Potatoes with Huancaina Sauce Recipe (2024)

Potatoes with huancaina sauce is the first Peruvian dish I ever had the chance to taste. Let me tell you, I was in love at the first bite. There is something so yummy and delicious about potatoes topped with a creamy, spicy sauce which is exactly what you get with a plate of papa a la huancaina. All it takes is 30 minutes to make a batch of huancaina sauce in your blender and boil up the potatoes.

This recipe was originally published in August 2019. It has been updated for photos and content.

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Papa a la huancaina is typically served as a first course or starter to the meal, but I’ve also seen it as a side dish on the table. As an appetizer it goes with a variety of different Peruvian dishes to create an entire meal with entrees like Vegetarian Lomo Saltado or create a Peruvian tasting menu by choosing a variety of recipes from my Collection of Vegetarian Peruvian Recipes.

I like to serve it up as a lunch dish along with a salad or soup on the side. In particular, my favorite salad to accompany papa a la huancaina is another Peruvian recipe, Solterito Arequipeno.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

You will enjoy the flavor of creamy huancaina sauce with potatoes with its silky texture and little bit of spiciness.

This recipe requires very little cooking and is ready in about 30 minutes.

Huancaina sauce is easy to make in advance and since it’s generally served up cold or room temperature, it doesn’t require any heating before serving.

There are other ways to use huancaina sauce to create delicious meals such as a sauce for pasta or even a dip for fries.

This papa a la huancaina recipe is vegan but you can easily swap out the tofu and make it vegetarian.

What You Need To Make This Recipe

The ingredients for this recipe are mostly common ingredients you can find at your grocery store with only one exception.

Ingredient Notes

Aji amarillo: All the spicy flavor in huancaina sauce comes from the aji amarillo, a chili native to Peru. It has a lovely bright orange color which is what gives the sauce its color. On the Scoville Heat Scale this pepper gets 30,000 – 50,000 units and is considered to be moderately spicy. The pepper also has a fruity flavor, similar to a berry which makes swapping it out for another chile pepper difficult.

You may get lucky and find these peppers fresh in a farmer’s market or Latin American specialty market in the US, though I suspect it may be rare and difficult to find it. They are also sometimes available in the frozen or in a jars at some Latin American markets, so if you one nearby, check it out. As a note, dried aji amarillos do not work to make papa a la huancaina because the flavor profile of the aji changes when dried.

The much easier option if you can’t find the fresh or don’t have time to hunt them down is to use a paste made from the aji amarillo. I have used this brand which you can order online to make the sauce for papa a la huancaina and it does a decent job as a substitute.

Not sure how to use aji amarillo paste? Here are a few other recipe ideas to use up your jar aji amarillo so it doesn’t go to waste: Vegan Peruvian Beans, Vegetarian Papa Rellena and Vegetarian Causa Recipe.

Tofu: In order to get a creamy huancaina sauce you need to use silken tofu. For my silken tofu, I generally rely on this brand which is shelf stable, so I can store it in the pantry until I need it. This silken tofu comes in a few different textures, soft, firm and extra firm. I used the firm silken tofu in this recipe with great results. As a note, this is firm SILKEN tofu. The regular firm tofu you’d use in stir fries or other preparations will not blend up creamy.

If you are new to tofu, this Guide to Buying Tofu may help you understand more about the varieties of tofu and how to use them.

Potatoes: I’ve been told by a Peruvian friend, that Papa a la Huancaina comes from the Huancayo region of Peru which completely explains its name. When traditionally served, papa a la huancaina is served with the Papa Huayro, but will work with other potatoes too. Most important you want a potato that will hold up well when cooked, but not a waxy potato. I generally use a yellow potato here in Peru and I’d recommend making this recipe with Yukon Gold potatoes in the US or any other multipurpose potato.

Nutritional yeast: Adding in a bit of nutritional yeast gives the huancaina sauce a bit of cheesy flavor that it’s missing since we’re using tofu instead of queso fresco.

If you are new to eating vegetarian and vegan cooking you may not be familiar with this product. It’s generally available in specialty markets or health food stores. I prefer the product by Bob’s Red Mill which is available in stores and online.

You can use the nutritional yeast in other preparations too. Two of my favorites that use nutritional yeast are this easy lunch or dinner recipe, Spinach Quinoa Stuffed Sweet Potato and this tasty Tofu Bolognese.

Easy Substitutions

Aji amarillo: As I already mentioned above, the best substitution for the fresh aji amarillos is to use the aji amarillo paste which you can buy online or at a Latin American market.

However, if you prefer to stick with using a fresh pepper, consider substituting the habanero pepper or Scotch Bonnet pepper. They have a similar fruity flavor profile BUT they are significantly hotter, so you may want to use less. Also, be sure to scrape out the veins and seeds inside as that is where the heat lies in most peppers.

Tofu: If it’s not important for you that the recipe be vegan, swap out the tofu for queso fresco in equal amounts. You will also be able to eliminate the nutritional yeast from the recipe if you use queso fresco.

Soy milk: I prefer to use soy milk to make huancaina sauce as it tends to be more neutral in flavor, but you can substitute with your preferred plant-based milk.

Tools Needed to Make Papa Huancaina

This recipe is pretty simple and doesn’t require anything too elaborate. Here’s what you will need:

• Blender
• Skillet
• Large Pot
• Sharp Knife

How to Make This Recipe

Step 1: Place the potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender. When ready, remove and allow potatoes cool. Once cool, use a paring knife to gently remove the skin of the potatoes.

Step 2: While the potatoes are cooking, heat 1 tablespoons of canola oil in a pan. Add the onions, garlic and fresh ajis (if using them) and cook until softened. If using the paste, cook the onions and garlic and mix in the paste at the end and let it cook for 30-60 seconds.

Step 3: When the vegetables are cooked, transfer to a blender and add the soy milk, tofu and nutritional yeast. Blend well.

Step 4: Add the crackers and blend well again. Last, add the ¼ cup canola oil to the blender in a stream while the blender is running. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste.

Step 5: Slice potatoes and layout on a plate. Top with the huancaina sauce and garnish with olives.

How to Use Huancaina Sauce

Huancaina sauce is at the heart a cheese sauce, which means you can use it in a variety of ways to make your food taste even better. Here are some of my favorites:

Use it as a dipping sauce for french fries. It beats ketchup or mayo any day!

For a little fusion, use it as a creamy cheesy dip for Vegan Bean Taquitos or Easy Refried Bean Vegan Quesadillas.

Substitute veggies for the potatoes and drizzle it over the top.

Serve up huancaina sauce on pasta, risotto or any other dish that works well with a creamy, cheesy sauce. If you are looking to serve it up on your pasta tonight, check out this recipe, Pasta a la Huancaina with Mushroom Saltado. The recipe for the sauce is basically the same but without the crackers. It’s a super delicious way to enjoy pasta!

Expert Tips and FAQS

For the most authentic huancaina sauce, use aji amarillos either fresh or in a paste.

Use kalamata olive or a variety of purple olive when making papa a la huancaina. This type of olive is more authentic than the black olives found in the United States.

To achieve the creamiest texture in your huancaina sauce, use tofu marked as silken. This type of tofu is softer and will blend up creamy.

Use a blender to make the huancaina sauce. A food processor or mixing by hand will not result in a creamy, smooth sauce.

Other Potato Recipes to Explore

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