Caldo Verde with Salpicão – Portuguese Soup

Caldo verde is one of the most traditional soups in Portugal. Besides being beloved by the Portuguese, it’s also known internationally thanks to the Portuguese emigrant communities around the world. Originally from the Minho region, this soup is made with just a few ingredients – it’s simple, but full of flavor and comfort. It consistently tastes like home.

Although it’s enjoyed year-round, caldo verde is especially popular during the Santos Populares festivals, often served with cornbread (broa de milho) and grilled sardines. It’s a soup that’s deeply tied to Portuguese identity and was even named one of the 7 Gastronomic Wonders of Portugal.

The key ingredient in this recipe is couve-galega, a variety of kale that’s typical in northern Portugal and Galicia. It’s a hardy plant, with tall stalks and broad leaves, and can be grown and harvested most of the year. In northern Portugal, it’s common to find couve-galega growing in home gardens, and that’s often the same kale used to make the soup. It’s also easy to find in supermarkets and local markets, already shredded and ready to use – a convenient option.

If you don’t have access to couve-galega, we’ve listed a few suitable substitutes further below.

Caldo verde is usually made with chouriço, but here we’re sharing our family recipe, which uses salpicão (a typical Portuguese smoked pork sausage, cured and seasoned) instead. We believe it enhances the flavor of this traditional soup even further. While using salpicão in Caldo Verde is also a traditional, it’s less commonly used today and quite rare to see in restaurants.

Caldo Verde is often referred to as Portuguese Kale Soup in English, but we prefer to use the original Portuguese name. Also, Portuguese Kale is a really poor translation of Couve Galega, but that’s another topic…

Now, let’s walk you through step-by-step how to prepare this traditional caldo verde with salpicão – and everything you’ll need to make it.

Preparation

  • Servings: 4–6
  • Prep time: 50 minutes (20 minutes prep + 20–30 minutes cooking)
  • Difficulty: Easy

Utensils You’ll Need

  • Large pot
  • Wooden spoon
  • Immersion blender
  • Knife for peeling and chopping
A red Dutch oven with a lid, a white immersion blender, a wooden spoon, and a wooden spatula are laid out on a patterned tablecloth — perfect for making Caldo Verde, a traditional Portuguese soup.
Tools for making caldo verde

Ingredients for Caldo Verde

  • 5 Batatas
  • 1 Cebola
  • 3 Dentes de alho
  • 1 Salpicão ou chouriço
  • 300g a 400 g Couve-galega
  • 1,5l de Água
  • Azeite q.b.
  • Sal q.b.
A bowl of couve-galega, a whole sausage (labeled
Ingredients needed to make Caldo Verde

Caldo Verde – Step-by-Step Recipe

  1. Peel the potatoes, onion, and garlic cloves, and cut everything into medium-sized pieces. Don’t worry about making them perfect – the soup will be blended at the end.
  2. Wash the couve-galega thoroughly in plenty of water. Remove the thicker stems, roll up the leaves, and slice them as thinly as possible into fine julienne strips.
A hand holds a large, damp green leaf over a wooden cutting board while a knife slices off the thick stem — an essential step in preparing Caldo Verde, a traditional Portuguese soup.
1. Cut off the stem
2. Slice the leaf in half
A single large, dark green leaf with visible veins rests on a light wooden surface. This essential ingredient for Caldo Verde — a traditional Portuguese recipe — appears freshly washed, with droplets of water still clinging to it.
3. Separate the two halves
Several fresh collard green leaves stacked on a wooden cutting board, ready for a traditional recipe like Caldo Verde, a classic of Portuguese cuisine. Droplets of water glisten on the leaves. In the background, a patterned cloth with red and blue designs.
4. Stack them together
A person's hand cuts leafy green vegetables on a wooden cutting board with a knife, preparing ingredients for Caldo Verde, a traditional recipe. The greens are partially chopped and arranged in small piles.
5. Roll them up tightly and slice as thin as possible
A pile of freshly chopped leafy greens, likely used for Caldo Verde, sits on a light wooden cutting board.
6. Final result: finely shredded couve-galega
  1. In a large pot, add the cold water, onion, garlic, potatoes, and salpicão (or chouriço). Bring everything to a boil. Once it starts boiling, reduce the heat, season with a bit of salt (go easy – the sausage is already salty), and let the vegetables cook.
A red Dutch oven on the stove contains water, diced onions, and a whole piece of salted cod for a traditional Portuguese soup recipe. A small dish of olive oil sits nearby. The pot lid is resting against the side.
Let the potatoes, onion, and sausage cook together in a large pot with plenty of water.
  1. Once the potatoes are fully cooked – check by piercing one with a fork to make sure it’s tender – turn off the heat. Remove the salpicão and set it aside on a plate. Then, blend the soup using an immersion blender until you achieve a smooth, creamy texture.
A red pot filled with yellow soup — possibly a traditional recipe like Portuguese caldo verde — is being blended with an immersion blender. The soup has chunks of potato and is cooking on the stove.
Blend the soup with an immersion blender until it turns into a smooth, creamy purée.
  1. Turn the heat back on to medium, add the finely shredded couve-galega, and cook until the greens are tender.
A red pot on the stove contains chopped leafy green vegetables over a clear liquid, suggesting the preparation of Caldo Verde, a traditional recipe.
Add the julienned kale to the blended soup and let it cook until tender.
  1. Meanwhile, peel the salpicão and cut it into small slices.
  2. Once the kale is cooked, turn off the heat, add the sliced salpicão to the soup, and drizzle generously with olive oil.
  3. Taste and adjust the seasoning before serving.
A hand pours a creamy liquid into a red pot of Caldo Verde, a Portuguese soup with leafy green vegetables, boiling on the stove. A wooden spoon rests inside the pot.
Taste and adjust the seasoning, then drizzle generously with olive oil.

