The following highlights some of the popular Traditional Brazilian Foods. If you manage to be in an Brazilian restaurant or you are visiting Brazil, I recommend the following:
1. Prawn Skewer
Fresh prawns on skewers are the number one food to be seen on the beaches of Brazil, where beach vendors come and go selling giant grilled prawns impaled on giant wooden skewers.
2. Moqueca de Camarão
If we talk about the typical food of Brazil, we cannot forget the Moqueca. The main ingredient of this magnificent dish is fish, and there is a wide variety, such as shrimp, grouper or sea bass. It is usually cooked in the northeast of the country, especially in the coastal area. Red and green peppers, onions, sliced tomatoes, coconut milk, coriander, lime juice and garlic are a must in this stew. This delicious stew is slow cooked with prawns, coconut oil and milk with added vegetables.
3. Canjica
Canjica is a bowl of whole chunks of white corn mixed with milk, a splash of coconut milk and condensed milk to make an enviably creamy dessert with cinnamon sprinkles on top. It’s usually served during the annual June Festival, but as it’s too tasty to save just once a year, it’s easy to find all year round.
4. Acarajé
Acarajé is a dish of African origin, also very typical in Bahia, which will seduce you with its irresistible smell that wafts through the streets. Basically, it is a dumpling made with a paste of beans, prawns, onion, salt and pepper to taste, which, after being blended, is fried in vegetable oil and filled with cooked prawns, vatapá, onion and okra.
5. Brigadeiro
Brigadeiro are tuff balls made with condensed milk and covered with chocolate sprinkles. The traditional brigadeiro is milk chocolate, but white chocolate versions are also available. They can be even more delicious when made with a whole strawberry in the middle.
6. Açai
Açaí is a traditional sweet in Brazil, especially in coastal cities where it is a common after-beach snack. Try it as a sorbet, or ask for banana, strawberry or granola to take it to a new level of flavour. Açaí can also be found as a smoothie, juice, powder or even added to a main meal using its raw berry form.
7. Romeu and Julieta
This simple but incredible combination works on so many levels that it’s a wonder how it hasn’t become popular all over the world. It’s guava paste, like a thick jelly, served between two slices of soft white cheese. It can be the main part of a tart, a cake, a cheesecake or simply served as guava and cheese jelly.
8. Tapioca Crepe
The tapioca crepe used to be a typical food in northeastern Brazil, but has recently become popular in many other coastal cities. It is often served in small street stalls as savoury with cheese, tomato and ham or as sweet with chocolate, strawberries, bananas and nuts.
9. Feijoada
Feijoada is widely regarded as Brazil’s national dish. A stew of beef, pork and beans, this hearty dish is a favourite throughout the country. Feijoada originated in Portugal and remains popular in other former Portuguese colonies such as Macau and Angola. Within Brazil itself, there is a wide regional variation in the way the dish is prepared. The stew is prepared with additional vegetables in the north-eastern region of the country, and is exceptionally popular in Rio de Janeiro.
10. Farofa
Farofa is unique to Brazil and its taste and meaning is hard to understand without tasting it. It is basically fried tapioca flour mixed with fried bacon bits and served with rice and beans. Although it doesn’t sound like much, it’s amazing how it works so well with beans and rice, soaking up the juices and adding extra texture to an otherwise bland meal.
If you found this list useful, here are some more Traditional South American Foods to try out on my Pinterest channel.