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a bowl of Feijoada with orange slices
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4.89 from 9 votes

Feijoada Recipe (Brazilian Black Bean Stew)

FEIJOADA is the best black bean stew with pork cuts that you will ever have. It's the national dish of my home country, Brazil. Our feijoada recipe can be made 3 ways: on the stovetop, in the slow cooker (my favorite method), and in the pressure cooker. It is easy, gluten-free, and most of all, super delish!
Course:Main Course
Cuisine:Brazilian
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings 6
Calories847 kcal
Author Denise Browning
Cost $ 3.00 per person

Equipment

  • stovetop
  • slow cooker
  • pressure cooker

Ingredients

  • ½ lb thick-cut smoked bacon chopped (SEE NOTES)
  • 14 ounces smoked sausage sliced
  • 2 pounds pork baby back ribs membrane removed and ribs separated individually
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil only If needed
  • 1 medium yellow onion chopped
  • 6 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 pound dry black beans
  • 6 cups water Although vegetable or beef broth are preferred to flavor the beans even more
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda (only if beans were NOT soaked overnight)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 2 bay leaf
  • 1 ½ tablespoon salt plus more to taste if needed
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 2-3 tablespoon red wine vinegar improves taste and reduces gassy elements
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsley optional

Instructions

  • (OPTIONAL) Soaking: Soak beans with enough water to cover them by 3 inches. Place them in the fridge or leave at room temp overnight (8 hours), adding more water if needed. But you can skip this step by adding 1 teaspoon of baking soda to the beans when cooking.
    The first step is to sort and rinse the black beans. Then, follow one of the cooking methods below.
  • SLOW COOKER FEIJOADA RECIPE (FAVORITE METHOD):
    1) Heat a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook for 5-6 minutes, or until browned. Transfer to a large bowl.
    2) Next, cook the sausage for about 5 minutes, or until browned. Transfer to the bowl with the bacon. If needed, add half of the oil and brown the ribs, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to the bowl with the bacon and sausage. Reserve.
    3) Reduce the heat to medium, add the other half of the oil and cook the onion for 5-6 minutes or until softened, stirring every now and then. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant, stirring often. Transfer half of the veggie mixture to a LARGE slow cooker (8-qt. or larger, or reduce recipe to half to make in a 6-qt. one), stir in beans, water, baking soda (only if you didn’t soak the beans), cumin, the reserved meats, and bay leaf.
    4) Cover and cook on high for 2-4 hours or on low for 8-10 hours. A half hour before cooking time ends, stir in the other half of the cooked onion/garlic, salt, pepper, and tomato paste. Let cook until beans are tender. 
    5) Remove bay leaf, adjust salt if needed, and stir in vinegar. Transfer about 1-2 cups cup of beans with their broth to a blender and blend until smooth. Mix with the feijoada. Sprinkle chopped cilantro on top and serve. 
    NOTE: It is my favorite method because it gives the beans time to develop depth of flavor!
  • PRESSURE COOKER FEIJOADA RECIPE (QUICK METHOD):
    1) Press the saute function. Once heated, add bacon and cook for 5-6 minutes or until browned. Transfer to a large bowl. Next, cook the sausage for about 5 minutes, or until browned. Transfer to the bowl with the bacon.
    2) If needed, add half of the oil and brown the ribs, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to the bowl with the bacon and sausage. Reserve. Add the other half of the oil if needed and cook the onion for 5-6 minutes or until softened, stirring every now and then. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant, stirring often. 
    3) Stir in beans, water, baking soda (only if you didn’t soak the beans), cumin, the reserved meats, and the bay leaf in the pressure cooker. Cancel saute. Lock lid and cook on high pressure for 30 minutes.  Natural release pressure (about 20 minutes) and unlock lid. 
    4) Remove bay leaf, season well with salt and pepper, and stir in both the tomato paste and the vinegar. Transfer about 1-2 cups of beans with their broth to a blender and blend until smooth. Mix with the feijoada. Sprinkle chopped cilantro on top and serve.
    NOTE: If using this method, please make sure to double the amount of garlic, cumin, pepper, bay leaf, tomato paste, and vinegar. Plus, you can use the method described in the notes below if you want (useful tips/final touch).
  • STOVETOP FEIJOADA RECIPE (TRADITIONAL METHOD):
    1) Heat a large nonstick pot over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook for 5-6 minutes or until browned (SEE PIC.1). Transfer to a large bowl.Then cook the sausage for about 5 minutes, or until browned (SEE PIC.2). Transfer to the bowl with the bacon.
    2) If needed, add half of the oil and brown the ribs, about 4 minutes per side (SEE PIC.3). Transfer to the bowl with the bacon and sausage. Reserve.
    3) Reduce the heat to medium, add the other half of the oil, and cook the onion for 5-6 minutes or until softened, stirring every now and then. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant, stirring often (SEE PIC.4). Transfer half of the veggie mixture to a small bowl and reserve. Stir in beans, water, baking soda (only if you didn’t soak the beans), cumin, the reserved meats, and bay leaf. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil.
    4) Reduce heat to medium-low, stir, and cover. Cook for 60-90 minutes or until beans are almost tender. Stir in the other half of cooked onion/garlic salt, pepper, and tomato paste. Let cook for 10-15 minutes, or until beans are tender. 
    5) Remove bay leaf, adjust salt if needed, and stir in vinegar. Transfer about 1-2 cups of beans with their broth to a blender and blend until smooth. Mix with the feijoada. Sprinkle chopped cilantro on top and serve.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

