Bolos de São Gonçalo are unusual Portuguese pastry cakes originating from the village of Amarante. Although there is no set recipe, and the sizes of these cakes vary from one street vendor to another, the cakes have one thing in common – they all have phallic shapes.
Every year on January 10 and the first weekend in June, there's a local celebration of Saint Gonçalo de Amarante, and the penis-shaped cakes are usually sold from street carts, either covered in powdered sugar or filled with sweet cream. It is believed that the practice has its roots in pagan fertility rituals, but the claim hasn't yet been proven.
Bolo Rei (lit. King’s cake) is a staple Portuguese dessert that is traditionally prepared and consumed during the Christmas holidays, from the 25th of December until the 6th of January. This round cake with a hole in the middle is typically covered with crystalized sugar, dried fruits, and nuts.
Although it has origins in France, the cake made its way into Portugal during the 19th century.
MOST ICONIC Bolo rei
View moreTibias de Braga is a famous Portuguese sweet treat and one of the signature pastries of the city of Braga. They’re called tibias because of their shape, which is reminiscent of the tibia bone. This pastry consists of crunchy dough that's sprinkled with sugar and filled with sweet cream.
The filling can be made from almost anything, including bananas, pineapple, raspberry, hazelnuts, caramel, or cappuccino. They go great with a warm cup of tea or coffee.
Bacalhau com todos is a festive Portuguese dish that is traditionally prepared every Christmas Eve and served for dinner. Literally translated to cod with everything, the dish is made with boiled cod, hard-boiled egg slices, and vegetables such as carrots, cabbage, and potatoes.
The dish is typically dressed with a generous drizzle of olive oil and white vinegar, while it is often flavored with garlic and garnished with freshly chopped parsley.
MOST ICONIC Bacalhau com todos
Maranho is a traditional dish hailing from Sertã in the region of Beira Baixa. It's made with a combination of goat meat, chouriço, dry-cured ham, rice, and mint. The ingredients are combined and sewn into a goat stomach. It is believed that the dish dates back to the 19th century, although some think that it existed even earlier.
Throughout the 20th century, it was a staple celebratory dish that was prepared on feast days, both for the rich and the poor, but from the 1980s, maranho could be seen on the menus of local eateries. Nowadays, maranho is often served with potatoes and homemade bread on the side, and it's often prepared during the festive Christmas period.
MOST ICONIC Maranho
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Bolo-Rainha, translating to "Queen Cake" in English, is a traditional cake that is closely related to the more commonly known Bolo Rei, or "King Cake." It is especially popular during the Christmas season and the festivities of the Epiphany (Dia de Reis) on January 6th.
Similar to Bolo Rei in its brioche-like texture, Bolo-Rainha is made with a rich, sweet dough. However, it differs primarily in its fillings and toppings. While Bolo Rei is characterized by its use of candied fruits, Bolo-Rainha typically does away with these candied fruits and instead focuses more on nuts like walnuts, almonds, and sometimes hazelnuts.
Sweet chestnuts, one of the most beloved Portuguese snacks, are key ingredients for the preparation of this traditional soup called sopa de castanhas. The soup is typically prepared with boiled or roasted chestnuts which have been peeled before being cooked in water or broth (either vegetable or chicken broth) along with ingredients such as onions, carrots, celery, garlic, olive oil, and butter.
There are numerous variations on the soup, and other common ingredients that may be used include red beans, potatoes, leeks, cabbage, or pieces of stale bread. This simple chestnut soup is usually flavored with parsley, cloves, bay leaves, salt, and pepper, and it can (sometimes) be enhanced with the addition of bacon or ham.
Light and airy cavacas are simple Portuguese desserts that usually consist of flour, oil, and eggs. They are baked in individual molds and result in puffed, hollowed pastries that resemble popovers. Each pastry is then generously glazed with sugar, which can occasionally be enriched with lemon.
Although cavacas have been present in traditional Portuguese cuisine for centuries, not much is known about their origin.
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Torta de Azeitão is a traditional roll cake from Azeitão, near Lisbon. It is made from a dough of eggs, sugar, and corn flour, and filled with a rich egg yolk jam (doce de ovos). The small, yellow rolls are known for their smooth, glazed appearance and delicate sweetness.
Originating in the early 1900s at the "O Cego" bakery, the recipe has been passed down through generations and remains a local specialty. Despite many variations, the original recipe is a closely guarded family secret.
Queijo de figo is a local Algarve specialty that is prepared with dry figs and almonds as the two basic ingredients. Traditionally, sliced figs and almonds were layered into a mold and drizzled with brandy. The combination would then be pressed and stored until the ingredients were combined into a firm cake.
Optionally, ground figs and almonds can be mixed with syrup in order to create a compact mixture that is then pressed into a mold. Although these fig cakes are traditionally round, they can be formed into other shapes, but their unusual name, which translates as fig cheese, stems from the classic round form that is reminiscent of a cheese wheel.
TasteAtlas food rankings are based on the ratings of the TasteAtlas audience, with a series of mechanisms that recognize real users and that ignore bot, nationalist or local patriotic ratings, and give additional value to the ratings of users that the system recognizes as knowledgeable. For the “62 Worst Rated Portuguese Foods” list until March 27, 2025, 15,038 ratings were recorded, of which 10,680 were recognized by the system as legitimate. TasteAtlas Rankings should not be seen as the final global conclusion about food. Their purpose is to promote excellent local foods, instill pride in traditional dishes, and arouse curiosity about dishes you haven’t tried.
That was rated by some fish and chips eaters i bet. I understand some don't like snails or pig ear but cod fish or chourico? :/