Vegan Brazilian Meal Plan
by Priscila C. Reis
Maybe I'm biased, but in my opinion, Brazilian food is the best in the world. While it's true that Brazil has a traditionally meat-centric cuisine, fruits and other natural plant-based foods are abundant. Fresh produce is commonly sold as street food, and fruit trees line the streets. Additionally, animal meat is easy to replace when cooking Brazilian dishes at home. Several kinds of soy products, mushrooms, jackfruit, eggplant, and more can be used without any compromise in flavor. Dairy can be replaced by plant-based products made from cashews, almonds, Brazil nuts, other nuts, or soybeans. The most common commercial plant milk in Brazil is made from soy, and the second most is made from almonds.
Brazilians are incredibly creative and resourceful. In terms of cooking, they are great (or terrible, if you're fiercely nationalistic) at reinventing new versions of typical dishes from all over the world. For example, there's sweet sushi with cream cheese; pizza with stroganoff, ketchup, or chocolate; or hot dogs filled with mashed potatoes, sausage, potato sticks, peas, tomatoes, mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, and sauce.
Each culture has its own eating habits, which includes a general schedule for meal times. In Brazil, breakfast is usually a light meal eaten at 6:30 or 7 am. Around 9 or 10 am, there is a small snack. Lunch is the main meal at roughly 12 or 1 pm. At 3 or 4 pm, it's common to have another little snack. In the evening, some people just like to have a sandwich or something minimal, while others eat a full dinner around 7 pm.
Since Brazil is a very large country, and has many cultures, each region has unique meals. For example, SãPaulo and Northeast both claim to make the best couscous. Minas Gerais is known for having fabulous meals, although they're very dairy-heavy. If there is one thing universally beloved by all Brazilians, it's indisputably rice and beans.
In the meal plans I've created, I tried to put a sample of traditional foods from each region. Hopefully, one day, you'll have an opportunity to try a bit of each piece of the country on your plate.
Glossary
Açaí = a Brazilian fruit cultivated predominantly in the Amazon region. There, they eat it as a purée with fish and farinha de mandioca (a flour made from manioc). However, in other regions, it's more common to eat açaí with sweet foods. You can eat the cold purée with granola and other fruits like bananas or strawberries.
Ata = also called pinha, fruta-do-conde, or atemoia. It's a sweet fruit that's green, round, and bumpy on the outside. It's soft to the touch when ripe so you can open it easily with your hands to eat the juicy white pulp that surrounds the seeds.
Bananinha = a candy made of bananas and sugar. It's easy to find in every grocery store, snack bar, supermarket, or bakery, and even in some drug stores. It's inexpensive and comes in a rectangular shape.
Baru Nuts = a nut from the state of Goiás in Cerrado Bioma. It's sold toasted and can be peeled before eating.
Bean Stew = a classic dish from Brazilian cuisine. It is a thick soup made of cooked beans (usually pinto or black beans), oil, and spices. It's puréed before serving.
Bolinho de chuva = a sweet dish of Portuguese heritage. It reminds us of grandma's food for grandchildren. It's a little fluffy cake in the shape of a raindrop that is fried and then rolled in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon. The cakes are made of flour, sugar, baking powder, and conventionally, eggs and cow's milk. It's easy to make a vegan version using water to make the dough instead.
Carreteiro rice = a typical rice dish from the Brazilian South Region made with rice and different kinds of meats, tomato, cilantro, parsley, onions, garlic, and spices. The meat can be replaced by soy-based meat and vegan bacon.
Corn stew = a thick soup made of blended corn and spices.
Coxinha of jackfruit meat = coxinha is the most loved national salty snack. Originally from São Paulo, it's made of a cooked flour or potato dough, filled with shredded chicken, and then fried. The most delicious vegan version is made by replacing the chicken with jaca (jackfruit). When jaca is shredded and cooked, the taste and texture are similar to chicken. You definitely can't leave Brazil without trying it.
Farofa de mandioca = roasted cassava/manioc flour.
Feijoada = one of the national dishes of Brazil, a typical meal for a Friday or Saturday lunch, prepared while listening to samba or pagode music. Its origin is Portuguese and African. It's a thick soup that consists of cooked black beans with bay leaves and many different parts of a pig. A vegan version uses carrots, potatoes, and small chunks of coconut, and possibly tofu instead of pork. Feijoada is served with these side dishes: farofa de mandioca, white rice, braised collard greens, and sliced oranges.
Fried mandioca = mandioca, known as manioc or cassava in English, is a long root, grown originally by indigenous people. There are many ways to eat it; this is the fried option.
Goiabada = a confection made of guava, formed into a rectangle shape like a soft little brick. You slice it into smaller rectangles to eat it. In English, you may know it as guava paste.
Moqueca de Banana da Terra = a typical dish from Pará, Bahia, and Espárito Santo, but is also common in the coastal states in the Northeast. It has African influence and it's a kind of soup with a very particular taste due to coconut milk, spices, herbs, and dendê oil. The conventional dish is made with seafood. A vegan version is made with a kind of banana called banana da terra (earth banana), which is more firm and doesn't fall apart in the soup.
Northeastern Corn Couscous = a dish made from corn flour which is steamed. It can be sliced and used in place of bread.
Paçoquinha = a very common candy made of ground peanuts, sugar, and salt. Originally it was from the countryside, but now it's sold all over the country.
Pamonha = a food loved by people from Goiás, Minas Gerais, and Piracicaba. In Goiás in particular, where I come from, it is very popular. There are community events to prepare it together. It is made of a corn dough wrapped with corn husks and stuffed with various fillings, much like tamales. Pamonha can be salty or sweet and may contain meat and cheese. If you want to try a vegan pamonha, you can special order it the day before, since it takes a long time to prepare. Note: Check to make sure it was prepared only with vegetable oil, not animal fat, as is most common.
