If you’re interested in Portuguese food and would like to know what is eaten in different regions of Portugal, then you came to the right place. I’ve put together a list of typical Portuguese dishes by region. I obviously won’t list every Portuguese dish from every region, but the ones I have found are the most popular. If you’re Portuguese, leave a comment with what you think are the dishes that you see as the most popular in your region, I’d love to learn about what I have yet to taste.
CLICK THE LINKS BELOW TO JUMP TO EACH AREA
Alentejo
Algarve
Azores
Center
Lisbon and Tagus Valley
Madeira
Porto and the North
Typical Dishes In The Alentejo
Açorda – This simple Day-Old Bread and Poached Egg Soup is a poor man’s dish that is served on the tables of all social statuses in Portugal. An Acorda is made by cooking bread and cod in a transparent broth. The broth is flavored with cilantro, garlic, and sea salt. The day-old bread gives it consistency and makes it a great comfort food; a splash of olive oil makes it perfect.
Ensopado de Borrego – Lamb Stew from the Portalegre region enjoyed on Easter Sunday made with lamb, bread, and white wine. This dish is not for those who are afraid of calories and carbs and for those who are ready for simple comforts.
Carne de Porco Preto à Alentejana com Migas – Portuguese Black Pork is truly esquisite. The meat of this pork has a nutty, rich taste that comes from the cork tree acorns they eat. Pork in the style of the Alentejo is made with clams and migas (breadcrumbs).
Pampilho – Santarém’s signature dish is a sweet rolled-up dough whose filling is made of eggs and cinnamon – you’ll see that egg-based desserts are a HUGE thing in Portugal. I read, but I can’t confirm, that this dessert was made in honor of the Campinos, the men who drove cattle with a prod – this dessert is supposed to represent the prod.
Typical Dishes In The Algarve
Bife de Atum, Conquillas, Polvo, and anything else à Algarvia – I may need some of those of you who are Portuguese or from the Algarve to confirm my hunch. Is parsley the key ingredient here? Is it cilantro? Can it be both? Help a girl out in figuring out what a dish made in the Algarve style is all about.
Caldeirada de Peixe – A caldeira is pretty much a big pot, so this dish is a pot of fish. It was usually made of whatever was caught by fishermen on the day of, but some say it should be a 50/50 mix of fish and shellfish. As you can imagine there are many versions, but the best are those you can find in a fishing town in the Algarve.
Folar de Olhão – Don’t confuse this with your regular folar (the bread made for Easter that comes with an egg in the middle). Folar from Olhão – a fishing port in the Algarve – stands out in its sweetness. It is made of layers of dough with butter, cinnamon, and yellow sugar in between them that become a sort of caramel during the cooking process. Needless to say, it’s quite yummy.
Arroz de Lingueirão – Razor clam rice has to be made properly since the razor clam has such powerful flavors. It is important to maintain a balance between the razor clams, garlic, onion, and white wine which is finished off with some chopped cilantro.
Typical Dishes In The Azores
Massa Sovada – This sweet bread is usually made around the Easter season for the Feast of the Holy Spirit (why it is also known as Bolo das Festas do Espírito Santo). This is a high gluten bread that includes sweet potatoes in the recipe.
Sopa de Espírito Santo – It’s a soup made of meat (can be chicken, beef, or port), day-old bread, coagulated cow’s blood, and liver.
Typical Dishes In The Center of Portugal
Ovos moles – These delicious pastries come from the ‘Venice of Portugal’ – Aveiro. They are white on the outside (sugar shell) and yellow on the inside (egg yolk-based filling). They come in different shapes, usually like shells. It is said that they were created by nuns in the Mosteiro de Jesus (Monastery of Jesus). It seems the nuns used egg whites to clean their habits, and they needed to put the egg yolks to use. They came up with these sweets and sold them to raise money for convents and good deeds.
Enguias Fritas – This dish from the area near Coimbra is made of deliciously fried eels.
Typical Dishes In Lisbon and Tagus Valley
Arroz de Marisco – Just like Portugal IS NOT Spain, Arroz de Marisco is NOT Paella. It is said that Portuguese Shellfish Rice was created almost 50 years ago by Adelino Coelho who had a restaurant called Solmar (when I lived in Jersey, I used to go to a Portuguese restaurant by the same name).He created the dish which was copied by other restaurants in the area and grew to the rest of Portugal. The rice here is similar in consistency to risotto and fish used can be anything from shrimp, mussels, squid, lobster, crabs or clams. And TBH – this dish is from Leiria…so I’m not 100% sure if I should place this under the Lisbon/Tagus valley…but maybe someone who is Portuguese can school me on where this really belongs 😉
Choco frito ‘à setubalense’ – Setubal is one of my fave places to visit near Lisbon. It’s a fishing town with great beaches that’s not as posh as Cascais. The city used to be the center of canned fish. As such, I think we can see why Choco frito (fried cuttlefish) is its signature dish. Back in the day, cuttlefish was not really a desired catch (people were not interested in eating it). Fishermen would take their unwanted cuttlefish with them and they would put them into a common pan to fry while engaging in glasses of wine and conversation with their peers. Today, the once humble cuttlefish has become Setubal’s most desired and loved dish.
Leitão – I feel like it is close to impossible to have a culinary culture without suckling pig. Portugal’s version is called Leitão. Here, it is roasted on a spit in a wood oven and flavored with bacon, parsley, and garlic…and basted with local white wine. It is usually served with fries and slices of oranges. I don’t think I need to tell you that it’s delicious!
Pastel de Nata – I feel like this may be Portugal’s most famous dessert. This egg custard tart is usually dusted with cinnamon and served with a bica (Lisbon’s version of an espresso coffee). The legend behind this scrumptious treat is – like that of Ovos Moles – based on religious orders. It is said that monks who used egg whites to make communion wafers needed a use for the leftover yolks, they invented the pasteis de nata which is a dessert that is now part of Portuguese history.
Sopa da Pedra – If it seems that there are legends behind lots of Portuguese dishes, it is because that much is true – even if the legends may not be. I love the legend of the sopa de pedra – stone soup. Once upon a time, there was a traveling monk. He arrived in a new city with a lot of hunger, so he knocked on the door of a farmer, showed him a rock, and told him he would like to use his kitchen so he can make stone soup. The farmer was incredulous and let him in only because he wanted to see how someone would make soup out of just a stone. As the monk got started cooking, he asked the farmer for some water. The farmer gave him water and asked, is that how you make stone soup? To which the monk replied ‘if you want to make it better, you need to add some oil. Then he said, you know what makes the soup even better…some potatoes. He continued until he had all the ingredients to make a soup. After the monk was eating all that was left in the pot was the stone. The farmer asked, what about the stone? The monk replied, “I’ll take it with me for next time”.
Tortas de Azeitão – These came from Fronteira in the Alentejo. The recipe was spread by a member of the family of a pastry show called O Cego (it is still around). It was originally made as a large pie that was sold in slices, and in time, it began to be sold as smaller, individual pastries. This is yet another Portuguese egg-based dessert with a spongy dough in which the egg-based filling is rolled.
Travesseiros – If you do an image search for ‘travesseiro’ you will come upon images of an extra-long pillow meant to be shared by two people. You will also come upon images of the candy named after this very comfy pillow. Wanna guess what it is made of? Yup, a Travesseiro is another egg-based Portuguese dessert. In this case, it is made of puff pastry filled with an egg and almond cream in the shape of a pillow. It is said that this pastry originated in Sintra at a bakery – pastelaria – called Piriquita by pure luck. The owner’s daughter, Constância Luísa Cunha, found the recipe in an old lost recipe book and brought it to its fame. The pastry shop is still around and I can vouch for just how tasty Travesseiros are.
Typical Dishes In Madeira
Bolo do caco – Madeira’s bread of choice is made from wheat flour. Because it has rounded edges, it works great as a bread for burgers and sandwiches of all kinds. It’s origins are Arabic and traditionally, it was cooked in a basalt stone – called a “caco” over hot coals.
Lapas – I had never heard of Lapas – Limpets – until moving to Portugal. They are incredibly popular in Madeira where it is said that the island’s unpolluted, nutrient-rich waters make these univalve molluscs even tastier. The best way to try them is pan grilled at one of Madeira’s oceanside bars with bolo de caco smothered in garlic butter.
Filete de Peixe Espada com Banana da Madeira – Swordfish with bananas…sounds weird, right? But when you think about it, Madeira is not the only place where fish and fruit are combined. Think of Poke, Ceviche. In this case, the swordfish is breaded and fried. The bananas are sliced lengthwise and then fried in the same oil the fish was cooked in, so when you go to Madeira, take a walk on the wild side and give ita try.
Carne de Vinha-d’alhos – This is a very special Christmas dish in the islands. It’s meat marinated in a garlic and wine adobo and traditionally it includes cloves, thyme, paprika, red pepper paste and vinegar. While the dish has roots in Madeira, it has made its way throughtout the world and can be found under many other names like pickled pork and its descendant, vindaloo from Goa in India (except here it can include potatoes).
Typical Dishes In Porto and the North
Cabidela – Rice with hen cooked in the hen’s blood and vinegar. It originated in the Minho area, but has made its way to places like Macau (where it is made with duck), Goa (where it is made with pork), and Brazil which uses chicken to resemble the original the most.
Feijoada à Transmontana – Like Leitao, I feel that culinary culture is not complete without a good bean stew. In France, they have cassoulet. In the US we have chili. In Portugal, there is Feijoada à Transmontana, a red bean stew that gets its flavors from bacon, chorizo, ribs, and offal including tripe, pigs ears, snout and more. It’s freakin’ delicious. Served with white rice, it will put you in a food coma in no time.
Francesinha – Porto’s most well-known sandwich is named after French women, because the sandwiche’s creator saw them as saucy and spicy. What is a Francesinha? Imagine a Croque madame, but with hot dogs, steak, and sausage as well as ham and cheese. Then pour a beer & cornflour sauce on top. That’s a fancesinha. It is not a dish for the faint of heart and you definitely don’t want to eat one before having a cholestrol check, but once or twice a year it is totally worth the splurge.
Papas de Sarrabulho – Yeah…so this dish is basically mashed coagulated blood. It’s nase is pork blood to which chicken , pork, sausage, ham, chorizo, cumin, lemon, and bread or cornflour are added. If you’re into blood sausage, you will probably be into this.
Tripas à Moda do Porto – I want to preface this by telling you I am a big fan of tripe dishes. Tripe Porto style is made of cow tripe cooked with smoked meats and white beans served with a side of rice. Yes, there is a legend to this one. The Infante D. Henrique (the title means he was the son of the King but not an heir to the throne) was in charge of project management for a military expedition. This included catering. His preparations left the city with nothing but tripe. The people had to make do, so they came up with “Tripas à moda do Porto”. This dish is actually an eponym for the People of Porto who are called “tripeiros”.
So, I’ve tasted most of these, but didn’t think to take pictures of all of them, so come back for more pictures. And when you come to Portugal, don’t forget to make a list of your culinary travel goals!