Azorean-Style Octopus Stew – Easy Recipe

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Azorean-style octopus Stew is a traditional dish from several islands in the Azores archipelago. It is often associated with festive occasions like Christmas Eve dinner or the Holy Spirit festivities. We’re not Azoreans, but when we tried this dish in São Miguel, we were hooked. We didn’t rest until we learned how to make this delicious meal at home!

This dish is made with stewed octopus, served with boiled potatoes and coated in a rich tomato and onion sauce. Traditionally, it’s prepared with vinho de cheiro, a typical Azorean wine made from American Isabel grapes, and pimenta da terra, a local hot pepper and salt seasoning. These two ingredients are widely used in the region and give the dish its distinctive flavor.

It’s worth mentioning that this recipe is also known as Stewed Octopus São Miguel Style, but stewed octopus has many variations across the Azores, depending on the island. On Faial, for example, it may include saffron and seafood broth; on Terceira, it’s made with pork fat and bay leaves. As usual, every family has its tricks and secrets. It’s also a very popular dish in Azorean restaurants.

Some people feel hesitant or skeptical about cooking octopus, but it’s not a complicated ingredient to work with. If you’d like to learn a few tips on buying and cleaning an octopus, check out this article.

Below, we explain in detail how to make our version of Traditional Azorean-Style Octopus Stew and everything you’ll need to cook it!

A white oval platter holds Octopus, a dish of meat and potatoes cooked in a rich, dark sauce, garnished with fresh parsley leaves. This traditional Azorean recipe is served on a tablecloth with a floral print and embroidered design.
Traditional recipe from the Azores – Azorean style octopus
Contents hide
Preparation
Necessary Utensils
Ingredients for making Azorean-style octopus
Azorean-Style Octopus Stew – Step-by-Step Recipe
Side Dishes and Serving
Tips
Storage and Reuse
Conclusion
Azorean-Style Octopus Stew
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions

Preparation

  • Servings: 2 to 3 people
  • Prep Time: 60 minutes (Total time, including prep and cooking)
  • Difficulty: Easy

Necessary Utensils

  • Big pot
  • Wooden spoon or spatula
  • Teaspoon and tablespoon
  • Knife
A large pot with red handles sits on a floral tablecloth in a setting that evokes the Azores. Above the pan, there is a wooden spoon, a decorative spatula, two knives and three spoons of different sizes, perfect for preparing a traditional recipe.
Utensils needed for the Azorean-style octopus recipe

Ingredients for making Azorean-style octopus

  • 6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
  • 1 large octopus or two medium ones cut into large pieces
  • 1 chopped onion
  • 4 cloves of minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon of pimenta da terra (if you don’t have any, use a spicy pepper of your choice, but you’ll also need to add a bit of salt as pimenta da terra is both salty and spicy)
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • salt to taste
  • 1 glass (250 ml) red wine or other red wine
  • 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
  • Olive oil q.s.
  • Laurel
the collection of ingredients on a patterned tablecloth for a traditional Azorean recipe, featuring raw octopus, parsley, bay leaves, olive oil, tomato paste, red wine, garlic, salt, chopped onion, ground pepper, diced potatoes and paprika — all labeled in Portuguese.
Ingredients needed to make Azorean-style octopus

Azorean-Style Octopus Stew – Step-by-Step Recipe

  1. Drizzle olive oil into a pot—enough to cover the bottom—and add the chopped onion and garlic. Sauté until golden.
  2. Add paprika, tomato paste, and pimenta da terra, and stir everything together.
  3. Add the drained octopus and cut it into large pieces.
Chopped onions sizzle in a red pan, echoing the aroma of Azorean-style octopus. A wooden spoon with decorative carvings rests on the edge, reminiscent of a traditional recipe. The scene unfolds invitingly over the stove, evoking flavors from the heart of the Azores.
Add onion and garlic
A wooden spoon rests in a red pot containing a thick, reddish-brown mixture. Visible ingredients include diced onion and tomato. The pan is partially scraped, revealing the creamy white interior — a reference to a traditional Azorean recipe.
Tomato and ground pepper extract
A pot on the stove, with a wooden spoon inside, contains a rich, golden stew. A person adds raw octopus from a decorated white bowl to the pot. The setting, reminiscent of Azorean cuisine, evokes the feeling of preparing a beloved traditional recipe.
And finally, the octopus cut into large pieces
  1. Let the octopus cook uncovered for about 10 minutes. It will shrink and curl up slightly as it cooks.
A red pot on the stove holds a delicious Azorean-inspired recipe with octopus and tomato sauce. A wooden spoon stirs the grainy mixture, revealing succulent pieces of octopus. The lid rests nearby, ready to seal in the flavors of the Portuguese islands.
Let the octopus simmer with the pan uncovered for 10 minutes.
  1. After 20 minutes, add the wine and let it cook for another 20 minutes, or until the octopus is tender. You’ll know it’s cooked when it offers little resistance when you pierce it with a fork.
Uma mão despeja vinho tinto em uma panela de feijão fervendo no fogão, capturando a essência de uma receita tradicional. O prato, aninhado em uma panela vermelha com folhas de louro e uma colher de pau.
Acrescente vinho tinto ao polvo e deixe cozer até o polvo estar feito.
  1. Then, add the peeled potatoes and cut them into cubes.
  2. Add the parsley when the potatoes are cooked and you can easily pierce them with a fork. Turn off the heat, and it’s ready to serve.
A hand stirs a large red pot on the stove, filled with diced potatoes mixed in a rich, dark brown sauce. Inspired by a traditional Azorean recipe, the stove and part of the countertop enhance this cozy kitchen setting.
Add the potatoes to the octopus and let it cook.
A red pot overflowing with a dark brown stew, with chunks of potatoes and tender meat, seasoned to perfection. A wooden spoon rests inside the pan on a black stove, reminiscent of a traditional Azorean octopus recipe.
Final appearance with the potatoes and octopus cooked

