Some of the best things you’ll eat during your trip to Portugal won’t be found in fine-dining restaurants—they’ll be in the form of snacks and small bites, often grabbed from a counter, a bakery window, or a neighborhood market. Classics like the pastel de nata, caldo verde soup, and bifana sandwiches are rightly celebrated, but some of the lesser-known treats are just as worthy of your appetite and offer an even deeper dive into everyday Portuguese food culture.
High on the list is the humble croquete – a crisp, golden croquette filled with slow-cooked shredded beef, often seasoned with garlic and bay leaf. They’re delicious whether hot or cold and can be found at just about every pastelaria or taberna across the country. Alongside them, you’ll likely find rissóis, which are half-moon shaped pastries with a thin breadcrumb coating and a creamy filling, usually of shrimp (rissol de camarão). These are best enjoyed fresh, warm, and with a squeeze of lemon if you like a little zing.
Another standout is the empada, Portugal’s take on the meat pie. Usually made with chicken or duck, they’re deeply savory, with rich, slow-cooked filling encased in buttery pastry. Duck is particularly flavorful and less commonly found—so if you see it, grab it.
For something more substantial, it’s impossible to ignore the bifana or prego – two iconic Portuguese sandwiches. The bifana is made with thin slices of pork slowly simmered in a marinade of white wine, garlic, paprika, bay leaf, and sometimes lard, then stuffed into a soft roll. It’s juicy, messy, and absolutely delicious and typically served simply with a smear of mustard or a dash of piri-piri sauce. One of the most famous versions can be found in Lisbon at As Bifanas do Afonso, a tiny walk-up window where the queue is almost always long and the sandwich worth every minute of the wait.
The prego, on the other hand, is a garlic steak sandwich, made with thin slices of tender beef—often sirloin or rump – grilled and layered with plenty of garlic. It’s usually served in a crusty papo seco (Portuguese roll). In a uniquely Portuguese twist, the prego is sometimes served as dessert after a seafood feast, especially at the iconic Cervejaria Ramiro in Lisbon. After mountains of clams, prawns, and crab, a garlicky steak sandwich finishes the meal with surprising satisfaction.
Another market-favorite snack is pão com chouriço, or chorizo bread. This is a rustic roll baked with slices of spicy Portuguese chouriço tucked inside, the fat melting into the dough as it bakes. It’s indulgent, deeply savory, and the perfect grab-and-go lunch or mid-morning bite. If you’re in Cascais, don’t miss the version sold by the bread stall in the local market, it’s legendary among locals and visitors alike.
Portuguese snacks are steeped in tradition, packed with flavor, and made with care. They’re an invitation to slow down, savor, and taste the everyday side of a country that knows how to eat well. From flaky, filled pastries to rich sandwiches and rustic breads, each bite tells a story – one that’s been passed down through generations and still tastes just as good today.