Sides and Serving Suggestions

Caldo verde is enjoyed throughout the entire year and is one of the most beloved soups in Portugal. Still, it’s a dish that often brings summer to mind, as it’s typically served during the popular festivals. You could even think of it as a kind of Portuguese fast food — don’t be surprised if you see it being served on the street from food trucks or stalls.

The most common way to eat it is with broa de milho (Portuguese cornbread) or another type of traditional bread. It can also be served as a side to grilled sardines, grilled meat, or along with a bifana (pork sandwich), pão com chouriço (chorizo bread), or a bolinho de bacalhau (codfish fritter).

As for wine, the ideal pairing is a Vinho Verde (naturally, since this is a dish from the Minho region) or a light red wine.

A ceramic bowl with several slices of smoked or cured meat arranged in a fan shape sits on a table covered with a patterned cloth, reminiscent of a traditional Caldo Verde presentation.
Salpicão used in this Caldo Verde recipe

Caldo Verde Tips

  • As mentioned above, Couve-galega is the key ingredient in this soup as it is the most traditional and flavorful variety of cabbage. However, if you don’t have access to it, good alternatives include couve-portuguesa, Swiss chard, Brazilian couve-mineira, or even regular kale.
  • When it comes to using salpicão or chouriço, it’s a matter of personal preference. We prefer using salpicão in caldo verde — it has a smokier flavor and leaner meat (although it is also more expensive), but chouriço is the more traditional option. Both work wonderfully in this soup.
  • If you want to make the soup lighter and reduce the amount of potatoes, you can even substitute part of the potatoes with a peeled zucchini. The texture remains similar, and the flavor barely changes. We do it all the time, to make it even healthier.
  • In supermarkets and markets throughout Portugal, it’s common to find pre-shredded couve-galega sold in bags, ready to use. This option makes preparing caldo verde much quicker and more convenient, saving you time.
  • Finally, don’t forget to drizzle generously with olive oil at the end. This simple touch makes all the difference and enhances the flavor of the soup.
A hand holds a plastic bag of pre-cut leafy greens labeled
Packaged shredded kale from the supermarket, ready to use

Storage and Reuse

You can store caldo verde in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container. As for freezing, although it’s possible to freeze caldo verde for long-term storage, it’s generally not recommended, as it may affect the texture and flavor of the kale and the broth.

A bowl of Caldo Verde, the traditional recipe with leafy greens and sausage, sits on a tablecloth patterned with floral and geometric designs.
There’s nothing like a warm bowl of caldo verde with a slice of salpicão.

Conclusion

We absolutely love caldo verde, and we think most Portuguese people do too — but the version with salpicão is much richer and deserves to be more widely known!

Whether you use salpicão or chouriço, with the right ingredients, you can recreate this comforting soup at home. It’s healthy and easy to make.

We hope this traditional recipe brings you flavor, comfort, and a taste of Portuguese cuisine in your kitchen.

Bom Apetite!

Uma tigela de Caldo Verde, a receita tradicional com vegetais folhosos e linguiça, está sobre uma toalha de mesa estampada com motivos florais e geométricos.

Caldo Verde with Salpicao

Jorge Bastos
Caldo Verde is one of the most traditional soups in Portugal. Loved by the Portuguese, it's also known internationally thanks to emigrant communities. Learn how to make this comforting soup step by step.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Course Soup
Cuisine portuguese

Equipment

  • 1 Large pot
  • 1 Wooden spoon
  • 1 Immersion blender (or hand blender)
  • 1 Peeling and a cutting knife

Ingredients
  

  • 5 Potatoes
  • 1 Onion
  • 3 Garlic cloves
  • 1 Salpicão (smoked cured sausage) or chouriço
  • 400 gr Portuguese kale (couve-galega)
  • 1,5 l Water
  • Olive oil to taste
  • Salt to taste

Instructions
 

  • Peel the potatoes, onions, and garlic cloves, and cut everything into medium-sized pieces. They don’t need to be perfect since the soup will be blended at the end.
  • Wash the Portuguese kale thoroughly under running water. Remove the thicker stems, roll the leaves, and cut them into very thin julienne strips.
  • In a pot, combine the cold water, onion, garlic, potatoes, and salpicão (or chouriço). Bring to a boil.
  • Once it starts boiling, reduce the heat, season with salt (sparingly, since the salpicão is already salty), and let the vegetables cook.
  • When the potatoes are fully cooked, turn off the heat. Remove the salpicão onto a plate and blend the soup with an immersion blender until smooth.
  • Turn the heat back to medium, add the julienned kale, and cook until tender.
  • Meanwhile, remove the casing from the salpicão and cut it into small slices.
  • When the kale is cooked, turn off the heat, add the sliced salpicão to the soup, and drizzle generously with olive oil.
  • Adjust the seasoning before serving.
Keyword caldo verde, couve-galega, salpicao

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