📍 Where this dish comes from: Huanchaco (near Trujillo) · Caballitos de totora reed boats
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White fish fillets gently simmered in a rich, creamy aji amarillo sauce — comforting, a little spicy, and finished with a touch of queso fresco.

What You’ll Need

Pescado en Salsa de Ají Amarillo

White fish fillets gently simmered in a rich, creamy aji amarillo sauce — comforting, a little spicy, and finished with a touch of queso fresco.

Print Recipe

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Peruvian

Servings: servings

Calories: 310kcal

4 white fish fillets 6 oz each (sub: tilapia, cod, or corvina)
3 tbsp aji amarillo paste (sub: 1 tbsp cayenne pepper plus 2 tbsp roasted red pepper purée)
1/2 cup heavy cream (sub: full-fat coconut cream, for dairy-free)
1/4 cup grated queso fresco (sub: crumbled feta)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
Sea salt, to taste

Get Recipe Ingredients

Season the fish fillets with salt and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and sauté the onion and garlic until soft, about 4 minutes.
Stir in the aji amarillo paste and cook 1–2 minutes to deepen the flavor.
Pour in the heavy cream and simmer 3–4 minutes, until slightly thickened.
Stir in the queso fresco until melted into the sauce.
Nestle the fish fillets into the sauce, cover, and simmer 10–12 minutes, until the fish flakes easily.
Spoon the sauce over the fillets to serve.

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 310kcal | Protein: 30g | Fat: 20g | Fiber: 1g

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Cream and cheese build a rich, fat-forward sauce with no flour or starch needed to thicken it.
Fish keeps the protein high while the pepper-based sauce carries the flavor without added sugar.