Made with mashed potato dough, the coxinha is traditionally filled with cooked and shredded poultry. Shaped like a tear drop to resemble a chicken drumstick, the coxinha is breaded with breadcrumbs and deep-fried in hot oil. The coxinha is served in snack bars, coffee houses, specialty snack shops, bakeries, and pastry shops. In small sizes, they are served at parties and buffets. Currently, various brands of semi-prepared frozen coxinha are sold in supermarkets and bakeries.

The coxinha, in its current form, originated in the 19th century in the Greater São Paulo region, in the state of São Paulo. According to food historians, the coxinha was developed during the industrialization of São Paulo to be sold as a cheaper and more durable substitute for the traditional chicken drumsticks that were sold outside factories. From São Paulo, the recipe quickly spread throughout the state and soon to the rest of Brazil, becoming popular in Rio de Janeiro and Paraná by the 1950s.