Imagine it. You’re strolling down a market street in Brazil, enjoying the sights and sounds, watching vendors and buskers doing their thing. You’re headed on the way to the beach, or home from the beach, or just on break at work, and you’re feeling a little hungry.
Suddenly, you catch the scent of something delicious. Something fried, something savory, something chicken. You follow your nose to a street vendor selling teardrop-shaped fried nuggets fresh from the oil. Is this the perfect street food? The people around you seem to think so, as the stand is very popular.
What you’ve found is the coxinha, Brazil’s most popular and beloved street food. From the city streets to the beachside vendors, you can find coxinhas pretty much everywhere, and with good reason. They’re simple, easy to make, and incredibly delicious.
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What Are Coxinhas?
A simple and slightly inaccurate description of the humble coxinha is “a chicken croquette,” but there’s a lot more to it than what that description would indicate. Pronounced Koh-SHEEN-Yah in Portuguese, the name means “little thigh,” a nod to the history we’ll get to in a moment.
The exterior of the coxinha is a dough-like batter, fried to a crisp surrounding the filling. It’s a little sweet and a little salty, with a rich flavor, usually made with wheat flour and chicken broth, among other things. It’s somewhat reminiscent of the exterior of fried chicken, and there’s good reason for that.
Meanwhile, the interior is a rich mix of cooked and shredded chicken, spices, onion, garlic, and cream cheese (or a Brazilian soft cheese like requeijao). Some recipes add in a bit of carrot, though that seems to be an Americanized iteration of the recipe. Others add some heat with a bit of jalapeno or the Bahian hot pepper malagueta. Some give it a smokey flavor with smoked paprika, and others add in a bit of brightness with lime.
The filling is balled, the dough is wrapped around, the whole thing is fried, and served to eagerly-waiting patrons.
What is the History of Coxinhas?
There are two different histories to the humble coxinha in Brazil. It’s up to you which one you believe; while one is certainly more plausible, it’s also less interesting. It doesn’t really make a difference, though, where it came from. The key is that we have it, and you can have it too.
The Royal Origins of the Coxinha
The first origin story is almost a Brazilian fairy tale. It can be traced back to the book Stories & Recipes by Nadir Cavazin. It’s also very commonly repeated, perhaps because it’s listed as the history of the coxinha on Wikipedia.
In this story, the key figures are Princess Isabel of Imperial Brazil and her son. Which son? It’s not entirely clear, but given that history records three sons and the tale speaks of a fourth, we begin to see the fairy tale emerge.
Regardless, this son was largely kept in seclusion for having unspecified mental problems. Among other things, he was a notoriously picky eater. His favorite food was chicken, but he would only ever eat the drumsticks, savoring the dark meat.
One day, a crisis emerged. The chef of the estate had run out of chicken to serve. Desperate to serve something to the boy, she gathered leftover chicken from the night before. Breading and shaping the chicken into a drumstick shape, she fried it and presented it as a special “little thigh” fit only for the prince.
Fortunately for the prince, his mother, the chef, and Brazil’s culinary traditions, the boy loved it. In fact, he loved it so much that he came to prefer it over real chicken thighs and soon would eat little else but the coxinha.
Over time, the recipe for the coxinha spread. At one point, Empress Teresa Cristina visited the boy and tried the coxinha herself. She, too, loved it and brought the recipe back to the imperial kitchen, where it quickly spread.
Today’s coxinhas are thus a derivation of that same recipe, teardrop-shaped to replicate the chicken drumstick and spiced up to suit modern tastes.
It’s a wonderful story and has all of the hallmarks of a fairy tale, which is, of course, why it’s entirely unsubstantiated, if beloved.
The French Origins of the Coxinha
A less interesting but entirely more believable origin for the coxinha is that it’s a Brazilian take on a French classic, the croquette de poulet or chicken croquette. The chicken croquette dates at least as far back as 1844, and even older mentions from 1780 lend credence to the origin. Croquettes, in general, have existed since at least the 1600s, if not even earlier, though they vary wildly in terms of composition and even shape.
In fact, these mentions from 1780 come from the chef Lucas Rigaud, who was the head chef of the kitchens for the queen of Portugal. His recipe is very similar to the coxinha, and later iterations even mention forming it “into the shape of a pear,” or the iconic teardrop we recognize as a coxinha today.
A French chef working for the queen of Portugal during the time when Brazil was occupied and expanded as a part of the Portuguese empire? It’s a fairly clear through-line, and while it doesn’t come with the hallmarks of a good story, it certainly ties into the status of Brazil as a melting pot of culinary influences as far-reaching as North Africa, Eastern Europe, and even Japan.
Whatever origin story you believe, the end result is the same: an incredibly tasty street food beloved across the country and around the world.
How to Make Coxinhas at Home
The best way to enjoy a coxinha is when an expert makes them in a stall on the side of the street, and you can enjoy them as a street food while wandering a market, strolling the beach, or otherwise experiencing everything Brazil has to offer.
