The Atlas · Portugal's Largest Department

Portuguese Desserts & Sweets

53 of Portugal's 154 ranked dishes are sweets, most of them egg-yolk pastries born in convent kitchens. By our raters the best is Pastel de nata, the scorched custard tart of Lisbon, Nº 35 in the world.

53 dishes ranked·34.4% of the cuisine·2,633 diner ratings·Top rank Nº 35

Portugal builds its sweets on egg yolks, and the reason is historical: convents used the whites to starch habits and clarify wine, then turned the leftover yolks into custards, tarts and soft golden pastes. That legacy runs through nearly all 53 ranked desserts here, from the pastel de nata to Aveiro's wafer-wrapped ovos moles and the lard-and-almond toucinho do céu.

The best of them by our raters is the pastel de nata, Nº 35 worldwide, closely shadowed by the pastel de Belém, the original tart still made to a monastery recipe. Fame and rank mostly agree at the top here, both crowned by the custard cup. The deepest regional bench is the Algarve, with its almond sweets, ahead of Sintra's cushiony travesseiros. Read them below: the signature sweets, by region, or the complete list of all 53.

The Signature Sweets

Twelve signature sweets in rank order, four told in full, then eight more from the pastry counter.

Pastel de nata, sweet pastry from Portugal
Plate ISweet Pastry · Lisbon District

1Nº 35 worldwide

Pastel de nata

Sweet Pastry · Lisbon District

Portugal's famous custard tart, a cup of shatteringly flaky puff pastry filled with rich egg custard and scorched dark on top under a fierce oven. Best eaten warm with a dusting of cinnamon and a bica espresso, it is the country's great sweet export.

★ 4.5|641 ratings

Pastel de Belém, sweet pastry from Portugal

2Pastel de BelémNº 50

Sweet Pastry · Belém

The original, and by law the only one that can carry the name: the custard tart made since 1837 to a secret monastery recipe at the Fábrica in Lisbon's Belém. Every other pastel de nata is a copy of this, the crust a touch flakier, the custard a shade less sweet.

★ 4.5|235 ratings

Bola de Berlim, sweet pastry from Portugal

3Bola de BerlimNº 497

Sweet Pastry · Portugal

Portugal's beloved beach doughnut: a soft, sugar-rolled ball split and stuffed with thick egg custard cream. Fluffy outside, rich within, it is sold by roaming vendors along the summer coast and eaten by sunbathers straight from the paper bag.

★ 4.2|122 ratings

Travesseiros, sweet pastry from Portugal

4TravesseirosNº 545

Sweet Pastry · Sintra

Sintra's signature pastry, whose name means pillows: long puff-pastry cushions folded around a warm cream of almonds and egg yolks, then dusted with sugar. Still baked at the Piriquita bakery that invented them in the 1940s, from a recipe kept secret.

★ 4.1|67 ratings

  1. Pão de Ló de Ovar, cake from Portugal5

    Pão de Ló de Ovar

    Nº 562

    Cake · Ovar★ 4.1

  2. Leite de creme, custard from Portugal6

    Leite de creme

    Nº 1,173

    Custard · Portugal★ 4.0

  3. Tigeladas, custard from Portugal7

    Tigeladas

    Nº 1,560

    Custard · Alcaravela★ 3.9

  4. Malasadas, sweet pastry from Portugal8

    Malasadas

    Nº 1,579

    Sweet Pastry · Azores★ 3.9

  5. Ovos moles de Aveiro, dessert from Portugal9

    Ovos moles de Aveiro

    Nº 1,620

    Dessert · Aveiro★ 3.9

  6. Serradura, pudding from Portugal10

    Serradura

    Nº 1,822

    Pudding · Portugal★ 3.9

  7. Toucinho do céu, cake from Portugal11

    Toucinho do céu

    Nº 2,030

    Cake · Portugal★ 3.9

  8. Pão de Deus, sweet bread from Portugal12

    Pão de Deus

    Nº 2,056

    Sweet Bread · Portugal★ 3.9

The Gazetteer

Where Portugal's sweets are made

The regions of Portugal with the deepest dessert traditions. Choose one to filter the complete ledger below.

Placed dishes only · top 6 regions

  7. Another 18 ranked dishes are logged simply as pan-Portuguese, with no single regional home.

The Complete Ledger

All 53 Portuguese desserts & sweets in the world ranking, every entry.

