These Brazilian Hot Dogs are simmered in a rich tomato sauce enhanced with sauteed onions, garlic, and tomato; making them an irresistible addition to your next celebration or get-together.

Table of Contents
Hot dogs are not just part of the American culture but also the Brazilian culture. However, in Brazil we don’t eat our hot dogs steamed or grilled instead they are cooked in a tomato sauce along with onions, garlic, fresh tomato and sometimes peppers for extra flavor. Though we do, however eat them on hog dog buns with the traditional toppings like mustard, ketchup, mayo and we also throw on parmesan cheese and string potatoes.
Preparing hot dogs is reminiscent of my childhood in Brazil and always takes me back to when I was a little girl. I wasn’t much of a sweet tooth and during parties I would go straight for the hot dogs! I thoroughly enjoyed eating them as kid and still enjoy eating them today as an adult. Making Brazilian hot dogs is a tradition that I wanted to make sure my kids grew up with here in the States.
I especially remember eating hot dogs like this at parties and celebrations. They are perfect for birthdays, local celebrations such as Carnaval and festas juninas, get togethers, play dates, snack or lunch, or any sort of gathering really, especially kid-related special activities.
Serve them with this Brazilian Lemonade, these Brazilian Pinto Beans and this Creamy Brazilian Hot Cocoa or these Holiday Brazilian Brigadeiro for dessert for the ultimate Brazilian meal.
Ingredients for Cachorro Quente
- Hot dogs: Use your favorite hot dogs, any kind will work.
- Hot dog buns: Here too, choose your favorite buns.
- Olive oil: Use olive oil to saute the vegetables and garlic.
- Onion: Any type of onion, diced, will add flavor so use a white, yellow, Vidalia or whatever you have on hand.
- Garlic: Fresh minced garlic is best but jarred will also work.
- Tomato: A fresh diced tomato adds flavor and texture to the sauce.
- Olives: Chopped olives add more flavor but if you don’t love olives, leave them out.
- Tomato sauce: Canned tomato sauce or passata are the base of the tomato sauce.
- Parmesan cheese: Use parmesan cheese to add more saltiness and a cheesy flavor.
- Salt and pepper: Add salt and pepper to taste.
Brazilian Hot Dog Toppings
- Shoestring potatoes
- Parmesan cheese
- Ketchup, mustard and mayo
How To Make Brazilian Hot Dog Sauce
- Sauté onion and garlic in hot oil until golden brown.
- Stir in the diced tomato, season with salt and pepper and cook until the tomato breaks down.
- Add the olives and pour in the tomato sauce. Stir well.
- Toss the hot dogs and parmesan cheese into the pan. If you want a thinner sauce, add 1/2 cup of water if not, leave it as is.
- Cook, covered, until the hot dogs are heated through.
- Serve the hot dogs in the buns, with a scoop of sauce on top.
- Add your favorite topping such as shoestring potatoes, parmesan cheese and the usual hot dog condiments.
FAQs
Any type of hot dog will work well in this recipe.
No, there’s no need to cook the hot dogs before adding them to the sauce. They will cook in the sauce. If you have leftover cooked hot dogs in the fridge you can use them too.
No, there’s no need to make a slit on the hot dogs.
Yes, if you want to make a plant-based meal use veggie dogs.
Storage
Store uneaten hot dogs in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-4 days. It is best to store the hot dogs and buns separately. Don’t store assembled hot dogs as the bun will get soggy. Freeze the hot dog and tomato sauce mixture separately from the buns. Eat them within 3 months.
Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat over the stove or in the microwave.
RECIPE TIP
Make sure to flip the hot dogs while they simmer in the tomato sauce so they cook evenly and soak up the flavorful sauce.
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below 👇🏻 Thank you!
Brazilian Hot Dog (Cachorro Quente)
Ingredients
- 6 hot dogs
- 6 hot dog buns
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tomato diced
- 2 tbsp olives chopped (optional)
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 4 tbsp parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
Toppins
- shoestring potatoes
- parmesan cheese
- ketchup, mustard and mayo
Instructions
- Heat oil in a skillet. Sauté onion and garlic until golden brown.
- Add diced tomato. Season with salt and pepper and let it cook down for 2-3 minutes
- Add olives and tomato sauce, stir well
- Toss in hot dogs and parmesan cheese. Sometimes we add up to 1/2 cup of water to thin out the sauce but that's optional. Cook hot dogs for 5 minutes covered or until they are heated through.
- Serve hot dog in a hot dog bun, scoop a generous amount of sauce on top. Add your favorite topping such as shoestring potatoes, parmesan cheese and condiments.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I like Brazilian hot dog, I will cook tonight
Perfect! enjoy it!
Hot dog is my prefered lunch
Delicious ๐
must be delicious
So good!!
What type of olives are typically used?, Black, green, both? Thx, your help is appreciated.
Any!! as long as the pit is removed! We Brazilians tend to use both black and green olives interchangeably. Use what you like or what you have in hand.