Brazilian Spices: 15 Essential Seasonings, Blends and a Homemade Mix
Brazilian cooking is aromatic first and spicy second. The Brazilian spices that define the cuisine are a mix of Indigenous peppers and annatto, Portuguese herbs and garlic, and African dendê palm oil, layered over one simple sauté base that starts almost every dish.
This guide covers the 15 essential seasonings with their Portuguese names, the famous blends, the real rules of Brazilian steak seasoning, and a measured homemade mix you can make in 5 minutes. If you have ever wondered what Brazilian seasoning actually tastes like, start here.
Quick Answer: What Are Brazilian Spices?
Brazilian spices are the seasonings of a mild, herb forward cuisine built on a garlic and onion base called refogado. Heat exists, but it usually arrives at the table in a chili sauce rather than inside the dish.
The 15 essentials are annatto (colorau), cumin, coriander and cilantro, turmeric, garlic, onion, bay leaves, oregano, parsley, black pepper, malagueta pepper, dedo de moça pepper, biquinho pepper, pimenta de cheiro and cheiro-verde. Three regional blends tie them together: tempero baiano from Bahia, the coarse salt tradition of southern churrasco, and dendê based cooking from the Afro-Brazilian kitchen.
The Essential Brazilian Spices List
Annatto (Colorau / Urucum)
Annatto is the red seed of the achiote tree, sold ground as colorau or infused into oil. It gives rice, chicken and stews their warm orange color and adds a mild, earthy, slightly peppery flavor.
Colorau is not paprika, even though the two are often confused. Paprika is ground dried pepper, while colorau is annatto based and colors far more strongly than it flavors.
Cumin (Cominho)
Cumin is the backbone of Brazilian bean dishes and of tempero baiano. Ground cominho goes into feijoada, ground beef, and the seasoning mixes used on everyday rice and beans.
Use it with a light hand. Cumin turns bitter and dominates quickly, and Brazilian cooks treat it as a background note rather than the main event.
Coriander and Cilantro (Coentro)
Coriander seed and fresh cilantro leaf come from the same plant and share the name coentro. The ground seed is warm and citrusy inside blends, while the fresh leaves appear in Northeastern cooking, fish dishes and moqueca.
Cilantro divides opinion everywhere, and Brazil is no exception. The Northeast uses it generously, while many cooks further south prefer parsley instead.
Turmeric (Açafrão-da-Terra)
Turmeric colors and earths up chicken stews, rice and the galinhada of the Center-West. Its Brazilian name, açafrão-da-terra, means saffron of the earth, because it replaced true saffron in colonial kitchens.
A little goes a long way in both color and flavor. Add it early with the refogado so the raw edge cooks off.
Garlic and Onion: The Refogado Base
The most important seasoning in Brazil is not a spice at all. Refogado is the slow sauté of finely chopped onion and garlic in oil that starts beans, rice, stews, greens and most savory dishes in the country.
Master the refogado and most Brazilian home cooking follows. In the North and Northeast, pimenta de cheiro joins the pan at this stage and perfumes the whole dish.
Bay Leaves, Oregano and Parsley
Bay leaves (louro) simmer in feijoada and bean pots across Brazil. Oregano (orégano) seasons beans, eggs and the tempero baiano blend, and flat leaf parsley (salsa) finishes dishes with fresh color.
These three are the quiet Portuguese layer of the cuisine. They rarely headline a dish, but their absence is noticed immediately.
Cheiro-Verde, Brazil’s Finishing Herbs
Cheiro-verde means “green smell”, and it is a fresh mix of chopped parsley and green onions, sometimes with cilantro. Cooks scatter it over beans, rice, soups and stews in the last moments before serving.
It is part garnish and part seasoning. Because it goes on raw at the end, it adds a fresh onion bite that cooked herbs cannot give.
