Portuguese kale soup, caldo verde, is something you’ll experience literally everywhere in Portugal, from Lisbon’s trendiest restaurants to farmhouses scattered at the edge of villages. Understandably so. Its simple yet sustaining character is appreciated everywhere.
Prep time: PT25M
Cook time: PT40M
Total time: PT65M
Rating
4.86 stars (123 reviews)
Keywords
healthy soup, kale soup, portuguese kale soup, portuguese soup, traditional portuguese soup
Ingredients
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
10 ounces chouriço, linguiça, or Spanish chorizo
1 large Spanish onion (diced)
kosher salt
2 garlic cloves (sliced; don’t be afraid to go for a third or fourth. We Portuguese love their garlic)
6 medium potatoes (peeled and roughly chopped (I prefer Yukon Gold, as they as similar to Portugal's yellow potatoes))
8 cups cold water (or half homemade chicken stock or canned chicken broth, and half water)
1 pound collard greens or kale (stems removed, leaves cut into very, very thin slices)
freshly ground black or white pepper
Categories
Appetizers
Cuisine
Portuguese
Steps
In a large pot over medium heat, warm the 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil. Add the 10 ounces chouriço, linguiça, or Spanish chorizo and cook until lightly browned on both sides, 3 to 5 minutes.
Remove the sausage slices with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a plate, making sure they drain well into the pot; its fat will flavor the soup.
Dump the 1 large Spanish onion into the pot. Sprinkle with kosher salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the 2 garlic cloves and cook for 2 minutes more.
Plonk in the 6 medium potatoes, add the 8 cups cold water (or a combo of water and chicken stock), and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until the potatoes are almost tender, 10 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the soup cool slightly.
When the caldo verde has cooled a little, purée it using an immersion blender or a food processor. (Tradition demands that one slice—and only one slice—of chouriço is added to each bowl, lthough some cooks like to add half the sausage to the soup before puréeing. It’s your choice. And that one-slice thing? To hell with it!)
Add the 1 pound collard greens or kale to the soup, bring it back to a boil, and then reduce the heat and simmer until tender, 2 to 5 minutes. Season with more salt, if needed, and freshly ground black or white pepper.
Ladle the caldo verde into bowls and garnish with the remaining slices of chouriço. Comer agora!
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 portion
Calories: 456 kcal
Carbohydrates: 50 g
Protein: 15 g
Fat: 24 g
Saturated Fat: 6 g
Cholesterol: 33 mg
Sodium: 474 mg
Sugar: 4 g
Reviews
Peg U on 2025-12-30 (5 stars): We had to substitute a spicy salami since we couldn’t find chouriço, but the soup was delicious with a bigger proportion of homemade chicken stock and a smaller proportion of water. It was part of our family Christmas dinner, and the teenage granddaughters loved it. Leite’s Culinaria also provided recipes for dessert—Sticky Toffee Pudding and breakfast the next morning the Croque Monsieur Casserole.
Ashlee on 2025-01-06 (5 stars): I married into a Portuguese family. They're from Funchal (pretty sure i spelled that wrong) in madeira. My husband was so impressed when i whipped this up. He really enjoys when i make portugese recipes. My family also loves this soup. I usually put the sausage in first which my family likes. I love these recipes! This is such an easy but yummy soup! Id love to see more recipes that originate in Madeira or Funchal.
Brandi on 2024-12-06 (5 stars): I'm Portuguese Canadian. My grandparents came here shortly before my mother was born. I grew up on Avo's Portuguese cuisine and her Caldo Verde and a variation of her own creation were lunchtime staples that I looked forward to and devoured every time I spent time with them. I've been craving it for a while and let me just say, this brought me right back to her kitchen table. This not only satisfied my cravings, but brought me right back to childhood with them. It really hit the spot. My kids, and especially my green-hating son, devoured this and had more than one bowl. It was a hit and probably going to end up being a new winter staple in our home.
Louis on 2024-03-03 (5 stars): My wife and I relocated to Portugal recently, and after we enjoyed this soup in a restaurant, we were eager to make it at home. Thankfully at our local Auchan grocery store, we found linguica, and more importantly we found bags of pre-shredded kale that are actually labeled "Caldo Verde Couve", and that made the rest of the recipe fairly easy. It turned out very good, and I'm sure we'll make it repeatedly. Next time, we might cook the kale just a bit longer, and we might slightly increase the potato-to-broth ratio, but honestly we're happy with it.
Liv Franca on 2024-02-21 (5 stars): Perfection in a humble bowl of soup! ….Memories of honest-to-God, hearty, potatoes and super-thin-cut collards cooking in a big pot at a tiny medieval village (10 houses) at Serra da Estrela, in Portugal….and a more “elegant” version of it with less potato and a few slices of sautéed Portuguese linguiça as garnish on top, at Porto Seguro, Bahia, in Brazil…..Rough it up or refine it up, this recipe stays true to the real star, the collard greens! 🥬🥬🥬
Liz Alves Santos on 2024-01-20 (5 stars): I made Caldo Verde this week, it brings back all childhood memories of my Avó and learning how to make this delicious soup!