53 entries
  1. 35 Pastel de nata Sweet Pastry Lisbon District ★ 4.5
  2. 50 Pastel de Belém Sweet Pastry Belém ★ 4.5
  3. 497 Bola de Berlim Sweet Pastry Portugal ★ 4.2
  4. 545 Travesseiros Sweet Pastry Sintra ★ 4.1
  5. 562 Pão de Ló de Ovar Cake Ovar ★ 4.1
  6. 1,173 Leite de creme Custard Portugal ★ 4.0
  7. 1,560 Tigeladas Custard Alcaravela ★ 3.9
  8. 1,579 Malasadas Sweet Pastry Azores ★ 3.9
  9. 1,620 Ovos moles de Aveiro Dessert Aveiro ★ 3.9
  10. 1,822 Serradura Pudding Portugal ★ 3.9
  11. 2,030 Toucinho do céu Cake Portugal ★ 3.9
  12. 2,056 Pão de Deus Sweet Bread Portugal ★ 3.9
  13. 2,310 F Folar de Olhão Sweet Bread Olhão ★ 3.8
  14. 2,473 Queijinhos de amêndoa Dessert Algarve ★ 3.8
  15. 2,504 Pastel de Tentúgal Sweet Pastry Tentúgal ★ 3.8
  16. 2,829 Bolinhos de chuva Sweet Pastry Portugal ★ 3.8
  17. 2,836 Dom Rodrigo Dessert Algarve ★ 3.8
  18. 2,884 P Pão de rala Sweet Bread Évora ★ 3.8
  19. 2,914 Queijada Sweet Pastry Sintra ★ 3.8
  20. 2,970 B Bolo de chila Cake Algarve ★ 3.8
  21. 3,473 Papo de anjo Dessert Portugal ★ 3.8
  22. 3,478 Pudim de laranja Pudding Algarve ★ 3.8
  23. 3,964 B Beijinhos de amêndo Dessert Algarve ★ 3.7
  24. 4,277 Baba de camelo Dessert Portugal ★ 3.7
  25. 4,703 Pampilho Sweet Pastry Santarém District ★ 3.7
  26. 4,822 Jesuítas Sweet Pastry Santo Tirso ★ 3.7
  27. 5,572 Pastel de Santa Clara Sweet Pastry Coimbra ★ 3.6
  28. 5,723 Portuguese Sweet Bread Sweet Bread Portugal ★ 3.6
  29. 5,771 Tortas de Guimarães Sweet Pastry Guimarães ★ 3.6
  30. 5,790 Pastel de feijão Tart Torres Vedras ★ 3.6
  31. 5,881 S Sardinhas doces de Trancoso Dessert Trancoso ★ 3.6
  32. 6,167 Fogaça da Feira Sweet Bread Santa Maria da Feira ★ 3.6
  33. 6,600 T Torta de Viana Dessert Viana do Castelo District ★ 3.5
  34. 6,607 Brisas do lis Dessert Leiria ★ 3.5
  35. 6,776 F Farinha torrada Dessert Sesimbra ★ 3.5
  36. 6,960 B Bolo mimoso Cake Algarve ★ 3.5
  37. 7,043 Guardanapos Cake Portugal ★ 3.5
  38. 7,431 V Viúvas Sweet Pastry Braga ★ 3.4
  39. 7,573 Bolo de arroz Dessert Portugal ★ 3.3
  40. 7,597 Arroz doce Pudding Portugal ★ 3.3
  41. 7,707 T Tíbias de Braga Sweet Pastry Braga ★ 3.3
  42. 7,726 B Bolos de São Gonçalo Sweet Pastry Amarante ★ 3.3
  43. 7,731 Fios de ovos Dessert Portugal ★ 3.3
  44. 7,748 Broas de mel Cookie Madeira ★ 3.3
  45. 7,998 Patas de veado Dessert Portugal ★ 3.2
  46. 8,104 Aletria Pudding Portugal ★ 3.2
  47. 8,365 Queijo de figo Dessert Algarve ★ 3.1
  48. 8,369 Filhós Sweet Pastry Portugal ★ 3.1
  49. 8,478 Bolo de mel Cake Madeira ★ 3.0
  50. 8,567 Cavacas Sweet Pastry Portugal ★ 2.9
  51. 8,700 Cavacas de Margaride Cookie Margaride ★ 2.6
  52. 8,813 Bolo rei Cake Portugal ★ 1.9
  53. 10,567 D Doce Fino Dessert Algarve ★ 0.0

Questions, Answered

Portuguese desserts & sweets, frequently asked, answered from 2,633 ratings.

What is the best Portuguese dessert?
By our diners' ratings it's the pastel de nata, Nº 35 worldwide, the flaky custard tart scorched dark on top. Just behind it comes the pastel de Belém, the original made to a secret monastery recipe, then Sintra's almond-cream travesseiros and the fluffy custard-filled bola de Berlim.
What is Portugal known for in desserts?
Egg-yolk sweets. Portuguese convents cooked custards, tarts and pastes from surplus yolks, and that tradition still shapes the department: the pastel de nata, the wafer-wrapped ovos moles of Aveiro, and the almond-and-yolk toucinho do céu all descend from it. Of Portugal's 53 ranked sweets, nearly all are custard or pastry.
What is the most famous Portuguese dessert?
The pastel de nata is both the most famous and the best rated, with 641 ratings, far ahead of any other Portuguese sweet. It travels: bakeries from London to Lisbon build a queue on it. Fame and rank line up here, since the tart tops the list on both counts.
What is a pastel de nata?
It's Portugal's custard tart: a cup of shatteringly flaky puff pastry filled with rich egg custard and blistered dark under a fierce oven. Best eaten warm with a little cinnamon and an espresso. At Nº 35 worldwide it's the top-rated Portuguese sweet, and the star of the whole department.
Which region of Portugal has the best desserts?
By our data the Algarve has the deepest bench, with 8 ranked sweets built on its almonds, ahead of Sintra, Braga and Madeira with 2 apiece. But the two highest-rated tarts belong to greater Lisbon: the pastel de nata and, from riverside Belém, the pastel de Belém.
Where else should I look for great desserts?
The pastry nations first: worldwide the department runs to 2,151 sweets from 154 countries, topped not by Portugal but by Algeria's almond makroud at Nº 8. Nearer home, Spain fields 80 ranked desserts and France 114. See Desserts & Sweets worldwide.

This Department, Elsewhere

Desserts & sweets from Portugal's neighbours, ranked the same way.

ItalianDesserts & Sweets305SpanishDesserts & Sweets80CroatianDesserts & Sweets74GreekDesserts & Sweets49SerbianDesserts & Sweets17SlovenianDesserts & Sweets14MalteseDesserts & Sweets10BosnianDesserts & Sweets10MacedonianDesserts & Sweets5CypriotDesserts & Sweets4AlbanianDesserts & Sweets4SammarineseDesserts & Sweets3KosovarDesserts & Sweets1
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