The Best and Cheapest Street Foods to Try in Argentina

Argentina is renowned for its delicious food, and street food isn’t an exception. In the biggest tourist areas in Buenos Aires, there are so many options of what to eat, it can be difficult to know where to start. Argentine cuisine has been influenced greatly over the years by immigration, and so there’s a lot of diversity when it comes to food!

Here are a few go-to foods for a quick (and cheap) bite to eat in Argentina!

1. Empanadas

Empanadas are small pastries filled with varying ingredients, usually beef, chicken and different vegetables. The most popular filling is beef, onions, hard-boiled eggs, olives and various spices. Most places that sell empanadas offer the following fillings:

Carne suave (beef)
Carne picante (spicy beef)
Pollo (chicken)
Jamon y queso (ham and cheese)
Verdura (vegetable)
Caprese (tomato, cheese and basil)
Roquefort y apio (blue cheese and celery)

The provinces of Salta and Tucumán, in the north of Argentina, are known for making the best empanadas; if you travel to Patagonia, in the south of Argentina, lots of restaurants sell empanadas with a filling of lamb. The best ones I tried were in Bariloche, in Rincón Patagónico. Definitely give the restaurant a visit if you travel to Bariloche!

You can usually pick up 3 or 4 empanadas for around $2-3 USD in small shops in Buenos Aires. In restaurants they can cost a bit more. If you’d like to learn how to make your own empanadas, see our post here!

For the best (not necessarily the cheapest) empanadas in Buenos Aires, visit El Hornero de San Telmo.

2. Choripán

Choripán is a play on words of chorizo (sausage) and pan (bread). It’s basically a sandwich, made with a baguette-style bread and chorizo sausage. It can either be topped with chimichurri or criollo sauce – two popular herb/vegetable-based sauces in Argentina.

Choripán is a key part of an Argentine asado, and you can find lots of street stalls and restaurants which sell it in Buenos Aires. Prices vary depending on where you buy, but generally you won’t spend more than $5-6 USD.

If you’re looking to find the best choripán in Buenos Aires, you can visit La Dorita in Palermo.

3. Milanesa Sandwich

A milanesa is basically a breaded piece of chicken or beef, similar to a German schnitzel. The milanesa is a popular meal choice in Argentina, usually topped with lemon juice and accompanied by mashed potato.

The milanesa sandwich is quite self-explanatory. It involves a milanesa being served in a baguette, as a sandwich. Usually, the sandwich also contains lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise, although you can add whatever you like.

The price of a milanesa sandwich is generally similar to the price of a choripán, around $5-6 USD. Some outdoor food trucks and stalls sell milanesa sandwiches, as well as many restaurants. There are plenty of other sandwich options in Argentina too, with some classics being the bondiola sandwich and lomito sandwich (both containing different cuts of beef).

San Guchero in Recoleta has the best milanesa sandwich in Buenos Aires. Personally, I haven’t been, but I’ve heard very good things about it!

4. Chipá

Chipá are small, cheesy bread rolls made of cassava flour and cheese. They originate from the Guaraní people, in the northeastern regions of Argentina, in particular, the provinces of Misiones and Corrientes.

They’re a very typical snack in Argentina and are often eaten whilst drinking mate, which makes for quite a nice sweet/bitter combination. It’s also really common to eat chipá during road trips or whilst at the beach.

If you’ve already been to Argentina, you may have already seen (or more likely, heard) people selling chipá on the streets and on public transport. They’re one of the most popular street foods, although if you’re a tourist, you’re probably better off buying from a shop to avoid getting ill!

Most panaderías (bakeries) sell chipá, where you can usually buy a dozen for a couple of dollars. You can also buy the mixture in supermarkets to make your own, you just have to add water and eggs. Look out for this packet in shops!

5. Medialunas

Medialunas were the first thing I ate in Argentina, and looking back, I was very naive to think that they’re just the same as croissants. Well… they’re very similar to a croissant, but medialunas are a lot smaller and sweeter than croissants.

There are two types, medialunas de manteca (butter) and medialunas de grasa (lard). They’re often eaten as part of a traditional breakfast in Argentina, accompanied by coffee. You can buy them in pretty much any bakery or café. The price for one is usually less than a dollar, although many cafés have deals to buy medialunas and coffee together.

It’s also common for medialunas to be turned into sandwiches, filled with ham and cheese – definitely a must-try too!

For some of the best medialunas de manteca in Buenos Aires, head to La Mantequería. This one’s a chain, but the medialunas I tried are from the shop in Palermo. Definitely a must-try!

6. Churros

You’ve probably heard of churros before. Although they originate from Spain, Argentina has obviously put its own spin on them. In Argentina, churros are always filled with dulce de leche, rather than just being dipped in chocolate.

Churros are another food which are sold in the streets and on public transport, and like with chipá, you’ll usually hear the people selling them before you see them.

You can expect to pay around $5-6 USD for a dozen in most bakeries in Buenos Aires.