Portuguese Recipes: Learn the Language While You Cook

Learning with Portuguese recipes is one of the tastiest ways to improve the language: you cook something delicious and, at the same time, train your ear with real vocabulary from Brazilian kitchens. In this guide I put together the best Portuguese recipes on YouTube, perfect both for people who love to cook and for anyone who wants to learn Portuguese in a practical, fun way.

You’ll find everything from easy, quick Portuguese recipes to more elaborate dishes, plus vegetarian channels, baking, regional food and even cooking inspired by shows and movies. Each channel helps you hear how people really talk in the kitchen and get familiar with ingredients, utensils and the famous “modo de preparo” (the step-by-step method) that you’ll see in every Brazilian recipe.

On top of the channel list, further down I’ve left you key vocabulary for cooking in Portuguese, so you can follow any recipe without getting lost. That way you can put these Portuguese recipes into practice by listening to the instructions, improve your comprehension and, the best part, taste how it turns out!

Basic vocabulary for cooking in Portuguese

Before you dive into the channels, I want to give you a base of vocabulary for cooking in Portuguese, because one thing I learned from teaching all these years: if you don’t understand the verbs and the ingredients, you’ll get lost in the “modo de preparo” (the step-by-step) no matter how motivated you are. Here are the terms you’ll hear the most, compared with English so you can lock them in fast. A great exercise is to head to TudoGostoso, the biggest recipe site in Brazil, and filter recipes by category to practice reading them.

Verbs for cooking in Portuguese

These are the verbs that show up in almost every recipe. Notice that a few look nothing like English and are worth memorizing. For example, “refogar” means to sauté (browning garlic and onion, the base of almost everything), “mexer” means to stir, and “grelhar” means to grill:

Ingredients in Portuguese

Here’s where a couple of words can trip you up, because they don’t mean what they look like. Watch out for these: “salsa” in Portuguese isn’t a sauce, it’s parsley (sauce is “molho”); “presunto” is ham; “manteiga” is butter; and “azeite” is olive oil, while regular sunflower or soybean oil is “óleo”:

How to describe the texture of food in Portuguese

When you watch the recipes, the cooks describe a lot about how the dish turns out and how it looks. These texture adjectives will help you a ton to understand whether something came out just right: “crocante” is crunchy, “macio” is soft or tender, “suculento” is juicy, “fofinho” is fluffy (a light, airy cake) and “encorpado” is thick or full-bodied, like a good broth:

With these verbs, ingredients and textures you already have the essentials to follow any Portuguese recipe without getting lost. Now, let’s get to the channels I picked for you.

Cuisine – Typical Foods of Brazil

If you’re into food, you have to check out the typical foods of Brazil.

List: Portuguese recipe channels

1. Panelaterapia

This channel is run by Tatiana Romano, a former psychologist who sets out to show us practical Portuguese recipes with simple ingredients and lots of flavor. The channel’s name comes from the word “Panela“, which means pot or pan in Portuguese, plus “terapia” (therapy), a play on words that captures how de-stressing and relaxing cooking can be.

You can also follow her on her other social media, Instagram, Facebook and her website, which is packed with information for food lovers.

Website – Youtube – Instagram – Facebook

2. Miolos fritos

This channel shows off the best of nerd culture, and it’s especially fun! The Portuguese recipes they feature are all inspired by shows, games and movies, music, you name it.

On their website you can search the Portuguese recipes by category, and they also have a blog and, as if that weren’t enough, a podcast. There’s no way to get bored with these folks!

You can also see their recipes on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.

Website – Youtube – Instagram – Facebook – Pinterest

3. Receitas de Minuto

As the name says, here you’ll find practical, simple Portuguese recipes. Gisele Souza created this channel inspired by the idea of teaching her brother to cook when he moved out on his own, which made her realize how much she loved helping people learn to cook with practical recipes.

On the channel you’ll find both meat and vegetarian recipes, and on her website you’ll find plenty of tips on cooking, cleaning, how to do the grocery shopping, how to make seasonings to flavor your food and much more.

Follow her on social media: Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Website – Youtube – Instagram – Facebook – Twitter

4. Receitas de Pai

This channel is super family-oriented, literally, the name is Receitas de Pai (Dad’s Recipes). But it’s not just Diego Assalve who takes part, his wife is the one filming the videos and they chat with each other, it’s a lot of fun, and the kids show up in some videos, tasting the recipes or just joining in.

The recipes are really good and the way they present them is very funny, it feels like we’re peeking into the family’s kitchen, they’re full of humor and use a lot of Portuguese expressions, it’s perfect for testing your grasp of slang while you learn to cook something tasty!

You can also follow them on Instagram and Facebook.

Youtube – Instagram – Facebook

5. Receitas e Temperos

Sandra‘s channel offers tons of easy, tasty Portuguese recipes. Besides the recipes, she has a really interesting series on Women in Agribusiness that presents, in chapters, the stories of these women working the land, and she ends up cooking recipes inspired by those stories.

On her channel there are playlists of sweet recipes, savory ones, quick recipes, one-minute recipes, plus chat videos and vlogs. Sandra explains things very clearly and with a super positive attitude, it makes you want to make all of her recipes!

You can also follow her on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and take a look at her website.

Website – Youtube – Instagram – Facebook – Pinterest

6. Tudo gostoso

The Tudo Gostoso channel has recipes for every taste, there are easy, simple options as well as more elaborate ones. On their website and blog you’ll find tons of tips for everyday life and for getting the most out of the recipes. There’s also a section where they’ve picked the best recipes their viewers have sent in. Plenty of material to keep you busy.

