Brazilian Feijoada is a black bean and pork stew that Brazilians often serve topped with farofa, toasted cassava flour. Many call this comfort food the national dish of Brazil.  

Feijoada, a popular Brazilian dish, owes its name to its main ingredient, black beans (feijão). It is a rich stew traditionally made from different parts of the pig, such as feet, ears, and bacon, as well as other smoked meats. (But don’t worry, I have some substitutions for you if you’re not up to cooking with pig ears and feet!)

Brazilian Cuisine

Brazilian cuisine is very regionalized, each region has its own typical dishes. This is the result of a mixture of different European, Indigenous, and African ingredients and influences.

In the northeast region of Brazil, there is a great influence from African cuisine.

However, in the northern region, there is a greater influence from the Natives, where the use of cassava and fish come into play in many of their dishes.

In the southeast region of Brazil, there are diverse dishes linked to the Bandeirantes (bandits) that include ingredients like corn, beans, and pork.

In the southern region, Italian cuisine has a great influence on dishes such as polenta and pizza. And we also see the influence of German cuisine.

History of Feijoada

Some historians say that African slaves created feijoada (pronounced fay-jwa-da). After feasts given by the owners of the plantations, the slaves would pick up the leftovers and mix them with black beans, making a new stew.

This new dish they served with farofa (fried cassava flour with bacon) and orange slices.

Other historians say that a similar dish was consumed in the north of Portugal, where its main ingredients were white or red beans and pork.

Whichever the story is, feijoada is a symbol of the fusion within Brazilian gastronomic culture. It is a Brazilian icon.

When to Eat Feijoada

Brazilians usually eat feijoada on Wednesdays and Saturdays when restaurants traditionally offer it on their menus and families prepare it in social gatherings.

All social classes eat feijoada since it is such a low-cost dish.

In some parts of Brazil, they only serve feijoada during the winter months. However, in Rio de Janeiro this dish is served all year round.

How to Serve Brazilian Feijoada

If you are up for a challenge, serve a feijoada completa (complete feijoada) meal.

Feijoada completa starts with fried cassava as an appetizer.

Then, the main dish, is feijoada, white rice, fried plantains, farofa (fried cassava flour with bacon), and sliced oranges.

Drinks can be fresh juice, caipirinhas, or beer.

To finish up, serve some fruit compote or this simple and delicious Romeu e Julieta.

What Goes into Feijoada?

Traditional feijoada is made with pig’s ear, feet, and snout along with Brazilian sausage.

For our recipe, we are using bacon, pork ribs, and 2 kinds of sausages, Mexican chorizo, and linguica.

A note on the sausage: Mexican chorizo is the most widely-used substitute for Brazilian sausage (which is quite hard to find outside of Brazil). But when I’ve tested it, it still doesn’t quite give the same flavor to this stew that you would find in a truly authentic Brazilian feijoada. 

The chorizo is very oily as well. I do recommend you cook it first in a separate pan, drain the oil, and then add the cooked sausage with the rest of the ingredients.

Our Feijoada Recipe

This is such a great dish for big groups. It is easy to make and very cheap.

It is very important that the beans are soaked overnight. You can very well use canned beans too.

You can also make feijoada in a slow cooker. After sauteing the vegetables and browning the meat, add it to the slow cooker and cook on low for 10 hours.

While making farofa to serve with feijoada is an extra step, it is so worth it. I definitely recommend you serve this feijoada with farofa. 

Any leftovers, I like to freeze in individual portions for easy reheating. The stew keeps well in the freezer for up to 3 months.