Caldo verde

Allergens at a glance

• SometimesSulphitesPortuguese chouriço is often cured with wine.
• SometimesGlutenBroa (corn bread, often with wheat or rye) is served alongside.
• SometimesCelerySome kitchens use stock or stock cubes that contain celery.

Usually in the standard recipe. Often in many versions. Sometimes in some kitchens, or a cross-contact risk.

Diets

• Not vegetarian as standard: chouriço (pork) goes in the bowl and flavours the soup.
• Ask for it sem chouriço; the base is often just water, potato, onion, garlic and oil.
• Usually gluten-free and dairy-free in the bowl itself.

Recipes change from kitchen to kitchen. If you have an allergy, confirm every ingredient with the restaurant before you order.

What is caldo verde?

Caldo verde is a simple Portuguese soup of potato and onion cooked in water and blended smooth, then filled with ribbons of dark green cabbage and finished with olive oil and a slice or two of chouriço. The name means "green broth". It comes from the Minho in the north, and today it's eaten all over Portugal, from family dinners to late-night parties and the June street festivals.

What's in it

• Potato and onion: boiled with garlic and salt, then puréed.
• Couve galega: a dark, leafy cabbage similar to kale or collard greens, rolled and cut into very thin strips. Markets sell it ready-shredded.
• Olive oil: stirred in at the end and drizzled on top.
• Chouriço: Portuguese smoked pork sausage, sliced and added to the pot or placed on top of each bowl.

Allergens and diets

Caldo verde is low on the major allergens. The classic base is water, potato, onion, garlic, cabbage, olive oil and salt, with no flour, dairy or egg.

The chouriço is the main thing to ask about. Portuguese chouriço is pork, seasoned with garlic and paprika and commonly cured with wine, which can add sulphites. It's not a garnish you can pick off: the slices usually simmer in the soup, so their fat and flavour go into the broth. Ask for it sem chouriço (without chouriço) and whether the soup was cooked with it.

Some restaurants make the base with stock or stock cubes, which can contain celery. Gluten usually comes from the side: caldo verde is traditionally served with broa, a dense corn bread that typically also contains wheat or rye flour. Skip the bread if you're coeliac (celiac).

On the menu

You'll see caldo verde in the sopas (soups) section of almost every traditional Portuguese menu, usually one of the cheapest items. It's served in a bowl, often a clay one, with the chouriço slice floating on top. Sopa de legumes (vegetable soup) is the other everyday soup and is often vegetarian, but ask about stock.

Last checked 1 November 2026. Spotted something wrong? Email support@inventum.com.au.