January 6, 2023

Eating Gluten Free in Quito, Ecuador

You can do it!

By In City Reviews, Food

Disclaimer: We do not have Celiac Disease. Thus, we can eat foods even in a heavily contaminated environment (cross-contamination). Depending on your level gluten intolerance, you should always double and triple-check with the restaurant on gluten content and cross-contamination. We are not responsible for your decisions!

We eat a gluten-free diet in the United States, which is not necessarily easy. We stay gluten-free when we travel, but based on the country, staying gluten-free can be like the US or really hard. Our most challenging country so far to eat in is Japan because soy sauce is pervasive throughout Japanese cuisine. And thanks to the United States in the 1940s, almost all soy sauce is made from wheat. But what about eating gluten free in Quito, Ecuador?

Coming to Ecuador, we weren’t sure what to expect. On the one hand, Latin cuisine includes a lot of corn and corn-based flours, as well as beans, which we rely heavily on to form meals. On the other hand, gluten-free eating isn’t common throughout the world. We have issues wherever we go, including back home in Texas (and California before that!), so we expect to search for specific restaurants and meals.

During our first five days here in Quito, we ate out for lunch every day and cooked at home for dinner. We have had no problems eating gluten-free, but it does mean paying careful attention to the menus. For example, we ate at a Persian restaurant and ordered chicken shawarma with potatoes. We did not realize – nor did we think to ask – that it also comes with pita bread. (In hindsight, I should have realized this!) So we had to remove the pita bread, but the rest of the meal was filling and tasty. Additionally, it is quite possible that some of the spices may have had gluten in them, but we weren’t affected by it.

Shawarma lunch meal at Shirin Restaurant in Quito, Ecuador
Yum yum! Without the pita, this is a lovely meal!

Disclaimer: To that point, we do not have Celiac disease, only a gluten intolerance. Therefore, we do not need a restaurant to be entirely gluten-free, just that what we eat is gluten-free. If you have Celiac disease and require a gluten-free kitchen, it will be more challenging than our experience. You must always check with the restaurant and read the food boxes to ensure it works for you – we aren’t responsible for your food choices. However, we want to share our experiences to help guide you in Quito.

Gluten-Free Spanish Dictionary

You’ll want to make note of keywords and phrases in Spanish to help you with your food allergies.

  • Harina = flour
  • Trigo = wheat
  • Avena = oats
  • Almendra or almendras = almonds
  • Coco = coconut
  • Arroz = rice
  • Nuez or nueces = nuts
  • Harina de trigo = wheat flour (harina de + any grain means that kind of flour)
  • Sin gluten = without gluten (gluten-free)
  • Con gluten = with gluten
  • Leche = milk
  • Lactosa = lactose
  • deslactosada = without lactose (lactose-free)
  • Huevos = eggs
  • Aceite = oil

Supermarkets

If you will be in Quito for more than a few days, you’ll probably visit a supermarket to buy food. Quito – and especially Ecuador in general – has a lot of mercados that are akin to Farmer’s Markets in the U.S. You can buy an incredible amount of fresh fruits, vegetables, and meat – yes, lots of meat! – at the mercados. And they are pretty cheap!

But for grains and processed foods, you’ll need to go to an actual supermarket. Fortunately, larger markets in Ecuador – such as Supermaxi – will have some gluten-free food selections.

Supermaxi

Supermaxi is a grocery chain throughout Ecuador, including many locations around Quito. For US readers, Supermaxi is similar to any Kroger or Safeway. Supermaxi’s stores are enormous and feature everything you want in a grocery store, including a selection of gluten-free items.

The gluten-free foods at Supermaxi are distributed throughout the store, so there is no gluten-free area per se. However, that doesn’t mean Supermaxi lacks gluten-free foods – they have a good selection.

For spaghetti and pasta, we purchased three varieties of El Dorado pasta: one made from quinoa (US$2.51), one from chia (US $2.51), and one from red lentils (US$3.87). The quinoa pasta was good, but it became mushy and clumpy while eating. The Chia pasta is the best, in our opinion, and is quite tasty! The red lentils version is also good, but significantly more expensive than the Chia pasta, so it is ok to skip the red lentils.

El Dorado quinoa spaghetti with hamburger meat
I cooked this El Dorado Quinoa spaghetti with hamburger meat and marinara sauce. It was so good! The total cost of the meal for two people was US$5.57.
El Dorado gluten-free pasta from Supermaxi in Ecuador
El Dorado gluten-free pasta made from red lentils and chia

We also bought gluten-free empanadas from Supermaxi’s frozen foods section. Since Eric also can’t have dairy, we purchased one meat-only empanadas package and one cheese empanadas package. Both kinds of empanadas tasted great, but they were not that filling. One bag comes with 18 empanadas, so we cooked nine empanadas each. But after eating them, we were still hungry. We’d recommend putting beans with it, plus perhaps a salad or something – like the purple cabbage and carrot salad we made with a lemon vinaigrette dressing.

