Portugal’s beloved green soup: silky potato broth with ribbons of collard greens and smoky sausage.

Where does Caldo Verde come from?

Caldo Verde is a Portuguese dish from Minho, Portugal.

Can Caldo Verde be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?

Yes. This Caldo Verde 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 Caldo Verde take to make?

About 45 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 30 minutes cooking), serving 4.

Caldo Verde — a Minho, Portugal recipe

Name: Caldo Verde
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Portuguese
Ingredients: 1.5 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and chunked; 4 cups collard greens or kale, sliced into fine ribbons; 6 oz chouriço (smoked Portuguese sausage), sliced; 1 yellow onion, chopped; 3 cloves garlic, sliced; 1/4 cup, plus more to finish olive oil

Europe → 🇵🇹 Portugal → Minho

Caldo Verde

Portuguese · easy · serves 4

prep 15 min · cook 30 min

~363 cal · 16g protein · 47g carbs · 13g fat (estimated, per serving)

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Green-flecked potato soup with sliced sausage and olive oil

🇵🇹 Minho

Caldo verde comes from the rainy Minho in Portugal’s north, where couve galega (a tall walking-stick collard) grows by every door. It’s eaten at weddings, festivals, and at 4 a.m. after them — the pot that ends every celebration.

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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 4 —

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1.5 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and chunked

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4 cups collard greens or kale, sliced into fine ribbons

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6 oz chouriço (smoked Portuguese sausage), sliced

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1 yellow onion, chopped

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3 cloves garlic, sliced

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1/4 cup, plus more to finish olive oil

Instructions

1

Soften the onion and garlic in olive oil. Add the potatoes and 6 cups water; simmer 20 minutes until collapsing.

2

Brown the sausage slices in a skillet; keep their oil.

3

Blend the soup smooth and silky right in the pot.

4

Add the greens and simmer just 3–4 minutes so they stay bright.

5

Ladle into bowls, float the sausage and its oil on top, and finish with a thread of raw olive oil.

Minho festival tradition.

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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination

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Minho. Green wine country in Portugal’s rainy, generous north.

🗺️

Portugal. A seafaring nation that seasoned half the world.

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Europe. Village recipes guarded for generations.

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 →