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Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo) is deliciously chewy on the inside, crisp on the outside, and bursting with cheesy flavor. Made with tapioca flour, it’s naturally gluten-free and the perfect addition to any meal.
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This Brazilian Cheese Bread recipe is pure magic! I first tried these irresistible cheese rolls at Tucanos Brazilian Grill in Utah and instantly fell in love. I have to stop myself from devouring an entire basket. If you haven’t tried these yet, you’re in for a treat. Bonus: they’re naturally gluten-free, so they’re perfect for my gluten-free friends!
What is Pão de Queijo?
Pronounced “pow duh kay-ju”, this classic Brazilian roll translates to “cheese bread” in Portuguese. Unlike traditional bread, Pão de Queijo is made with tapioca flour instead of wheat flour. It’s easy to make at home, no yeast required.
Pão de Queijo is a staple in Brazilian cuisine, often served at breakfast or as an afternoon snack. You’ll find it served fresh at Brazilian steakhouses (churrascarias) or homemade with simple ingredients.
Ingredients for Brazilian Cheese Bread
Basic Ingredients
- Milk
- Oil (vegetable or canola)
- Eggs
- Salt
Key Ingredients for Authentic Flavor
- Tapioca Flour (or Tapioca Starch): This is the main binding agent for Brazilian Cheese Bread. Be sure to use tapioca flour or starch specifically, as other flours won’t yield the same results. Two main types of tapioca flour are used in Pão de Queijo. Both types are gluten-free and contribute to the unique characteristics of Brazilian cheese bread.
- Sour tapioca flour (polvilho azedo), which provides a tangy flavor and chewy texture.
- Sweet tapioca flour (polvilho doce), which has a neutral taste.
- Cheese: While queijo Minas (Minas cheese) is traditional, it isn’t easily found in the States. Other cheeses like cheddar, parmesan (parmigiano reggiano), mozzarella, or a mix of cheeses work well. My favorite is a combination of sharp cheddar cheese and parmigiano reggiano. You get the smoothness of the cheddar with the bold flavor of the parmesan. Grate the cheeses finely to ensure even distribution throughout the dough.
How to Make Brazilian Cheese Bread
Method 1: Traditional Preparation
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 400°F.
- Heat Ingredients: Warm milk, oil, and salt in a saucepan until it begins to simmer. Remove from heat.
- Add Flour: Gradually mix in tapioca flour until fully incorporated and dough is grainy and gelatinous.
- Mix Ingredients: Transfer the dough to a stand mixer with paddle attachment. Beat the dough at medium speed until smooth and cooled.
- Add Eggs and Cheese: In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs. With the mixer on, add eggs into the dough in two steps. Let the first half of the eggs full incorporate into the dough before adding the second. Once eggs are fully blended into the dough, mix in the cheese. The dough will be sticky, stretchy, and soft.
- Shape Dough Balls: Use a cookie scoop or your hands to form the dough into 1-2 inch balls.
- Bake: Place dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 25-28 minutes or until puffed and just starting to color.
Method 2: Quick Blender Method
This is the best way to make Brazilian cheese bread if you are in a hurry or simply want to make things easier on yourself. Here’s what you do:
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Add all ingredients except cheese to a blender. Blend until smooth (about 20 seconds), scraping down the sides as needed.
- Pulse in the cheese about 3-4 times until evenly incorporated.
- Pour the batter into a greased mini muffin tin and bake for 15-20 minutes.
Do not over bake! The texture on the outside is more dry and “bread” like and the inside is more soft and chewy.
Tips for the Perfect Brazilian Cheese Bread
- Use Quality Ingredients: Use high-quality ingredients, especially cheese and tapioca flour. Freshly grated cheese will enhance the flavor and texture of your cheese bread.
- Don’t Overbake: Bake until just starting to golden for a crispy outside and chewy center.
- Freeze for Later: Shape dough balls, freeze on a tray, and store in a freezer bag. Bake directly from frozen by adding a few extra minutes to the baking time.
- Customize Cheese Blends: Try a mix of cheeses to suit your taste and to add more complex flavor.
FAQ’s about Brazilian Cheese Bread
Don’t worry if the inside is a bit gooey. Because the rolls are made with tapioca flour it has a natural gooey quality even when they’re cooked. They will taste delicious!
The best way to store this Brazilian cheese bread is tightly covered with as much air squeezed out as possible. It can be kept at room temperature overnight, in the fridge for three days, or in the freezer for up to two months.
