Hojaldres are morning fried dough, not Costa Rican fry jacks and not a French croissant. Raspao is the city ice. Carimañolas leak meat from a yuca shell. Chicheme is corn as a sweet drink, a cup-snack.
Pack chips and cajetas. Fried yuca is hot.
Snacks from Panama
Panamanian snacking is a hojaldre, fried breakfast dough, and a raspao, shaved ice with condensed milk. Carimañolas, yuca stuffed with meat. Chicheme, sweet corn drink. Plantain chips. Dulce de leche cajetas. Canal Zone leftovers include American candy. This is fried dough and corn drink, not a Colombian oblea with a canal.
Updated August 27, 2026
- Signature snacks
- Hojaldres, Raspao, Carimañolas, Chicheme
- Flavor palette
- fried dough, shaved ice, sweet corn
- When people snack
- hojaldres in the morning and raspao in the heat
- What travelers buy
- plantain chips, cajetas, coffee, hojaldres eaten hot
What to try first
- Hojaldres Fried dough breakfast-snacks, puffy, eaten with cheese or as is.
- Raspao Shaved ice with syrup and condensed milk, a Panama City heat cup.
- Carimañolas Yuca dumplings stuffed with meat, fried, a street nibble.
- Chicheme Sweet spiced corn drink, a snack in a cup.
- Plantain chips The bag from shops, often thicker than Colombian chifles.
- Suspiros Meringue kisses from bakeries.
Questions about snacks from Panama
What snacks is Panama known for?
Hojaldres, raspao, carimañolas, chicheme, plantain chips, and suspiros.
What is a hojaldre?
A Panamanian fried dough, typically breakfast, puffy and slightly crisp, eaten with cheese or meat.
What travels?
Plantain chips and cajetas. Hojaldres and raspao are same-hour.
From the journal
No tasting reviews from Panama yet. This page is the research hub. When we eat something from here, the note will land in the journal and on this page.