Brazil
Brazilian Feijoada
Chef-tested recipe
Black beans slowly cooked with pork, ribs, bacon, and smoked sausages with classic accompaniments
Feijoada is Brazil’s deeply savoury black bean and pork stew, served as a complete meal with rice, finely sliced collard greens, orange, and farofa. Recipes vary by region and household, and many traditional versions include salted or less familiar pork cuts. This accessible version keeps the essential smoked, cured, and fresh pork character while using pork shoulder, ribs, bacon, linguiça, and chouriço.
Recipe at a glance
- Servings
- 8 servings
- Prep Time
- 45 mins
- Cook Time
- 3 hours
- Total Time
- 3 hours 45 mins
- Cuisine
- Brazilian
- Course
- Main dishes
- Cooking Method
- Bean simmering, meat braising, and stovetop sautéing
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Best Served With
- Best served with garlic rice, sautéed collard greens, fresh orange slices, toasted cassava farofa, and a bright vinaigrette-style molho à campanha.
Before you begin
Ingredients & equipment
Gather what you need first, then cook through the method with confidence.
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Equipment
- Large heavy stockpot with lidpaid link
- Wide heavy frying panpaid link
- Medium saucepan with lidpaid link
- Large sauté panpaid link
- Chef’s knifepaid link
- Cutting boardpaid link
- Wooden spoonpaid link
- Digital kitchen scalepaid link
Ingredients
For the feijoada
- Dried black beans, picked over and rinsedpaid link: 800 g
- Cold water for soaking: 2500 ml
- Fresh water for cooking: 3000 ml
- Pork shoulder, cut into 4 cm pieces: 800 g
- Meaty pork ribs, separated: 800 g
- Smoked bacon, cut into lardons: 300 g
- Smoked linguiça or kielbasa, sliced thickly: 600 g
- Smoked chouriço or paio, sliced thickly: 400 g
- Yellow onions, finely diced: 400 g
- Garlic cloves, minced: 40 g
- Bay leaves: 5 g
- Neutral cooking oilpaid link: 40 ml
- Fine sea saltpaid link: 18 g
- Freshly ground black pepper: 4 g
For the rice
- Long-grain white rice, rinsedpaid link: 600 g
- Water: 900 ml
- Garlic cloves, minced: 10 g
- Neutral cooking oilpaid link: 25 ml
- Fine sea saltpaid link: 8 g
For the collard greens
- Collard greens, stems removed and leaves finely shredded: 600 g
- Garlic cloves, thinly sliced: 20 g
- Neutral cooking oilpaid link: 40 ml
- Fine sea saltpaid link: 5 g
For serving
- Oranges, peeled and sliced: 900 g
- Toasted cassava farofa: 300 g
Preparation Overview
Soak the beans in plenty of cold water for 8 to 12 hours, then drain and rinse. If using especially salty cured meats, soak them separately and change the water several times. Keep the sausages in thick slices so they remain juicy during the long simmer.
Method
Place the soaked, drained beans in a large heavy pot with 3000 ml fresh water and the bay leaves. Bring to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a wide frying pan until lightly browned and its fat has rendered. Transfer the bacon to the bean pot.
Brown the pork shoulder and ribs in batches in the bacon fat, adding oil as needed, and transfer them to the beans.
Cook the onion in the same pan for 8 minutes, add 40 g garlic for 1 minute, then scrape the mixture into the pot.
Simmer the beans and meats gently for 1½ hours, stirring occasionally and adding hot water when needed to keep everything barely covered.
Add the sliced linguiça and chouriço and continue cooking for 35 to 45 minutes until the beans are creamy and all meats are tender.
Mash one ladleful of beans against the side of the pot and stir it back in to thicken the broth. Season carefully with salt and black pepper.
For the rice, heat 25 ml oil in a saucepan, cook 10 g garlic for 30 seconds, stir in the rice, water, and salt, cover, and cook on low heat for 15 minutes. Rest covered for 10 minutes.
For the collards, heat 40 ml oil in a wide pan, cook the sliced garlic briefly, add the shredded greens and salt, and toss for 3 to 4 minutes until just tender and bright.
Let the feijoada rest for 15 minutes, skim excessive surface fat if needed, and serve with rice, collards, orange slices, and farofa.
Beginner Technique Notes
Never cook dried beans in their soaking water; drain and rinse them first.
Salt cured and smoked meats vary greatly, so delay final seasoning until the stew is almost finished.
Keep the simmer gentle to tenderise the pork without shredding the sausages.
Mash only a small amount of beans to thicken the broth while leaving most beans whole.
Tips and Variations
Include properly soaked salted pork or beef when available for a more elaborate traditional version.
Kielbasa can replace linguiça when necessary, though Brazilian sausage gives a more characteristic flavour.
Cook the feijoada one day ahead, chill safely, remove excess fat, and reheat gently.
Serve hot chilli sauce at the table rather than making the entire pot spicy.
Serving Ideas
- Serve the black bean stew in a deep bowl with the meats visible, arranging rice, greens, orange, and farofa separately so diners can combine them.
Storage
Cool within 2 hours and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Reheat to at least 74°C. Freeze the feijoada without its accompaniments for up to 3 months and thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Nutritional Value
Allergen Notes
Check sausages, bacon, farofa, and stock-style seasonings for gluten, soy, milk, mustard, sulphites, or other additives. Feijoada can be high in sodium because of cured meats.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do black beans need to be soaked?
Soaking shortens the cooking time and promotes even softening, although cooking times still vary with the age of the beans.
What meats belong in feijoada?
Traditional combinations vary and may include fresh, smoked, cured, and salted pork or beef cuts plus sausages.
Why is orange served with feijoada?
Fresh orange provides acidity and sweetness that refresh the palate alongside the rich beans and pork.
Can feijoada be made ahead?
Yes. The flavour improves overnight when it is cooled quickly, refrigerated, and reheated safely.
