Easy Brazilian Feijoada Recipe (2024)

This easy feijoada recipe is the perfect combination of comfort and flavor all in one dish! With a combination of black beans and meat over rice, it’s a dish to be enjoyed over and over again.

Easy Brazilian Feijoada Recipe (1)

When we first moved to Northern Virginia years ago, we were asked to be in charge of the young married couples group for our church. Leading basically meant putting together monthly activities and figuring out ways to help the younger couples in our area get to know one another.

One of the first things we did was to set up monthly dinner groups with the couples, giving them the opportunity to have dinner with other couples once a month. We did that for about two years before we moved out of the area and had to give up our beloved dinner groups.

In that two years, I remember a lot of the friends that we made but only two of the meals that we ate.

One of them was this delicious black bean and sausage stew that some of our friends from Brazil made called feijoada.

A couple of days after we had dinner with them, my husband decided we needed to have it again and came up with his own easy feijoada recipe that uses bacon, sausage, black beans, and rice.

What is Feijoada?

Before I get into the recipe, Feijoada brasileira is a traditional Brazilian stew made with beans and pork.

It’s seriously the perfect comfort food and pretty much delicious. And the leftovers are almost as good as the original dish cooked so you can make it on the weekend and enjoy all week long!

What is Feijoada Made Of?

Here are all of the ingredients you’ll need for this simple feijoada recipe! One of the best parts of this is that except maybe the meat, you probably have all of these things right under your roof already. It’s the perfect pantry meal!

  • 2 cups basmati rice – you can use another type of rice as well but we prefer basmati for this
  • 1 TBS olive oil – you could also use avocado oil but try to stay away from any other oils that might flavor your dish
  • 6 pieces of bacon – cut these into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 1/2 pound smoked sausage – we typically use smoked pork but you can use beef as well, cut this into 1/4 inch rounds
  • 15 oz canned black beans – don’t drain, you’ll use everything from the can in the dish
  • 1 cup chicken broth – chicken broth or chicken bone broth works, we typically use one with reduced sodium
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • salt

Easy Brazilian Feijoada Recipe (2)

How is Feijoada Made?

This isn’t called an easy feijoada recipe for nothing! The traditional stew is more time-consuming than this, but we’ve condensed it down into a few steps and a much shorter timeline.

Same great flavors, less time in the kitchen! Watch the video in this post to see how easy it is to make!

1 – Cook your rice

Feijoada is traditionally serve with rice and that’s how we eat it too – over rice. How you make your rice doesn’t matter, but this is the best Instant Pot basmati rice ever if you choose to make it in the Instant Pot!

You’re going to want a full serving of rice for every person to help soak up the flavors of this Brazilian dish.

2 – Cut and cook your meats

Cook up your bacon and sausage in one pot with olive oil until crispy.

Easy Brazilian Feijoada Recipe (3)

3 – Add the beans

Once your meat is cooked, add the black beans into the same pot with the meat. Cook for a minute or two to let the flavor from the meat drippings to really get into the black beans.

Easy Brazilian Feijoada Recipe (4)

4 – Add the broth and seasonings.

Add the chicken broth and seasonings into your black bean stew mixture. Bring to a boil then simmer until it reaches your desired thickness.

We typically like to eat it a little on the thicker side so most of the moisture from the black beans has soaked up.

Easy Brazilian Feijoada Recipe (5)

5 – Serve hot over rice

Once the feijoada is complete, serve over that nice fluffy rice you cooked up earlier. And if you have any leftover rice, this ham fried rice recipe is amazing!

Easy Brazilian Feijoada Recipe (6)

Can you freeze feijoada?

I don’t recommend freezing this easy feijoada because the beans and meat just won’t be the same when you defrost them. And it’s so simple to make, it really doesn’t save that much time freezing and defrosting, especially since you need to make the rice with it as well.

Just refrigerate any leftovers you have in an airtight container and eat within five days. Ours has never actually lasted that long, I always eat it within a day or two!

Easy Brazilian Feijoada Recipe (7)

Easy Feijoada Recipe

This easy feijoada recipe is the perfect combination of comfort and flavor all in one dish! With a combination of black beans and meat over rice, it's a dish to be enjoyed over and over again.

Easy Brazilian Feijoada Recipe (8)

Prep: 5 minutes minutes

Cook: 25 minutes minutes

Total: 29 minutes minutes

Serves6 people

Ingredients

  • 2 cups basmati rice cooked
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 6 strips of bacon cut into 1/2 inch pieces
  • ½ pound smoked pork or beef sausage sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
  • 1 15 oz black beans do not drain
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • salt to taste

Instructions

  • Cook the rice however desired.

  • Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add olive oil and heat.

  • Add the bacon and sausage and sauté until brown and crispy, about 4 minutes.

  • Add the can of black beans and cook for 1 more minute.

  • Add the chicken broth, garlic powder, bay leaves, oregano, and salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low.

  • Simmer for 15 minutes or until desired thickness.

  • Serve hot over rice.

Nutrition Info

Calories: 558kcal, Carbohydrates: 69g, Protein: 20g, Fat: 22g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 42mg, Sodium: 534mg, Potassium: 520mg, Fiber: 8g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 28IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 49mg, Iron: 3mg

Nutritional Disclaimer

Author: Britni Vigil

Course:Dinner

Cuisine:American

Did You Make This?Tag @PlayPartyPlan on Facebook and Instagram and hashtag it #playpartyplan so I can see your creations!

More Easy Dinner Recipes

  • Chicken noodle soup with egg noodles
  • Sausage jambalaya
  • Almond chicken
  • Easy orange chicken
  • Sweet spaghetti sauce recipe
  • White chicken enchiladas

Don’t forget to pin this easy feijoada recipe for later!

Easy Brazilian Feijoada Recipe (9)

Easy Brazilian Feijoada Recipe (10)

Easy Brazilian Feijoada Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What does feijoada consist of? ›

Feijoada (Portuguese pronunciation: [fejʒuˈadɐ]) is a stew of beans with beef and pork. The name feijoada is derived from feijão, 'bean' in Portuguese. Varieties are prepared in the Portuguese-speaking world. The basic ingredients of feijoada are beans and fresh pork or beef.

How much does feijoada cost in Brazil? ›

About R$ 90,00 ( USD 60,00 ) per person only for the feijoada.

What day do Brazilians eat feijoada? ›

As a celebratory dish, feijoada is traditionally served on Saturday afternoons or Sunday lunch and intended to be a leisurely midday meal. It is meant to be enjoyed throughout the day and not eaten under rushed circ*mstances.

Why is feijoada served with orange? ›

Feijoada is traditionally served with orange slices because the citrus helps to balance the heavy, rich flavors of the stew. Oranges not only provide a refreshing, tangy contrast, but also assist in digestion.

What do you eat with feijoada? ›

Feijoada is always served with fresh chunks of oranges, sauteed and shredded “couve” (similar to collard greens), farofa, and white rice.

What is Brazil's favorite food? ›

As in many of its neighboring countries, rice and beans is also a favorite in Brazil: Feijoada, the country's national dish, is a meaty black bean stew often served with rice. Of course, we should mention that Brazil has a national co*cktail as well — the caipirinha is made with the local spirit cachaça.

What did the slaves eat in feijoada? ›

The most known story of the Brazilian feijoada says African slaves used a mixture of cassava flour and water as their primary food source. They gathered the leftover pork the Portuguese slave masters discarded, such as the legs, tail and nose, and cooked it together with black beans.

What is Brazil's national food? ›

Feijoada, Brazil's national dish, is a stew loaded with black beans and meats of every description: smoked pork loin, bacon and sausage such as chorizo.

Is feijoada good for you? ›

The national dish of Brazil is Feijoada. Eaten daily in some households, this highly nutritious, comforting stew is made up of beans, kale and cassava. This is traditionally a meat dish, but can made vegetarian as well.

What color bean is commonly eaten in Brazil? ›

In Rio de Janeiro, the most common bean is the black one.

Who invented feijoada? ›

Feijoada's origins

It is widely believed that the beginnings of feijoada stem from slavery in Brazil, where slaves put together the scraps of leftover beans and meat from their owners to create a kind of stew.

What if feijoada is too salty? ›

Feijoada (Black Bean Stew)

Taste & adjust spices – if it's too salty, add citrus. Alternatively you could dilute it and let it thicken up again. Serve the feijoada with rice, a spoonful of yoghurt and a sprinkling of fresh parsley or cilantro leaves.

What do they eat in Brazil for peasant? ›

Feijoada, the national dish of Brazil, is a peasant, comfort stew of black beans and meat.

What is feijoada similar to? ›

Similar clay pot stews appear throughout Europe, such as the Portuguese cozido, Italian bollito, and French cassoulet.

What does Gallo Pinto contain? ›

There is no one recipe for Gallo Pinto as each region and family has their own variation. The basics of the dish in Costa Rica are white rice, black beans, peppers, onion and spices especially coriander (cilantro in Spanish). The rice and beans are pre-cooked and then fried together with the rest of the ingredients.

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