Take a journey to South America without leaving your kitchen!
I’ve gathered 24 of the most delicious Brazilian recipes, so it’s easy to make incredible Brazilian cuisine.
Enjoy everything from snacks and appetizers to main dishes and desserts!
1. Passion Fruit Mousse
You just need a few things to make a refreshing passion fruit mousse. It’s an awesome dessert for summer since it’s so easy. It’s also sometimes called “mousse de maracuja.”
It gets thick and creamy from sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream. Blend those things with passion fruit, stick it in ramekins, and chill for hours.
It’s sometimes served with passion fruit coulis made with sugar, passion fruit, and seeds heated in a pan.
2. Brazilian Cream Cheese Spread
Brazilian cream cheese isn’t the same as American cream cheese. It’s not very thick and usually is kept in cups or jars.
This gets used in everything such as pasta, rice, casseroles, and stews. You can even put it on toast! It’s a basic in Brazilian households.
To make this, you’ll need milk, white vinegar, butter, and mozzarella. It gets cooked, blended, and chilled.
3. Brazilian Coconut Ball
You only need four things to create these sinful and great coconut balls. In Brazil, they are called “beijinho de coco,” or coconut little kiss.
You heat up sweetened condensed milk, coconut, and butter until thick. Then you grab some and make a ball. Then coat in sugar.
You will find these at many kids’ birthday parties in Brazil!
4. Brazilian Filled Donut Holes
Brazil is pretty well known for its tasty desserts. These wonderful Brazilian filled donut holes take truffle to the next level.
The outside is crispy and golden, but when you bite, it is cake-like with chocolate truffle. All of this takes 30 minutes!
You can enjoy these tonight with coffee.
5. Brazilian Coconut Cocktail
Make any party great with this Brazilian coconut cocktail. Everyone will want this tropical drink’s recipe!
Coconut milk gives it a velvety texture and the sweetened condensed milk offers some sweetness. What they use is cachaca, a Brazilian liquor, but vodka will do in a pinch.
Blend until frothy, then top with coconut. It’s great for warm days.
6. Brazilian Acai Breakfast Bowl
Start your morning right with some Brazilian acai breakfast bowls. These are a cinch, which is great for those busy mornings we always have.
These bowls have a sweet and tart taste that is perfect for waking you up. The sweetness from the sugar calms down the tartness from acai and passionfruit.
Mix everything, then top with granola for some welcoming crunch. You can use these at your next brunch!
7. Feijoada
Any list of Brazilian dishes needs to have feijoada, the national dish of Brazil. It’s a slow-cooked bean stew that has tons of flavor. You’ll want to begin early because the beans and meat need to soak for 24 hours.
Using orange in this might seem strange, but it doesn’t make it taste like oranges. The orange helps with excess fat!
Do it on the stove or even with a crockpot. It goes well with collard greens.
8. Brazilian Chocolate Biscuit Cake
Brazil has really good chocolate desserts, and this chocolate biscuit cake is a great example. You don’t even need to bake it, which makes it great for summer.
Break up the biscuits in chunks with your hands. This will get mixed with sugar, cocoa, butter, cream, and vanilla.
Then you put that in a pan and chill it. Then add chocolate ganache, sprinkles, or shavings!
9. Galinhada
Galinhada is beautiful and has vibrant colors. Also, it’s a one-pot recipe, so it’s great for weeknights. People will love this saffron rice with chicken thighs.
You steep the saffron in warm water to get great color and flavor. The peas, pepper, and tomato help to add to the vibrant look of this dish.
To make this chicken, season it with cumin and then saute it. Add wine and spices before covering with other things. Enjoy the easy cleanup!
10. Brazilian Tapioca
Brazilian tapioca is similar to a pancake or flatbread. It’s often enjoyed with butter, jam, or meat.
This version is a cinch and requires just three things, but the process is very different. It takes making tapioca gum by wetting the flour, drying, and sifting it.
You then fry to make the tapioca. It can be sweet or savory based on what you put on it.
11. Brazilian Lemonade
Brazilian lemonade is made with limes. Many countries make lemonade with limes, so it’s not really that weird. After your first taste, you will not even care what it’s called.
It is sweet and refreshing with a smoothie consistency. Key is leaving the peel on, but you’ll strain it.
The sweetened condensed milk gets rid of the bitterness, making it creamy.
12. Brazilian Cornmeal Cake
You could call this cornmeal cake, or bolo de fuba, the dessert version of cornbread. It’s just a bit more cake-like than regular cornbread.
