Brazilian Vinaigrette – Our Best Bites

Brazilian Vinaigrette is a condiment, rather than a salad dressing as the name might imply.  It’s a classic accompaniment to traditional “Churrasco” (Brazilian style grilled meats)  found at both steakhouses and home barbecues in Brazil. It’s similar to a Mexican style Pico de gallo, with a some swaps in flavor profiles and ingredients.  This bright, flavorful vegetable mix is a fantastic pairing with pretty much any grilled protein, including beef, chicken, pork, and fish.  I especially love it served with rice and beans on the side, where it can mix in with everything on the plate and add flavor to every bite!

Ingredient Notes

• Tomato – You can use any plum tomato like roma, on-the-vine, etc.
• Bell Pepper – I like green pepper, but I’ve also combined red pepper and it’s great too.  Red, yellow, and orange peppers will be a bit sweeter than green.
• Onion – a regular white onion is most popular in this recipe, but yellow works fine, and even purple onion would taste great too.
• Parsley – opt for flat-leaf Italian style parsley as opposed to curly leaf.
• Oil – you can use an oil of your choice.  A neutral oil (like avacado or vegetable) will not affect the flavor much, whereas an olive oil will add a little flavor. I usually use avocado oil.
• Vinegar – I like to use plain white vinegar, to me it tastes most authentic to my Brazilian friend’s recipes to me, and I also just really love vinegar!  But white wine vinegar is also great, and even red wine vinegar would be good.  A lot of times I will do half regular vinegar and half white wine vinegar.

How to Make Brazilian Vinaigrette

1. Combine finely diced tomatoes, onions and bell peppers with minced parsley.
2. Add oil and vinegar, salt and pepper, and toss to combine.
3. That’s it!  Easy! It’s ready to be piled on top of your grilled meats.

Serving Suggestions

This vinaigrette is amazing served with any type of grilled meat, but here are some of my favorite recipes if you’d like to explore Brazilian style cuisine a little bit more and make this a meal! I suggest serving rice and beans with whatever you make because this vinaigrette is so great mixed up along with those. You can find my whole collection of Brazilian-inspired recipes, here.

Brazilian Style Rice
Quick and Easy Black Beans
Brazilian Style Black Beans (Pressure Cooker)
Pao de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread)
Brazilian Lemonade
Brazilian Brigadeiros

FAQ’s

• Can I make this ahead of time?
  Yes!  In fact the flavors get better if it has time to sit for a few hours.  While it’s still great to eat leftovers the next day, I wouldn’t purposely make it a day ahead of time.
• How long can I store this?
  Leftovers should be stored in the fridge and are good for a day or two.  It won’t spoil after that, but it might get a little mushy.
• Can it be frozen?
  I would not freeze this dish, it’s best fresh.

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