South America → Brazil → Rio de Janeiro
🥤 DRINK

Caipirinha

Brazil's national cocktail: cachaça muddled with fresh lime and sugar over ice.
Brazilian · easy · serves 1
prep 5 min · cook 0 min
~177 cal · 0g protein · 13g carbs · 0g fat · 1g fiber · 9g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Glass of caipirinha with muddled lime wedges and ice
AI-generated illustration
The caipirinha is Brazil's national cocktail, a bright, potent drink as tied to the country's image as the beach and samba. Its name comes from caipira, a word for someone from the rural interior, hinting at its country origins.
It is built on cachaca, the sugarcane spirit distilled from fresh cane juice that is Brazil's most distinctive liquor and distinct from rum. Fresh lime is muddled with sugar to release its oils and juice, then cachaca and plenty of ice complete it, shaken or stirred in the glass.
Sharp, sweet, and refreshing, the caipirinha is the sound of a Brazilian gathering, from beach kiosks to backyard barbecues. Simple and joyful, it is the taste of a hot afternoon and easy company.
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Make it yours

✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.

Ingredients

Serves 1
  • 1 lime, cut in wedges
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 2 oz cachaça
    Hard to find? white rum - the usual answer and a perfectly good drink, but not the same one. Cachaca is distilled from fresh-pressed cane juice and rum from molasses, which is why cachaca tastes grassy and vegetal where rum tastes sweet
  • a handful ice

Instructions

  • 1
    Put the lime wedges and sugar in a sturdy glass.
  • 2
    Muddle firmly to release the juice and oils.
  • 3
    Fill the glass with ice.
  • 4
    Pour over the cachaça and stir well.
  • 5
    Serve with a short straw.
Rio de Janeiro tradition.

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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination

📍
Rio de Janeiro. The accompaniments are not decoration. Couve, collard greens sliced into ribbons and flashed with garlic, cuts the fat; orange segments help with the richness; farofa, cassava meal toasted in butter, takes up the liquid; and the caipirinha of cachaca, lime and sugar pounded together handles the rest.
🗺️
Brazil. Brazil is a continent-sized country with an Afro-Brazilian coastal soul, from Bahia's palm-oil and coconut moquecas to the national feijoada bean stew. Cassava, black beans, tropical fruit, and churrasco barbecue anchor a joyful, diverse table.
🌍
South America. Migration reworked the plate within living memory. Japanese arrivals in Peru and Brazil produced Nikkei cooking, Italians made pasta and pizza entirely ordinary in Argentina, Uruguay and Sao Paulo, and West African cooking carried into Bahia by the slave trade gave Brazil dende palm oil, okra and a whole ritual repertoire.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.

More from Brazil

Moqueca Baiana (Bahian Fish Stew)Fish simmered in coconut milk, dendê palm oil, peppers, and lime in a clay pot, the taste of the Bahian coast.
Pão de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Puffs)Chewy-crisp little cheese breads made from tapioca starch, naturally gluten-free and dangerously poppable.
FeijoadaBrazil’s black-bean and smoked-meat feast, simmered for hours and served with rice, greens, orange, and farofa.
Browse all Brazil recipes →

Good to know

Storing it: Keep chilled and covered, and enjoy within 2 to 3 days.

Make it a Brazil meal

FeijoadaDinner
BrigadeiroDessert

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Frequently asked questions

What is Caipirinha?

Brazil's national cocktail: cachaça muddled with fresh lime and sugar over ice.

Where does Caipirinha come from?

Caipirinha is a Brazilian dish from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

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

This Caipirinha recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.

Is Caipirinha safe for people with food allergies?

Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.

How long does Caipirinha take to make?

About 5 minutes total (5 minutes prep, 0 minutes cooking), serving 1.

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