Finally, Supermaxi has a collection of gluten-free flours and baking mixes. We purchased the orange cupcake mix from the photo below because you may make it in a mug or cup in the microwave. We thought each box costing less than US$4 was quite reasonable. Furthermore, all four mixes were lactose-free, too, which is helpful for Eric. We haven’t tried it out yet, but we will update this paragraph once we do.

Gluten-free baking mixes in Quito, Ecuador
Selection of baking mixes from Quinoa Cotopaxi. We can’t wait to try them all!

Te Quiero Verde

We found this store right near where we were staying. Te Quiero Verde (rough translation is I love you green, in reference to the environment) features a lot of organic and natural foods and products. They have five locations in Quito, which you can find here. Most of the store is loose nuts, grains, flours, and dried fruits sold by the kilogram. However, they also have some packaged items, including several gluten-free pancake mixes. 

Picture of Te Quiero Verde, a chain of healthy food stores to eat gluten free in Quito
Te Quiero Verde La Carolina branch.

For example, we purchased Life Choice pumpkin pancake mix from Te Quiero Verde. While Supermaxi carries the same pancake mix brand, Supermaxi was a bit more expensive and had fewer varieties. We bought the pumpkin mix as it was different than the pancake mixes we eat in the US, which are primarily chocolate-based. 

Additionally, Te Quiero Verde includes gluten-free flours – including oat and almond-based flours – sold by the kilogram. We didn’t try those out as we can’t cook from scratch. Yet, if you love baking gluten-free foods from scratch, you’ll want to check out Te Quiero Verde.

Gluten Free Restaurants in Quito

Whether you eat out a lot or only for special occasions, you’ll find that many Quito restaurants will have wheat-free options, even if they aren’t explicitly marked that way. For example, a typical nondescript dish is chicken or beef with potatoes or rice. We found this at a Persian restaurant, a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, and the mall food court. Expect to pay US$5-7 per dish during lunch, including a non-alcoholic drink. 

Coming from the US, we thought this was a fantastic deal. All our meat and potatoes/rice meals are tasty and filling, and these dishes are relatively easy to find walking around Quito. Note that some restaurants serve french fries instead of potatoes – although one restaurant offered to substitute boiled potatoes instead of fries – and some restaurants also include beans. Mixing and matching different side dishes is a great way to provide variety without straying from the primary dish.

Meat, rice, and beans - easy meals to be gluten free in Quito
Lomo de res (beef) with rice, beans, and salad. US$5.50.
Chuleta de cerdo (pork chop), with rice, plantain, spring salad, and lentils.
Chuleta de cerdo (pork chop), with rice, plantain, spring salad, and lentils. US$3.50.

Alegría Real Food

We stumbled upon Alegría Real Food as it was down the street from a new Airbnb we had just moved to. They advertise allergy-free options, including lactose-free, keto, and gluten-free. Please note that not all food they make is allergen-free, so ask before ordering. However, most of the food is gluten-free, which is fantastic!

We ordered lunch at Alegría, although they have many breakfast options too. Lunch for me was a hamburger with wedge-cut fries and a strawberry smoothie, while my husband got a coconut smoothie, pulled pork sandwich, and wedge-cut fries. Everything was scrumptious and very, very tasty. The only note is the coconut smoothie may be too sweet if you aren’t in love with sugar.

Lunch time at Alegría Real Food in La Pradera, Quito.

We are excited to return, although Alegría’s prices are pretty high. The total meal cost is just under $30 for two people, which in the United States is a steal. But in Ecuador, it is almost twice as much as any other meal! Yet, it is worth it for a high-quality, delicious gluten-free meal.

As of summer 2023, Alegría only has one location, in the La Pradera neighborhood of Quito (Mariana de Jesús E7-47). This is a central location, walkable from the La Carolina and Simón Bolivar neighborhoods.

Sweet & Coffee

Coffee shops are often hard places to find gluten-free foods as they focus on pastries and sandwiches. However, Sweet & Coffee – ubiquitous throughout Quito – offers a gluten-free muffin/cake item that is quite good! 

Ponqué de Chispas de Chocolate Semiamargo – Semi-sweet Chocolate Chip Cake – is a tad on the sweet side, but it was very delicious. Although we couldn’t find any other gluten-free items at the location we visited, Sweet & Coffee’s website notes that they also have gluten-free yogurt parfaits and tortas (“torta de choclo”). 

There aren’t any Starbucks in Quito, but there are plenty of Sweet & Coffee stores to relax with a coffee or tea and a Ponqué.

