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My take on the traditional Portuguese soup turns the usual starter into a full meal. Packed with creamy bites of potato, tender collard greens, and browned kielbasa, this Caldo Verde recipe is a variation of the traditional dish and is true comfort food.
This soup recipe is part of my SOUP-er Simple Series! This means it has a short ingredient list, quick cook time, and loads of flavor. The goal is to give you more than enough soup recipes to get you through cold weeknights when all you want is something savory and steaming on the table in 30 minutes or so.
A Portuguese-Inspired Soup
Caldo Verde, also known as Portuguese Green Soup, is traditionally served as a starter. It’s light fare, featuring a thick and silky potato broth and loads of hearty greens. Each bowl is generally topped with a few slices of lightly browned dry-aged sausage. You can find a traditional Caldo Verde Recipe here.
My version, which is not traditional, thoroughly steps into main dish territory. I load it up with kielbasa-style sausage and keep most of the potatoes chunky. The loads of greens are still present, so it feels fresh while being heartier than the traditional.
Helpful Ingredient Notes
- Better than Bouillon: Look for Better than Bouillon paste in the broth and soup section of your grocery store. I prefer the Roasted Chicken Base for this recipe. Do not substitute with bouillon powder or cubes. If you don’t want to use BTB, and you’d prefer to use chicken broth, you’ll need 8 cups.
- Collard Greens: Traditionally, this Portuguese soup recipe is made with Portuguese cabbage, couve-galega. It’s a leafy green vegetable from the brassica family and is often referred to as Portuguese kale. All that said, this leafy veg can be hard to find in the states. I found collard greens to be the perfect substitution.
- Sausage: I originally tested this with Spanish chorizo which is close to the traditional Portuguese dry aged sausage known as chouriço which is usually used. However, I found it was just not very enjoyable to bite into. It was tough and quite chewy.
Through my testing, I found kielbasa to be a more affordable and readily-available option that was frankly more enjoyable to bite into. - Potatoes: For this recipe, and frankly most recipes, I recommend Yukon gold potatoes. They have the silkiest texture which is ideal in this soup. Don’t be tempted to use russet potatoes.
Test Kitchen Tip
Before adding the collard greens, blend equal parts potato and broth. In this step, be sure you skim off as much of the grease as possible. Add the grease to a measuring cup and count that towards your ¾ cup broth measurement.
By adding the grease to the blender with the potatoes, you emulsify the fat, which creates the most luscious broth.
Sides to Serve with Caldo Verde
While this soup is a full meal in and of itself, here are a few side dish ideas to serve with it.
Caldo Verde with Kielbasa
Description
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
- 13- ounces Cajun-style Andouille smoked sausage, such as Hillshire Farm, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 yellow onion, finely diced
- 3 large cloves garlic, minced
- Morton kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- ¼ –½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base
- 1 ½ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces (about 3 medium-large potatoes)
- 1 ½ pounds collard greens, (2 bunches) stemmed and cut into 1-inch pieces (8–10 packed cups)
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- Parmesan, for serving, optional
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add andouille and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 5–6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer andouille to bowl and set aside; reserve drippings in pot.
- Add remaining tablespoon oil to pot with drippings. Add onion, garlic, 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, paprika and pepper flakes. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion has softened, about 3 minutes.
- Add bouillon and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.
- Add potatoes and stir to coat. Add 8 cups water; increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until potatoes are just tender, about 10 minutes.
- Transfer ¾ cup solids and ¾ cup broth to blender jar (try to skim as much grease off the top as possible as—use that as part of the broth measurement); set aside to cool slightly.
- Stir collard greens into soup; simmer until greens have wilted and softened, about 10 minutes.
- Add vinegar to blender with potato and broth mixture. Blend potato mixture until smooth, about 1 minute. Stir puréed mixture and browned andouille into soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with freshly grated Parmesan, optional.
Notes
Nutrition
I made the recipe with jalapeño venison sausage, sweet potatoes and spinach just because I had those ingredients on hand. Everything else I followed according to the recipe. It’s delicious and nutritious! I will definitely keep this and make again!
This is not the real Portuguese Caldo verde recipe specially when you use. It doesn’t even look like it. https://www.mulherportuguesa.com/receita/caldo-verde/?amp have a look at the real recipe.
Hi there,
You’re right, I note in the article that this recipe is not the real version, rather a variation on the traditional soup recipe. This version is made to be a main dish and accessible for American home cooks. I will like this recipe for those who would like to make a traditional version.
Thanks for your comments!