Pastel de Belém Crowned World’s Top Dessert as Alheira de Mirandela Takes Sausage Gold

A swirl of vanilla-scented steam, a decades-old recipe and an online vote have combined to hand Portugal another reason to brag: its signature custard tart now sits on top of the world’s dessert podium. And that is only half the story—an iconic sausage from Trás-os-Montes has just landed the title of best cured meat. Together, the twin headlines confirm what most residents already suspected: the nation’s pantry keeps punching above its weight.

Key take-aways at a glance

• Pastel de Belém edges out more than 3,000 entries to share the No. 1 spot in TasteAtlas’ 2025/26 awards.

• Pastel de Nata claims bronze, while another seven Portuguese sweets crack the global Top 100.

• Alheira de Mirandela finishes first among 100 sausages, reminding food lovers that Portugal’s savoury side is just as formidable.

A custard classic reborn on the world stage

With a hefty 4.59/5 score, the Belém tart—baked since 1837 opposite the Jerónimos Monastery—now shares first place with Greece’s trigona panoramatos. The accolade comes from TasteAtlas, a Croatia-based platform that collates hundreds of thousands of user ratings. Tourists already form queues that snake along Rua de Belém; the new crown is expected to extend waiting times but also to reinforce Lisbon’s budding reputation as Europe’s dessert capital.

Lisbon’s sugar-coated economic engine

City hall economists have not yet published hard 2025 data, yet local business owners speak of a noticeable uptick in foot traffic whenever global awards surface. Cafés in Belém report that a single summer weekend can see sales of 20,000 tarts, while tour operators bundle pastry stops with visits to the Torre de Belém and MAAT museum. Analysts at Turismo de Portugal argue that pastry-driven spending ripples outward—boosting nearby souvenir stalls, tram operators and even short-stay rentals.

The supporting cast: seven more Portuguese stars

Beyond the headline custard duo, the TasteAtlas Top 100 lists a parade of familiar names: Bola de Berlim (27th), the almond-dusted Travesseiro de Sintra (39th), airy Malassada dos Açores (60th), flaky Jesuítas (91st), Pampilho de Santarém (94th), silky Pastel de Tentúgal (96th) and crumbly Queijada de Sintra (99th). Among cakes, Pão de Ló de Ovar leads the domestic pack. The wide geographic spread—from the Azores to Ribatejo—gives regional tourism boards fresh marketing ammunition ahead of the 2026 high season.

How the ranking is built—and why few critics complain

Since 2015 TasteAtlas has relied on crowd-sourced ratings cross-checked by AI filters that weed out duplicate or suspicious votes. Dishes require a minimum volume of reviews to qualify; scores are then averaged and normalised into annual league tables. Portuguese media occasionally question voter representativeness but, unlike restaurant guides dogged by pay-to-play accusations, the dessert ranking has so far escaped major controversy.

From Inquisition workaround to world-class sausage

Up north, Alheira de Mirandela topped the 2025/26 sausage chart with a 4.34 rating, outshining Spanish chorizos and German bratwursts. Legend traces its origin to 15th-century Jews who swapped pork for poultry to avoid religious persecution. Modern recipes re-introduce beef, pork fat and paprika, then smoke the links over olive-wood fires for a deep amber hue. The product’s DOP seal, secured in 2013, restricts authentic production to the Mirandela municipality—a boon for local farmers and smokehouses.

Why these trophies matter at home

Tourism officials estimate gastronomy accounts for 16 % of total visitor spend; every new international mention helps sustain that slice. Exporters, meanwhile, see awards as leverage when negotiating shelf space in foreign supermarkets. The government’s 2024-27 Estratégia Nacional do Turismo explicitly names culinary fame as a pillar for reaching the €30 B annual tourism-revenue goal.

The bite-size forecast

Industry insiders expect pastry workshops across the country to launch “world’s best” tasting menus before Easter, while Mirandela’s March Alheira Fair plans an expanded foreign-buyer pavilion. For everyday consumers, the message is simpler: whether you favour cinnamon-specked custard or smoky garlic sausage, Portugal’s table just got a bit more crowded—and the rest of the globe is lining up for a taste.