Marlene on 2023-01-20 (5 stars): Thank you so much for this recipe. Even though I had to make 2 major substitutions, (escarole, smoked beef kielbasa ) it still came out absolutely delicious. This is a very forgiving recipe; wonderfully easy to make and highly adaptable. Looking forward to getting some real chouriço so I can make it as written because it's got to be amazing. Till then, thanks again!
CHRISTY on 2023-01-15 (5 stars): My son made Caldo Verde for us when we went to visit him in Lisbon. He used a Portuguese cabbage that he said was not really too much like Kale. So I made your recipe using 1/2 of a savoy cabbage which I sliced thinly and sautéed briefly with the onions before adding the potatoes. After the pureeing I added in about a cup of chopped kale that had been previously frozen. All in all it was a success and my son (he's back home now ...)thought it tasted pretty authentic.
Meredith Moreira on 2021-03-16 (5 stars): “Just like home”... I used Victor Guedes Portuguese olive oil (from Amazon) and used herb scissors to cut the kale into thin tiny strips. My husband likes chorizo and my kid’s like linguica so I used both. Will definitely make over and over again!
Jeff on 2021-03-13 (5 stars): Tasted just like in Portugal! Used Spanish mild chorizo (Palacios), Yukon Gold potatoes, lacinato kale, 1/2 chicken stock and 1/2 water. Blended well with immersion blender. Tried to cut the kale as thin as possible - still too thick, but taste was amazing. Cut out the stalks and just sliced the leaves. Paired with a nice white from o Douro region. Muito obrigado!
Sasha Pravdic on 2021-02-13 (5 stars): This was such a delicious soup! Hearty and satisfying- especially during our cold Chicago winter. I added half the chorizo back in before using an immersion blender to partially puree the soup, leaving some nice chunks of potato in there. I also use a product called Vegeta in my soups (I believe it's made in Croatia but it's pretty widely available in grocery stores); it's a seasoning that is kind of like bouillon but better and I think it enhances most soups. I agree with other reviewers that the flavor improves the next day. I also made Portuguese corn bread to go with the soup.
Dalia on 2021-01-24 (5 stars): Finally found the right measurements for this soup! Although I am Portuguese, and do have access to the correct type of kale and cut in the correct manner lol... I could never get the consistency and flavor in line with what I found in Portugal... the only thing I do is add one bay leaf when putting in the kale for the final aroma! Thank you! Amazing!
Susan on 2020-10-31 (5 stars): Thank you! This is the correction I’ve been needing for my usual kale soup. I tend to add too much of everything (including carrots & tomato) and it becomes a kale stew rather than a soup. In a pinch I’ve had success with frozen kale which is readily available in SE Mass.
Aga on 2020-10-19 (5 stars): Turned out amazing. I added 1/4 of cauliflower and pureed it with the potatoes. I also added some red pepper flakes for some heat and kale from my mom's garden. My Portugese hubby approves :)
Lisa Borges on 2020-10-13 (5 stars): I use the base of this recipe but I throw the chourico back in just as the potatoes finish up. I also don't puree it. The flavors are the same. This photo is as I started adding the kale which I kept as curly. and in chunks. I like the more rustic version. This recipe is just that versatile. I have made it with Italian sausage. If I were doing it for a dinner party I'd definitely class it up with the slice of sausage per bowl and slice the kale thin. I love your book. It's one of the only resources I have as my Portuguese father passed as I was young. thanks!
Karen Bilza on 2020-06-14 (5 stars): In Newark, NJ, we have a huge Portuguese population. The restaurants used to be really inexpensive. They served this soup as an included app. Had it for our second meal tonight. I use the carcasses from two Costco chickens to make the broth.I needed to add some broth tonight because potatoes soaked most of it up. I use russet potatoes because they break down a bit. Don't think firm potatoes would work as well. Did not blend. Chopped kale. yum yum yum!
J. Stormer on 2019-09-01 (5 stars): A wonderful supper for a cool fall or winter day (especially with some broa or other good bread). It seems to me that collard greens are the closest to the couve tronchuda or Beira that was always used when I have had it in in Portugal. I always use collards when I can get them here in the northeast US. I like linguiça for the sausage.
Linda on 2019-04-30 (5 stars): Upon close inspection of whatever ingredients I might have in my fridge to make a pot of soup for the week, I found the trio of sausage, potatoes, and kale. Aha! Portugese Caldo Verde could be whipped up with these ingredients. Of course I went to Leite’s Culinaria to find a proper recipe!
Although the recipe called for the cured variety of linguica, or Spanish chorizo, what I had were two links of Italian sausage and one link of raw Spanish chorizo. I was pretty sure that David wouldn’t mind if I improvised with this plan.