Side Dishes and Serving

This dish has a lot of sauce, so it pairs wonderfully with white bread. There’s nothing like dipping the bread into the sauce to make the meal even more flavorful. A fresh salad with lettuce, tomato, and onion complements the dish, adding balance and freshness.

We recommend a red wine. If you have access to vinho de cheiro from the Azores, even better! Otherwise, choose a red wine of your liking. If you prefer something lighter and fresher, a more acidic white wine also works well—try a Verdelho from the Azores, which pairs perfectly.

Tips

  • Typically, octopus releases water as it cooks, but if you notice the sauce is getting too thick, add a little water.
  • Always keep the heat at medium-low and stir frequently to ensure that the sauce or the octopus doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
  • In the Azores, vinho de cheiro is commonly used to make this dish. It’s a regional wine from the Azores, produced from the American Isabel grape. Since it’s not always easy to find, you can use a red wine of your choice.
  • Some people cook the octopus separately and only add it to the sauce afterward. However, while octopus can be tricky to cook, we think it’s worth letting it cook directly in the sauce—it makes the dish more flavorful, and the sauce absorbs that delicious octopus taste.
  • This recipe takes some time to prepare, and the cooking time may vary depending on the type and size of the octopus. Keep that in mind when planning to make Azorean-style octopus stew.
  • Also, remember that the octopus tends to shrink as it cooks. You may think you’re making a large portion, only to realize it has significantly reduced in size.
Oval dish with dark brown stew with chunks of meat and potatoes, garnished with flat-leaf parsley. This traditional recipe from the Azores is elegantly presented on a white tablecloth embroidered with pink and red flowers.
Stewed octopus with tomato sauce – Typical recipe from the Azores.

Storage and Reuse

Azorean-style octopus stew keeps very well in the fridge, in an airtight container, for 2 or 3 days. It’s one of those dishes that is really good when reheated, sometimes even better than when it was made.

However, freezing is not recommended, especially because the potatoes change texture and flavor after being frozen, which can ruin the dish.

Conclusion

This is a delicious octopus meal. It’s an ingredient we love, and we’ve already recommended several recipes: Octopus Rice, Octopus Salad, and Roasted Octopus. Although this isn’t our preferred way to enjoy octopus, it’s a very comforting version, and the sauce is simply divine.

We hope you enjoy preparing and tasting this traditional Azorean recipe, which brings a piece of Portuguese culinary tradition to your kitchen.

Bom Apetite!

Uma travessa oval branca contém Polvo, um prato de carne e batatas cozidas em um molho rico e escuro, guarnecido com folhas de salsa fresca. Esta receita tradicional açoriana repousa sobre uma toalha de mesa com estampa floral e um desenho bordado.

Azorean-Style Octopus Stew

Jorge Bastos
Azorean-Style Octopus Stew Recipe with All the Steps You Need. Give this traditional recipe from the Azores a try!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes

Equipment

  • 1 Large pot
  • 1 Wooden spoon or spatula
  • 1 Teaspoon and tablespoon
  • Knives

Ingredients
  

  • 6 Medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 2 Medium octopus cut into large pieces.
  • 1 Chopped onion
  • 2 Minced garlic cloves
  • 1 tsp Pimenta da Terra or other chilli
  • 2 tbsp Tomato pulp
  • salt to taste
  • 250 ml Vinho de Cheiro (typical Azorean wine) or other red wine or one glass
  • 1 tbsp sweet paprika
  • Olive Oil to taste
  • 2 bay leaves

Instructions
 

  • Drizzle olive oil into a large pot—just enough to cover the bottom—and add the chopped onion and garlic. Sauté until golden.
  • Add paprika, tomato paste, and pimenta da terra, and stir everything together.
  • Add the drained octopus, previously cut into large pieces.
  • Let the octopus cook uncovered for 10 minutes.
  • After 20 minutes, add the wine and let it cook for another 20 minutes, or until the octopus is tender. You’ll know it’s cooked when a fork goes in with little resistance.
  • Then add the peeled potatoes, previously cut into cubes.
  • Once the potatoes are cooked and easily pierced with a fork, add the chopped parsley. Turn off the heat—it's ready to serve.

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