Brazilian Peppers and Heat Levels
Brazil grows hundreds of pepper varieties, but four do most of the work in the kitchen. The table below gives their heat levels in Scoville units (SHU), so you can swap them with confidence.
| Pepper | Heat (SHU) | Flavor | Best use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malagueta | 50,000 to 100,000 | Bright, sharp, fiery | Molho de pimenta chili sauce, Bahian dishes, beans |
| Dedo de moça | 5,000 to 15,000 | Fruity, rounded, medium heat | Sauces, pickling, everyday cooking |
| Biquinho | About 1,000 | Sweet, tangy, almost no heat | Pickled garnish, salads, cheese boards |
| Pimenta de cheiro | Varies, mild to medium | Intensely aromatic, fruity | Refogado base, Northern and Northeastern dishes |
Malagueta, Dedo de Moça, Biquinho and Pimenta de Cheiro
Malagueta is Brazil’s classic hot pepper, small, red and fierce. It is the pepper preserved in oil or vinegar on restaurant tables and the heat behind most molho de pimenta sauces.
Dedo de moça, the “young lady’s finger”, is the everyday cooking pepper, longer and milder with a fruity taste. Biquinho, the “little beak”, is the teardrop pepper served pickled, sweet enough to eat whole.
Pimenta de cheiro is a group of aromatic seasoning peppers rather than one single variety. Cooks choose them for perfume over heat, and they are chopped into the refogado with the onion and garlic.
Is Brazilian Food Spicy?
Mostly, no. Everyday Brazilian food is mild and aromatic, seasoned for depth rather than heat.
The exception is Bahia, where malagueta and dendê push dishes much hotter. Everywhere else, heat is a personal choice added at the table from a bottle of molho de pimenta, which is why visitors expecting a Latin American burn are often surprised.
Famous Brazilian Seasoning Blends
Tempero Baiano (Bahian Seasoning)
Tempero baiano is the all purpose blend of Bahia, in Brazil’s Northeast. It seasons meats, beans, seafood and the region’s famous stews, and it is one of the most saved Brazilian blends on Pinterest for good reason.
To make about 1/3 cup, mix 2 tbsp ground cumin, 2 tbsp ground coriander, 1 tbsp dried oregano, 1 tbsp turmeric, 2 tsp black pepper and 1 tsp chili flakes. Add salt to taste when you cook, since the blend itself is usually salt free.
Brazilian Steak Seasoning and the Sal Grosso Rule
Here is the fact that surprises most people: a traditional Brazilian steakhouse puts almost nothing on the meat. Picanha, the top sirloin cap with its fat cap, is seasoned with coarse salt (sal grosso) only, applied just before grilling.
Rich spice rubs on steak are mostly a United States steakhouse habit, not a Brazilian one. If you want the authentic churrasco flavor, use coarse salt, a hot grill, and rest the meat well.
Homemade McCormick Style Brazilian Steakhouse Blend
When McCormick discontinued its Brazilian Steakhouse seasoning, home cooks went looking for the formula. The label listed sea salt, spices including black pepper, paprika and jalapeño, garlic, onion and bell pepper, and this copycat follows that profile.
Mix 2 tbsp sea salt, 1 tbsp paprika, 2 tsp garlic powder, 2 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp dried bell pepper flakes and 1/2 tsp jalapeño powder. This makes about 1/3 cup and works best on grilled chicken, pork and, yes, steak.
Homemade Brazilian Seasoning Recipe
This is the versatile all purpose version, built like a classic brazilian spice blend with paprika, cumin and oregano up front. It takes 5 minutes, needs no cooking, and seasons everything from chicken to roasted vegetables.
Prep time: 5 minutes. Cook time: none. Total time: 5 minutes. Yield: about 1 and 1/4 cups.
Ingredients:
- 6 tbsp paprika, smoked or sweet
- 3 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp onion powder
- 2 tbsp ground cumin
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp fine sea salt
- 2 tsp black pepper, finely ground
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper or malagueta flakes
- 1 tsp dried lime zest (optional)
Method:
- Add everything to a medium bowl. Whisk for about 30 seconds until the color is even and no clumps of paprika or turmeric remain.
