Did you know Portuguese cooking goes way beyond those iconic egg custard tarts? I’ve rounded up 30 authentic recipes that let you taste your way across Portugal without leaving your kitchen. Its neighbors might get all the buzz, but trust me, Portuguese food is bursting with flavor and long overdue for some attention.
1. Portuguese Chickpea Soup
Sopa de grão de bico is a hearty Portuguese soup that primarily stars chickpeas. Potatoes, carrots, and cabbage add nutrition and color to the dish.
Cumin, cilantro, and lemon lend flavor and aroma to the soup, making it ridiculously tasty. It’s so filling, it’s more akin to a stew than a soup!
2. Portuguese Chicken (Peri-Peri Chicken) with Crispy Potatoes
Besides egg custard tarts, peri-peri Chicken is perhaps the most popular Portuguese dish there is. This is no ordinary roasted chicken, folks.
Peri-peri chicken is quite something else. With its uber-crispy skin and tender meat, this dish is the bomb. But it’s the sauce that takes it over the top.
3. Portuguese Tomato Sauce
Portuguese tomato sauce is a blend of sauteed onions, garlic, parsley, and tomato concasse. Don’t worry, there’s no need to go to a specialty store to get a hold of the last ingredient. Tomato concasse is just a fancy way of saying peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes!
4. Portuguese Fried Potatoes
Portuguese fried potatoes are just like the French fries we know and love, except that they’re round in shape. These circular treats are just addictive and flavorful.
Potatoes are fried in a combination of butter and olive oil and are seasoned with salt, pepper, and parsley. It’s a simple snack that sure hits the spot.
5. Bolo Rei (Portuguese Christmas King Bread)
Bolo rei is a ridiculously delicious bread that’s fit for a king. Portuguese Christmas bread is sweet and has a cake-like consistency. It’s called the king bread because it looks like a crown, complete with jewels made of walnuts, pine, almonds, and glazed fruit.
6. Bola Do Cacao
Bola de cacao is a bread that hails from the island of Madeira. What makes it special is that instead of being baked in an oven, it’s pan-baked over the stovetop!
This appetizer tastes best with a smothering of garlic butter. It’s a simple, rustic starter that excites the taste buds.
7. Portuguese Fish Stew (Caldeirada)
Caldeirada is a light, healthy stew where seafood is the star. It’s packed with bell peppers, potatoes, and onions, making it a hearty meal all on its own.
The best part? You can totally make it your own.
Swap in any fish or shellfish you love, salmon, cod, sea bass, haddock, whatever you’ve got. It’s easy, flexible, and always delicious.
8. Portuguese Biscuits
Azorean biscuits, or biscoitos, are classic Portuguese cookies shaped like a ring. Flavored with butter and lemon zest, they are soft, buttery, and insanely addictive. Did you like the recipe?Click on a star to rate it!
9. Portuguese Cod Fish Casserole
Bacalhau is perhaps Portugal’s most iconic fish. Fear not – it’s nothing scary or intimidating.
It’s just cod! In Portugal, cod is prepared in many ways.
You can bake it, fry it, grill it, or even boil it with vegetables and eggs. In this recipe, however, we’re giving cod a different spin by turning it into a casserole filled with potatoes and a flavorful tomato broth. Yum!
10. Serradura
Serradura may not be as well-known as Portuguese custard tarts, but it just as well deserves the spotlight. With layers of crushed cookies or biscuits and sweetened whipped cream, it’s a light and airy dessert perfect after a heavy meal. Best of all, this crowd-pleasing treat is a simple 4-ingredient, no-bake dessert!
11. Portuguese Kale, Tomato, and Sausage Soup (Caldo Verde)
Caldo verde is comfort food, Portuguese style. This cozy soup hails from the north of Portugal, loaded with potatoes, greens, and sausage, just the thing to warm you up on a chilly winter day.
That beautiful green color comes from dark green cabbage, and it’s what makes every bowl instantly recognizable and so inviting. Simple, hearty, and absolutely soothing.
12. Apple Cake
Apple cake is just as beloved in Portugal as it is in America. Bolo de maçã is a moist and dense cake topped with crisp apples in sweet and ooey-gooey cinnamon syrup. It’s a quick and easy treat that can be enjoyed for breakfast or dessert.
13. Portuguese Tomato Soup with Poached Eggs and Bread
If you’re too busy tonight but still want to serve something epic to the family, look no further than this recipe. This is a quick and easy Portuguese dish that hits all the right notes. Tomato soup with poached eggs and eggs on top – what a delectable and satisfying meal, am I right?
14. Bolos De Arroz (Portuguese Rice Cakes)
Bolos de arroz is a Portuguese rice cake that looks like a tall cupcake. It's sweet, buttery, and absolutely amazing.
It’s soft and tender on the inside with a golden crisp exterior. Pure heaven.
It's just as good as any sweet and fluffy confection, but this one is extra special because it’s gluten-free! With this recipe, anyone can enjoy this delicious treat.
15. Portuguese Prego Rolls
Prego rolls are insanely delicious sandwiches with juicy grilled steak as it’s filling. One look at this sandwich already tells you just how amazing it is.
See how drool-worthy that steak is? Aside from its tender and juicy goodness, it's also packed with flavor. Why, it’s marinated in peri-peri sauce, herbs, and tomatoes!
