Cachorro Quente recipe (Brazilian Hot Dogs)

Brazilian Hot Dogs

If you’ve never tried a cachorro quente, you’re in for a proper treat. This Brazilian take on the humble hot dog is more than just a sausage in a bun – it’s a hearty, hands-on street food experience that’s messy, satisfying, and packed with flavour.

We make these regularly at home. They’re quick, filling, and easy to jazz up with whatever’s lurking in the fridge. My wife introduced me to this version, which she calls the “lazy day special” – but honestly, it tastes anything but lazy!

What is Cachorro Quente?

Cachorro quente (literally “hot dog” in Portuguese) is Brazil’s take on the classic snack, but with a distinctly local flair. While toppings vary by region – mashed potato in São Paulo, quail eggs in Espírito Santo – there’s one constant: batata palha, those addictive shoestring potato crisps. They’re non-negotiable.

In Brazil, you’ll find cachorro quente on street corners, food stalls, or being served up at birthday parties. There’s no set way to do it – chopped sausages in tomato sauce, topped with peas, corn, cheese, onion, ketchup, mustard, or even chilli if you fancy it.

The Simple Version We Make at Home

For this version, we keep it straightforward: chopped frankfurters cooked gently in tomato sauce and served in a bun with plenty of crunchy batata palha on top. You can find these at any Brazilian supermarket or sub in thin potato crisps in a pinch.

You can use any buns you like – maize buns, brioche rolls, even baguette – and just pile everything in. The chopped sausage helps it all fit better (though “fit” is a stretch; these are gloriously messy).

Overall, while hot dogs may share a similar base, the different toppings and sausages used in different countries give each variation its own unique flavour and identity.

Eating Cachorro Quente Like a Local

In Brazil, these are often served in plastic bags so you can squeeze the whole thing together without losing half of it to the pavement. At home, we tend to start with hands and finish with a knife and fork. Either way, expect a bit of a mess – that’s half the fun.

So if you’re after a proper comfort food fix or want to bring a little Brazilian spirit to your kitchen, give this cachorro quente recipe a go. It’s easy, customisable, and totally satisfying.

It also means you can fit more than one sausage into your hot dog bun, if you are not worried about the mess and the calories!

For the tomato sauce, we used a smooth tomato sauce from Tesco, which is simple but good.

 

Which Sausage to use?

The Frankfurters we use in this recipe are very much like the German frankfurters used in an American hot dog. We also bought these in Tesco and they are simply cheap, cooked and smoked pork frankfurters. They are quite thin. 

In Portuguese, frankfurter-type sausages are known as a ‘salsicha’, as opposed to ‘a linguiça’ which is used to describe the more meaty sausage. These are also excellent in Brazil, by the way. But these tend not to be used in Brazilian hot dogs.

Linguiça is more likely to be found served together with Brazilian rice and beans (the staple dish in Brazil) or maybe as an ingredient in feijoada, a sort of bean stew.

 

 

We used some simple maize buns from Tesco for these hot dogs. But you can use any suitable buns you can get your hands on.

How to eat a Brazilian hot dog

These Brazilian hot dogs are really a challenge to eat, as they are a full meal. It is a bit like eating a kebab on a British street on a Friday night!!

At home, we serve up on a plate. But though we always start with our hands we always end up using a knife and fork!!

Let me know how yours turns out. If you manage to eat it without spilling it all down your front, hats off to you!

How to make a Cachorro Quente

Or some other Brazilian treats:

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