A classic of traditional Brazilian cuisine, Tropeiro Beans (Feijão Tropeiro), is a tasty, nutritious, and easy dish to make. In this recipe, we will teach you how to make the Brazilian Tropeiro Beans.

About Feijão Tropeiro

The Tropeiro Beans is famous for being a nomadic dish and associated with a Brazilian movement called Tropeirismo. Despite some regional varieties, the Tropeiro Beans recipe has kept its essence practically intact since the 17th century.

The Origin of Brazilian Tropeiro Beans

The origin of the Tropeiro Beans is associated with a combination of three main cuisines, Indigenous, African and Portuguese. Its history is told from the eating habits of the Brazilian Tropeiros (muleteers), who prepared the beans with cassava flour, bacon and dried meat during their long journeys.

Learn more: Feijão Tropeiro, the nomadic dish of Brazil

Tropeiro Beans are typical of which region

Tropeiro Beans is a typical dish in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Goiás. There are some regional variations according to the ingredients available, but the base is always the same: beans, bacon, and flour. Here we will teach you how to make traditional Tropeiro Beans with a recipe common to these regions.

Practical tips for making the Tropeiro Beans

When you cook the beans for this recipe, make sure the beans are not overcooked so that they do not fall apart during preparation. The preparation takes the cooked grain without broth, so after you cook the beans, just sieve it to separate the grains from the broth. If you don’t know how to cook beans, check out this guide.

Another tip is to use a bigger size of a frying pan. To cook the Tropeiro Beans, you’ll need some space in the pan to avoid the mixture to get sticky during its preparation.

How to make authentic Tropeiro beans – Check out the recipe

recipe feijao tropeiro dish containing farofa sausage beans bacon and other ingredients typical of Brazil

Tropeiro Beans – A Brazilian staple dish

5 from 1 vote
A classic of traditional Brazilian cuisine, Tropeiro Beans (Feijão Tropeiro), is a tasty, nutritious, and easy dish to make. In this recipe, we will teach you how to make the Brazilian Tropeiro Beans.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Brazil
Servings 4 people

Adjust servings

Ingredients

  • 2 cup cooked pinto beans - without broth
  • 2 onions - cut in half moon slices
  • 5 garlic cloves - chopped
  • 150 g bacon - diced
  • 200 g smoked pork sausage - cut in half-moon slices
  • ½ cup raw cassava flour - approximately
  • 4 eggs
  • ¼ cup green onions - chopped
  • salt and black peper - season to taste
  • cooking oil or olive oil

To serve with

  • 100 g pork rinds - optional

Instructions

  • Place a wide frying pan over medium heat, when it is hot, fry the diced bacon in its own fat, when it is beginning to brown, add the sausage and fry them with the bacon. Reserve the pieces, but leave the remaining fat in the pan.
  • In the same pan, add the garlic and onion and saute until the onion is translucent.
  • Push the onion and garlic stew to the sides, leaving a space in the pan. In this space, break the eggs and fry them, if necessary, add a little oil. When the eggs are firm, break them coarsely with the spatula into pieces of approx. 2 cm. (note: the idea is not scrambled eggs, but pieces of eggs). Mix everything.
  • Add the cooked beans and sauté.
  • Put the bacon and sausage back to the pan. Mix well.
  • Add the cassava flour gradually to the desired proportion. There is no right amount: less flour for those who like the dish wetter, and more flour if you want it drier (similar to Brazilian farofa).
  • Turn off the heat, add the chopped chives. Season with black pepper, adjust the salt. Mix everything.
  • Serve on a platter, put some pork rinds on top.

Notes

  • Cassava flour can be substituted for cornmeal.
  • Try to vary the meat, it works very well with jerky beef instead of sausage.
  • If the meats are too thin, add a little more fat to the stew (oil, lard or oil).
  • If your pan is not too big, prepare the eggs separately and add to the preparation.
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Menu Suggestion

Now that you know how to make a delicious dish of Tropeiro Beans, there is nothing better than to accompany it with white rice, braised cabbage, breaded banana and chilli sauce.