Caldo Verde is a Portuguese soup made with potatoes, onions, garlic, thinly sliced collard greens and chouriço. Literally translated as ‘green broth’, this soup is so iconic that it’s considered one of The Seven Wonders of Portuguese Gastronomy. It’s the ultimate Portuguese comfort food, and a soup I always have on rotation during the colder months. Continue to read to learn how to make this Portuguese Green Soup!
Caldo Verde: A Soup from the Minho Province
Soup is a serious matter in Portugal! Go to a restaurant and at the top of the menu you’ll see ‘soup of the day’ listed. At the supermarket, there’s an entire section dedicated to them. Even your fast food chains offer a sopinha or two. It’s no surprise Caldo Verde is considered one of The Seven Wonders of Portuguese Gastronomy! Although enjoyed throughout Portugal, this soup is particularly typical of the Minho province, in the country’s northwest, served with a slice or two of Portuguese corn bread (broa de milho).
Portuguese Green Soup (The Authentic Way)
Like most Portuguese soups, Caldo Verde is really simple to prepare. It requires a handful of ingredients, and it’s all done in the same pot. Traditionally it calls for potatoes, onions, chouriço, collard greens, olive oil, and salt. Most of the flavour comes from the chouriço which is already heavyly seasoned with paprika, garlic, bay leaves, and white wine.
The key to an authentic Portuguese Caldo Verde is to boil your vegetables raw instead of sautéeing them first. The same applies to the chouriço, which is boiled with the chopped onions and potatoes. Some people prefer frying the sliced chouriço as the first step and using the residue to sauté the onions and potatoes. I’ve used that method before, and although very delicious, it’s not how it’s traditionally done. Frying the chouriço before releases a lot of colour into the soup and you might risk ending up with an orange soup instead of green.
Caldo Verde Recipe (The Ingredients)
For this recipe will need 4 large potatoes, 2 medium onions, 4 garlic cloves, 1 whole chouriço, a drizzle of olive oil, a small bunch of collard greens, salt, and black pepper. There’s a debate if garlic belongs or not in caldo verde. As a big lover of garlic I always add some to mine. Since the base of this soup is blended, all the ingredients, except the collard greens and chouriço, can be roughly chopped.
What Greens to Use in Caldo Verde
The green component of the Portuguese Green Soup is traditionally the couve galega sliced super thinly. You will find it in most farmers markets and supermarkets across Portugal. Alternatively you can use couve portuguesa which is slightly easier to find. You can also find them prepared for caldo verde if you are not too skilled with a knife. If you are outside of Portugal you should look for collard greens or any cabbage cultivar with dark green leaves, such as cavalo nero.
Portuguese Green Soup (The Recipe)
To make this delicious Portuguese soup we start by roughly chopping our onions and potatoes, and adding them to a large soup pot alongside the whole chouriço, whole garlic cloves, and a drizzle of olive oil. We then cover with boiling water, and simmer over medium heat for about 45 minutes.
Once the veggies are cooked through, take out the chouriço, reduce the heat to low, and blend the soup base until smooth. If the soup is too thick, add an extra splash of water. Meanwhile, sanitize your collard green leaves and remove the hard stem. Stack them up, roll into a tight log then slice as thin as possible to create your ribbons.
Add the collard greens to your soup, and cook for about 8-10 minutes or until the greens have softened but still remain bright green. Meanwhile, thinly sliced the cooked chouriço, and once the greens are cooked through, return it to the pot. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve with an extra drizzle of olive oil or chili oil, and some Portuguese corn bread. Enjoy!
Caldo Verde – Authentic Portuguese Kale Soup
8
servings10
minutes40
minutes151
kcalCaldo Verde is a creamy soup made with potatoes, onions, garlic, Portuguese kale and crispy chouriço.
Ingredients
4 4 Large Potatoes (peeled and roughly chopped)
2 2 Medium Onions (roughly chopped)
4 4 Garlic Cloves (whole)
1 1 Chouriço (150g)
Drizzle of Olive Oil
1 1 Small Bunch of Couve Galega or a kale alternative
Salt
Black Pepper
Chilli Oil – optional
Directions
- Roughly chop the onions and potatoes. Add them to a large soup pot along with the whole chouriço, whole garlic cloves, and a drizzle of olive oil.
- Pour in enough boiling water to cover the ingredients. Simmer over medium heat for about 45 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
- Remove the chouriço from the pot and set it aside. Reduce the heat to low, then blend the soup base until smooth. If the soup is too thick, add a splash of water until you reach your desired consistency.
- Prepare the collard greens by washing and sanitizing the leaves, then removing the tough stems. Stack the leaves, roll them tightly into a log, and slice them as thinly as possible to create fine ribbons.
- Add the sliced collard greens to the soup and cook for 8–10 minutes, or until softened but still bright green.
- While the greens cook, thinly slice the cooked chouriço. Once the greens are ready, return the sliced chouriço to the pot. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, then stir gently to combine.
- Serve hot with an extra drizzle of olive oil or chili oil and a side of Portuguese corn bread.
Recipe Video
Notes
- A drizzle of chili oil is optional but very common!
- Couve Galega can be replaced with Couve Portuguesa, or alternatively Kale or Cavolo Nero.
Have you tried this recipe? Let me know in the comments!