Coxinha (Brazilian Chicken Croquettes)

About This Recipe

Coxinha — Portuguese for 'little thigh' — is Brazil's most beloved salgado (savory snack), a teardrop-shaped croquette filled with shredded seasoned chicken and creamy catupiry (Brazilian cream cheese), encased in a smooth dough of potato and flour, then breaded and deep-fried to a shatteringly golden crunch. They are sold at every padaria (bakery), lanchonete (snack bar), street festival and birthday party from Belém to Porto Alegre. The origin story is appropriately Brazilian — the food of necessity made elegant. The shape mimics a chicken drumstick (coxinha = little thigh), and according to Brazilian culinary lore, they were created in the 19th century for a São Paulo royal who demanded chicken thighs but received only the neck. The cook made do, grinding the neck meat, wrapping it in dough and forming the thigh shape. Whether true or not, the story captures the Brazilian spirit of improvisation and creativity. Making coxinha at home is a weekend project worth every moment: the dough comes together quickly, the filling is simple and fragrant with catupiry and aromatics, and the final frying produces something so warm and crispy that people will eat them straight from the pan with burned fingertips and zero regrets. Serve with malagueta hot sauce for the full Brazilian experience.

Ingredients

Serves 20

• 1 lbchicken breasts or thighs(cooked and finely shredded)
• 8 ozcatupiry or cream cheese
• 1 smallonion(finely diced)
• 3 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 2 tbspvegetable oil
• ½ cuptomato paste
• ¼ cupfresh parsley(finely chopped)
• 1 tspsalt
• 2 cupschicken broth
• 2 cupsall-purpose flour
• 2 cupswater
• 1 tbspbutter
• ½ tspsalt(for dough)
• 2 largeeggs(beaten, for breading)
• 2 cupsfine breadcrumbs
• 4 cupsvegetable oil(for frying)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the chicken filling

   Sauté onion and garlic in oil until soft. Add tomato paste, cook 2 minutes. Add shredded chicken and parsley. Season well. Remove from heat. Stir in catupiry until combined. Cool.

2. 2

   Make the dough

   Bring broth, water, butter and salt to a boil. Add all the flour at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until dough pulls away from the sides. Cool until handleable (warm, not hot).

   The dough should be smooth and pliable, not sticky. If too sticky, add flour 1 tablespoon at a time.

3. 3

   Shape the coxinha

   Take a golf ball-sized piece of dough, flatten in your palm. Place a teaspoon of filling in the center. Close the dough around the filling, pinching to seal. Shape into a teardrop (wide at bottom, pointed at top — like a drumstick).

   Pinch the seam completely shut — any gap will allow oil to leak in during frying.

4. 4

   Bread and fry

   Dip each coxinha in beaten egg, then roll in breadcrumbs. Fry at 350°F in batches of 4–5 for 3–4 minutes until deeply golden. Drain on paper towels.

Variations

• •

  Coxinha de Palmito: filled with heart of palm and catupiry for a vegetarian version.

• •

  Coxinha Assada (Baked): brush with egg wash and bake at 400°F for 20 minutes — not authentic but much lighter.

Storage

Cooked coxinha keep refrigerated 2 days; reheat in a 375°F oven for 10 minutes. Uncooked coxinha freeze up to 3 months.

Frequently Asked Questions