15 Brazilian Foods You Have to Try (And Where to Find Them)
From pão de queijo to moqueca — the dishes Brazilians grew up with, how to order them and the regional specialities most tourists miss.
Brazilian food is like the country itself: huge, mixed and generous. Indigenous, African, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese and Arab influences all ended up in the same pot. Here are the dishes worth planning your days around.
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Breakfast & snacks
1. Pão de queijo — warm, chewy cheese bread made with tapioca flour. Naturally gluten-free and dangerously addictive. Best from a padaria (bakery) in Minas Gerais.
2. Coxinha — a teardrop-shaped fried snack filled with shredded chicken and creamy cheese. The king of the lanchonete (snack bar).
3. Pastel — a crispy, rectangular fried pastry with fillings like cheese, meat or palm heart. Pair it with sugarcane juice (caldo de cana) at a street market.
4. Tapioca — a crepe made from cassava starch, filled sweet or savory. Common in the Northeast.
The main dishes
5. Feijoada — black bean stew with pork, served with rice, collard greens, orange slices and farofa. Traditionally eaten on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Plan a nap afterward.
6. Churrasco — Brazilian barbecue. At a churrascaria rodízio, waiters bring skewers to your table until you flip your card to red. Try the picanha.
7. Moqueca — fish stew cooked in a clay pot with coconut milk, tomatoes and (in Bahia) palm oil. One of the best things you'll eat in Brazil.
8. Prato feito — the everyday lunch: rice, beans, a protein, salad and fries. Cheap, honest and how most Brazilians eat.
9. Acarajé — a black-eyed pea fritter fried in palm oil and filled with shrimp, from the street stalls of Salvador. Ask for it quente (spicy) if you're brave.
Sweets
10. Brigadeiro — chocolate fudge balls made from condensed milk. Present at every Brazilian birthday party ever.
11. Açaí — frozen açaí pulp, served thick in a bowl with granola, banana and condensed milk. In the Amazon it's eaten unsweetened, with fish.
12. Pudim — Brazil's beloved flan, dense and silky.
Drinks
13. Caipirinha — cachaça, lime, sugar and ice. The national cocktail. Strong — pace yourself.
14. Guaraná — a soda made from an Amazonian berry. Every Brazilian abroad misses it.
15. Água de coco — fresh coconut water straight from the coconut, on any beach.
In Brazil, food is never just food. It's an excuse to gather — and someone will always insist you have seconds.
Food etiquette
- Brazilians rarely eat with their hands — even pizza and burgers are often eaten with a fork and knife or a napkin.
- Comida a quilo restaurants charge by weight. Fill your plate, weigh it, pay. Great value.
- The 10% service charge is usually included in the bill.
FAQ
Is Brazilian food spicy?
Generally not. Heat comes on the side as pepper sauce (pimenta), except in Bahia where dishes can be spicier.
Is it easy to eat vegetarian?
In big cities, yes. Comida a quilo buffets always have lots of vegetarian options.
Is street food safe?
Busy stalls with high turnover are usually a good sign. Use common sense and avoid anything that's been sitting in the sun.
