Literally translated to cheese bread, pão de queijo has its origins in the culinary inventions of African slaves, when they started to use the residue of the cassava plant. A fine white powder, or starch, was rolled into balls and baked.

At the time, no cheese was added, so it was just baked starch, but at the end of the 19th century, when slavery ended, other foods started to become available to the Afro-Brazilians for the first time. In the state of Minas Gerais, the dairy center of Brazil, cheese and milk started to be added to the starchy balls, and pão de queijo was created. 

One of Brazil's favorite street foods, coxinha (lit. little thigh) is a crispy croquette filled with chicken meat and cream cheese that is cleverly shaped into a chicken drumstick, then breaded and deep-fried. Coxinha originated around São Paulo in the 19th century, and by the 1950s it spread to Rio de Janeiro and Paraná, having now become one of the most popular salgados (savory appetizers) across the country.

Legend has it that coxinha was first made for the Brazilian princess Isabel's son who only liked chicken thigh meat. However, according to food historians, it was probably invented during the industrialization of São Paulo to be marketed as a cheaper and more durable substitute to traditional chicken cuts that were sold at the gates of local factories as snacks for the workers. 

One of the most common fast food items in Brazil is known as pastel, a deep-fried, stuffed pastry. This half-circle or rectangle-shaped miniature pie is stuffed with a variety of ingredients, most commonly shredded chicken, ground beef, mozzarella, or small shrimps.

Sweet varieties also exist, and they are usually made with chocolate, bananas, or guava jam, but they are not as common as their savory counterparts. The exact origin of the dish is not familiar, but it is believed that pastel evolved from the Chinese spring roll, which was brought to Brazil by Japanese immigrants. 

Arrumadinho is a complex Brazilian dish that is usually served as an appetizer. The dish is a combination of four elements that are neatly organized and served together as a complete meal. The essential parts are sliced, sun-dried beef, diced and mixed vegetable vinaigrette, beans, typically black eyed peas, and farofa – a toasted cassava flour mixture.

All of the ingredients are seasoned with clarified butter, neatly arranged and served on a plate. The four elements of arrumadinho can either be mixed or consumed as individual dishes. A plate of arrumadinho is usually shared by a couple or a group of people, typically followed by a glass of cold beer or a freshly prepared caipirinha. 

In Bahia, the northeastern state of Brazil, there is a dish that is considered to be the most popular street food around, called acarajé. It consists of black-eyed peas or cowpeas that are formed into a ball, deep-fried in dendé palm oil, split in half, then stuffed with flavorful, spicy pastes made from numerous ingredients such as cashews, palm oil, and shrimp.

The most common accompaniments to the dish include a tomato salad and homemade hot pepper sauces. The recipe for the dish originated during the colonial period of the country, from the Nigerian slaves who first started selling it on the streets of Brazil. 

Abará is a popular Brazilian snack consisting of black-eyed peas or beans that are mashed into a paste, then steamed in a banana leaf. The dish is very similar to another Brazilian snack, acarajé, which is fried instead of being boiled or steamed.

Black-eyed peas are a staple of traditional Brazilian cuisine, especially in the Bahia region, the center of Brazil's Afro-Brazilian culture. Abará is closely associated with Candomblé, an Afro-Brazilian religion where it is one of the ritual foods offered to the gods and goddesses (called the Orixás) during the ceremonial festivities. 

Rabanada is the Portuguese and Brazilian version of french toast. It's made with round or oval stale bread cut in thick slices that's dipped in milk (or milk, sugar, and vanilla) and beaten eggs, fried in oil, then sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

As a result, rabanada is sweeter and crunchier than the American french toast. The first mention of rabanada dates back to the 15th century, when it was described by Juan del Encina as a dish that's helpful for recovery from childbirth, which is why rabanada is alsko known as fatia parida, meaning slices for the new mom. 

Similar to Mexican tamales, pamonha is a traditional dish made with fresh corn. The dough, or more precisely the paste, is made out of grated and juiced corn. It is tightly wrapped in fresh corn husks and cooked in boiling water. Depending on the ingredients, pamonhas can be either sweet or savory.

The savory varieties are usually prepared plain or made with chopped meat, sausages, or cheese. The sweet version of pamonhas is often made by incorporating coconut milk or coconut pulp in the dough. Pamonhas are traditionally eaten all year round in Brazil, but they are usually associated with Festa Junina, the annual Brazilian festivity celebrated throughout June, marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of Brazilian winter. 

Biscoito de polvilho is a traditional, starchy, salted cookie from Brazil. The cookies are characterized by their round, puffy shape and a crispy exterior. The word from its name, polvilho, is derived from the Latin word pulvis and the Spanish polvillo, meaning fine powder, referring to the sour cassava starch, a key ingredient used in the preparation of these snacks.

Biscoito de polvilho can be traced back to the 18th century, when it was prepared on farms in the state of Minas Gerais and served to the plantation owners along with cheese and coffee as an afternoon snack. Due to their unique flavor and airy texture, the cookies are so popular in Brazil that they can even be found at most supermarkets, or bought from numerous beach food vendors.