Portuguese Cuisine: Rich in Tradition, Bold in Flavor

At Leite’s Culinaria, I’ve been cooking, writing, and sharing these dishes for years—many of them passed down from my Portuguese family. This page is your passport to all things Portuguese, with a curated collection of my favorite recipes.

What Makes Portuguese Cuisine Unique?

  • Blindingly Fresh Seafood: With its long Atlantic coastline, Portugal naturally celebrates seafood. Bacalhau (salt cod) is the most iconic dish—so beloved there are said to be more than 365 ways to prepare it. But you’ll also find plenty of sardines, octopus, clams, and fresh-caught fish on tables across the country.
  • Hearty Meats: Pork is essential to Portuguese cooking—especially in sausages like chouriço and linguiça. Stews made with beef or chicken are also common, often slow-cooked with wine, garlic, and herbs.
  • Bold, Simple Seasonings: Portuguese flavors come from a handful of core ingredients: garlic, olive oil, bay leaves, paprika, parsley, cilantro, and spicy piri-piri chiles. These create deeply flavorful food without being fussy.
  • Comforting Soups & Stews: Soup is a staple in most Portuguese homes. Caldo verde—made with potatoes, kale, and chouriço—is a national favorite. Other popular dishes include seafood stews like caldeirada, often made with whatever the fishermen brought in that day.
  • Irresistible Sweets: Portugal’s desserts are famous for good reason. From the crisp, creamy pastéis de nata (Portuguese custard tarts) to the malasadas (sugar-dusted fritters) my grandmother made, to the redolent orange-olive oil cake sweets here lean heavily on egg yolks, sugar, fruit, and tradition.

Explore My Portuguese Recipe Collection

Below, you’ll find a curated list of the best Portuguese recipes on Leite’s Culinaria. Whether you’re exploring your heritage, reliving a trip, or simply curious about the cuisine, you’ll find classic seafood dishes, rustic stews, savory sides, and iconic desserts.

Each recipe includes detailed instructions, ingredients, and tips I’ve gathered over years of testing and cooking. Just click on a recipe to get started—and bring the flavors of Portugal into your kitchen. Bom apetite.

Chow,

David Leite's handwritten signature of 'David.'
David Leite

Hey, I’m David Leite

I’m a three-time James Beard Award-winning food writer, cookbook author, memoirist, podcast host, and publisher. I created this site in 1999 to help you find simple, quick, and wicked flavorful recipes. For the past 24 years, I’ve been cooking, teaching, and writing about all types of food, including those from my Portuguese heritage. Let’s eat! Vamos comer!

Read More About Me

Salt Cod ~ Bacalhau

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Well, bakers, I finally did it. I improved on my pastel de nata recipe. I took me the better part of a year, but I crafted a recipe that 1.) is way easier to make (none of that endless rolling), 2.) has a creamer, foolproof custard that doesn’t curdle, 3.) sports more frilly, crispy layers, and 4.) can be frozen and enjoyed whenever your heart desires.

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All-Time Favorites

Soup ~ Sopa

Shrimp ~ Camarão

Fish & Seafood

Desserts ~ Sobremesa

FAQs about Salt Cod

Because salt cod is one of Portugal’s iconic foods, many think the Portuguese were instrumental in its discovery, which, alas, they weren’t. Nearly five hundred years before the Portuguese began fishing for cod in the Grand Banks off the coast of Newfoundland, the Vikings had stumbled upon one of the world’s largest caches of cod and figured out how to air-dry the fish.

The reason why salt cod is so prized in the Portuguese community, besides being a cheap and shelf-stable staple, is because the drying and salting give a superior taste and texture to an otherwise characterless fish. When a meaty slab of bacalhau is properly desalted and cooked, it will flake perfectly and have just the slightest toothsomeness.

What should I look for when buying bacalhau?

Look for salt cod, preferably from Norway, in Portuguese, Italian, Greek, Spanish, or Latin markets. I’ve also had very good luck with several online purveyors. Buy the thickest, firmest pieces possible; they’ll make for a more substantial meal and a prettier presentation.

How do you desalt salt cod?

To reconstitute the bacalhau, rinse it well under running water to remove surface salt. Place the pieces in a large bowl and cover with cold water by 2 inches. Stretch plastic wrap over the top and refrigerate, changing the water several times, until the fish is sufficiently desalted for you. Take a nibble—it’s perfectly safe to eat. If it’s too salty, change the water again, and let it sit for a few more hours. The process can take anywhere from 12 to 48 hours, depending on the size of the fillet. Above all, bear this in mind: you can always add more salt, but you can’t remove it from a finished dish.

A plank of dried salt cod.

All Portuguese