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Cape Verdean · West African

Cachupa

Non-vegetarian

Cabo Verde's national dish: a slow-cooked stew of hominy corn and beans with pork, chorizo, cabbage, sweet potato and squash. Leftovers are fried for breakfast as cachupa guisada.

Cachupa is a Cape Verdean stew from Cabo Verde, ready in about 2 hours 15 minutes and made with hominy, kidney beans (canned) and pork belly. It serves 6 and is rated intermediate to cook.

Start cooking
Plate of cachupa with hominy, beans, cabbage and sweet potato
Photo: Xandu / Wikimedia Commons · public-domain
Prep
25 min
Cook
1 h 50 min
Total
2 h 15 min
Serves
6
Level
Intermediate
Calories
580

Ingredients

6 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Brown the pork belly (opens in a new tab) in the oil in a large heavy pot. Add the onion (opens in a new tab) and garlic (opens in a new tab) and cook until soft, then add the tomato (opens in a new tab) and bay leaves (opens in a new tab).

    Meat searing in a hot pan
    How it looks · Photo: Skylar Kang on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Add the hominy (opens in a new tab), beans, water, salt and pepper (opens in a new tab). Simmer, partly covered, for 1 hour, stirring now and then.

    • 60 min
    • low heat

  3. Step 3

    Add the sweet potato (opens in a new tab), pumpkin (opens in a new tab), cassava (opens in a new tab) and chorizo (opens in a new tab) and simmer 20 minutes, then lay the cabbage (opens in a new tab) on top and cook until everything is tender and the broth has thickened, about 15 minutes more.

    • 35 min
    • low heat

    Food safety: Cassava must be peeled and fully cooked.

About this dish

Origin
Cabo Verde · Well documentedMore food from Cabo Verde
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Stews & braises · Main courses
Cooking method
Slow-cooked, Stewed, Simmered
Taste
savoury, earthy, smoky, rich
Diet
No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients
All labelsNon-vegetarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Beef-free
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
One-pot · Batch cooking · Uses leftovers · Freezer-friendly · Festive & celebration
Cook more with
Hominy · Kidney beans (canned) · Pork belly · Chorizo · Onion · Garlic
Techniques
Simmering · Stewing

Allergens

  • May contain: Sulphitesfrom chorizo

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

580 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 689 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 10%
  • Carbohydrate 30%
  • Fat 60%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy580 kcal84 kcal
Protein15.4 g2.2 g
Carbohydrate44 g6.4 g
Net carbohydrate35.4 g5.1 g
Sugars10.4 g1.5 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre8.6 g1.2 g
Fat38.8 g5.6 g
Saturated fat12.7 g1.8 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol52 mg8 mg
Sodium1184 mg172 mg
Salt equivalent3 g0.4 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
852 mg
Calcium
127 mg
Iron
3 mg
Magnesium
71 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
—
Vitamin C
33 mg
Vitamin D
—
Vitamin B12
0.9 µg
Folate (DFE)
60 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.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: cassava.
  • “—” 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

  • Traditional cachupa starts with dried hominy soaked overnight and cooked for 3–4 hours; canned hominy makes it a weekend-afternoon dish.

Common mistakes

  • Adding the cabbage too early — it overcooks and turns the broth sulphurous.

Serve with

  • Next morning, fry leftovers in a pan until crisp (cachupa guisada) and top with a fried egg.

Food safety

  • Cook pork until tender and steaming throughout; cool leftovers quickly and refrigerate within 2 hours.

Storage

  • Refrigerate up to 4 days or freeze up to 3 months.

Reheating

  • Reheat with a splash of water, or fry as cachupa guisada.

Variations

  • Cachupa pobre: The everyday 'poor' version with just corn, beans and vegetables — easily made plant-based.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

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

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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