When you’re visiting a churrascaria and partaking in some delicious Brazilian BBQ, there’s more than enough delectable meat to enjoy. But we highly recommend breaking it up so you can enjoy more of what Brazil has to offer and let each bite of meat live on its own rather than in the shadow of the previous bite. Trust us; it’s tastier this way. Plus, Brazil’s culinary traditions give you a ton of options for incredible delicious side dishes just waiting to be tried.
For today’s post, we’ve put together ten of our favorite traditional Brazilian side dishes, which you can pair with Brazilian BBQ or other meals if you’re exploring Brazilian cuisine. We’re sure you’ll enjoy them if you give them a try, but let us know what you think if you try them out!
Table of Contents
1: Farofa
Farofa is one of the most unique dishes in Brazilian cuisine, and it’s certainly unlike what most people have had when they try out Brazilian food for the first time.
What is it? Farofa is toasted flour. Except, it’s not just any flour; it’s a coarse flour made out of the cassava root, the same root that is used to make tapioca. The two couldn’t be more different, despite the same origin, however!
The flour itself is laced with other ingredients to give it flavor. Many of them will be familiar: garlic, bacon, parsley, chives, onions, and so on. The cassava flour soaks up the rendered bacon fat and clumps together, absorbing the flavors of everything around it.
Farofa isn’t eaten on its own, typically. It’s almost more like a topping or something like a Japanese furikake. A bowl of farofa accompanies another meal, and you sprinkle some of it on your meat, mix some into your rice and beans, or stir some into your feijoada. Despite not being a stand-alone side dish, however, farofa is never far off a Brazilian plate.
2: Arroz Carreteiro
Also known as “wagoner’s rice” when you translate the Portuguese, this side dish is originally from Rio Grande do Sul but has become immensely popular all throughout Brazil. Many years ago, wagon drivers pulling ox carts throughout the country needed some kind of simple, practical food that wouldn’t go bad. Rice, salted meat, jerky, and other shelf-stable food items could be combined with water on the road, cooked in a single cast iron pan, and turned into a hearty, delicious, and filling meal.
These days, Arroz Carreteiro is more often a rice-based side dish than a main course, though you can see more elaborate versions of the recipe as a main course as well. Since we love our rice dishes here in Brazil, you’re sure to have some kind of rice, so spicing it up into a dish of its own isn’t uncommon.
Generally, making Arroz Carreteiro begins with frying some bacon. The bacon grease is then used to cook and stew sausage or jerky, and then aromatics like onion and garlic are added. When it’s all getting close to ready, rice is added and cooked until it’s soft and edible. Other flavorings top it off, including chili, herbs, and farofa if you’re feeling fancy.
3: Tutu de Feijao
Feijao is the Brazilian word for beans. Alongside rice, beans are a staple of every dinner plate in Brazil. They’re hearty, healthy, and filling and have been a staple for centuries, especially among people who didn’t necessarily have the money or the resources for other ingredients to make up the bulk of their meals. Of course, necessity is the mother of invention, and culinary science is no different. When all you have are beans, you do all sorts of things to make them as delicious as possible.
Tutu de Feijao is, basically, refried beans. The dish originally comes from Minas Gerais, but it’s broadly similar to many other refried bean recipes all around the world. There are two main differences between the refried beans you’re likely used to in America (the Mexican kind) and the Brazilian tutu de feijao.
The first is that the beans used differ. Mexican refried beans usually use pinto beans, while Brazilian refried beans use black beans. Though truthfully, you can see both in both countries these days. The second is that the beans are pureed with cassava flour, both to augment the texture and to add more flavor and bulk to the meal. Other spices and herbs can be added and blended in or sprinkled on top, including garlic, paprika, bay leaves, savory, and more. A lot of it comes down to personal taste!
4: Maionese de Batata
Did you know that potatoes are originally from South America? Most people don’t realize that the handful of potatoes we see in America is just a small sampling of the varieties of potatoes available in their home of Peru. Of course, being geographically closer to Peru, Brazil definitely appreciates a good potato dish.
Potato salad (known as Maionese de Batata) in Brazil is a fairly simple recipe. Potatoes, carrots, and parsley are diced, cooked, and mixed together. The dressing is simply mayonnaise, and it can be seasoned with salt and pepper to taste. That’s the basic recipe, anyway; there are endless variations you can encounter all throughout Brazil. Sometimes, they’re mixed with fruit, sometimes scallions or chives are added, sometimes olives top it off, and sometimes beans and peas are mixed in. Sometimes, hard-boiled eggs are even added to make a sort of hybrid of egg salad and potato salad.
Potatoes can be hearty and filling, so don’t take too much of this when you’re waiting for more meat, but it’s a good way to cleanse the palette and prepare for the next round.
5: Salpicao de Frango
Salbicao de Frango is the Brazilian twist on a staple at every midwestern potluck: the humble chicken salad. Except, being Brazilian, it’s quite unlike what you might expect. Shredded chicken makes up the bulk of the dish, with green onions, carrots, and even raisins augmenting it with sweeter elements.
