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This Portuguese soup called Caldo Verde has a luscious creamy potato base, with collard green ribbons, and smoked sausage. A delicious one-pot meal that is vegan-adaptable!
The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.
W.B. Yeats
Caldo Verde is a traditional Portuguese soup from Northern Portugal in the 15th century. It is now a country-wide staple, typically served for special celebrations and loved in many parts of the world.
Caldo Verde translates to “green soup” from the finely shredded Portuguese greens called couve galega, a close relative to collard greens (which is what we use here). Smoked cured sausage seasons the soup along with onions and garlic. Though contents may vary slightly in different regions, potatoes, greens and sausage are what signify the soup.
Simple ingredients create Caldo Verde. High quality ingredients, good olive oil, organic tender potatoes and flavorful broth, will make all the difference here!
Love potato soup? Try our popular Potato Leek Soup!
Table of Contents
Ingredients In Caldo Verde
Ingredient Notes
Potatoes– yellow potatoes such as Yukon gold. Thin skinned is nice, leave the peel on for all the extra nutrients.
Greens– collard, kale or mustard greens. The traditional greens used are Portuguese cabbage or couve galega which is similar to collard greens.
Sausage– paio, chouiço, or linguiça are traditional smoked and cured sausages used in Caldo Verde. Though they may not be readily available at common markets. Kielbasa or a cured Spanish chorizo (not Mexican chorizo!) are good substitutes. Vegan sausage, like Field Roast, would be great too.
Broth– chicken stock or veggie broth. Make sure it is flavorful!
Olive oil– a good quality oil is a must for this recipe.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How To Make Caldo Verde
Cut the stems out of the collard greens then cut in strips by staking about 3 leaves and rolling up in “cigars” then slicing thin into ribbons. Set aside.
Chop the veggies,
Cook the sausage in a heavy bottom stock pot. Set aside.
If you prefer not to fry the sausage, you can boil them whole with the potatoes and broth. Remove the sausages before blending. Cut in slices and set aside.
In the same pot, without cleaning, add onion and garlic, sauteeing until tender. Add broth, potatoes, and salt cook, until tender.
Add about 1/3 of the sausage into the soup. Use an immersion blender to blend until mostly smooth.
Add the greens, simmer until greens are tender about 10 minutes.
Add the remaining sausage and warm for a few minutes. Add more broth for desired consistancy.
Adjust salt, pepper and lemon if using.
Drizzle individual bowls with olive oil, and optional pinch of Aleppo pepper. To richen it up you can also add a bit of cream to each dish.
Recipe FAQS
Portuguese green soup. Made of potatoes, greens and smoked meat.
It depends on the type of potato. When the skins are thin like on a Yukon gold, it is great to leave them on both for ease and for the nutritional value of the skin. Russet potatoes tend to have thicker skin also the older the potato the thicker the skin and it can add unwanted texture.
They both come from the brassica family and are high in nutrients and vitamins K, A and C. Kale has more protein and iron. Collard greens have more manganese and tend to be more mild in flavor than kale. Both kale and collard greens sweeten up in the garden with a hit of frost.
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Caldo Verde (Portuguese Green Soup)
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Portugese
Description
This Portuguese soup called Caldo Verde has a luscious creamy potato base, with collard green ribbons, and smoked sausage. A delicious one-pot meal that is vegan-adaptable!
Ingredients
- 1 pound smoked cured sausage such as calabresa, paio, chouiço, linguiça, paio, Spanish chorizo, Kielbasa or plant-based sausage, cut into half moon pieces. (Do not use raw Mexican chorizo)
- 1/8 cup olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 8 cups chicken stock or veggie broth
- 2 pounds yellow potatoes, cut in chunks
- 1 – 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (adjust to taste- start with 1 teaspoon and add more as needed)
- 3/4 teaspoon pepper (adjust to taste)
- 2 cups collard greens or kale, cut into thin ribbons
- Optional: 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice and zest of a lemon
Instructions
- Cut the stems out of the collard greens then cut in strips by stacking about 3 leaves and rolling up into “cigars” then slicing them thin into ribbons. Set aside.
- Saute the sausage in a heavy bottom stock pot. Set aside. (see notes)
- In the same pot, without cleaning, add onion and garlic, sauteeing until tender. Add broth, potatoes, and salt cook, until tender. Add about 1/3 of the sausage slices into the soup. Use an immersion blender to blend the soup just until mostly smooth or to desired consistency. Try not to over blend, this can cause some potatoes to become gummy.
- Add the greens, simmer until greens are tender about 10 minutes.
- Add the sausage and warm for a few minutes. Add more broth for desired consistancy.
- Adjust salt, pepper and lemon if using.
- Drizzle individual bowls with olive oil, and optional pinch of Aleppo pepper. To richen it up you can also add a bit of cream to each dish.
Notes
If you prefer not to fry the sausage, you can boil them whole with the potatoes and broth. Remove the sausages before blending. Cut in slices and set aside.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 357
- Sugar: 4.1 g
- Sodium: 1422.4 mg
- Fat: 14.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 42.8 g
- Fiber: 5.6 g
- Protein: 15.2 g
- Cholesterol: 40.1 mg
Keywords: Caldo Verde, Caldo Verde Recipe, Portuguese Green Soup
I tried this out last night, with silver beets (Swiss chard), and Italian salsiccia. A surprisingly simple, but highly recommended dish. Thanks for sharing.
★★★★★
Nice Kahukura, thanks for letting us know!
Made it tonight and it was so good! I used smoked chicken apple sausage and kale, and a couple of big squirts of lemon. I forgot the olive oil drizzle in the bowls. A hearty, simple soup with a deep flavor. “It’s a winner!” said suspicious of new food hubby. Thanks for the always appealing recipes.
★★★★★
So great to hear Julie!
Comfort food at its best! The potato base with linguica and collard greens was so delicious. The lemon at the end just livens it all, though it was tasty without too.
Thank you.
★★★★★
So happy you enjoyed this Joan 🙂
This was delicious! And easy too. I just found the recipe and knew I had everything. That never happens. Thank you so much!
Great to hear Alene! It was meant to be 🙂
I make soups often,and this one looks great, but we are vegetarian. What do you recommend to adapt to vegetarian?
Hi Bernie, You can use vegetable broth and a plant based sausage.