Brazilian Coxinha's

▪️ Time: 2 hours ▪️ Level: hard ▪️ Budget: cheap

Brazilian coxinhas are iconic street-food bites known for their irresistible contrast of textures and flavors. Shaped like little drumsticks, these croquettes feature a crisp, golden exterior that gives way to a soft dough and a rich, creamy filling—traditionally made with seasoned shredded chicken. Comforting, indulgent, and endlessly satisfying, coxinhas are a crowd favorite at parties, gatherings, or whenever you’re craving a truly special snack. Once you try one, it’s almost impossible to stop at just one.

Coxinha's

Ingredients ~ about 20 coxinha's

For the filling:

• 2 chicken breasts

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• ½ white onion

• ½ tomato

• 2 bulbs of garlic

• Paprika powder

• Salt and pepper

• Parsley and chives (optional)

For the dough:

• 500ml water

• 30g chicken stock

• 250ml milk

• 3 tbsp butter (60g)

• 510g all purpose four

  
  

For the coating:

• 1 tbsp cornstarch, dissolved in water

• Breadcrumbs

Method

1. Start with preparing the filling, this can be done a day beforehand. Boil the chicken breasts in a sauce pan. Once the chicken is fully cooked, take it out of the water, transfer to a bowl, and pull apart with two forks. Keep 500ml of the boiled chicken water aside, to use later for the dough.

2. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Sauté the onion, add the garlic, then the chicken and tomato. Season with salt, pepper, paprika powder, parsley and chives. Fry everything together for a few minutes. Set aside to cool down or put in the fridge for the next day.

3. For the dough, add the 500ml of water from the boiled chicken to a medium sized pot. Bring to a boil and dissolve 30g of chicken stock in it. Add the butter and milk and bring it to boil again. Once it's boiling, turn off the heat immediately. Add half of the flour, mix well with a wooden spoon, then add the other half of the flour and mix again. Transfer the dough to the counter and when it's cold enough to touch, kneed for 5 minutes. Cover in plastic foil so that the dough doesn't dry out.

4. Now you are ready to start making the individual coxinha's. Take a little bit of douch, roll into a ball and push down into a flat circle in the palm of your hand. Place a little bit of the chicken filling in the center, then close the dough upwards into the shape of a drop. Do this until you run out of dough or filling.

5. Prepare two bowls: one with the corn starch water, the other with breadcrumbs. Dip each coxinha first into the water mixture, next into the breadcrumbs. Once they are all breaded, they can be kept like this in the fridge for a few days, or in the freezer for even longer, if you don't want to eat them all right away.

6. When you are ready to eat them, deep fry the preferred amount of coxinha's at minimum 170°C. They are ready when they start floating. Take them out of the oil and place into a bowl covered with paper towel to take up the excess oil.

Wine pairing

Deep fried food goes great with a dry Sparkling, especially when you are using both for an event or a toast. If you're dealing with a more personal and intense sit down meal, a light body red like Pinot Noir will pair nicely as well.