Recipe

Brazil → São Paulo

🍢 SNACK

Coxinha

Name: Coxinha
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Brazilian (Paulista)
Ingredients: 1 lb chicken breast, poached and shredded; 3 cups all-purpose flour (for the dough); 2.5 cups chicken broth (for the dough); 1/2 cup milk (for the dough); 1 onion; 3 cloves garlic; 1 tomato; a handful parsley (filling); 2 eggs, beaten (for breading); 2 cups breadcrumbs (for coating); as needed neutral oil, for deep frying

Teardrop-shaped fritters of shredded chicken in a soft dough, breaded and fried gold, Brazil’s favorite salgadinho.

Brazilian (Paulista) · medium · serves 6

prep 45 min · cook 25 min

~558 cal · 34g protein · 79g carbs · 9g fat · 4g fiber · 5g sugars · 3g sat fat (estimated, per serving)

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AI-generated illustration

Coxinha is Brazil's most popular salgadinho, a savoury snack found in every padaria, party, and street cart across the country. Its name means little thigh, for the teardrop shape that mimics a chicken drumstick.

A soft dough made from wheat flour cooked in seasoned chicken broth is shaped around a filling of shredded chicken (often with creamy catupiry cheese), pinched into its signature point, then breaded and deep-fried until deep gold and crackling.

Crisp outside and soft and savoury within, coxinhas are eaten by hand, ideally warm, with a dash of hot sauce. They are the definitive Brazilian party food and after-school treat, a small, comforting indulgence that everyone grows up loving.

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Make it yours

✓ Naturally nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.

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

🥕 Vegetarian

🌱 Vegan

🌾 Gluten-Free

🥛 Dairy-Free

🥜 Nut-Free

🥚 Egg-Free

🐖 Pork-Free

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

Metric

Serves 6

1 lb chicken breast, poached and shredded

3 cups all-purpose flour (for the dough)

2.5 cups chicken broth (for the dough)

1/2 cup milk (for the dough)

1 onion

3 cloves garlic

1 tomato

a handful parsley (filling)

2 eggs, beaten (for breading)

2 cups breadcrumbs (for coating)

as needed , for deep frying

Instructions

Make the filling: saute the onion, garlic, and tomato, then fold in the shredded chicken (or hearts of palm and mushrooms) and parsley, and let it cool.

Make the dough: bring the broth and milk to a boil, dump in the flour all at once, and stir hard over the heat until it forms a smooth ball that pulls away from the pan.

✎ Chef’s note

Cook the dough until it truly pulls clean from the sides of the pan. Underdone dough is sticky and will not hold the teardrop shape.

Let the dough cool until it is just cool enough to handle.

Flatten a piece of dough in your palm, add a spoon of filling, and shape it into the signature teardrop, pinching a point at the top.

Dip each coxinha in egg (or slurry) and roll in breadcrumbs.

Deep-fry at 350F (175C) for 4 to 5 minutes, until deep gold. Drain and serve hot with hot sauce.

São Paulo lanchonete tradition.

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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination

📍

São Paulo. Sao Paulo is a megacity built by immigration, snacking on coxinha, shredded chicken enclosed in dough shaped like a teardrop and fried. Its Italian, Japanese, Lebanese, and northeastern Brazilian communities each made the city's food their own.

🗺️

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. The Andes are the potato's homeland and still hold something like four thousand native varieties, selected over thousands of years for altitude, colour and texture. The high plateau also worked out how to keep them: frozen overnight in the cold, trodden to press the water out, then dried in the sun into chuno, which stores for years.

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

Good to know

You’ll need: Deep pot for frying.

Storing it: Fried food is best eaten fresh while crisp. Re-crisp leftovers in a hot oven or air fryer; the microwave makes them soft.

Make it a Brazil meal

CaipirinhaDrink

BrigadeiroDessert

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Frequently asked questions

What is Coxinha?

Teardrop-shaped fritters of shredded chicken in a soft dough, breaded and fried gold, Brazil’s favorite salgadinho.

Where does Coxinha come from?

Coxinha is a Brazilian (Paulista) dish from São Paulo, Brazil.

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

This Coxinha recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.

Is Coxinha 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 count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), 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 Coxinha take to make?

About 70 minutes total (45 minutes prep, 25 minutes cooking), serving 6.

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