Fudgy chocolate truffles of condensed milk cooked with cocoa and butter, rolled in sprinkles — no Brazilian party exists without them.

Where does Brigadeiro come from?

Brigadeiro is a Brazilian dish from Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Can Brigadeiro be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?

Yes. This Brigadeiro recipe includes ingredient substitutions to make it vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, or egg-free — including several of those at once, such as gluten-free and dairy-free together.

How long does Brigadeiro take to make?

About 25 minutes total (10 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 8.

Brigadeiro — a Minas Gerais, Brazil recipe

Name: Brigadeiro
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Brazilian
Ingredients: 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk; 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder; 2 tbsp butter; 1/2 cup, for rolling chocolate sprinkles (granulado); 1 a pinch of salt

South America → 🇧🇷 Brazil → Minas Gerais

Brigadeiro

Brazilian · easy · serves 8

prep 10 min · cook 15 min

~241 cal · 5g protein · 34g carbs · 11g fat (estimated, per serving)

🍽️

Chocolate fudge balls rolled in sprinkles

🇧🇷 Minas Gerais

Brigadeiro was born in 1940s Brazil, named for a dashing brigadier running for president; the campaign lost but the candy won the nation forever. Rolling them is a birthday-party ritual, and eating the warm pot with a spoon (brigadeiro de colher) is a beloved secret.

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Make it yours

Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.

🥕 Vegetarian

🌱 Vegan

🌾 Gluten-Free

🥛 Dairy-Free

🥜 Nut-Free

🥚 Egg-Free

Ingredients

Serves 8 —

•

14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

•

3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

•

2 tbsp butter

•

1/2 cup, for rolling chocolate sprinkles (granulado)

•

1 a pinch of salt

Instructions

1

Whisk the condensed milk, cocoa, butter, and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat.

2

Stir constantly — really constantly — 10–15 minutes until thick enough that the spoon leaves a clean trail across the pan bottom.

3

Scrape onto a greased plate and cool completely (or grab a spoon now for brigadeiro de colher).

4

With buttered hands, roll teaspoons of the fudge into balls.

5

Roll each in sprinkles and set in little paper cups. Try to make it to the party.

Brazilian birthday-party tradition.

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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination

📍

Minas Gerais. Mountain farm kitchens famous for cheese and hospitality.

🗺️

Brazil. A continent-sized country with an Afro-Brazilian coastal soul.

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South America. Andes, Amazon, and Atlantic all on one plate.

The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.

👩‍🍳

Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker

Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →