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Traditional food · Portugal
From Lisbon's pastel de nata to the cozido of Furnas in the Azores: dishes, sweets and drinks linked to cities and districts of Portugal, with the history and the way to taste each one.
In the photo: Torre de Belém, Lisboa
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
The cuisine
Portuguese cuisine changes from one region to another. In the North, recipes are hearty, with pork, cured sausages, beans and bread baked in a wood-fired oven. In the Center, there are slow roasts in clay and pastries born in convents. In the Alentejo, bread, olive oil and herbs appear in almost everything. In the Algarve and coastal areas, fish and seafood rule the table. On the islands, Madeira and the Azores combine what comes from the sea with what grows in volcanic soil.
A large share of Portuguese sweets has an origin attributed to convents. Egg yolks, sugar and almond form the basis of recipes like ovos moles de Aveiro, pão de rala de Évora and fatias de Tomar. When the religious orders were extinguished in 1834, many recipes passed to families and pastry shops in the cities, which keep them to this day. Some historians note that not every recipe called conventual has documentary proof; therefore, each page separates what is historical record from what is tradition.
Several specialties have official protection. The European Union registers names such as Ovos Moles de Aveiro and Pastel de Chaves, and Vinho do Porto, Vinho da Madeira and Moscatel de Setúbal are protected designations of origin with their own rules. Dishes like sopa da pedra de Almeirim are recognized as traditional specialties, which protect the method of preparation.
There are festive dishes and everyday dishes. Leitão assado and chanfana were created for special days; choco frito and francesinha are common meals. Wine and liqueurs are part of the culture of many regions and are enjoyed in moderation.
Each specialty here is linked to a city or district that represents it. That does not mean it is only eaten there: many have spread across the country. The page for each one explains the relation to the place, the ingredients and the serving custom.
29 flavors
Stew of meats, sausages and vegetables cooked for hours in a pot buried next to the Furnas hot springs, using only the volcanic heat of the ground. A tradition from the island of São Miguel in the Azores.
Very moist sponge cake with an almost liquid center, eaten with a spoon. Made in Alfeizerão, in the municipality of Alcobaça, it is the region's best-known sweet according to Turismo de Portugal.
Suckling pig of one to one-and-a-half months, seasoned with garlic and pepper and roasted whole in a wood-fired oven until the skin becomes thin and crispy. Specialty of the Bairrada, centered in Mealhada, in the district of Aveiro.
Sweet of egg yolks and sugar syrup, served in painted wooden barrels or inside wafers shaped like sea motifs. It was the first Portuguese sweet with a protected geographical indication under European law.
Pudding of egg yolks, sugar and Port wine, with an unexpected ingredient: bacon. It was created in the 19th century by the abbot of Priscos, a parish of Braga, who was a banquet cook for the court.
Thick cut of Mirandesa-breed beef grilled over charcoal with only coarse salt. Turismo de Portugal identifies it as typical of the Miranda do Douro region, in the district of Bragança.
Meat from an old goat marinated in red wine with garlic and bay leaf and cooked for hours in a clay pot in a wood-fired oven. A dish from the mountain ranges of the Coimbra district, where Miranda do Corvo and Vila Nova de Poiares compete for the title of capital.
Half-moon of very thin pastry, baked in the oven, filled with a sweet made from egg yolks and almond. A convent sweet associated with the Mosteiro de Santa Clara, on the banks of the Mondego, in Coimbra.
Sweet made from egg yolks, milk, flour and cinnamon, baked in a clay dish until it cracks, served with Elvas plums in syrup. Eating sericaia with Elvas plums is one of Turismo de Portugal's recommendations for the city.
Almond paste sweet shaped like a loaf of bread, filled with egg sweet, chila and egg threads, served with marzipan olives. Created by the nuns of the Convento de Santa Helena do Calvário, in Évora.
Shellfish, fish or meat cooked in the copper two‑shell vessel that closes. Turismo de Portugal highlights clams in the cataplana among the traditional dishes of the Algarve.
