The story of this Bolivian empanada known as “Salteña”, is as rich in history as it is in flavor.
This tasty South American appetizer has its origin in colonial Potosí, a historic mining city located in southwestern Bolivia, most likely in the 16th century. At that time Potosí was one of the largest and most important cities in the world, surpassed only by Paris, London and Istanbul in population, due to the boom in the exploitation of silver, the basis of the wealth of the Spanish Empire at the time.
Historians point out that the current Bolivian Salteña is the result of the culinary evolution suffered by the rustic Spanish cakes in America, to which chili, potato and an exquisite broth were added, the latter to prevent that bite from getting too cold fast in the frigid climate of Potosí at more than 4,000 meters of altitude.

The potato, in its many varieties, is a tuber native to the northwest of the Bolivian highlands, and the Chili, a condiment from the Bolivian Andean valleys.
The Bolivian empanada received the name “Salteña” only in the 19th century, due to the name of the inhabitants of Salta, a neighboring Argentine city, from where many notable families fled the dictatorship of Juan Manuel de las Rosas. These families originally from Salta arrived and settled in Sucre, capital of the new Republic of Bolivia (1825).



For many years these immigrant families suffered great economic hardship and dedicated themselves to preparing the typical empanadas using Bolivian ingredients and recipes, achieving a fusion of exquisite flavors.
Over time, the inhabitants of Sucre got used to buying empanadas "to the salteñas", referring to the women from Salta who prepared them using the old recipes from Potosí.