Other than that, I hewed to the recipe as stated, making sure to finely chiffonade my kale, the most painstaking part of this process.I let my kale simmer in the soup for awhile, as I like the velvety texture, and for this reason I’d have to put this soup into the “ugly delicious” category. Which means, yes it was delicious, and I’ll make it again!
Julia Mogano on 2019-01-23 (5 stars): We ate this multiple times during our trip throughout Portugal. Of course, nothing compares to Portuguese sausages/cured meats, but the Spanish chorizo worked well to bring back memories of my favorite Caldo Verde of our trip, from Petisqueira Volatia in Porto. I ended up using all homemade chicken stock (by accident) with collards, as my Giant was all out of kale. Fabulous soup that was perfect for single digit weather.
Nick Moldan on 2017-10-24 (5 stars): Loved this soup - reminded me of holidays in Lourenco Marques, when I was a child! That delicious combination of potato and olive oil is very reminiscent. Personally, I prefer to cook the chorizo separately, and drain off the oil - so that the chorizo oil does not overpower the flavours of the potato soup, and of the olive oil. Also prefer brown onions, as I prefer the flavour in cooking (but red onions good in salads, of course). We grow kale in our garden (living in France). I am not crazy about kale - a bit like eating grass! However, it is perfect in caldo verde (I seem to recall that we had a special type of Portuguese cabbage, when I was younger).
Bernice Glenn on 2017-08-30 (5 stars): I have had several different interpretations of caldo Verde during the month I spent in Portugal, mostly in the Algarve and the Lisbon vicinity. I did not eat in fancy restaurants, but went to smaller mom and pop places recommended by locals. Sometimes it was very brothy, no onions and a little bit of sausage, and sometimes thick and stewy. Always, though, the greens (not quite like our kale) were shredded very thinly, the soup was not pureed, and it was always delicious. I usually make mine with chard sliced very thin, but I do mash the potatoes to thicken.
Dave on 2016-12-16 (5 stars): I love this soup. Just like my grandmother from Madeira used to make. She would cut all the potatoes except one into quarters. The other she would leave whole. Once the soup was cooked, she would mash the one potato and put it back in the soup. Then you'd get a thickened soup which still has the potato and chourico chunks. I love Gaspars chourico. Thanks again.
Ms. Fitz on 2015-12-29 (5 stars): I made this tonight following Chef Villa's instructions to blend half of the chourço. Fantastic! Exactly what we needed to offset this gloomy day. Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes and life's journey with us. You're a treasure, David.
Lisa Skibenes on 2014-11-14 (5 stars): I made this last night and it was delicious even though I could only locate fresh chorizo not the wonderful dried, smokey kind. I had a bunch of organic collard greens and really sliced them as thin as possible. So very good. Really simple and quick to make for something so amazing. I puréed everything and some sausage in my Blendtec but think I'll invest in am immersion blender. I love my Blendtec but it's super powerful and I'm thinking a little more texture might be preferable.
Thais on 2014-01-30 (5 stars): I tried this recipe today and loved it. I switched the chorizo for Brazilian sausage that I had in the fridge and it turned out great. I also used collard greens and kale to make it extra nutritious!
samc on 2013-09-19 (5 stars): Family loved the soup, my major change was subbing Cauliflower head for Potato as I do paleo eating only. Also used baby kake package 5 oz. and Niman Ranch Chorizo. Served with some grated cheese on top. And with a green salad it provided a very filling veggie heavy meal, a change up from the normal meat or poultry fish meal.
Dave B. on 2013-03-06 (5 stars): This was a good recipie. I tweaked it slightly however. I decided to cook the chorizo a few minutes longer in the olive oil. I used slightly more chorizo then what the recipie called for. I also desided to leave some pieces of chorizo in the entire time the soup was cooking. When i was done mashing the potatoes i added all of the chorizo and the kale and boiled an additional 10 to 15 minutes to soften the kale. Lastly i added 1/4 cup of potato flakes to thicken the soup. This was my first time making the soup and it came out great!
Chris Morte on 2011-12-04 (5 stars): Hi David,
Thanks for the great website. Traditionally (at least, where I grew up in Toronto), I ate Caldo Verde with a slice of this very dense corn bread we would get at any number of portuguese bakeries in the city. I searched on your website for a recipe for this bread but couldn't find what I was looking for. I've never seen an equivalent type of cornbread (as you might know it differs greatly from mexican corn bread).
Any ideas as to where to find a recipe for that?
Oh. and I agree in part with PK, although I kept the same amount of onions and tripled the garlic, not doubled it. But I did that not because this recipe isn't good as is (because it is)... I just happen to like garlic!
Thank you for posting this traditional dish. I saw other versions of it that called for kidney beans and knew it wasn't the same kind of 'authentic" dish that I grew up loving.
-Chris