- Transfer to a clean, dry glass jar with a tight lid and label it with the date. Store in a cool, dark cupboard for up to 6 months, and shake before use.
Use 1 tablespoon per 500 g of chicken, beef or vegetables as a dry rub. For a marinade, mix 2 tablespoons of the blend with 2 tablespoons of oil and the juice of 1 lime.
How to Use Brazilian Spices
On beef. Follow the sal grosso rule for picanha and other churrasco cuts, and save the homemade blend for burgers, skewers and weekday steaks. Apply rubs about 30 minutes before grilling so the salt can start its work.
On chicken. Brazilian spices shine on chicken, especially with tempero baiano or the homemade blend loosened with lime juice and oil. Marinate for at least 1 hour, or overnight for the full effect.
In beans and feijoada. Build the refogado first, then add bay leaves, cumin and coriander while the beans simmer. Serve feijoada with orange slices on the side, the classic pairing that cuts the richness.
In seafood and moqueca. The Bahian fish stew moqueca layers dendê palm oil, coconut milk, coriander and malagueta over a tomato and pepper base. It is the best single dish for tasting the African side of Brazilian seasoning.
Substitutions Table
Brazilian ingredients can be hard to find outside Brazil, but most have an honest swap. Use this table when your market does not stock the original.
| Ingredient | Substitute | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Malagueta peppers | Fresh bird’s eye (Thai) chilies | Closest match in size and heat, at 50,000 to 100,000 SHU |
| Annatto (colorau) | Paprika plus a pinch of turmeric | Matches the color, not the flavor; annatto is earthier |
| Dendê palm oil | Annatto oil | Gives the color without the same flavor; there is no true swap |
| Sal grosso | Coarse kosher salt | Same crystal size and clean salt taste |
| Cheiro-verde | Equal parts parsley and green onion tops | Chop fresh and add at serving, never dried |
| Tempero baiano | Equal parts cumin, coriander, oregano and turmeric | Add black pepper and chili flakes to taste |
| Smoked paprika | Sweet paprika plus a pinch of chipotle powder | The chipotle restores the smoke but adds heat |
One natural bonus: this homemade blend and tempero baiano are naturally gluten free, since both are pure spices and herbs. Our full guide to whether spices are gluten free covers the cross contact risks of store bought blends.
A Short History: Indigenous, Portuguese and African Roots
Brazilian seasoning is the record of three kitchens meeting. Indigenous peoples seasoned with annatto and native peppers for thousands of years before colonization, and those two ingredients still anchor the cuisine today.
Portuguese settlers brought coriander, cumin, bay leaves, garlic and olive oil, flavors shaped by centuries of Mediterranean and Arab trade. Enslaved Africans brought dendê palm oil and transformed the cooking of Bahia, where malagueta heat and palm oil still define the regional table.
One modern note replaces the guesswork about market size: Brazil is today one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of black pepper, centered on the state of Pará. The seasoning tradition that began in home kitchens now supplies spice markets worldwide.
| Region | Signature seasonings |
|---|---|
| North (Amazon) | Annatto (urucum), pimenta de cheiro, culantro (chicória), jambu |
| Northeast (Bahia) | Dendê palm oil, malagueta pepper, coriander, tempero baiano |
| Southeast | Garlic, onion, bay leaves, cheiro-verde |
| South | Coarse salt (sal grosso) for churrasco, parsley, oregano |
Brazilian spices traveled well because they solve a home cook’s problem: big flavor from cheap, shelf stable ingredients. For a different blend tradition built on herbs and seeds, compare this list with our zaatar spices guide, then see how the same pantry logic shows up in a homemade guacamole recipe seasoned with lime and cilantro. Garlic lovers can also dig into the health side with our guide to the benefits of a clove of garlic.
Nutrition data: USDA FoodData Central.
