Easter in Portugal is a time of profound culinary tradition, where centuries old customs blend seamlessly with the natural portuguese regional creativity to produce a rich tapestry of festive easter dishes. At the heart of these celebrations is in my view the folar, a symbolic bread that varies widely across the country. In the northern regions, such as Chaves and Valpaços, savory versions like Folar de Chaves are filled with meats like pork, ham, and sausages, reflecting the area’s hearty culinary heritage. Conversely, in the south, sweet interpretations like the layered Folar de Olhão, infused with cinnamon and sugar, showcase the Algarve’s penchant for aromatic flavors.
But don’t get it twisted, these breads are more than just typical food of the ocasion, they are symbols, they are in a sense tokens of affection and tradition. It’s customary for godparents to gift a folar or a Pão-de-Ló to their godchildren on Easter Sunday, symbolizing renewal and familial bonds.
And beyond all the easter breads, Portugal has a ton of other sweets and salty delights for the occasion, like i said above the Pão-de-Ló, but also cookies, codifsh dishes of course hehehe and a array of things you should try if you are in Portugal and you can try at home, so on this article lets check out my selection of some of Portugal’s Easter recipes, both savory and sweet.
Portuguese Salty Easter Recipes
Bragança Easter Meat Bread – These kind of breads are for me super duper lovely Easter treats, it’s a bit of a indulgent delight because its a already an enriched bread and then its stuffed with smoked meats so it’s a bit too much heheheh, but you know… never enough, gotta have some! ;D
Portuguese Roasted Codfish Casserole with Cornbread – Codfish dishes are common, and for Easter there aren’t any very specific, any will do, but it’s very common to have it on Friday or Saturday before Easter Sunday, catholic tradition says, to not eat meat on Friday and to not eat anything on Saturday, so most people even if not following strictly will try and go for fish on those two days and we do love our codfish!
Portuguese Homemade Corn Bread – Cornbread is a all year affair, and yes I know lots of places have cornbread but portuguese has its on style with a super thick crust and a lovely crumbly creamy inside, but it’s also common to have around this time of year with all the get togethers and family dinners and so here’s the recipe! Also you need it to use on the codfish recipe above hehehe ;D
Typical Portuguese Codfish Fritters – Hummm kind like cornbread the “pataniscas” are common all year round, but it’s one of those snacks that kinda gets more common around Easter, mostly because of the “avoiding meat” thing until Easter Sunday.
Portuguese Easter Stuffed Meat Bread – Another variation on the Easter meat filled breads, I like this version from Chaves in the north of Portugal, it has a bigger variety of meats and the bread is oh so creamy and soft it’s really a match made in heaveeeeennnnn ;D
Sweet Easter Recipes from Portugal
Portuguese Folar Sweet Easter Bread – Classic portuguese sweet bread, these Easter delights are found throughout Easter, like a couple of weeks before and even a week after you will find Folares being sold everywhere, it’s just one of those Easter things, its delicious plain just ou of the oven but its also delicious with butter, jams, chocolate, whatever you like!
Madeira Island Homemade Sweet Cheese Tarts – These are tarts typical of the Portuguese Madeira Island, its kinda a festive sweet, you will find them a lot on parties and celebrations, so Christmas, New Year, Carnival and of course on Easter, and they are indeed a delight, almost no crust, with a creamy sweet cheese filling… yum
Easter Rolled Sweet Bread Portugal – This is a variation of a Folar de Olhão, a rolled sweet bread from the Algarve and a sort of Estremadura folar, a more plain sweet bread, so its kinda a middle ground, its a more modern variation, for someone that wants a folar a bit more sweet but not something overly sweet.
Portuguese Easter Honey and Cinnamon Cookies – Ohhh these are like the go-to cookies for traditional portuguese celebrations or gifts someone is sick or needs a pick-me-up these are your boys, crunchy, crumbly, not too sweet, with that hint of honey and spices, some variations you can add like lemon or orange peel, they are simple cookies that’s for sure, but sometimes those rustic cookies are whats realy needed!
Pão-de-Ló Portuguese Sponge Cake – Classic classic classic, a Pão-de-Ló is such a portuguese classic cake, when i was young it was always… oh nooo pão-de-lóóóóó, because it’s a very delicate cake, it’s incredibly fluffy, but shouldn’t be too sweet, you should taste the eggs, it’s supposed to be a slightly springy sweet eggy pillow… but you know kids, they only want too much sweets and too much chocolate hahahaha, but nowadays besides the classic recipe there are a ton of variations, some softer, some with fillings or a chocolate version ;D
And that’s it! Hope you enjoyed these recipes, if you want more easter recipes check out the link, if you want even more recipes written in Portuguese then check Iguaria Receitas da Páscoa and if you are looking for Easter Recipe Books, then check that link as well, have a great day and of course Happy Easter!
