Brazilian
Smoke, beans, and the African roots of the New World.
Feijoada
Feijoada is a hearty black bean stew with various meats, embodying the fusion of Portuguese and African influences in Brazilian cuisine.
View page →Brazilian cooking is built for sharing and takes its time. The national dish is feijoada — a rich black-bean stew loaded with pork (ribs, sausage, smoked cuts), eaten over rice with toasted cassava flour, called farofa, to soak up the juices, and orange slices to cut the richness. The other staple is churrasco: at a churrascaria, waiters move table to table with skewers of grilled beef and slice it onto your plate, and picanha (the rump cap) is the cut worth waiting for. Pão de queijo, a chewy cheese bread made with tapioca starch, is an everyday snack, and the national drink is the caipirinha — cachaça, lime, and sugar over ice. Along the Bahian coast in the northeast, the country's African roots show in dishes like moqueca, a fish stew cooked in palm oil and coconut milk.
The Palate
What makes it taste like itself
Start Here
Feijoada is the heart of Brazilian comfort food, a stew of black beans and assorted meats that speaks to the soul with every spoonful.
Why start here · This dish is a quintessential representation of Brazil's culinary soul and communal dining culture.
Churrasco showcases the art of Brazilian grilling, with meats seasoned simply and cooked to perfection over open flames.
Why start here · For newcomers, it's an unforgettable introduction to the passionate carnivorous side of Brazilian cuisine.
Pao de Queijo, with its crispy exterior and gooey cheese-filled interior, captures the Brazilian love for both texture and flavor.
Why start here · These addictive cheese puffs are an ideal starter to appreciate the simplicity and delight of Brazilian snacks.
Moqueca is a fragrant seafood stew, simmered with coconut milk and dende oil, offering a taste of the tropical coastline.
Why start here · It introduces you to the coastal flavors and the lush, aromatic side of Brazilian cooking.
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The Pantry
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Proteins
Herbs & Spices
Grains & Staples
Dairy & Fats
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Four Regions
Four regional kitchens — Bahian Afro-Brazilian dendê coast (moqueca, acarajé), Mineiro inland farm country (pão de queijo, feijão tropeiro), Paulista cosmopolitan southeast (feijoada, coxinha), Gaúcho southern cattle country (churrasco, chimarrão). Tap a region to see its table.
Sertao and coast — carne de sol, cuscuz, lagoon seafood and the Northeast sweet tooth.
Southern grasslands beef-and-fire — churrasco, espeto, mate, picanha.
Indigenous Amazon — tucupi, jambu, acai and river fish from Para to Maranhao.
Goias, the Pantanal and the Centre-West — pequi, river fish and border flavours.
Minas Gerais cheese tapioca — pão de queijo, Romeo-and-Juliet, queijo Minas.
São Paulo mega-urban immigrant — coxinha, pastel, mortadella sandwiches.
Afro-Brazilian dendê palm-oil — moqueca, acarajé, vatapá, Yoruba inheritance.
Parana and Santa Catarina — barreado, Azorean seafood and German-Polish immigrant baking.
Rio de Janeiro — boteco classics, feijoada home turf and beach snacks.
Espirito Santo — the clay-pot moqueca with no palm oil, and Holy Week seafood pies.
How They Cook
Techniques that define this cuisine
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Grilling in Brazil is an art form, celebrated through churrasco where meats are seasoned and cooked over open flames.
Sauteing in Brazilian cuisine often involves a quick toss of colorful vegetables and spices, contributing to the vibrant stews and side dishes.
Simmering is essential for Brazilian stews like moqueca, allowing flavors to meld and deepen in a gentle, fragrant broth.
Baking in Brazilian cuisine often highlights the beloved cheese bread, pão de queijo, with its airy, chewy texture.
Deep frying is a cornerstone of Brazilian street food, creating crispy delights like coxinhas and pastel.
Braising brings depth to Brazilian stews like feijoada, where meats are tenderized and flavors meld over hours of slow cooking.
Signature Dishes (148)
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Drinks
15
Soups
6
Mains
56
Sweets
28
Snacks
23
