Açorda alentejana

Name: Açorda alentejana
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 4 cloves garlic, peeled; 1 bunch coriander leaves, leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped; 1 tsp salt; 5 tbsp olive oil; 1.2 l water, boiling; 4 eggs; 200 g crusty bread / baguette, stale, sliced

Contains egg (no meat or fish)

Açorda à alentejana

A humble soup from the Alentejo made by pouring boiling water over a pounded paste of garlic, fresh coriander, salt and olive oil, served over stale bread with a poached egg.

Açorda alentejana is a Portuguese soup from Portugal, ready in about 20 minutes and made with garlic, coriander leaves and crusty bread / baguette. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking

Portuguese bread soup — Photo: Ramessos / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-4.0

Prep: 10 min
Cook: 10 min
Total: 20 min
Serves: 4
Level: Easy
Calories: 365

Ingredients

4 servings

4 cloves (16 g) Garlic (opens in a new tab), peeled
1 bunch (50 g) Coriander leaves (opens in a new tab), leaves and tender stems, roughly choppedFresh coriander; the defining flavour.
1 tsp (6 g) Salt (opens in a new tab)
5 tbsp (67 g) Olive oil (opens in a new tab)
1.2 l Water (opens in a new tab), boiling
4 (200 g) Eggs (opens in a new tab)Contains eggs
200 g Crusty bread / baguette (opens in a new tab), stale, slicedContains wheat, gluten

Equipment

Method

1
Step 1
Pound the garlic (opens in a new tab), coriander and salt to a coarse paste in a mortar, then stir in the olive oil (opens in a new tab). Transfer to a large serving bowl or tureen.
- 5 min
- Mortar and pestle (opens in a new tab)
2
Step 2
Bring the water to the boil in a saucepan (opens in a new tab) and poach the eggs (opens in a new tab) in it until the whites are set. Lift them out.
- 4 min
- medium heat
- Saucepan (opens in a new tab)
Food safety: Poach until whites are set; longer for firm yolks if serving anyone vulnerable.
3
Step 3
Pour the hot poaching water over the coriander paste and stir. Put the bread in bowls, ladle over the broth, and top each with a poached egg (opens in a new tab).
- 2 min

About this dish

Origin: Alentejo, Portugal · Well documentedMore food from Portugal
Dish: Lunch · Dinner · Soups
Cooking method: Poached, No-cook
Taste: herby, garlicky, fresh
Diet: Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients
All labels
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for: Budget-friendly · Uses leftovers
Cook more with: Garlic · Coriander leaves · Crusty bread / baguette · Egg
Techniques: Boiling · Poaching

Allergens

Contains: Eggsfrom egg
Contains: Wheatfrom crusty bread / baguette
Contains: Glutenfrom crusty bread / baguette
May contain: Sesamefrom crusty bread / baguette

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

365 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 435 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

Protein 13%
Carbohydrate 31%
Fat 56%

Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
Nutrient	Per serving	Per 100 g*
Energy	365 kcal	84 kcal
Protein	12.2 g	2.8 g
Carbohydrate	28.1 g	6.5 g
Net carbohydrate	26.5 g	6.1 g
Sugars	2.6 g	0.6 g
Added sugars	0 g	0 g
Fibre	1.5 g	0.4 g
Fat	22.9 g	5.3 g
Saturated fat	4.2 g	1 g
Trans fat	0 g	0 g
Cholesterol	186 mg	43 mg
Sodium	967 mg	222 mg
Salt equivalent	2.4 g	0.6 g

Vitamins & minerals per serving

Potassium: 209 mg
Calcium: 100 mg
Iron: 3.2 mg
Magnesium: 32 mg
Vitamin A (RAE): 122 µg
Vitamin C: 5 mg
Vitamin D: 1 µg
Vitamin B12: 0.4 µg
Folate (DFE): 116 µg

How these numbers were made

Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
*Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
“—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

Use dense, slightly stale country bread that holds together in the broth.

Common mistakes

Using fresh, soft bread, which dissolves into a paste in the hot broth.

Food safety

The eggs are poached, not raw: cook until the whites are fully set, and longer for firm yolks for anyone vulnerable.

Storage

Make just before eating.

Variations

Açorda de marisco (Portugal): A Lisbon version thickened into a porridge with bread and loaded with prawns and shellfish.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added 26 Oct 2026 · Updated 8 Nov 2026

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Compare with

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Garlic, peeled4 clove · 16 g
Egg4 piece · 200 g
Crusty bread / baguette, stale, sliced200 g

Used in steps 1, 2, 3

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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