Pão de Queijo = also called Brazilian cheese bread. Another food from Minas Gerais, it's a salty baked cheese ball made of sour cassava starch, egg, cheese, oil, and milk. Vegan versions can be made of sweet and bitter cassava starches, more oil than the conventional version, and water. Alternately, it can also be made of potatoes or other tubers instead of cassava, but cassava has a better texture. Some recipes add in vegan cheese, too. If you're fortunate, you may find frozen ones in some supermarkets that can be baked at home. Brazilian vegans also like to call them "bread without cheese" or "kiss bread," because kiss in Portuguese is beijo, a similar word to queijo, meaning cheese.
Pastel de Palmito = pastel is a fried pastry that can have many different fillings. A good vegan option is the one with hearts of palm.
Pequi = a fruit from Cerrado, found in Goiás (especially) and Minas Gerais, that appears during the spring. It can be eaten only when cooked. The pit inside the fruit has spines on it; be careful to avoid the spines when eating it. The taste and the smell are strong. The world is divided between those who love pequi and those who hate it.
Polenta = of Italian origin, and more common in South Brazil, it's a savory dish made of cornmeal. You can eat it like porridge or fried in rectangles.
Potato Bread = despite the potato being from South America, potato bread was created in Europe. Brazilian potato bread is unique, being round and fluffy, and sometimes can be filled or be used to make sandwiches. In Brazil, potatoes can be replaced by other roots, like cassava or yam, for instance. Vegan recipes are usually gluten-free and can be filled with vegan cream cheese, vegan cheese, broccoli, or plant-based meat.
Pumpkin Quibebe = a traditional dish of Brazilian cuisine with strong African influence. It is a rustic purée made of mashed pumpkin with spices. To be more authentically Brazilian, you can use "neck pumpkin," which is originally from Brazil. It has a soft, moist consistency and goes well with textured vegetable protein (TVP) and white rice as side dishes.
Tamarind Juice = tamarind is a fruit native to Africa but grown in Brazil for centuries. It has a bittersweet taste.
Tapioca = made of manioca powder, it's indigenous to Brazil, hailing from the North and Northeast regions.
It is easily found throughout Brazil in many forms.
Tomato Vinaigrette = different from salad dressing made in the U.K. and the U.S., Brazilian vinaigrette is not a liquid, but a "sauce" dish made of cubed tomatoes, spring onions, cubed onions, olive oil, vinegar, and salt.
Tutu = a dish made of cooked beans that are mashed, sautéed, and thickened with cassava flour. It's usually sauté with fried bacon, onion, and garlic. For a vegan version, you can make tutu without bacon or with vegan bacon. This is more common in Minas Gerais.
Vegan Couscous from São Paulo = cuscuz Paulista, as it is called in Brazil. It is a cooked meal made of cornmeal and many other ingredients, like tomatoes, tomato sauce, peas, eggs, and olives. For a vegan version, eggs are omitted.
Vegan Tropeiro Beans = regional dish from Minas Gerais, Goiás, and São Paulo. It is made of beans, cassava flour, collard greens, and traditionally with beef and pork. For the vegan version, you can leave out the meat, or you can add carrots, plant-based meat, mushrooms, and eggplants.
Yerba-Mate Tea = a tea made of a plant whose scientific name is Ilex paraguariensis. It's enjoyed nationwide, but especially appreciated in the Southern region.
*Pizza = of course, this is not a traditional Brazilian food, but it's very popular to order pizzas Friday or Saturday night in Brazil, or when you go out to eat. Vegan pizzas can be made with vegan cheese, vegan meat, mushrooms, broccoli, hearts of palm, zucchini, and many other options.
| Five Day Meal Plan | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | |
| Breakfast | Roll with vegan butter Sliced vegan cheese Papaya cubes Fresh orange juice |
Northeastern corn couscous Coffee or yerba-mate tea |
Tapioca with guacamole Plant milk |
Toasted sliced bread with vegan cream cheese Vegan cheese with goiabada Banana smoothie |
Breakfast cereal with bananas, plant milk, and Brazil nuts |
| Snack | Pastel de palmito Coffee |
Mix of peanuts, baru nuts, and cashew nuts | Mango with vegan yogurt | Vegan bolinho de chuva Fennel tea |
Potato bread Pineapple juice |
| Lunch | Moqueca de banana da terra White rice Farofa de mandioca Paçoquinha |
Rice with pequi Cooked pumpkin Sautéed okra Tutu Salad with broccoli, sautéed kale, grated carrots, and tomato vinaigrette Ata |
Vegan carreteiro rice Polenta Pinto beans Sweet potato Salad (tomato, lettuce, and grated carrots) Bananinha Tamarind juice |
Vegan couscous from São Paulo Vegan tropeiro beans Brown rice French fries Green salad |
Vegan feijoada |
| Snack | Vegan pamonha | Açaí with granola | Vegan pão de queijo Coffee |
Coxinha of jackfruit meat Fresh passionfruit juice |
Guava |
| Dinner | Corn stew | Bean stew | Pasta with vegan meatballs and tomato sauce | Pumpkin quibebe | *Vegan pizza |
This general meal plan was created to showcase Brazilian foods that are, or could be modified to be, vegan. Not all aspects of the meal were included. Nutritional adequacy was not assessed, and the meal plan will not meet the nutritional needs of every reader. This meal plan is not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional.
Photos by Canva.com
Priscila is a Brazilian who has been vegetarian since 1999. She holds a BSc in Biology and an MA in Environmental Education. Currently she is a dietetics student and working on projects with VRG.
