Food in Brazil: Entrees, Snacks & Sandwiches

As part of the article Brazil Food Culture Guide: What to Eat & Drink, this post presents a list of Brazilian entrees you find at local restaurants, local markets, kiosks, food trucks, cafés, bakeries for a coffee break, or for a meal in the evening. In the late evening, you find the local restaurants lanchonetes open until 2:00 a.m. serving fast food and dishes made of steak, as well as food trucks for hot dogs and other popular snacks. Names in Portuguese are written in parenthesis if you need to take notes since most Brazilians don’t speak any other language. While tasting these snacks, it’s worth drinking the beverage guaraná.

Pastel

Brought by the Portuguese immigrants, pastel is a half-circled snack, or rectangle, fried in crusted pies with meat (pastel de carne), chicken (pastel de galinha), eggs (pastel de ovo), or shrimp (pastel de camarão). Found at many bars and restaurants where locals go for a break meal.

Coxinha

The name coxinha given to this popular Brazilian snack refers to the chicken leg format of this chopped or shredded chicken meat covered in the dough to be battered and fried.

Pão de Queijo

Translating literally as cheese bread, pão de queijo is actually a cheese-stuffed bread, a delicious snack baked in the form of a cheese roll. It’s originally from the state of Minas Gerais but found all over the country. Eaten accompanying the coffee usually, you will see that is such a delicious combination.

Pizza

Pizza has become popular in Brazil since it was introduced by the millions of Italian immigrants who arrived between the 1880s and the World War II, and nowadays it’s served in a large variety of flavors from mozzarella to chocolate. Chocolate pizza? Yes, chocolate pizza. And an interesting pizza experience in Brazil is going to a pizza buffet (rodízio de pizza) promoted by many pizzerias. Travelers used to the Italian rituals with food may be shocked with the Brazilian informality, focus only on tasting the pizza.

X-Salada

X-salada is a popular fast food dish in Brazil that you can eat at the local restaurants called lanchonete and at any place open in the evening written with the sign “lanches”. Let’s say that x-salada is a kind of Brazilian burger made of beef, cheese, ham, corn, peas, tomatoes, lettuce, and more ingredients. There are other variants made with chicken (X-galinha), eggs (X-egg), chicken heart (X-coração), and more.

Hot-Dog

Hot-dog in Brazil is not a piece of mere bread and sausage as you may imagine. Locally named as cachorro quente, the literal translation of hot dog in Portuguese, it is prepared with numerous ingredients including sausage, corn, cheese, potato sticks, tomato sauce, bacon, cheddar, and more. It’s one of the main street food in Brazil.

Kibbeh

Kibbeh, kibe or kibi as said in Brazil, was brought by Lebanese and Syrian immigrants and became a popular snack all over the country. It’s prepared with minced onions, ground lean beef, and bulgur; baked in the shape of patties usually.

Sfiha

Another dish introduced by the Lebanese and Syrian immigrants, sfiha, esfirra as the name is localized in Brazil, is a pizza-like snack prepared with ground mutton. Habib’s is a popular fast-food chain for sfiha, and in many cities, you find specialized restaurants named ‘esfiharia’.

Mortadella Sandwich

If you travel to São Paulo, you must include in your bucket list the mortadella sandwich (sanduíche de mortadela) served at the Central Market (known as Mercadão or Mercado Público), one of the icons of the city. It goes well with beer.

Acarajé

Acarajé is typical of the state of Bahia, where many travelers go to visit Salvador, but also found in other major cities. It remembers a falafel but made with white beans instead of the chickpeas, introduced by Muslim slaves who came from Africa.

For more tips about food in Brazil, you also find what to eat in terms of main course dishes, sweets & desserts, as well as beverages & drinks you will in most of the main destinations.

Originally posted 2020-09-12 02:31:07.