This version isn’t as rich, so you can eat it for breakfast. It even has parmesan. Yum!
This all gets mixed in a blender, so cleaning up is easy.
13. Farofa
Farofa is toasted cassava flour that you can put on any meal. You can mix it with rice, feijoada, or beans.
It doesn’t really have a taste, so it soaks up whatever you cook it with. It’s cooked with butter, bacon, and garlic.
The consistency is like breadcrumbs and it’s great for crunch. It also doesn’t have gluten and is easy to make.
14. Brazilian Vinaigrette Salsa
Brazilian vinaigrette salsa is a basic in any Brazilian restaurant and needs to be had at least once. It isn’t a hot salsa.
The bell pepper, onions, and tomatoes get chopped up, which is like pico de gallo in consistency. You put it all together with olive oil and wine vinegar.
Use it on your grilled meats!
15. Passion Fruit Mousse
You only need a few things to make a refreshing passion fruit mousse. It’s an awesome dessert for summer since it’s so easy. It’s also sometimes called “mousse de maracuja.”
It gets thick and creamy from sweetened condensed milk and heavy cream. Blend those things with passion fruit, stick it in ramekins, and chill for hours.
It’s sometimes served with passion fruit coulis made with sugar, passion fruit, and seeds heated in a pan.
16. Brazlian Beef Stroganoff
If you enjoy American beef stroganoff, you’re in for a real surprise! After you taste this, you may never go back.
They’re similar in how they look and what goes in them, but the Brazilian kind has ketchup, mustard, and tomato sauce. It also has some delightful heat from paprika.
Instead of egg noodles, use rice and shoestring potatoes!
17. Brazilian Cheese Sticks
Everywhere you look in Brazil, you can find Brazilian cheese sticks, including street vendors and beaches. The cheese sticks are smoky and wonderful, and you will not be able to stop eating them.
They take hunks of halloumi or paneer cheese and grill them to perfection. Also, aren’t the grill marks just so great?!
Use chimichurri or molasses with these.
18. Brazilian Fish Stew
This is similar to curry, and it can be ready in 30 minutes, so it’s easy to throw together on busy nights. The tomato coconut sauce has a lovely taste, while the lime makes this refreshing.
Spices like garlic, cilantro, and cayenne add a ton of flavor. Some good filets to include are snapper and tilapia.
Have with rice or on its own with salad. This is sure to be made often!
19. Brazilian Rice
It might seem obvious, but the way Brazil makes rice is a bit different. In many places, making rice is like an art. It’s not just adding water and cooking!
You saute this with onions, oil, and garlic, which lets the flavor soak in. This way, it turns out great each time!
20. Brazilian Coconut Cake
Brazilian coconut cake is really common at kids’ birthdays in Brazil, so you might want to consider having this in your home! It’s a simple cake that’s made magical.
You’ll poke holes into it while it’s still warm. Then, you’ll make it nice and wet by dousing the entire thing in coconut milk and sweetened condensed milk.
After the cake soaks it in, sprinkle some coconut and chill it!
21. Brazilian Picadillo
This version is extremely popular there. It’s “ensopado de carninha moida com azeitona,” or juicy beef with olives.
It’s a favorite because it tastes great, isn’t hard, and doesn’t take long. Many spices are mixed in like cumin, oregano, and bay leaves.
Olives give it saltiness and red wine vinegar gives it some tang. You normally eat it with rice, but pasta would also be good.
22. Brazilian Chopped Salad
This chopped salad is fresh and wonderful, and you would not know that it’s actually good for you. It’s so unlike the usual salads you have.
The great vinaigrette, hearts of palm, and avocado light up your mouth! Each taste is something new.
Try using fennel, tomato, and onion. The homemade lime vinaigrette is great!
23. Brazilian Shrimp Stew
Brazilian shrimp stew works perfectly for when it’s cold outside. It has a great taste, and it isn’t tough to do.
Quickly wetting the shrimp with garlic and lime adds some zest. Cilantro is light, and cayenne makes it just a bit warm.
This is also from the coconut milk. Enjoy by itself or with rice.
24. Brazilian Cheese Bread
Also known as pao de queijo, this bread is amazing and the best side dish. It’s like no gluten-free item you’ve ever tasted!
Since it uses tapioca flour and doesn’t call for yeast, it’s really light and has been referred to as a cheesy puff instead of bread. Someone with no cooking ability could make these cheese bites.
I won’t judge if they never make it to the table!