You can hardly walk a block in Lisbon without passing a bakery or pastry shop. To say the Portuguese like their sweets is a bit of understatement, which means we fit right in. 🙂 We made it our mission to try almost every pastry and dessert in the pastelaria glass display case, narrowing down our favorites to find the best Portuguese desserts you must try!
Since consuming a pastel de nata is probably already #1 on your list of Portuguese desserts to try, as it should be, here are 8 more sweet treats you don’t want to miss while in Portugal.
1 Pão de Deus
I had this heavenly brioche bun with a sweet coconut topping on my last day of my first visit to Portugal. I brought a bun back to Cambridge for Aaron, and this Portuguese dessert may be part of the reason we found ourselves back in Lisbon for the summer.
The good thing about Pão de Deus, or God’s Bread, is that you can find one of the best versions at a popular chain here in Lisbon, A Padaria Portuguesa. If you’re in town, you’d be hard-pressed not to pass at least one as they’re becoming a sort of Starbucks equivalent with the number that have popped up within the last few years. They do Pão de Deus right, with a large, moist brioche bun and sweet coconut topping, only lightly toasted on top.
2 Pão de Ló
Pão de Ló is a delicate Portuguese sponge cake that comes in plain egg or chocolate flavors and quickly earned a spot on my list of the best Portuguese desserts.
There must be an ongoing battle between cake makers, because António Oliveira named his sponge cake O Melhor Pão de Ló do Universo, or the best sponge cake in the universe, which sounds like a one up to Carlos Lopes Bras’ O Melhor Bolo de Chocolate do Mundo, or the best chocolate cake in the world. We haven’t had Oliveira’s version of Pão de Ló, but if it’s anything like the version at Mercearia Criativa across from Jardim da Alameda Dom Afonso Henriques, it’s the clear winner. The Pão de Ló here had such a tender crumb, it almost oozed in the middle.
3 Malasada
If you’ve been to Oahu, Hawaii, chances are you’ve stuffed your face at Leonard’s Bakery with big balls of fried dough, sprinkled with sugar. Or even better, you’ve found the smaller, more delicate version at the Sugar Beach Bake Shop in Kihei, Maui (and please tell me you got them with Li Hing Mui powder!) We’d always heard malasadas were Portuguese donuts, and therefore expected to pick up a dozen every morning for breakfast in Lisbon. But, this is only partially correct. They are Portuguese, but specifically from the island of São Miguel, part of the Azores, which is over 1,500 km offshore from mainland Portugal.
We kept an eagle eye out for these bits of fluffy fried perfection, and finally, on a standard stop at our local bakery, I spotted what could potentially be malasadas. They were amazing and wonderful, and of course when I went back the next day, they were nowhere to be found. They were like the unicorn of baked goods during our time in Lisbon. If you find them, eat them like there’s no tomorrow, because they are one of the best desserts in Portugal.
4 The Portuguese Cronut
I know the invention of the cronut by the Dominique Ansel Bakery caused quite the commotion in New York, but I have a sneaking suspicion that the they’ve been sitting, unassumingly, on pasteleria shelves in Portugal for years. I should’ve asked for the actual Portuguese name of these little donut-croissant combos, but I tended to just point and ask for 5 (okay, maybe 10).
5 Torta de Amêndoa
This almond tart is covered with a generous layer of slivered, caramelized almonds, sitting on a bed of chewy shortbread crust. It’s buttery and nutty and delicious.
6 Bola de Berlim
Portuguese desserts are heavy on egg and sugar, and Bola de Berlim is a classic. These doughnut-like pastries are similar to Berliners from Germany. They’re filled with an egg-yolk creme and generously covered in granulated sugar. I saw them in almost every bakery and market around Portugal, so you’ll have plenty of chances to indulge in this extra-sweet Portuguese dessert.
7 Pastéis de Feijão
The picture above may look like a pastel de nata, but wait, it’s not! Instead of nata (cream), the filling is made from feijão (beans). These tarts are particular to central Portugal. We had them on a trip to Canas de Senhorim, the hometown of one of Aaron’s colleagues. He claimed that they were even better than pastéis de nata, so we definitely had to give them a try. They were delicious! Try one so you can be the judge.
8 Chocolate Sorbet
This may not be a traditional Portuguese dessert, but the chocolate sorbet from the Bettina & Niccolò Corallo chocolate shop is too good to pass up. The sorbet is so simple, it’s only water, sugar, and chocolate. It’s the chocolate that makes all the difference; it’s single origin chocolate from a family plantation on the São Tomé and Príncipe islands, a former Portuguese colony in Africa.
If you’re in search of a meal and not sure if you want sweet or savory, consider heading out for brunch. Check out these 25 amazing brunch spots in Lisbon!
Faith Girdler
Monday 26th of September 2022
The best malasadas in the UNIVERSE are available ONLY in Provincetown, MA , on the tip of Cape Cod. The 1st immigrants in P-town WERE from both the Azores & Portugal, so that is why we have Malasadas here--truly addictive, so it's fortunate I only get them once a year !
George Kenna
Monday 28th of February 2022
Grew up in Rhode Island and you can find malasadas at most Portuguese bakeries. I retired to South Carolina and of course not available here. Going to São Miguel in April and can’t wait to try the original!!!!
nomanbefore
Thursday 10th of March 2022
That sounds amazing! Hope you get to eat lots of delicious malasadas!
Marta
Wednesday 18th of July 2018
It must be great for foreigners to taste Portuguese sweets just once. For natives, they are addictive and make people fat! Feel free to try: pastel de nata, arroz doce, farófias, bola de Berlim, mil-folhas, bolo de bolacha (com manteiga e pinhões), salame de chocolate, filhós, rabanadas, pastel de feijão, laranjinhas da China, sericaia, ovos moles, pastel de Tentúgal, sonhos, queijada de Sintra, bolinhos de coco, tarte de amêndoa, pão de ló...
10 Tips for Visiting Lisbon with Kids | No Man Before
Wednesday 28th of June 2017
[…] Or in my case, too many to count. Our son was too young to ask for treats, but Lisbon is a child’s paradise with a pastelaria on almost every street and so many amazing gelaterias around town. If you’re hunting for the best pastéis de nata, check out our post here on where to find them in Lisbon. And if you want a guide to everything else in the display case, see a list of our favorite Portuguese sweets here. […]
Anna
Tuesday 20th of June 2017
thanks for this :) !!! it was really helpful to show to my friends some of the sweets we have in Portugal!! ♥♥♥
really thank you , great article! ♥
Kelly Barcus
Friday 23rd of June 2017
Hey Anna! Thanks for sharing the article!