You can also follow their Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.

Website – Youtube – Instagram – Facebook – Pinterest – Blog

7. Sanduba Insano

*(Sanduba = Brazilian slang for sandwich 😀)

If you love food trucks, homestyle restaurants and gourmet burgers, you’re going to adore this YouTube channel. Eduardo Perrone presents recipes that are hearty and full of flavor, and he also offers help for starting your own business, video courses for cooking pizzas and a ton of cooking info. He’s a kitchen pro who wants you to feel encouraged to cook his endless Portuguese recipes. He posts videos every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 8 p.m.

You can take a look at his website and follow him on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Website – Youtube – Instagram – Facebook – Twitter

8. Gastronomismo

Isadora Becker‘s channel is an explosion of creativity, there are recipes from all over the world, recipes for special occasions, seasonal dishes, pop food, movie food, the variety of recipes is endless. She has them all organized in her playlists and posts a new video every Thursday.

You can follow her on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Youtube – Instagram – Facebook – Twitter

9. Presunto Vegetariano

The channel’s name is a Portuguese joke about how vegetarians are always offered the ham (presunto) and cheese option. So through their videos they show how simple and tasty meat-free recipes can be. There are lots of options, salads, winter recipes, mayos and more vegetarian dishes.

You can follow them on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, and also check out their website, which has a lot of information.

Website – Youtube – Instagram – Facebook – Twitter

10. Sal de Flor – Camila Masullo

Camila Masullo, someone passionate about cooking and food, is the one behind this channel, and she explains things in a very calm, clear way, which makes her really easy to understand. On top of that, her recipes are delicious.

You can visit her website to discover more or follow her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Youtube – Instagram – Twitter

11. Daniella Noce

Since 2011, Dani Noce, following her passion for blogs and cooking, created her website “I could kill for dessert” (Eu poderia matar por sobremesa in Portuguese), and later started her YouTube channel, where there are more than 800 videos, with new content on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. On her channel she blends travel and recipes, and she now shares the videos with her partner, Bigode.

You can visit her website to discover more or follow her on Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest.

Website – Youtube – Instagram – Pinterest – Twitter

12. Ana Maria Brogui

This was the first cooking show on YouTube Brazil, hosted by Caio Novaes, and it shows that cooking is simple, with plenty of humor and variety. On his website there’s an endless supply of Portuguese recipes for every occasion, with lots of categories so you can find what you’re looking for, and even an e-book.

You can also follow him on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Website – Youtube – Instagram – Facebook – Twitter

13. Mohamad Hindi

A fun channel with an entertaining pace, Mohamad Hindi took part in the first season of Masterchef Brasil and then went on to work in professional kitchens. On his channel he shares simple recipes, travel content, a vlog, drinks and a special on Brazilian recipes that I recommend 😊

You can follow him on Instagram and Facebook.

Youtube – Instagram – Facebook

14. Canal Segredinhos

This is the recipe and blog channel of Marcela Perez, with her father joining in on some videos to add an extra bit of fun. The recipes are simple and there’s a special section for quick recipes. You can follow her to find recipes on her Instagram account.

Youtube – Instagram

15. Raquelícias

Raquelícias is the new name of Raquel Arellano’s former channel, gordelícias. On the channel you’ll find vegetarian recipes, gordelícias (which would be something like indulgent treats), quick recipes and much more.

You can also check out her website for more Portuguese recipes and tips. For a while now Raquel has been focusing more on her social media to post new content, so you can take a look at her Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Website – Youtube – Instagram – Facebook – Twitter – Pinterest

16. Cook’n Enjoy

Cook’n Enjoy is Natália Palmegiano‘s channel, with very simple recipes and step-by-step explanations. She posts new videos every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so there’s no excuse for not knowing what to cook.

Website – Youtube – Instagram – Facebook – Pinterest

17. Igor Rocha Receitas

This young man from São Paulo, who started to blow up in the culinary world with his over-the-top dessert recipes on Instagram, now has his own YouTube channel. For a while now he’s ventured into savory recipes too, and on his Instagram you can even find “marmitas” (meal-prep lunchboxes) recipes for the whole week, with the ingredient list.

Youtube – Instagram

MasterChef Brasil: cooking and Portuguese at the same time

If you really want to train your ear with real, fast Portuguese, I highly recommend watching MasterChef Brasil. It’s the Brazilian version of the famous cooking reality show, and for me it’s one of the best ways to learn: you hear spontaneous Portuguese, under pressure and full of emotion, packed with everyday expressions, kitchen slang and that ingredient, verb and texture vocabulary I just taught you, but used live.

The great thing is that on the show the judges are constantly describing how each dish turned out: whether it’s “cru” (raw), “sem sal” (without salt), “no ponto” (just right) or “passado” (overcooked). It’s a free Portuguese lesson disguised as entertainment. Pay attention to how they say “modo de preparo”, “apresentação” (presentation) and “textura”, and you’ll see how much easier it all sticks.

You can find clips, episodes and recipes from the show on the official MasterChef Brasil channel and on recipe portals like TudoGostoso, which often posts the recipes inspired by the reality show. Watch it with Portuguese subtitles at first, and little by little challenge yourself to turn them off: it’s one of the best shortcuts I know for getting used to the real rhythm of the language.

Feeling inspired to cook and learn more Portuguese?