Ponqué de Chispas de Chocolate Semiamargo from Sweet & Coffee
Ponqué de Chispas de Chocolate Semiamargo from Sweet & Coffee

Freshii

Freshii looks like it is straight out of Los Angeles or New York. And that is because it is! Freshii was founded in New York City in 2005, and they have branches worldwide, including Ecuador. Yet I wasn’t familiar with Freshii until we came to Quito, despite Freshii having one location in the Austin area (where we used to live until early 2022). US readers can find the nearest store here, while Google Maps is your best bet in Ecuador. There are seven Freshii locations in the Quito area.

Freshii has a healthy approach to cooking, incorporating many vegetables, fruits, and whole grains into its meals. We like to eat healthy, so Freshii attracted us with its menu. Having said that, it is not a gluten-free panacea.

We were disappointed that Freshii did not have any gluten-free wraps, and thus, Freshii’s wraps and burritos are off the table as they use wheat tortillas. Thus, we turned our attention to Freshii’s salads and bowls. At the time, Freshii had a special Keto salad for US$9, which included romaine lettuce, chicken, purple cabbage, cheese, avocado, and a special Keto dressing. We ordered that, plus their regular Pangoa bowl.

Be careful with Freshii’s bowls and salads; some have wheat in the toppings! For example, the BBQ sauce on the Pangoa bowl has wheat, so we substituted the dressing for honey dijon. Or another example is the Fiesta salad, which has wontons as a topping.

Freshii's Keto salad (left) and Pangoa bowl (right)
Freshii’s Keto salad (left) and Pangoa bowl (right)

The Pangoa bowl was much better than the Keto salad and more filling, thanks to its brown rice and black beans base. The Keto salad was ok but nothing special. However, while their bowls are big, it is an illusion compared to how much you get. We both became hungry soon after eating. This, combined with the lackluster taste of the bowls, makes us want to pass Freshii the next time.

Go Green

Like Freshii, Go Green is a chain of salad-based fast-food restaurants that makes it easy to go gluten free in Quito. I much prefer Go Green to Freshii as Go Green gives you much more food for the price. However, we have only tried the salads at Go Green, not the bowls. Additionally, Go Green sells wraps, but they are *not* gluten-free.

Our favorite salad at Go Green by far is the Taco Salad. Perhaps it is because we lived in California and Texas for many years, but the Taco Salad is delicious. If you eat a lot, get the large (“grande”) size for $2.25 more – it is worth it! While the salad initially comes with a Chipotle dressing, we can’t eat chiles, so we substitute the dressing with the Cilantro Lime (“Cilantro limón”) dressing. It is a lovely vinaigrette and really pulls the salad together.

Two taco salads from Go Green and two lemon ice teas (not from Go Green) for $21 -  yum yum!
Two taco salads and two lemon ice teas (not from Go Green) for $21 – yum yum!

Venezuelan Food for Going Gluten Free in Quito

Quito has no shortage of Venezuelan restaurants. These are primarily small, fast-food-type restaurants meant for a quick bite. However, they are quite good! The two most common foods you’ll find here are Arepas and Cachapas.

Depending on your viewpoint, arepas and cachapas are stuffed pancakes or sandwiches. Either way, they consist of a corn pancake stuffed with various ingredients, from basic cheeses to meat and veggies. They are often topped with sauce for arepas and butter and/or cheese for cachapas.

The difference between arepas and cachapas is the size and sweetness. Arepas are smaller and designed to be eaten in your hand, like a sandwich, whereas cachapas are larger and eaten with a fork and knife. Additionally, cachapas are sweet, whereas arepas tend to be more savory. But these aren’t concrete rules, and there are countless variations of both arepas and cachapas.

Arepa with prosciutto and cheese.
Arepa with prosciutto and cheese.

Tips for Eating Gluten-Free in Quito

The biggest tip we have is not to be afraid! Ecuadorian cuisine is based on rice, beans, and meat, so unlike Japanese or Italian cuisine, wheat is not the go-to grain. Of course, you must be careful, especially if you have Celiac Disease. But you’ll be able to find plenty of restaurants willing to serve you meat, rice, and beans. 🙂

Practically, the most significant suggestion we make is to learn the Spanish words for foods and associated terms, like gluten-free. English is not widely spoken in Quito – and far less in other parts of Ecuador, except for perhaps Cuenca. Even for people who speak English, expressing your allergies in Spanish will be easier for the other person to understand, even if it is harder for you. And ultimately, you want the other person to know you can’t eat gluten or wheat.

We have found Ecuadorians to be extremely welcoming and helpful, so be nice, speak a little Spanish (even if it is through Google Translate), and be ready to eat gluten free in Quito!

1 Comment
  1. DA February 6, 2023

    Great article!! 👍👍👍

    Reply

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