Half-moon of puff pastry filled with egg sweet, almond and chila, brushed with sugar syrup. A legacy of the nuns of the former Convento de Santa Clara, now the seat of the Câmara de Guimarães.
Sweet made of egg threads, egg sweet, almond and cinnamon, wrapped in colored metallic paper. Tradition links its creation to the old Carmelite convent of Lagos, in the Algarve.
Leavened bread dough filled with ham, salpicón, meat in vinha-d'alhos or cod, baked in a wood-fired oven. It is the specialty that Turismo de Portugal recommends trying in Lamego.
Small sweet made of eggs, sugar and almond, cooked in a bain-marie, soft and glossy. Emblematic of Leiria’s confectionery, listed in the official catalogue of traditional products.
Pastry made with puff pastry filled with an egg-yolk, milk and sugar custard, eaten hot with cinnamon. Lisbon's official tourism presents it as the city's most emblematic sweet.
Pieces of beef seasoned with garlic, coarse salt and bay leaf, skewered on laurel sticks and grilled over embers. It is one of the most emblematic dishes of Madeira’s traditional cuisine, present at festivals and gatherings.
Fortified wine from the Madeira designation of origin, made from grapes grown on terraced vineyards on volcanic soil and aged with heat, either by estufagem or in casks. It has been exported for centuries.
Ginja liqueur, an acidic cherry from the region, served in small chocolate cups that are eaten afterwards. Tasting ginjinha in a chocolate cup is one of the things Turismo de Portugal recommends in Óbidos.
Sandwich made with sliced sandwich bread and meats, topped with melted cheese and bathed in a hot tomato-and-beer sauce. It originated in Porto in the 20th century and is a common sight in the city's cafés.
Veal tripe stew with cured meats, white beans and carrot, served with rice. It is a historic Porto dish and the reason people from Porto are called tripeiros.
Hearty bean soup with pork and beef cuts, sausages and vegetables, served with a stone at the bottom of the pot. It is a traditional specialty guaranteed by the European Union and associated with Almeirim, in the district of Santarém.
Strips of choco coated in flour and fried until golden, served with lemon and french fries. It is one of the dishes most associated with the city of Setúbal, where the City Council holds a gastronomic week dedicated to choco.
Fortified (liqueur) wine from Moscatel grapes, from the Setúbal designation of origin, with a demarcated region since 1907 in the municipalities of Setúbal, Palmela and Montijo and part of Sesimbra.
Small tart with a thin, crisp pastry filled with fresh cheese, egg yolks, sugar and cinnamon. The Câmara de Sintra presents it as the oldest sweet in the town's gastronomy.
Slices of egg yolks beaten for a long time, cooked in a bain-marie in a special pan and soaked in sugar syrup. A convent sweet from Tomar, traditionally linked to the Convento de Cristo.
Rice cooked with pork, beef and chicken, pork blood and spices, served with rojões and sausages. The Municipality of Ponte de Lima, in the district of Viana do Castelo, calls it the hallmark of its gastronomy.
Fortified wine from the Porto denomination of origin, made with grapes from the Douro and linked to the cellars (caves) of Vila Nova de Gaia, where law concentrated the trade of this wine in 1926.
Crescent of crisp puff pastry filled with minced veal. It has a protected geographical indication from the European Union, with production restricted to the municipality of Chaves, in the district of Vila Real.
Suggest a traditional dish, sweet or drink of Portugal that is not here. We check the sources before adding it.
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Your questions
Pastel de nata is the name of the pastry, made in pastry shops across the country. "Pastéis de Belém" is the name used by the Casa de Belém in Lisbon, which has produced them since the 19th century with its own recipe.
They are sweets whose origin is attributed to Portuguese convents, generally made with many egg yolks, sugar and almond. After the extinction of the religious orders in 1834, the recipes passed to families and pastry shops. For some sweets, the convent origin is a tradition without documentary proof.
Among others, Ovos Moles de Aveiro and Pastel de Chaves have protected geographical indication from the European Union; Vinho do Porto, Vinho da Madeira and Moscatel de Setúbal are protected designations of origin; and sopa da pedra de Almeirim is a guaranteed traditional specialty that protects the method of preparation.
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