What to Eat in Brazil: Famous Brazilian Foods

The Brazilian cuisine has many similarities with the cuisines of the other South American countries. The local cuisine has a lot of African and Portuguese influences. The Italian influence is present in pizza and various pastas, but you can also find a lot of Middle Eastern dishes popular in Brazil.

The Brazilian cuisine is not exactly vegetarian-friendly, but there are some dishes which have a vegetarian version.

Feijão / Feijoada

Black beans, boiled with onions and garlic. Sometimes pork is also added to the meal (and the meals becomes feijoada ) and it’s always served with rice.

Acarajé

It’s a popular street food and represents fried balls of black-eyed peas, shrimp and onions.

Coxinha

Another snack, made from minced chicken meat, shaped in a drumstick shape and then deep fried in better.

Churrasco

It’s meat covered in rock salt and cooked high over a barbeque. You can order pork, beef or chicken.

Maracujá ,Cajú and Guarana

Maracujá or the passion fruit is at its best in Brazil. The very expensive (everywhere else in the world) acai can easily be found in Brazil in the form of milkshakes or juice.

Cajú is known for giving the world the cashew nut, but the fruit is also used in juices. For a caffeine boost, try the guarana juice.

Arroz Carreteiro

The dish made with rice, meat, tomatoes, onions and spices. It is popular in Southern Brazil.

Aipim Frito

The Brazilian French fries are chip made from yams. Try with salt and ketchup and you’ll notice the familiarity of chips but with a tougher consistency.

Pastéis

These are similar cu empanadas but generally have beef filling. On the street they are an excellent snack and they are ridiculously cheap.

Toasted French bread and espresso

The quickest breakfast in Brazil , served in cafes, and very popular in Rio, is French bread with espresso.

Moqueca de peixe / moqueca capixaba

This is a fish dish made with onion, peppers, garlic, tomatoes, coconut milk and dende oil.

Caruru

It is a condiment made from okra, shrimp, onion , palm oil and toasted nuts.

Pato no tucupi

It’s boiled duck in tucupi, which is an extract from cassava.

Pão de queijo

It is a typical snack consisting of a soft roll made of manioc flour , eggs, milk and cheese.

Cuscuz branco

It’s a dessert made with tapioca cooked with coconut milk and sugar.

Mortadella sandwich

It is very popular in Sao Paulo and refers to any mortadella sandwich. Aside from mortadella , it also contains cheese, mayonnaise and mustard.

Bacalhoada

It is a traditional slave food, made with salted cod, potatoes, olives, tomatoes, peppers, hard boiled eggs and onions.

Caipirinha

It’s the most popular drink, made with a shot of Brazilian Sugarcane liqueur, lime and sugar.

Pizza

The dough is paper thin and there isn’t too much pizza on top. The pizza is usually pretty meaty.

Photo credits: Feijoada, Acarajé , Coxinha , Churrasco , Maracujá , Pastéis , Mortadella sandwich , Caipirinha , Pizza , Aipim Frito , moqueca capixaba , Pão de queijo