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Feijoada

Name: Feijoada
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 100 min
Total time: 120 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Brazilian
Ingredients: 500 g Dried black beans; 500 g Pork ribs; 300 g Smoked kielbasa sausage; 150 g Lardons (bacon cubes); 200 g Onion; 6 cloves Garlic cloves; 2 leaves Bay leaves; 300 g Collard greens; 300 g Long-grain rice; 2 piece Orange; 40 ml Extra-virgin olive oil; 2 l Water; 10 g Fine sea salt; 3 g Ground black pepper

A long-simmered black bean stew loaded with smoked sausage, ribs and bacon, served with rice, wilted collard greens and orange slices to cut through the richness.

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 100 min
Difficulty: Intermediate

About this dish

Feijoada is often told as a dish invented by enslaved people from cast-off pork scraps, but food historians now trace it more directly to Portuguese bean-and-pork stews reshaped in colonial Brazil with black beans, the bean already grown across the region. Whatever its exact origins, it became Brazil's national dish through sheer household repetition — traditionally a Wednesday or Saturday meal, simmered for hours because tougher, well-flavoured cuts need the time. The orange served alongside isn't garnish; it's there to cut the fat of the pork and aid digestion after a genuinely heavy meal.

Gluten-free
Lactose-free
Not vegetarian because of Pork ribs, Smoked kielbasa sausage, Lardons (bacon cubes)

Ingredients

4servings

500gDried black beans
500gPork ribs
300gSmoked kielbasa sausage
150gLardons (bacon cubes)
200gOnion
6clovesGarlic cloves
2leavesBay leaves
300gCollard greens
300gLong-grain rice
2piecesOrange
40mlExtra-virgin olive oil
2lWater
10gFine sea salt
3gGround black pepper

Instructions

Soak the black beans in the water for at least 4 hours or overnight, then drain.
10 min
Tip: A proper soak isn't just about cooking time — unsoaked beans cook unevenly, staying tough at the core no matter how long you simmer them.
Fry the lardons in the olive oil until the fat renders, add the onion and garlic and cook until soft, then add the bay leaf.
10 min
Tip: Rendering the lardons first builds a fat base the whole stew cooks in — don't rush past this stage, it's most of the dish's savoury depth.
Add the soaked beans, pork ribs and enough fresh water to cover generously, bring to a boil, then simmer 1 hour. Add the sliced smoked sausage and simmer 20 minutes more, seasoning with salt and pepper.
80 min
Tip: The beans should break down enough to thicken the broth into a dark, glossy sauce on their own — no flour or cornstarch needed if you give it the full simmering time.
While the stew finishes, cook the rice and quickly wilt the shredded collard greens in a little olive oil and garlic for 2 minutes. Serve the stew with rice, greens and orange slices alongside.
15 min
Tip: Shred the collard greens paper-thin and cook them fast and hot — overcooked greens turn dull and bitter, and they're meant to stay bright green with real bite.