Caldo Verde (Portuguese Green Soup Recipe)

This Caldo Verde recipe is made with thinly-sliced collard greens, potatoes and chouriço (smoked Portuguese sausage). In this version, the broth is thickened with pureed potatoes. If you prefer a thinner or clear broth, you can reduce the number of potatoes and skip the pureeing step!

Different versions and variants of caldo verde:

Caldo Verde is most-often associated with Portugal, but it’s also eaten in Cabo Verde and Brazil. This recipe is closer to the Portuguese style of caldo verde.

My Cape Verdean family has their own version of caldo verde that’s slightly different from this version. There are many variations of caldo verde. I intend to share a recipe for Cape Verdean-style caldo verde at some point, because it differs in the use of ingredients and in texture.

Should I use kale or collard greens to make caldo verde?

The green that’s traditionally used to make caldo verde is couve, which is a popular green that’s used in Portugal. Some people call couve Portuguese kale, but many sources say that couve is more similar in taste and texture to collard greens. I personally prefer the more mild taste and waxy texture of collard greens, but you can use kale if you prefer.

Vegan or plant-based caldo verde:

You can easily adapt this caldo verde recipe to make it vegan or vegetarian! Just omit the chouriço and use vegetable broth in place of the water and bouillon. Omitting the meat will shorten the cooking time by about 15 minutes.

Re-heating caldo verde:

Caldo Verde lasts up to 3 days in the refrigerator and re-heats very well. All you have to do is reheat it in a saucepan over low heat. If it thickens in the refrigerator, just add a little water or chicken broth to the pan to thin the caldo verde out. Make sure to stir occasionally as you’re warming it.

If you decide to use fewer potatoes for a more broth-y soup, you should be able to reheat it right in the microwave without adding any extra liquid.

Caldo Verde ingredients:

• Collard greens – you’ll want to use about ½ a pound of fresh collard greens (or about 2 cups shredded). If you feel like ½ a pound is too much, you can use less. If you plan to use bagged collard greens, make sure they are chopped into thin strips.
• Potatoes – you’ll want to use about 2 pounds of potatoes if you like a creamy broth. For a thinner broth use fewer potatoes! Yukon gold or russet potatoes work just fine.
• Portuguese chouriço or linguiça – they’re both smoked sausages filled with lean pork meat with very mild differences. Some sources say that chouriço is made with a beef casing and linguiça is made with a pork casing. Other sources say that chourico is more spicy than linguica. I myself, cannot taste the difference between the two, so I use whichever is available.
• Small yellow onion
• Garlic – I love using crushed garlic in most of my recipes, but minced or sliced garlic will also work well.
• Extra virgin olive oil– Portuguese olive oil is ideal for this recipe if you can find it. No worries if you can’t though!
• Seasonings: kosher salt, black pepper, 2 large bouillon cubes, 1 bay leaf, onion powder and garlic powder

How to make caldo verde:

Step 1: Prep the greens

As I mentioned, I always buy whole greens on the stem when making caldo verde, because I like to control how thinly the greens are shredded. Some caldo verde purists will tell you to shred the greens as thinly as possible.

Wash the greens by soaking them in a very large bowl of cold water for about 10 minutes. Rinse thoroughly and cut the stems off. Roll each leaf up (you can stack a few leaves on top of each other) and cut the rolled up leaves into very thin strips, using a chef’s knife.

This recipe calls for half a pound of greens (I weigh them before washing and cutting the stems off), I end up using slightly less (they should measure out to about 2 cups).

Step 2: Prep the potatoes

I find that 2 pounds of potatoes is equal to about 6 small potatoes. Peel all of the potatoes and reserve 2 whole ones (you’ll dice those up and add them to the soup later). Cut 4 of the potatoes into quarters and place them aside.

Step 3: Saute the garlic and onions

In a soup pot (the one I own holds 4 and ½ quarts), saute the diced onions until they’re clear and fragrant. Then add the garlic and bay leaf. Saute for about 1 minute more, until the garlic starts to sizzle.

Step 4: Add the potatoes and boil them

Add the quartered potatoes to the same pot that you used to saute the onions, bay leaf and garlic. Fill the pot with enough water to just cover the potatoes (about 2 cups).

Bring the pot to a boil and and let the potatoes cook until they are soft (this takes about 20 minutes). Discard the bay leaf and move to the next step. Do not drain the water!

Step 5: Puree the potatoes

Transfer the potatoes to a food processor. Make sure to transfer a little bit of the liquid to the food processor too, it will make it easier to puree them. Don’t worry if some of the onions get transferred to the food processor.

Cover the food processor with a lid and puree on high speed for about 1 minute. When you lift the lid from the food processor, you’ll see that the puree resembles mashed potatoes. We’re going to add water to thin the broth out so don’t worry!

Step 6: Make the broth

Transfer the pureed potatoes back to the soup pot that you used to boil the potatoes in. Turn the flame back on (a medium flame is fine) and gradually add 6-7 cups of water to the puree. Make sure to stir constantly as you add the water.

Once the broth is smooth, taste it to see if the texture is to your liking. If the broth is still too thick for you, add some more water. Add the bouillon cubes, garlic powder and onion powder. I would hold off on adding the kosher salt and pepper for now, since we haven’t added the chouriço yet.

Please keep in mind that if you used more water than the recipe calls for, you’ll need to adjust the amount of seasoning accordingly! You can add more seasoning later on, after you’ve added the chouriço.

Step 7: Add the collard greens and let the soup simmer

Add the collard greens little by little, until you feel that you have enough to suit your liking. I usually don’t use the full amount of greens that I chopped, but keep in mind that the greens will wilt as they cook.

Cover the soup and let it simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. While the caldo verde is simmering, cut the chouriço into thin rounds.

Step 8: Add the chouriço

After the soup has simmered for 30 minutes, add the sliced chouriço. Stir the soup, re-cover and let it simmer for another 15 minutes.

Step 9: Adjust the seasoning and add the potatoes

While the chouriço is cooking, dice the 2 reserved potatoes into small cubes, as shown in the photo below. Set the potatoes aside until the 15 minutes from step 8 has lapsed.

Taste the soup and season it to your liking with kosher salt and black pepper. Then add the potatoes and cover the soup again. Let simmer for 15 minutes more and then turn the burner off.

Step 10: Let the soup rest and serve

I always like to cover my soup and let it rest. This step gives the flavors a chance to settle. After 5-10 minutes of resting-time, ladle the soup into bowls and serve with some bread on the side.

Did you enjoy this Caldo Verde recipe? Check out some others!

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