Farofa is a delicious Brazilian side dish that adds the perfect crunch and flavor to many dishes. Just a few simple ingredients come together for a dish that is crucial to Brazilian cuisine!
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There are few things more delicious than a buttery, crumbling topping. While Americans in the United States seem to save this delicious addition for baked macaroni, pies, and baked goods, Brazilians have found a way to add a delicious crumble topping to just about any main dish. Their recipe for it is called Farofa.
Farofa is a deliciously crispy side dish with a crunchy texture like toasted bread crumbs but with the flavor of bacon, garlic, and onion. It’s the perfect addition to any stew, barbeque meat, or just a plate of rice and beans.
Farofa holds a unique importance in Brazilian cuisine. It’s enjoyed by all walks of life, from the poorest of households to the most well-off. It’s technically a side dish but it acts more like a condiment, used by many people on an almost daily basis.
The main ingredient in this farofa recipe is yuca flour or cassava flour. This gluten-free flour on its own has a mild taste but when cooked in a bit of butter, garlic, and bacon, it soaks up those flavors, providing a deliciously salty, buttery, garlicky goodness to your dish.
Farofa is affordable to make, easy to store, and adds just the right amount of crispiness and flavor to a wide variety of dishes. If you have not tried Farofa before, this is your sign to give it a go!
Recipe Origins
Farofa has been around for thousands of years. Historians believe indigenous people of Brazil relied on the yucca plant for basic nutrients in their diet. They used every bit of it and also ground it into yuca flour.
To satisfy their hunger, indigenous people put yuca flour into an emptied-out turtle shell and cooked it over a fire. The heat melted any leftover fat in the shell, mixing with the flour to make a flavorful dish.
Farofa, a simple dish, became beloved by all and in colonial times was a popular choice to provide extra energy for anyone traveling around the region, including royalty, Portuguese explorers and colonizers, and eventually African slaves.
Brazilian Farofa has, of course, evolved over time. Today it can be flavored with bacon and garlic or made vegan with a mixture of vegetables and oil. It is most often served with a bowl of black bean stew called Feijoada.
Cassava flour, or farinha de mandioca in Portuguese, is a staple in Brazilian cuisine, used for several popular dishes.
Why Make This Recipe
- Burst of Flavor: Cassava flour soaks up the flavor of what it is cooked in, so if you are a fan of bacon, butter, and garlic, this toasted cassava flour recipe is for you!
- Added Vitamins: I would never call a recipe cooked in bacon and butter healthy, but cassava flour is made from the yuca plant, a vegetable rich in vitamins and minerals. It’s naturally gluten-free and delicious!
- Taste of Brazil: There is nothing more quintessentially Brazilian than a bowl of Brazilian feijoada (Brazil’s national dish), topped with farofa. It’s filling, flavorful, and enjoyed in just about every home in Brazil!
What do I Need To Make This Recipe
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
Ingredients:
- Cassava Flour: Try Julia Brand White Cassava Flour. It is a coarser texture and will therefore work far better than fine cassava flour. If you use fine cassava flour, the end result will not be the same (or nearly as good).
How to Make This Recipe:
Step One: Cook the Bacon
Add the diced bacon to a skillet over medium heat and stir continuously until the bacon crisps.
Step Two: Add the Onion
Add the butter and allow it to melt completely.
Then add the onion and garlic into the skillet and saute until the garlic is fragrant and the onion is cooked.
Step Three: Toast the Cassava Flour
Add the cassava flour into the skillet and stir continuously for 10-15 minutes, until the cassava flour toasts and turns a golden brown shade.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the Farofa with Feijoada and enjoy!
Expert Tips:
- There are several different types of Cassava flour available online to purchase. Stick with the Julia Brand the first time making farofa. Other brands may be ground more fine and the end result will not be as good!
- To make this recipe vegan, leave out the bacon and butter and substitute with a vegan sausage and olive oil. You can also skip the bacon to make it vegetarian.
- You can add whatever you like to your farofa. It’s delicious with a little bit of green onion, fresh herbs, or Brazilian sausage. Feel free to try it out a few different ways!
FAQs
You can put leftover farofa in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to five days. Reheat on the stovetop to use again. It can also be frozen for up to two months.
Cassava flour is made from yuca. The vegetable is peeled and ground to the texture of bread crumbs. There are many ingredients made from the yuca plant like yuca starch and tapioca flour but cassava flour is different. It is also not the same as corn flour.
Tapioca flour is made from the milky extract of the yuca root. It has a very fine, powdery texture. It is often used to make Brazilian cheese bread.
Cassava flour is made from the cassava root itself, ground to a fine texture but not nearly as fine as tapioca.
You may see these two ingredients mentioned interchangeably but they are not the same.
You may not be able to find cassava flour at your local grocery store but it is easily purchased online.
You may be able to find it at Brazilian grocery stores.
This toasted cassava flour recipe tastes salty, smokey and garlicky. It soaks up the flavors of whatever you cook it in, so if you added bacon and sausage it would have that flavor as well.
It’s a small burst of flavor and texture that is perfect with so many dishes!
Cassava is made from yuca so it is naturally gluten-free and contains a dietary fiber that is good for digestive health. It also contains many valuable vitamins and minerals like vitamin C, riboflavin, and thiamine.
Is it important to remember this dish is cooked with butter and bacon, so while I wouldn’t classify it as healthy, the cassava flour itself has some health benefits.
Yes, farofa is made with cassava flour which is gluten free.
Farofa is served as a side dish with rice and black beans or meat. It’s common to mix all these things together on your plate.
Farofa is also delicious when served with stew-like feijoada.
Did you enjoy this Brazilian Farofa recipe? If so, make sure to check out these other recipes I picked out just for you:
Farofa
Ingredients
- 2 pieces bacon, diced
- 3 Tbsp salted butter
- ½ white onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup cassava flour, Julia Brand White Cassava Flour
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the 2 slices diced bacon to a skillet over medium heat and stir continuously until the bacon crisps.
- Add 3 tbsp butter and allow it to melt completely.
- Then add ½ an onion and 3 cloves garlic into the skillet and saute until the garlic is fragrant and the onion is cooked.
- Add 1 cup cassava flour into the skillet and stir continuously for 10-15 minutes, until the cassava flour toasts and turns a brown shade.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with Feijoada and enjoy!
Notes
- Cassava Flour: Try Julia Brand White Cassava Flour. It is a coarser texture and will therefore work far better than fine cassava flour. If you use fine cassava flour, the end result will not be the same (or nearly as good).
- There are several different types of Cassava flour available online to purchase. Stick with the Julia Brand the first time. Others may be ground more fine and the end result will not be as good!
- To make this recipe vegan, leave out the bacon and butter and substitute with a vegan sausage and olive oil. You can also skip the bacon to make it vegetarian.
- You can add whatever you like to your farofa. It’s delicious with a little bit of green onion, fresh herbs, or Brazilian sausage. Feel free to try it out a few different ways!
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