Lomo saltado is a Peruvian beef stir-fry combining tender, marinated steak strips with onions, juicy tomatoes, fiery chilies, and crispy French fries. Serve it with rice for an authentic Latin American dinner!
I love South American recipes, like my Peruvian chicken with green sauce, this juicy churrasco steak with chimichurri, and authentic carne asada. These crispy pupusas (El Salvadoran masa cakes) also make a delicious side or starter.
Lomo saltado (“jumped loin”) is a traditional Peruvian dish with Chinese roots. It’s a bit like steak fajitas crossed with an Asian beef stir-fry. The dish combines juicy sliced steak, bell peppers, tomatoes, and onions with Peruvian aji amarillo peppers and Chinese-inspired ingredients like soy sauce. Afterward, it’s served with French fries and rice. It’s savory, tangy, spicy, and filling. I’m drooling just thinking about how good this was!
Why Is Peruvian Lomo Saltado So Good?
- South American comfort food. The combination of spicy stir-fried steak, veggies, rice, and French fries makes lomo saltado a true meal-in-one. It’s hearty, flavorful, and satisfying. You’ll love the mix of textures.
- A tradition, made simple. My recipe simplifies the ingredients and method into a 30-minute weeknight dinner. You can find what you need for this lomo saltado in most grocery stores and make it in any kitchen with one skillet.
- Quick-cooking. This lomo saltado recipe uses thinly sliced flank or skirt steak, which cooks quickly. I always have leftovers, too, which makes for easy lunches in the following days.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Lomo saltado originated in chifa culture, the Chinese cuisine of Peru. It infuses traditional South American ingredients with Cantonese elements, as you’ll see in the ingredients below. I’ve included some notes, and you’ll find the printable recipe card below the post, followed by step-by-step instructions with photos.
- Soy Sauce – I like to cook with low-sodium soy sauce. You can also substitute soy sauce with Worcestershire sauce, tamari, or coconut aminos.
- Garlic – Fresh garlic is best here. You’ll mince it for the marinade and add it whole to the stir-fry. If needed, substitute 1 teaspoon of garlic paste for every fresh clove.
- Beef – “Lomo” is Spanish for beef tenderloin. For this recipe, I recommend a tender, quick-cooking cut, like flank steak, skirt steak, or sirloin. Slice the steak nice and thin, like you would for a stir-fry or steak fried rice.
- Olive Oil – Or another oil, like avocado oil, for searing.
- Onion – Red onion or mild Vidalia onion, cut into wedges.
- Red Wine Vinegar – You could substitute white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, rice vinegar, or distilled white vinegar.
- Tomatoes – Like the onions, slice the tomatoes into wedges. You’ll need to remove the seeds. I recommend a large tomato, like Roma or Globe tomatoes.
- Bell Pepper – I use yellow bell pepper, but you can use any color. Green peppers aren’t as sweet. Seed the pepper and slice it into wedges as well.
- Yellow Chili Pepper – Peruvian aji amarillo pepper or yellow chili is the staple of lomo saltado. However, if you can’t find them where you are, habanero peppers have a similar spice level.
- French Fries and Rice – Cooked using your preferred method, for serving. I usually make a quick batch of air fryer French fries and a side of Instant Pot jasmine rice. I garnish my lomo saltado with freshly sliced scallions or green onions. Cilantro would also go nicely here.
Recipe Tips
- Slice against the grain. As with any steak recipe, for tender beef strips, make sure to slice the steak against the grain. Look for the direction the lines (muscle fibers) run in the steak, and cut across those lines.
- Don’t overcook the steak. You only need to sear the steak first, since you’ll add it back to the pan to heat through with the veggies later on. If you cook the meat too long from the get-go, it’ll end up overcooked. Overcooked steak is tough and chewy.
- Not a fan of spicy food? You can substitute yellow chili pepper with a milder chili, like jalapeño, or skip the chilies if you’re sensitive to spice. You may also prefer this Mongolian beef recipe for a mild stir-fry.
Serving Suggestions
Lomo saltado is traditionally served with French fries, either tossed with the sauce or on the side. These can be homemade oven fries or potato wedges, though you don’t necessarily need to make them from scratch, as frozen French fries work just fine. To plate your lomo saltado the Peruvian way, add a side of rice (ALL the starches!) or low-carb cauliflower rice and squeeze fresh lemon or lime over top.
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Marinate the meat. Add soy sauce, garlic, and thinly sliced meat to a zip-lock bag. Let the meat marinate for 5-10 minutes.
Sear the meat. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook until browned, for 2 minutes. The key here is to sear the meat. Once the beef is browned, remove it from the skillet and set aside.
Cook the veggies. Add more oil to the skillet if needed. Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add soy sauce and red wine vinegar, stir in the garlic, and cook for 20 seconds or until fragrant. Add tomatoes, bell pepper, and chopped chili pepper, and cook until the tomatoes are tender, about 3-4 minutes.
Put it all together. Place the beef back into the skillet. Cook until the beef is reheated. If you want your French fries covered with the sauce, now is the time to add them. If you want your fries to be crispy, cook them and serve them separately.
Serve. Serve the lomo saltado warm with rice and French fries on the side. Just before serving, garnish with thinly sliced scallions.
- Serve it with fries. The lomo saltado is traditionally served with French fries. You can cook the fries in the sauce with the rest of the ingredients or make them separately. If you like crispy French fries, cook them and serve them separately. You do not need to make fries from scratch – you can cook your frozen French fries in oil or an air fryer.
- For juicy and tender meat, make sure to cut the steak against the grain.
- Peppers. The yellow chili peppers, or Aji Amarillo, are the staple of this dish, but if you cannot find them, Habanero is just fine.
- The nutritional information does not include the side dishes.
Calories: 296kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 71mg | Sodium: 1340mg | Potassium: 755mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 945IU | Vitamin C: 87mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Make Lomo Saltado
In keeping with its stir-fry heritage, this quick Peruvian recipe comes together in 25 minutes in a wok or skillet. Prepare your lomo saltado following the steps below.
- Marinate the meat. Add the beef strips to a zip-lock bag with garlic and soy sauce. Leave the meat to marinate for 5-10 minutes while you heat the oil in a skillet.
- Cook the meat. Next, sear the beef for 2 minutes, until it’s browned but not cooked all the way through. Set it aside afterward.
- Sauté. Sauté the onion in the same skillet, then add soy sauce, vinegar, and garlic. Continue to cook just until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add veggies. Next, add the tomatoes, bell pepper, and chopped chili pepper.
- Put it all together. When the tomatoes are tender, you’ll return the beef to the skillet to heat through. At this stage, you can add your French fries and toss them in the sauce, or you can serve them separately. Serve your lomo saltado warm with French fries and rice, sprinkled with scallions.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Keep the beef and veggies in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Reheat. Warm leftover lomo saltado in a skillet on the stovetop with a splash of water, until the beef is heated through. One of my favorite ways to enjoy leftovers is to tuck the steak and veggies into soft tortillas for tacos.
- Freeze. You can freeze leftovers for up to 2 months. Thaw them completely in the fridge before reheating..
More South American Recipes to Try
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