Easy Brazilian recipes for everyday meals

There's nothing better than preparing an easy Brazilian recipe for everyday life, right? After all, with the daily rush, sometimes it's even hard to cook anything.

Let's say you're working all day and hunger strikes, but your time is very tight, and you can't make anything too difficult or elaborate. What to prepare? Resort to a fast-food chain? Perhaps that's not the tastiest, most nutritious, or cheapest option.

With this in mind, in this article, we'll help you make use of ingredients that, in many situations, you surely have in your pantry or even in the fridge. Below, check out some tips for easy Brazilian recipes for your daily life:

1. Rice with lentils and calabrese sausage.
2. Tropeiro beans with peas.
3. Cuscuz-paulista (São Paulo-style couscous).
4. Polenta escondidinho with chicken.
5. Pasta with ground beef sauce and broccoli.

We're sure you'll love it. Shall we begin?!

Read also: Typical Brazilian foods: learn about some varieties

5 Brazilian everyday meals

Learn how to easily prepare five Brazilian everyday meals

To help you with your daily meals, we've brought some recipes that will make your eating routine even tastier and healthier, taking no more than an hour and a half to prepare. The goal is to help you eat well during busy times.

Follow along for Brazilian everyday meal recipes.

1. Rice with lentils and calabrese sausage

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced.
• 3 tablespoons of oil.
• 1 cup (tea) of lentils, washed and drained.
• 4 cups (tea) of boiling water.
• 2 cloves of minced garlic.
• 200 g of smoked calabrese sausage, thinly sliced.
• 1 cup (tea) of rice.
• Salt to taste.

PREPARATION METHOD

In a pot, add two tablespoons of oil and turn the stove to low heat.

Then, add the onion and fry it, stirring gradually, until it is lightly golden. Remove and set aside.

In the same pot, add the lentils, pour in some boiling water, and cook with the lid semi-covered for about 10 minutes.

In another, larger pot, fry all the remaining garlic and add the calabrese sausage until sautéed.

Add the rice and stir for about two minutes. Then, add the contents of the lentil pot.

When seasoning, add salt to taste and let it cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until all the grains are completely soft and firm.

To finish, top with the onion.

2. Tropeiro beans with peas

Pea tropeiro beans are one of the Brazilian everyday meals.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (tea) of split dried peas.

• 1 liter of boiling beef broth.

• 100 g of diced bacon.

• 400 g of fresh calabrese sausage, crumbled (skin removed).

• 3 cloves of minced garlic.

• 2 medium onions, chopped.

• 1 cup (tea) of rice.

• 4 tablespoons of chopped fresh herbs (cheiro-verde).

• 1 teaspoon of urucum powder (colorau).

• Salt to taste.

PREPARATION METHOD

In a pot, cook the peas in the beef broth. Turn the stove to high heat and stir the peas gradually for about 10 minutes.

While the peas are cooking, in another pot, add a drizzle of oil and fry the bacon, calabrese sausage, and garlic until they begin to brown.

Then, add the onion and sauté until soft. Add the rice and fry for about 1 minute.

After cooking the rice, add it to the pot with the peas, add the fresh herbs and urucum powder, and season with salt to taste.

Finally, reduce the heat and let it cook for about 15 minutes or until the rice and peas are soft.

3. Cuscuz-paulista (São Paulo-style couscous)

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, chopped.
• 1/3 cup (tea) of olive oil.
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped.
• 200 g of drained peas.
• 200 g of drained corn.
• 1/2 cup (tea) of sliced green olives.
• 340 g of tomato sauce.
• 3 cans of sardines.
• 1/4 cup (tea) of chopped fresh herbs (cheiro-verde).
• 2 cups (tea) of boiling vegetable broth.
• 3 cups (tea) of flaked corn flour.
• Salt and Calabrian pepper.

For decoration

• 4 hard-boiled eggs, sliced.
• 2 small tomatoes, sliced.
• 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into strips.

PREPARATION METHOD

In a pot, sauté the chopped onion in olive oil until soft. Then, add the peas, corn, bell pepper, and olives (pitted) and sauté for about one minute.

Next, add the tomato sauce, half of the sardines, the fresh herbs, and the vegetable broth to the pot.

When it boils, add the corn flour all at once (not slowly), stirring constantly with a tall spoon.

Then, season with salt and Calabrian pepper to taste.

Let it cook and continue stirring without stopping for about five minutes.

ASSEMBLY METHOD

Grease a cone-shaped mold with olive oil and arrange all the sliced hard-boiled eggs and tomatoes.

Then, add the sardines and bell peppers cut into strips.

Pour the couscous mixture and smooth the entire surface with your hands.

Wait 10 minutes before unmolding and serve immediately or let cool.

4. Polenta with shredded chicken

Learn how to make polenta with shredded chicken, one of the Brazilian everyday dishes

Ingredients

• 500 g diced chicken breast.
• 1 pinch of ground cumin.
• 2 cloves garlic, minced.
• 1 tablespoon mustard sauce.
• Salt and black pepper.
• 4 tablespoons butter.
• 1/2 finger pepper (Pimenta dedo-de-moça), seeded and chopped.
• 1 small onion, chopped.
• 200 g drained peas.
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley.
• 100 g creamy cheese spread.
• 2 cups (chá) hot chicken broth.
• 1 cup (chá) pre-cooked corn flakes.
• 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese.

PREPARATION METHOD

The first step is to season the chicken with garlic, cumin, salt, mustard, and pepper to taste.

Next, take a large skillet and heat three tablespoons of butter over high heat. Then, add the prepared chicken and fry for about eight minutes, stirring to prevent sticking, until completely dry.

Add the finger pepper and onion and continue to sauté until soft.

With the heat off, add the peas, parsley, and cheese spread. Mix everything and spread the mixture into a buttered baking dish. Set aside.

In a saucepan, pour the hot chicken broth and gradually add the corn flour. Stir everything with a whisk to ensure uniformity.

Bring to high heat and cook for about 7 minutes or until its consistency begins to thicken.

With the heat off, season with salt to taste and add the remaining butter. Spread everything over the chicken in the dish and finish by adding the Parmesan cheese.

Finally, place it in a hot oven, preheated to 250 °C (480 °F), for about ten minutes to heat through.

Now just serve!

5. Pasta with ground beef and broccoli sauce

Ingredients

• 400 g ground beef (sirloin tip or bottom round).
• 2 cloves garlic, minced.
• 1/2 minced finger pepper (pimenta dedo-de-moça).
• 1 torn bay leaf.
• 3 tablespoons olive oil.
• 1 small onion, chopped.
• 250 g broccoli in mini florets.
• 4 cups (chá) boiling water.
• 340 g Elefante tomato paste.
• 1 tablespoon basil leaves.
• 250 g fusilli pasta.
• Black pepper.
• Salt to taste.

PREPARATION METHOD

In a bowl, place the ground beef and season it with finger pepper, bay leaf, garlic, salt, and pepper to taste.

Heat the olive oil to sauté the seasoned ground beef for 12 minutes or until browned.

Add the onion to the pan and sauté it until transparent. Add the broccoli, tomato sauce, boiling water, and basil for a special touch.

When it boils, add the fusilli pasta. Let it cook (stir occasionally to prevent sticking) for about 10 minutes or until the pasta is perfectly al dente.

Turn off the heat and cover for two minutes to rest.

Now just serve!

If you don't have all these ingredients for everyday Brazilian dishes at home, know that we are available to help you find everything you need on our website!