carry Peruvian Queso Peruano, which would also make an excellent choice for making the Huancaina Sauce.
Cook the potatoes
Traditional Papas a la Huancaina are prepared with boiled potatoes that are then sliced and served chilled. We also present an alternative recipe using wood fire grilled potatoes that can be served either warm or cold.
Making traditional Papas a la Huancaina with boiled potatoes
Boil the yellow potatoes for about 15-20 minutes, until just tender when checked with a fork or toothpick. Drain the water from the potatoes and then place in the refrigerator to cool for about 2-4 hours. When you are ready to eat you can remove the peel from the potatoes and cut into thick slices, about ¼ to ½-inch thick.
Making Peruvian Papas a la Huancaina with grilled potatoes
To make the Papas a la Huancaina with grilled potatoes, heat a grill over high heat. You can also cook the potatoes "caveman style" directly on the hot coals. Cook the unpeeled potatoes until the skin in blistered and the potatoes have softened. Flip the potatoes about every 5 minutes. Cooking with this method typically takes about 20-30 minutes.
Once the grilled potatoes are done cooking remove to a pan and let cool until they are safe to handle. Remove the blistered skin from the potatoes and slice into ¼ inch slices.
Serving the Peruvian style potatoes with Huancaina sauce
To serve the Papas a la Huancaina top the slice potatoes with the cheese sauce. This Peruvian potato dish is typically served over lettuce and often topped with black olives or slices of hard-boiled egg.
Traditionally Papas a la Huancaina is served cold but we enjoy this Peruvian potato dish warm as well. top with a little finely chopped fresh or dried parsley and enjoy.
Be sure to try some of our other great potato recipes:
- Smoked Au Gratin Potatoes
- Smoked Jalapeno Twice Baked Potatoes
- Fried Mashed Potato Cakes with Herbes de Provence Butter
- Pub Style Irish Nachos
- Creamy Irish Colcannon with Bacon
Frequently Asked Questions
The Peruvian dish is typically made with Peruvian varieties of potatoes. In the United States yellow potatoes or similar varieties are recommend because they are less starchy, and hold up better to cooking without becoming mushy.
Huancaina is a cheese sauce that typically is made with yellow Peruvian chiles (Aji Amarillo), fresh Farmer's cheese (Queso Fresco), evaporated milk, saltine crackers, and garlic. It is typically served cold on top of boiled potatoes.
The Peruvian potatoes are commonly topped with olives, hard-boiled eggs, and fresh herbs. They are typically served atop lettuce.
While the sauce for the potatoes is made with Aji Amarillo chiles, which are moderately spicy, the sauce is well balanced and not typically spicy.
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📖 Recipe
Peruvian Style Potatoes with Huancaina Sauce
Ingredients
- 10 Yellow Potatoes
Huancaina Sauce
- 10 Ounces Queso Fresco
- 5 Saltine Crackers crushed
- 1 Cup Evaporated Milk
- 2 Aji Amarillo Peppers
- 2 Garlic Cloves minced
- ¼ Yellow Onion or small white onion diced
- 2 Tablespoons Olive oil
Instructions
Huancaina Sauce
- Cook the onions in the olive oil over medium heat, until soft.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute (don't brown).
- Rinse the peppers and remove seeds and stems.
- Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth.
- Refrigerate until needed.
Cooking the Potatoes
- Boil the potatoes for 15 to 20 minutes until tender. Remove and place in the refrigerator until cool. Peel and slice ¼ to ½ inch thick.
- Alternatively you can grill the potatoes over direct heat. Rotate and flip the potatoes every 5 minutes. Cook until the skin is blistered and the potatoes are tender, about 20-30 minutes.
- Cool then peel the potatoes and slice.
Serving the potatoes
- Typically this dish is served cold. Top the sliced potatoes with the chilled Huancaina sauce. If you wish to serve warm, then rewarm the sauce and serve over the warm potatoes.
- Optionally, top with black olives and hard boiled egg.
Nutrition
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