Portuguese Recipe Instructions: 12 Cooking Verbs to Know
Recipe directions become easier when you recognize the action verb first. Learn common cooking commands and connect each one to a kitchen task.
Real Life Portuguese · 7 min read · Updated October 15, 2026
The short answer
Portuguese recipes often use the infinitive as a direction: misturar os ingredientes (mix the ingredients), cortar a cebola (chop the onion), and acrescentar o leite (add the milk). Find the verb, then identify what ingredient follows it.
Recognize the action in each recipe step
A recipe may also address the reader directly with an informal command. Misture means ‘mix,’ while mexa means ‘stir.’ The command ending changes with the verb, so learn the form alongside a useful kitchen phrase.
Misture a farinha com o leite.
Mix the flour with the milk.
Corte os tomates em pedaços pequenos.
Cut the tomatoes into small pieces.
Acrescente o sal aos poucos.
Add the salt little by little.
Learn the cooking verbs by groups
Start with preparation verbs such as lavar (wash), descascar (peel), picar (chop finely), and ralar (grate). For combining ingredients, notice misturar (mix), mexer (stir), bater (beat or blend), and amassar (knead or mash).
Heat and cooking verbs include ferver (boil), fritar (fry), refogar (sauté), cozinhar (cook), and assar (bake or roast). In a recipe, the pan, oven, or other equipment nearby helps clarify the intended method.
Refogue a cebola antes de acrescentar o alho.
Sauté the onion before adding the garlic.
Asse o bolo por cerca de quarenta minutos.
Bake the cake for about forty minutes.
Practice by turning directions into a sequence
Read one step at a time and say the action aloud before translating the whole sentence. Then connect the steps with primeiro (first), depois (then), and por fim (finally). This builds a practical sequence instead of a disconnected vocabulary list.
Recipe wording varies from one writer to another. Check whether a direction describes the ingredient, the texture, or the heat level before you begin; do not guess a cooking time from the verb alone.
Primeiro, lave e pique a salsinha. Depois, misture com o tomate.
First, wash and chop the parsley. Then mix it with the tomato.
Por fim, prove e ajuste o sal.
Finally, taste it and adjust the salt.
Put it into practice
Spot the cooking verb, identify the ingredient, and arrange the steps in order. Practice new verbs inside short directions you could actually follow.
Quick practice
Which Portuguese example matches “Finally, taste it and adjust the salt”?
Choose an answer to check yourself.
Keep practicing with the Real Life Portuguese app
Build on this guide with everyday expressions and native Brazilian audio. Choose iPhone, Android, or the web app.