Caldo Verde (One‑Pot Portuguese Kale & Potato Soup)
A classic Portuguese one‑pot soup of silky potato broth and shredded kale — comforting, pantry‑friendly, and made with a single pot for minimal washing up. Serve as written for a vegan, or finish with slices of chouriço if you want the traditional smoky note.
45 min
start to finish
15 min
hands on
Easy
difficulty
4
servings
Ingredients
Roughly, per serving
255 kcal6g protein30g carbs10g fat
An estimate, not a lab analysis.
Method
Heat the 2 tbsp olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat until shimmering.
Add the sliced onion and sauté, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent.
Lower the heat if the onion starts to brown; you want sweetness, not color.
Add the sliced garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
Add the sliced potatoes, hot vegetable stock and the bay leaf; increase heat to bring to a simmer.
Once simmering, reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the potatoes are very tender.
Potato pieces should break apart easily when pressed with a spoon.
Remove and discard the bay leaf, then use an immersion blender to purée the soup until smooth and velvety.
If you don't have an immersion blender, carefully transfer about half the soup to a blender, purée, and return to the pot; alternative: use a potato masher for a chunkier texture.
Season the puréed soup with 1 tsp salt and half the pepper, taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Stir in the thinly sliced kale and simmer just until the kale is wilted and tender but still bright (about 3–4 minutes).
If using, meanwhile heat a small nonstick skillet over medium-high, add the sliced chouriço and cook until edges are crisp.
The rendered oil from the chouriço is delicious spooned over the soup—save a teaspoon to finish each bowl.
Ladle the soup into bowls, drizzle with 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, top with crisped chouriço slices if using, and serve with crusty bread.
Worth knowing
- For a silkier texture cook the potatoes a little longer before puréeing so less starchy lumps remain.
- Couve galega is the traditional leafy green; if using curly kale, remove thicker stems and slice leaves very thin.
- Make this a weeknight meal by doubling the recipe—Caldo Verde keeps well and reheats gently on the stove.
- To keep the dish vegan while adding smoky depth, stir a teaspoon of smoked paprika into the soup when you purée the potatoes.
Make it yours
Cooking without dairy, without an oven, for someone who won't touch chilli, or for six instead of four? Have the recipe rewritten around it — quantities, steps and all.
VeganVegetarianGluten-freeDairy-freeOne panQuickMeal prep
More Portuguese cooking
An original Restaurant Pro recipe — our own composition in the idiom of Portuguese cooking, not any restaurant's recipe. Written to be vegan and vegetarian and gluten-free and dairy-free as listed.