Coxinha Is One Of The Best Brazilian Inventions, And We Can Prove It

For more information on Brazilian street foods check out our top Brazilian delicacies article.

Brazil is home to some of the best inventions ever made, like the caller ID, the hot air balloon, the very safe DRE Voting Machine and even the airplane. So it makes sense that the Brazilian people have also created some of the best snacks and dishes in the entire world. 

Originally from the state of São Paulo in the 19th century, the coxinha is a tear-shaped fried dough filled with shredded chicken. Its name, which literally means little thigh, comes from the fact that the recipe used to be made with chicken thighs and its shape does resemble its old main ingredient. However, today it is even possible to find coxinhas made with jackfruit instead of shredded chicken since even vegetarians love this snack so much and don’t want to live without it. 

Like pão de queijo and other staple Brazilian treats, coxinhas can be found anywhere in the country: cafés, bakeries, and even roadside restaurants. In fact, smaller versions of coxinha are usually found on the snack table at kids’ birthday parties, along with brigadeiros, beijinhos and bichos-do-pé.

The love for good food definitely unites the Brazilian people, but something about the coxinha splits many opinions for one simple reason: half of the people believes that coxinhas should be eaten from the skinny part down, creating a bowl with the bigger part as you eat, while the other half thinks coxinhas should be eaten from the larger part down, so that the filling does not spill out.