The second-best way to enjoy a coxinha is in a restaurant here in Brazil, where different chefs put their own takes on the recipe, giving them regional twists, customizations, or just a classic recipe done with a special talent and a high degree of skill.
The third-best way to enjoy a coxinha is to make one yourself. Fortunately, while they are a little time and labor-intensive, they aren’t terribly difficult to make, and you can customize them however you like.
Coxinha Ingredients
Let’s start with the ingredients. First, for the dough that will surround the outside of the coxinhas:
- 1 ¾ cups of milk
- 1 ¾ cups of chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 3 ½ tablespoons of butter
- 2 large potatoes, peeled and mashed
- 3 ½ cups of flour
Some recipes don’t use the potatoes here. We find that potato adds a bit of robustness and flavor and helps the dough crisp up nicely when fried.
Next, the ingredients for the filling.
- 2 large chicken breasts with no skin or bones
- ¼ cup of butter
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon of paprika
- 2 tablespoons of cream cheese or a Brazilian cheese
- 4 tablespoons of tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon of water
You can also add spices to this mix. Cilantro is common, as is parsley and chives or green onions. Some people add a hint of lime juice. The paprika can be smoked or not, to your taste. This is also where you would add some malagueta, jalapeno, or another spiced pepper if you want.
Finally, for the full assembly, you will want a few additional ingredients.
- Another half cup of milk
- Some fine breadcrumbs
- More cream cheese, up to another 8 ounces
How do you turn this pile of ingredients into delicious coxinhas?
Cook the chicken. You want to cook the chicken in some broth for added flavor or just in water. You can re-use the broth for the dough later to double up on the flavors. When done, you want to drain the chicken, shred it as finely as possible, and set it aside.
Cook the garlic and onion. All you need is a bit of oil in a pan. Saute the onion until it’s translucent, then add the garlic and cook both until they’re golden and aromatic.
Mix in the rest of the filling ingredients. Add the paprika, cream cheese, tomato sauce, shredded chicken, and any herbs and spices you want to add (like parsley, jalapeno, or cilantro), and season with salt and pepper to your taste. Once it’s all melted and mixed, set it aside to cool.
Make the dough. If you’re using potatoes, peel them, cook them until they’re tender, and mash them. In a large pot, combine the milk, broth from the chicken, salt, butter, and potatoes. Bring the mix to a boil.
Once boiling, add in the flour all at once and stir until it forms a dough. You may need more flour; add flour until it comes together, and no more. Too much flour can result in an overly flour-tasting dough, and that’s not too pleasant for anyone.
Transfer the dough to an oiled surface, let it cool a bit so you can handle it, and knead it until it’s smooth. Cover it with plastic to prevent it from drying out while you keep working on the recipe.
Assemble the coxinhas. Start with about a golf ball-sized piece of dough. Take and flatten this in your hands; it doesn’t need to be super precise, so you don’t need to roll it out or anything.
Add a dollop of cream cheese and a spoonful of your filling to the center of the dough and press to compact it. Fold the dough up around the filling and pinch the top together in the iconic teardrop shape.
Finally, dip this entire teardrop into milk and roll in your breadcrumbs for the final coating.
Fry your coxinhas. To fry, you want hot oil. A deep fryer works best, but a deep pan with a layer of oil can work as well, as long as you keep your coxinhas moving. We also recommend a thermometer to keep on hand to keep temperatures consistent, so you don’t over-fry or under-fry your coxinhas. Work in small batches to avoid over-cooling the oil.
Fry each coxinha until they’re golden brown, then set them aside on a paper towel to dry excess oil before serving. This keeps them crispy instead of soggy.
Enjoy them while they’re warm!
Other Street Foods Similar to Coxinhas
Coxinhas are the most popular street food in Brazil, but they aren’t the only street food or the only delicious chicken-based treat you can get in Brazil or in fusion restaurants like Texas de Brazil.
One example you can find in Brazil is another croquette-like food, acaraje. Unlike the coxinha, acaraje is made from black-eyed peas, shrimp, and other filling ingredients. It’s more of a fritter than a croquette, but it’s no less delicious.
If you like the cheesy part of the coxinha, we’d love for you to try our Brazilian cheese bread, also known as pao de queijo. If you thought those seafood restaurant cheese biscuits were good, just wait until you’ve had our cheese bread.
And, of course, you can always go right back to the roots of the coxinha. Our parmesan chicken drumettes are tasty pieces of chicken cooked to perfection over the open flames of our churrasco kitchen.
If you can’t make your way to Brazil – and we know it’s not in the cards for everyone – you can come to your nearest Texas de Brazil location. We serve a wide range of classic Brazilian recipes, American greats, and hybrid foods you can’t find anywhere else. Browse our menu, sign up for our e-club for exclusive deals and coupons, or just give us a call and reserve a spot. We’d love to have you! If you have any questions about any of our offerings or anything we discussed in this article, please feel free to let us know!