16. Portuguese Francesinha Sandwich
Here’s another Portuguese sandwich that you won’t want to miss! A francesinha sandwich is filled with meat, sausages, ham, cheese – the works!
But it doesn’t end there: there’s also a rich sauce coating the whole sandwich for the most epic bite. A combination of wine, beef broth, beer, and Portuguese chili, this sauce is definitely packed with flavor.
17. Shrimp Mozambique in Garlic Based Sauce
Ignore the name, this shrimp dish is 100% Portuguese. Plump, sweet shrimp get coated in a luscious garlicky sauce kissed with saffron.
Serve it over rice or with a pile of crispy French fries, and you’ve got a meal that hits the spot. Simple, but it feels so special. I can’t get enough.
18. Portuguese Lemonade
The best complement to a hearty meal is a glass of ice-cold beverage. Portuguese lemonade is a superb thirst-quencher that couldn’t be easier to make.
Made with real lemons and sweetened with sugar, this refreshment is truly refreshing. The balance of sweet and zesty makes this drink a show-stopper.
19. Broa De Milho Recipe (Portuguese Cornbread)
Cornbread isn’t just a southern staple, but a Portuguese favorite as well! Called broa de milho, Portuguese cornbread is also made of cornflour, but it doesn’t have that tender and crumbly consistency that we’re all used to. Instead, it’s dense and sourdough-like with a crisp and crusty exterior, but with a sweet corn flavor.
20. Portuguese Sweet Bread
The Portuguese love their bread, and this sweet version is a total favorite. It’s traditionally enjoyed around Easter, but honestly, it’s so good you’ll want to bake it all year long. A thick slather of butter takes
21. Bifana (Portuguese Pork Sandwich)
Bifanas or pork sandwiches are ubiquitous in Portugal. It’s melt-in-your-mouth pork in between two slices of white bread.
No wonder it’s a huge hit! The pork is cooked in tomato paste, white wine, peri-peri sauce, and bay leaf, giving it such a uniquely fantastic flavor.
The bread is crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. It's an excellent vessel to carry the delicious filling.
22. Garlic Bread
For a hearty Portuguese appetizer, garlic bread is the one to beat. There’s nothing like the deliciousness of soft bread that’s crisp on the outside and garlicky all over!
True, making bread from scratch calls for time and effort. But let me tell ya, there’s a different kind of satisfaction homemade bread gives.
Get ready for some kneading, punching, and rolling! I promise you, this garlic bread is worth it.
23. Portuguese Tomato Rice
This hearty tomato rice is a staple all over Portugal, but you’ll find it especially in south central kitchens where sun ripened tomatoes are everywhere. It’s so much more than rice and tomatoes stirred together.
Sautéed onions and garlic mingle with smoky bacon and a rich broth, filling the pot with the most wonderful aroma. That’s the kind of side that turns a simple meal into something you’ll remember.
24. Arroz De Pato
Arroz is Portuguese for rice, while pato means duck. The combination of fluffy rice and umami-rich duck makes a stunning dish. Besides the duck and the rice, arroz de pato also features the savory chorizo, red wine, onions, and garlic also add flavor to the dish.
25. Portuguese Custard Tarts
A list of Portuguese recipes is not complete without the iconic custard tarts. It’s the country’s most popular pastry and for good reason!
Called pasteis de nata, these confections comprise a smooth and creamy egg custard and a crisp and tender tart shell. These bite-sized goodies may be small, but they deliver big flavor.
26. Portuguese Milk Tarts (Queijadas de Leite)
Portuguese milk tarts – the name alone is getting me giddy! These sweet and creamy treats are so tender, they melt in your mouth. A mixture of flour, sugar, milk, butter, and eggs, these tarts are easy to make and so enjoyable to eat.
27. Peri-Peri Sauce
As mentioned earlier, peri-peri chicken is nothing without the sauce. It’s what brings the chicken to life!
Peri-peri sauce is a garlicky, lemony, tangy, and spicy blend of herbs and seasonings. If you’ve ever had a meal at Nando’s, you know just how good this sauce is. Thanks to this recipe, you can enjoy the world-famous sauce without leaving your home.
28. Arroz Doce (Portuguese Rice Pudding)
I'm a massive fan of rice pudding. I like it with leftover rice, Mexican-style, and thick and creamy, just like this Portuguese version.
It's semi-set, kind of like a rice pudding pudding. So if you leave it to chill, you can actually slice it. But it's just as rich and creamy as you'd expect!
29. Azores Beef Stew With Potatoes (Molha de Carne)
Molha de carne is a rich, savory stew that’s loaded with tender beef and potatoes. The moment it starts simmering, your whole kitchen fills with the most incredible aroma that’ll have you mesmerized.
It’s thick, hearty, and so delectable that the best way to enjoy it is with a hunk of bread for dunking. Seriously, tear off a piece, soak up that flavorful broth, and devour. Pure comfort in a bowl.
30. Pao De Deus (Sweet Bread)
Pão de Deus or the Bread of God: it’s just as divine as its name implies. This sweet Portuguese bread has nutty coconut filling that will make your heart jump for joy.
It’s topped with even more coconut such that it gets this crisp and crunchy muffin-like exterior. Very heavenly, indeed!
