Ecuadorian cuisine is diverse, varying with altitude, and associated agricultural conditions. Pork, chicken, beef, and cuy (guinea pig) are popular in the mountainous regions, and are served with a variety of carbohydrate-rich foods, especially rice, corn, and potatoes. A popular street food in mountainous regions is hornado, consisting of potatoes served with roasted pig. Some examples of Ecuadorian cuisine in general include patacones (unripe plantains fried in oil, mashed up, and then refried), llapingachos (a pan seared potato ball), and seco de chivo (a type of stew made from goat). A wide variety of fresh fruit is available, particularly at lower altitudes, including granadilla, passionfruit, naranjilla, several types of bananas, uvilla, taxo, and tree tomato.

There are several Ecuadorian dishes that are typical to the various regions in the country. For example, costeños (people from the coast) prefer fish, beans, and plantains (unripened banana like fruits), while serranos from the mountainous regions prefer meat, potatoes, rice, and white hominy (mote). Regional examples include ceviche from the coast, which is prepared in many different ways, but basically consist of seafood (fish, shrimp, etc) marinated in lime juice, as well as cassava (yuca) bread, plantains served with crushed peanuts or salprieta, and encebollado, the most popular dish on the coast, that contains a marinade with large chunks of fish, onions, and various regional spices. In the province of Esmeraldas most of their typical dishes are cooked with coconut.