What is ajiaco?
Ajiaco is a thick soup of chicken, corn and three kinds of potato, typical of Bogotá — which is why its full name is ajiaco santafereño, from Santa Fe de Bogotá. What defines it is the papa criolla, which falls apart during cooking and thickens the broth on its own, and guascas, a herb with a flavour all of its own that goes in at the end. It is served with cream, capers and avocado on the side, so everyone builds their own bowl.
Why it turns creamy without any cream
The creaminess of an ajiaco does not come from cream or from flour: it comes from the potato. The recipe uses three varieties with different jobs, and that is the part usually lost when the dish is made outside Colombia.
The papa criolla (small and yellow) breaks down completely and is what thickens the broth. The sabanera holds up and stays in whole pieces. The pastusa lands in between, half broken down. The result is a soup with body and with pieces in it at the same time.
The closest substitute for papa criolla is a small yellow Andean potato; failing that, a floury potato cut small and cooked until it collapses does the same job.
Guascas, the ingredient that defines the flavour
Guasca (Galinsoga parviflora) is a herb that grows wild in the Andes and has a flavour that is hard to pin down, somewhere between artichoke and wild greens. It is what makes an ajiaco taste like ajiaco.
Outside Colombia you find it dried, in Latin American grocers. Without it the soup is still good, but it is a different thing: a thick chicken soup with potato and corn. There is no exact substitute; people who want to get close use a little fresh oregano with parsley, knowing it is not the same.
Careful: “ajiaco” names a different dish in each country
This is the main reason the word causes confusion. In Colombia, ajiaco is this chicken and potato soup from Bogotá.
In Cuba, ajiaco is a very different stew: pork, beef, corn, cassava, plantain and squash — a pot of root vegetables and meats, with no relation to the Colombian dish beyond the name.
In Peru, “ajiaco de papas” is another dish again, potatoes with ají amarillo, closer to a thick stew than to a soup.
When someone searches for “ajiaco” on its own, they are usually looking for the Colombian one: it is the best known outside the region.
How it is served
Ajiaco arrives at the table accompanied, not finished. On the side go cream, capers, avocado in wedges and white rice. Everyone adds what they want to their own bowl.
The combination of cream with capers is what surprises people the first time: the acidity of the caper cuts the fat of the cream, and together they balance the sweetness of the corn.
The recipe
Frequently asked questions
- Is ajiaco a soup or a stew?
Colombian ajiaco is a thick soup, served in a deep bowl and eaten with a spoon. Cuban ajiaco, which carries the same name, is a stew of meats and root vegetables.
- Can ajiaco be made without guascas?
Yes, and the soup is still good, but it loses its characteristic flavour. Guascas are what tell an ajiaco apart from a thick chicken soup with potato and corn.
- What potato should I use if I cannot find papa criolla?
A small yellow Andean potato is the closest in colour and texture. A regular floury potato also works, cut small and cooked until it falls apart.
- What is ajiaco santafereño?
It is the full name of the Bogotá ajiaco: “santafereño” comes from Santa Fe de Bogotá, the colonial name of the city. It is the version with chicken, three potatoes and guascas.
Updated on 2026-08-04