Portuguese food is so delicious, yet so simple. How do home cooks and local chefs turn a handful of ingredients into these fantastic Portuguese dishes? Well, the best way to find out is to join a cooking class.
Why should you join a Portuguese cooking class?
As someone who is deeply obsessed with food, I collect recipe books – and I can tell you, so many are missing the volumes and key steps. There’s a lot of assumed knowledge, but as someone who didn’t grow up here I haven’t watched my avó or mãe cooking since I was four years old.
It’s why I truly think the best way to learn about Portuguese food and local recipes is with a hands-on cooking workshop. In my five years here I’ve discovered that Portuguese dishes are something you ~feel~ more than measure. Those of us new to Portuguese cooking need that extra guidance to nail these classic recipes.
Below I’ve listed the best traditional Portuguese cooking classes in Lisbon, Porto, Braga, Algarve, Azores and Madeira. I’ve split the experiences that include market tours into a separate list for Lisbon and Porto, as I find these are a more immersive half-day experience and the prices often reflect that.
The best traditional Portuguese cooking classes
Lisbon traditional Portuguese cooking workshops
- Learn about Traditional Portuguese Cooking and make a four-course feast over three hours
- Cook traditional Portuguese recipes at your own kitchen station with this hands-on three-hour class.
- With this Portuguese Cooking Class for Beginners you’ll prepare three traditional dishes over three hours.
- Join a local chef in his home and prepare a three-course traditional meal together.
- Cook a four-course menu step-by-step with this traditional 3.5-hour cooking class.
- Spain has tapas, Portugal has petiscos. Learn a handful of traditional dishes with this three-hour petiscos cooking class.
- In this hands-off cooking class you’ll watch as a local chef prepares a four-course meal before your eyes. You’ll take home the recipes.
- Whip up a three-course Portuguese meal with this hands-on cooking class.
- Prepare a three-course meal and sample premium olive oils and wine during this hands-on 3.5-hour cooking class.
Related Article: The best pastel de nata cooking classes in Lisbon and Porto
Lisbon market cooking tours and farm experiences
- Explore fresh produce and seafood at the market, then venture to the kitchen with a local chef for a hands-on class with this four-hour market cooking experience.
- Explore Portuguese-Goan cuisine with your host Paula on this 4.5-hour Private Market Tour and Portuguese-Goan Cooking Class in Lisbon
- Visit one of Lisbon’s vibrant local markets, the Mercado de Arroios, on this more upscale half-day market tour and cooking class.
- This immersive and hands-on class with Tomas starts at the market and ends in the kitchen.
- Join Cristina for this Private Market Tour and Portuguese Cooking Class in her Lisbon home. You’ll visit her local market, where few tourists go, and cook up a handful of traditional family recipes over 4.5 hours.
Porto traditional Portuguese cooking workshops
- With this four-hour market cooking experience you’ll visit an authentic local market, then take the metro to the kitchen space. You’ll learn how to cook a traditional Portuguese meal and can choose to watch or help out.
- Learn to cook with a chef and whip up a three-course traditional Portuguese meal over three hours.
- Join a professional chef at their home and cook a three-course meal over three hours.
- Cook up a traditional four-course meal with this hands-on three-hour cooking workshop.
- Cooking challenge! This half-day cooking experience pits team against team.
Read next: Portugal Road Trip: Where to stop between Lisbon and Porto
Porto market or farm cooking experiences
- Visit a local Porto market then cook up a feast. This four-hour market and cooking experience can be hands-on or you can just watch.
- With this rustic 3.5-hour cooking experience you harvest produce from a small local garden, visit the supermarket, and then learn to cook at a local’s home in Porto.
- This half-day cooking experience visits the market, then you’ll cook while enjoying snacks and wine.
Related Article: The best pastel de nata cooking classes in Lisbon and Porto
North Portugal cooking classes
- Meet Ana at the Braga market to shop for produce, then she’ll whisk you out to her gorgeous home in the countryside for a hands-on, homely cooking class.
- This five-hour sea-to-table experience sees you visit a fish market and produce store before helping prepare your lunch. It happens north of Porto in Arcozelo.
- Visit an organic farm north of Porto and Braga where you’ll explore organic farming before preparing a three-course traditional Portuguese meal with your host using local ingredients and meat.
Algarve cooking classes
- Learn to make the Algarve’s famous cataplana, a seafood stew, with this four-hour cooking workshop in Faro. You’ll start by choosing fish at the market.
- Learn how to slice a fish, prepare meat, and make a great marinade with this cooking workshop near Olhão and Tavira.
- Discover the unique flavours of traditional Algarvian cuisine with Paula. Visit a local market to buy ingredients, then cook up a storm in her home in Loulé over 4.5 hours.
- Learn how master the Algarvian-style fish barbeque with this six-hour masterclass and market tour in Portimão.
Madeira Island Portuguese cooking classes
- Shop for tropical fruits at the local market, then venture to a hotel rooftop where you’ll prepare a three-course meal with this four-hour cooking experience and market tour in Funchal
Azorean cooking classes
- At Maria’s farmhouse in a small village on São Miguel Island, surrounded by wild orchards, you’ll learn to cook Azorean food. Start with a glass of wine, made by her neighbours, snacks, and tour of the garden. Then join her inside for a three-hour cooking workshop or demonstration – your choice. Maria shares recipes passed down through her family.
- Join a local family for a four-hour Azorean food experience. While this is more about being together, you’ll have the chance to help prepare typical and traditional regional dishes from the Azores.
Hungry for more Portuguese cooking classes? Check out my round-up of the best pastel de nata cooking classes in Lisbon and Porto.
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