USEFUL TIPS:
  1. Additional meats: You can add other meats to our recipe such as ham hock, cubed pork loin,  jerked beef, and also less noble parts of the pork such as tail, trots, and ears. But be aware most Brazilians from Generation X and younger do NOT usually have less noble parts in their feijoada. Most restaurants and bars don't serve them either! Older generations (and more humble households) still use not-so-noble parts of the pork in their homemade feijoada.  I used to add ham hock to mine but I removed it from the recipe because they often demand more time to cook than the beans themselves (around 5 hours to be tender).  You can still add it to the feijoada if cooking yours in the slow cooker on LOW.   
  2. Final touch (re-seasoning): Some Brazilians often season their feijoada again, at the very end (right after the beans cook). In a separate pan, they sauté lots of chopped garlic or garlic paste in oil and/or butter and then add some beans with the broth (1-2 cups), more salt, and a couple of bay leaves (plus sometimes a type of pepper or mild chili called pimenta-de-cheiro too) to the pan and let it cook for about 5-10 minutes.  Then, they add the mixture to the feijoada. You can do that too if you enjoy very well-seasoned beans. But I prefer to blend 1-2 cups of the feijoada (only the beans and broth) in a blender until creamy and add to the feijoada. It not only makes the broth thicker but also seasons the feijoada because the seasonings in it will be blended or crushed. These are two different techniques from different parts of the country. Mine is more common in the Northeastern region where I am from. 
  • NET CARBS: 46 g
  • WW FREESTYLE SMART POINTS: 26 (for reducing the number of points, use turkey bacon and a lean sausage)
  • HIGH PROTEIN: 47 g
  • HOW TO STORE FEIJOADA
Store feijoada in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Freeze it for up to 4 months. Thaw in the fridge and reheat well before serving. 
  • COOK'S NOTES FOR BRAZILIAN FEIJOADA RECIPE
    • Feijoada tastes better on the second day. 
    • The white rice that we serve this black bean and pork stew with is a parboiled long-grain rice. 
    • Some sides to serve feijoada with are white rice, farofa, sauteed collard greens, vinaigrette salsa (mild pico de gallo), and orange slices. 
    • You may sub shredded chicken for beef.
    • feijoada is gluten-free, dairy-free, and a high-protein dish!

Nutrition

Calories: 847kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 48g | Fat: 49g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 21g | Cholesterol: 138mg | Sodium: 2881mg | Potassium: 1665mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 182IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 154mg | Iron: 6mg

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