If you eat one thing in Cape Verde, make it cachupa. This slow-cooked stew of hominy corn and beans is the closest thing the islands have to a national institution — cooked in every home, varied on every island, and reborn the next morning as breakfast.
What is cachupa?
At its heart, cachupa is corn and beans simmered for hours until everything softens into one another. To that base go vegetables — sweet potato, cassava, squash, plantain — and, depending on the household and the day, meat or fish. The result is thick, savoury and deeply comforting, with a texture closer to a stew than a soup.
Cachupa rica vs cachupa pobre
Cachupa pobre (poor cachupa) is the everyday version: corn, beans, vegetables and little or no meat. Cachupa rica (rich cachupa) adds pork, sausage, chicken or fish and appears at weekends, festivals and celebrations. Neither is better — the pobre version is the historic staple and still what many Cape Verdeans mean when they talk about home cooking.
Cachupa refogada: the breakfast version
The genius move comes the next morning. Leftover cachupa is fried in a pan with onion until it crisps at the edges, then topped with a fried egg and sometimes a slice of sausage or fish. Served with coffee, cachupa refogada is the classic Cape Verdean breakfast and, for many visitors, the best thing they eat all trip.
Island variations
There is no single recipe. Santiago tends toward heartier, meatier versions; coastal communities lean on fish and São Vicente often uses a finer corn; and each island adjusts to what grows locally. Cooks will happily tell you why their island's version is the correct one.
Where to try it
Skip the resort buffet version if you can and eat where locals do: small family restaurants, beach barracas and guesthouses. Ask the day before at a guesthouse in Santo Antão or Brava and someone will usually cook it properly. For everything else worth eating, see our food and drink guide.
Frequently asked questions
What is cachupa?
Cachupa is Cape Verde's national dish: a slow-cooked stew of hominy corn and beans with vegetables and, in richer versions, meat or fish.
What is the difference between cachupa rica and cachupa pobre?
Cachupa rica includes meat, sausage or fish and is served on special occasions; cachupa pobre is the simpler everyday version with corn, beans and vegetables.
Is cachupa eaten for breakfast?
Yes — leftover cachupa is fried with onion and topped with a fried egg to make cachupa refogada, the classic Cape Verdean breakfast.
Is cachupa vegetarian?
It can be. Cachupa pobre is often meat-free, but many versions use meat or stock, so always ask how it was made.