National dish

What is the national dish of Portugal?

Portugal has no official national dish, but bacalhau, dried and salted cod, is the one most often named. It is soaked in cold water for a day or more before cooking and turns up in hundreds of recipes, from bacalhau à brás to codfish cakes. Cozido à portuguesa, a boiled dinner of meats, sausages and vegetables, and caldo verde soup are also cited.

Updated 2026-10-124 min read

Does Portugal have an official national dish?

No. No law or decree names a national dish of Portugal, and published lists of national dishes give several answers at once: bacalhau, caldo verde, cozido à portuguesa, the pastel de Belém and grilled sardines.

The closest thing to a national verdict was a public vote. On 10 September 2011, in Santarém, Portugal announced its 7 Maravilhas da Gastronomia (Seven Wonders of Gastronomy), chosen by the public from 70 candidates. The seven winners were:

Alheira de Mirandela, a smoked sausage
Queijo Serra da Estrela, a sheep's milk cheese
Caldo verde, the green cabbage soup
Sardinha assada, grilled sardines
Arroz de marisco, seafood rice
Leitão da Bairrada, roast suckling pig
Pastel de Belém, the custard tart

What is bacalhau?

Bacalhau is the Portuguese word for cod, and in the kitchen it means cod that has been salted and dried. Fresh cod is called bacalhau fresco and is rarely sold. It is one of the few fish the Portuguese do not eat fresh, in a country with the highest fish consumption per person in the European Union.

Portuguese cooks say there are 365 ways to cook bacalhau, one for every day of the year; others say 1,001. The nickname fiel amigo, 'loyal friend', says the rest. It is the traditional Christmas Eve dinner in parts of the country, and its traditional curing method is protected in the EU as *Bacalhau de Cura Tradicional Portuguesa*.

It is usually served with potatoes and bread, flavoured with garlic, onion, olive oil, black pepper, bay leaf and parsley, with vinho verde or an Alentejo or Douro red alongside. Among the best-known preparations:

Bacalhau à brás: shredded cod, matchstick fries and soft eggs
Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá: a dish from the north, a finalist in the 2011 national vote
Bacalhau com natas: baked with cream
Pastéis de bacalhau: codfish cakes, also a 2011 finalist
Pataniscas: cod fritters
Bacalhau à lagareiro: roasted with plenty of olive oil

How bacalhau is cooked

Every bacalhau recipe starts the same way: removing the salt. In our bacalhau à brás recipe, 400 g of salt cod soaks in cold water in the fridge for 24 to 36 hours, with the water changed 3 or 4 times. Only then is it skinned, boned and shredded by hand.

Bacalhau à brás then follows a strict order. Onions and garlic sweat in olive oil for 10 minutes without colouring, the cod goes in for 3 to 4 minutes to absorb the oil, then come matchstick potatoes fried 1 to 2 mm thick. Six beaten eggs are poured over on the lowest heat and stirred for 30 to 60 seconds. The pan comes off while the eggs are still glossy and loose: dry, set eggs mean the dish is lost. Black olives and parsley go on top.

The dish is said to come from Bairro Alto, an old quarter of Lisbon, in the second half of the 19th century. Brás is supposedly the name of its creator.

Where Portugal's salt cod comes from

Salt cod has been made for at least 500 years. Portuguese fishermen, along with Norman, Breton and English crews, learned salt curing from Basque fishermen on the cod-rich Grand Banks off Newfoundland by the late 1500s. By the 1700s salted cod was a staple for ordinary Portuguese families as well as the wealthy.

In the 20th century, as freezing and shipping improved, North American supply declined and Norway and Iceland became the main suppliers to the Portuguese market. The fish often comes from the north; the recipes stay Portuguese. Bacalhau dishes are also common in former Portuguese territories, from Brazil to Cape Verde.

Other dishes to know from Portugal

Cozido à portuguesa is the other dish most often called national. It is a winter boiled dinner of beef, pork, chicken, smoked sausages such as chouriço, farinheira and morcela, with cabbage, potatoes, carrots, turnips and rice. It has close relatives across the border, which you can compare in our article on the national dish of Spain.

Caldo verde comes from the Minho in the north. Its character depends on one gesture: couve galega leaves rolled tight and cut into threads under 2 mm wide, cooked uncovered for only 4 to 5 minutes in a blended potato broth. Chouriço boiled whole with the potatoes is sliced on top, with broa corn bread on the side.

Pastéis de nata were first sold outside the Jerónimos Monastery in Belém, Lisbon, after the 1820 liberal revolution closed the religious orders. They bake at 280 to 300 °C until the tops blister almost black.

You will find all three recipes, with ingredients and step-by-step methods, on our page about the food of Portugal.

For the neighbouring kitchens, see our guide to Western European food.

The recipes

Questions people ask

Is bacalhau Portuguese or Norwegian?

Much of the cod sold in Portugal is caught and dried in Norway or Iceland, which became the main suppliers in the 20th century. The recipes and the habit of eating salt cod daily are Portuguese, built up since the 1500s.

How many ways are there to cook bacalhau?

The Portuguese saying is 365, one for every day of the year; another version says 1,001. Well-known ones include bacalhau à brás, bacalhau à Gomes de Sá and pastéis de bacalhau.

Why do you soak bacalhau before cooking?

The cod is preserved with salt, so it must be soaked in cold water for 24 to 36 hours, changing the water 3 or 4 times, before it can be eaten. Taste before adding any salt to the finished dish.

Is caldo verde the national dish of Portugal?

Caldo verde is one of the dishes cited and was voted one of the Seven Wonders of Portuguese Gastronomy in 2011. Bacalhau is still named more often as the national dish.

What do the Portuguese eat on Christmas Eve?

In parts of Portugal, bacalhau is the traditional Christmas Eve dinner.

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