What really kicks off the chicken salad, though, is the dressing. A traditional dressing is actually just made of hot olive oil and mayo mixed thoroughly into a thinner and creamier sauce. You can also add sweet corn to make it more traditional, though some people aren’t a fan of the addition.
As with potato salad, there are all manner of variations of the humble chicken salad. Spices, cheeses, farofa, of course; you can add nearly anything you want to make the recipe entirely your own. We do recommend trying the most traditional version at first, though, so you know what it’s meant to be before you make it something new.
6: Feijao Tropeiro
Feijao, as you know from the earlier entry, is beans. But, unlike tutu de feijao, feijao tropeiro is a very different kind of dish. It’s a hearty mixture of cooked beans alongside bacon, sausage, eggs, collard greens, and, of course, all topped with farofa.
This is another popular dish that came originally from Minas Gerais. It sits alongside the wagoner’s rice as a hearty dish that could be made on the road entirely out of dried and shelf-stable ingredients. The beans are cooked until they’re tender, then sauteed with the other ingredients to give them a robust flavor profile that makes them satisfying to eat even when there’s not much going on with the recipe. The crunchy farofa, the soft beans, the chew of the meat; it all contrasts wonderfully and leaves you wanting more.
7: Pao de Queijo
Pretty much any time you visit a restaurant almost anywhere in the world, one of the items at your table is going to be some kind of bread. It may not be entirely universal, but bread is such a tasty, filling staple to all of human society that it’s no wonder it’s been invented and reinvented in a million different ways.
In this case, pao de queijo is a unique kind of bread found only really in Brazil. In fact, it can be somewhat hard to even find the ingredients in America because it doesn’t use your everyday wheat flour. Oh no, nothing so simple; it uses cassava flour, also known as cassava starch. The bread made with this flour ends up with a chewier, more robust texture but with a certain softness that is unlike any other kind of bread.
Of course, we can’t leave it be and just have bread. The key to pao de queijo isn’t just the bread itself but the Brazilian cheese worked into the dough. The cheesy bread is a perfect accompaniment to a meat-heavy meal like Brazilian BBQ, though we also have it for breakfast all the time as well.
8: Bacalhau
More appropriately called Bacalhau a Gomes de Sa, this dish is actually a seafood dish, and it’s not entirely Brazilian in origin. In fact, it’s actually a popular dish found all throughout both South America and the Caribbean.
The base of this seafood dish is salted cod. Cod isn’t the most delectable of fish, but as a whitefish, it’s perfect as a base for a meal. That’s why fish and chips use it, and it’s why Bacalhau uses it. The fish is mixed with green peppers, tomatoes, onions, and cabbage and is topped with lemon, cilantro, and optionally some chilis. It often has some hard-boiled or soft-boiled eggs around the sides to give it a bit more punch.
You most often find this side dish accompanying some of the spicier dishes found in the broader region. Brazil doesn’t actually do a lot of spice, which is why the chilis are optional, but for the people who love the heat, it’s entirely up to your preference.
9: Mandioca Frita
We’ve mentioned cassava several times already, but it’s bound to show up again, and here it is. Cassava actually goes by several names, two of which are yuca root and manioc root. Whatever you call it, it’s a starchy tuber, a lot like a potato in a lot of ways.
So, which is mandioca frita? You barely even need to know Portuguese to translate it as fried manioc, right?
If you know what French fries are, you already know more or less what mandioca frita is. It’s the cassava root, cut into rods and deep fried until they’re golden and soft. They’re most equivalent to something like steak fries here in America, thick and soft, and the flavor largely depends on what you’re having alongside it as a dip, sauce, or other food.
Don’t think it’s too simple to try, though; the fact that it’s not actually made with potatoes will tell you that it’s a different enough culinary experience to be worth a taste.
10: Crème de Milho
Rounding out our list of the best Brazilian side dishes to have alongside churrasco is crème de milho or creamed corn. Wait, don’t go! Before you go thinking this is as bland and boring as the stuff you get out of a can, our recipe is a lot more unique.
Brazilian creamed corn is a mixture of pasted and blended corn, mashed corn, and whole corn kernels mixed with milk and cassava starch to form a thick, paste-like, and smooth side dish. It’s a fairly neutral, sweet base that can be spiced up with a bit of salt or some other flavors but works perfectly as an accompaniment to a main course, particularly with fish and poultry. It may not be the most commonly-chosen item on our menu, but it’s enjoyed all the same.
If you want to see what else is on our menu, feel free! We’re well-stocked with Brazilian staples, ranging from the centerpiece picanha to the salad area full of ingredients to make something you love, all the way to the cocktails and other beverages we love here in Brazil. Once you’re ready to give it all a try, find your nearest Texas de Brazil and make the trip. You’re sure to love it, and we’d love to have you!
