Flavors · Belo Horizonte

Feijão tropeiro

Beans mixed with cassava flour, pork crackling, sausage, egg and collard greens. Inherited from the tropeiros who crossed Minas Gerais, it is the dish that best represents the cuisine of Belo Horizonte, according to a study by the city's tourism observatory.

Traditional dish from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais

Also known as: tropeiro

Updated October 2026

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Feijão tropeiro — Belo Horizonte, Brazil — Feijão tropeiro

Feijão tropeiro — Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Feijão tropeiro is made with cooked beans that are still firm, mixed in the pan with cassava flour, bacon or pork belly, sausage, scrambled eggs, garlic, onion and fresh herbs. It is usually served with sautéed collard greens and pork crackling. The result is a dry, flavorful bean dish, quite different from beans in broth.

The name comes from the tropeiros, who between the 17th and 19th centuries carried goods in mule trains along inland roads. They needed food that would withstand the journey: beans, flour, dried meat and pork fat, which could be combined into a single meal. For that reason the dish is more connected to a way of life than to a specific city of origin.

In Belo Horizonte, tropeiro appears in restaurants serving mineira food, in taverns, and for a long time it was the typical food on match days at the Mineirão. A survey by the city's Tourism Observatory, conducted in the main gastronomic corridors, identified feijão tropeiro as the dish that best represents Belo Horizonte's cuisine.

Belo Horizonte holds the UNESCO title of Creative City of Gastronomy, and mineira cuisine is the favorite of residents and visitors, according to the same study.

Each family has its own style: wetter or drier, with more or less egg, with one type of sausage or another.

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Where it comes from

Belo Horizonte , Minas Gerais
A study by the Belo Horizonte Tourism Observatory identified feijão tropeiro as the dish that best represents the city's cuisine.

Ingredients

Cooked beans, cassava flour, bacon or pork belly, sausage, eggs, garlic, onion, fresh herbs. Served with sautéed collard greens and pork crackling.

How it is eaten

Hot, served as a main course or side dish, with rice, sautéed collard greens, pork crackling, fried egg and often pork chop or roast pork.

When it is eaten

Year-round; traditional in taverns and on football match days.

Your questions

Questions about Feijão tropeiro

What is feijão tropeiro?

It is beans mixed with cassava flour, bacon or pork belly, sausage, egg and collard greens. It is typical of Minas Gerais and the dish that best represents the cuisine of Belo Horizonte, according to a city government survey.

Why is it called feijão tropeiro?

Because of the tropeiros, who transported goods in mule trains across the interior and needed food that could withstand the journey, such as beans, flour and pork fat.

What is feijão tropeiro eaten with?

With rice, sautéed collard greens, pork crackling, fried egg and often pork chop or roast pork.

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