100 Must Try Brazilian Dishes

Discover the top 100 Brazilian dishes and desserts that you have to try at least once in your life! Due to the diversity of Brazilian cuisine, some of you may have never heard of some dishes and others will be familiar with them depending on the region of Brazil you live in. This list consists of an assortment of dishes for the Southeast region and other’s are very Paulista and influenced by caipira cuisine. My Little Brasil describes them for you :

1. Doce de batata doce : mashed sweet potatoes

2. Churrasco : Brazilian barbeque, delicious! Grilled chicken hearts are particularly loved by Brazilians in the form of brochettes

3. Balas de banana : banana candy

4. Tapioca : starch produced from cassava roots

5. Pizza assado no forno à lenha : pizza cooked over a wood fire

6. Feijão tropeiro : typical dish from Minas Gerais made from beans, bacon, sausage and manioc flour

7. Arroz carreteiro : rice with dried meat

8. Açaí : made from the berries of the acai tree, eaten as a juice or frozen with granola. This fruit is considered an excellent antioxidant

9. Paçoca de amendoim : peanut candy, particularly appreciated in the festas juninas (parties of the month of June)

10. Pato no tucupi : typical dish from the Amazon, duck with jus de racine de mandioca et Jambo, a typical herb from the North

11. Maniçoba ou feijoada paranese : Native origins, simmered manioc leaves mixed with pork and beef, and all sorts of dried and salty foods

12. Baião de dois : green beans, rice and dried mean, originally from Ceara, Northeast

13. Acarajé : dish that you find typically in the streets of Bahia, a ritual food from the Condomblé religion, made with black bean paste and fried sea food

14. Pamoha : corn paste boiled and wrapped in a leaf

15. Dobradinha : beef tripe

16. Rapadura : sugar cane obtained after the evaporation of the sugar cane juice

17. Farofa : side dish made from the crumbs of fried manioc

18. Barreado : from Paraná, this dish is made from meat crumbled for more than 20 hours with rice and

manioc flour

19. Pastel : found at markets and fairs, they are fried pastries, hot and crispy filled with chicken, cheese, beef… the possibilities are infinite!

20. Couve : crispy kale leafs, served as a side dish

21. Sanduíche de pernil : pork sandwich that you can find in lanchonetes, snack bars and fast food restaurants.  

22. Palmito : heart of palm

23. Umbu : sweet Brazilian fruit with a slightly acidic taste, similar to a prune

24. Pacu : omnivore Brazilian fish, cousin of a piranha: better to find it on your plate than while you’re swimming

25. Camarão na moranga : shrimp in a sauce served in a pumpkin: delicious!

26. Doce de abóbora : mashed pumpkin

27. Feijoada : classic Brazilian dish made with beans, different types of meat and served with rice

28. Galinhada com pequi : typical dish from the state of Goiás, chicken with pequi fruit. (Be careful not to bite the pequi, it is full of thorns!)

29. Peixe na telha : grilled fish seasoned with garlic and lemon juice

30. Biscoito de polvilho : small dry and crunchy biscuit

31. Galinha à cabidela (or ao molho pardo) : traditional dish from the Northeast, chicken served with sauce made from animal blood

32. Pão de quiejo : little cheese breads in the shape of a ball, from Minais Gerais, a region known for its cheese.

33. Folhas de bananeira : banana leaves often used to plate fish

34. Queijo coalho na brasa : cheese cooked on skewers, that you can often find on any beach

35. Curau : a type of English custard made from corn juice milk and

36. Torta de liquidificador : literally the blender pie, the recipe is simple and known by all Brazilians, mix

eggs, flour, milk, corn, chicken, peas (or whatever else is in your fridge), put it in the over for a couple minutes and then it’s ready!

37. Café coado : a filtered Brazilian cafezinho known around the world

38. Caldo de cana : sugar cane juice, normally served with ice and lemon or in the markets with pasteis

39. Buchada de bode : goat’s kidney, liver, and other intestines, cooked in a pouch made from the animals stomach

40. Rocambole : cake rolled in jam, chocolate or doce de leite

41. Furrundum : typical desert in São Paulo, with a base of grated papaya and brown sugar

42. Chá mate gelado : tea served very cold made from the leaves of the erva-mate tree

43. Rabada : beef tail and vegetable soup

44. Vaca atolada : translated to “mired cow” dish where the principal ingredients are beef ribs and manioc

45. Pitanga : fruit also called “the square cherry of Tahiti” with a spicy and slightly tart flavor, the size of a cherry with a juicy skin

46. Quibebe de abobóra com carne seca : cream of pumpkin and dried meat

47. Pintado nab rasa : grilled fish

48. Cuscuz paulista : or Paulista couscous, a type of tabouleh cake consumed cold

49. Quebra queixo : this hard candy with a sugar and coconut base lives up to its name, the jawbreaker!

50. Caldeirada de tucunaré : tucunaré fish stew, the fish is found in the rivers of South America