If the dough consistency is runny, the cheese bread won’t puff up. The dough should be thick enough to form into balls with a cookie scoop or by hand. Measure ingredients carefully to ensure best results.
More Bread Recipes to Try
In our family, a dinner is truly not complete without a side of bread or rolls. Here are a few of our tried and true recipes for you to add to your dinner table!
Brazilian Cheese Bread Recipe (Pao de Queijo)
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups tapioca flour (I use Bob's Red Mill in the gluten-free section of the grocery store)
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese (freshly hand shredded)
- 3/4 cup sharp or medium cheddar cheese (freshly hand shredded)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Combine the milk, oil, and salt in the saucepan, and whisking occasionally, bring it to a gentle boil over medium heat. Remove from heat as soon as you see big bubbles coming through the milk.
- Add all of the tapioca flour to the saucepan and stir until you see no more dry tapioca flour. The dough will be grainy and gelatinous at this point.
- Transfer the dough to the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. (Alternatively, you can do the next few steps by hand. Be prepared for a work-out.) Beat the dough for a few minutes at medium speed until it smooths out and has cooled enough that you can hold your finger against the dough for several seconds.
- Whisk the eggs together in a small bowl. With the mixer on medium, beat the eggs into the dough in two additions. Wait until the first addition has been fully incorporated into the dough before adding the second. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- With the mixer on medium, beat in the cheese until fully incorporated. The resulting dough will be very sticky, stretchy, and soft with a consistency between cake batter and cookie dough.
- Using an ice cream scoop, a tablespoon measure, or a dinner spoon, scoop rounded portions of the dough into mounds on the parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Space the mounds an inch or two apart. Dip your scoop in water or spray with cooking spray to prevent sticking.
- Transfer the sheet with the puffs to the oven and bake for 25-28 minutes, until the puffs have puffed, the outsides are dry, and they are JUST starting to color. Do not over bake! Cool briefly and eat.
Notes
- Do not over bake! The texture on the outside is more dry and “bread” like and the inside is more soft and chewy.
- Don’t worry if the inside is a bit gooey. Because the rolls are made with tapioca flour it has a natural gooey quality even when they’re cooked. They will taste delicious!
There’s a big difference between 2 cups and 10 ounces tapioca flour/starch.
Made Brazilian cheese bread follow my friends instructions, came out horrible, doughy inside cooked on the outside, should I have kneaded it more.
I was in the same boat as you. I love those cheese balls from Tuchanos! We made these last night and they were delicious!!
Hey Erika – i have tried your recipe about 3 or 4 times and only got it right once. The dough always end up runny (too creamy). Why could that be? Any suggestions?
I don’t know why it would be that way– what is your elevation? You may need to add a little more tapioca flour if you are higher in elevation. Hope this helps! – Erica
I’ve made this three times so far and it always is a hit! One of the few foods my children can agree on! I seem to get slightly different consistency with the dough each time but it doesn’t seem to affect the outcome. Also, I made the scoops smaller and froze them on parchment and then into ziplocks before baking! Popped them in oven at 350 for 20 min and they were perfect!
So glad it has been a hit! This Brazilian Cheese Bread is definitely one of my favorites!
I just tried this recipe and it came out FAR too runny. I followed exactly even the types of cheeses. I’ve studied other recipes and some have resting time before the eggs and this just wants right. I would try another recipe with video to make sure consistency is correct. I’ve never seen any PDQ in brazil baked in a muffin tin. Their consistency seems to require you to be able to hold a rough ball shape at the very least their Recipe was just too runny.
I made these last night and they where so delicious. I used Tapioca Starch because I didn’t realize there was a difference, I’m gonna look for Flour next time to compare the difference.
I had a few issues though, the mix was too loose so when I scooped it on a cookie sheet it just melted flat. This was ok because my first batch was more like a thick cracker! Delish!…I added more Tapioca then decided to scoop into muffin pan. 28 minutes was too long but 10 mins was not long enough, I definitely want to make this again till I get it right!
Just found and tried your recipe, it’s great! I love the pao de queijo at our local Brazilian restaurant, and this is the closest match I’ve found so far. Thanks!
Thanks for the comment! So glad you liked it!! 😀
So do you use tapioca flour or tapioca starch???
We use tapioca flour
Hiya, no where close to me sells tapioca flour, can I use arrowroot instead?
We have never used arrowroot in this recipe before, I don’t know how it would turn out. Let us know if you try it and how it works for you!
It doesn’t say, but does the cheese go in at the same time as the flour?
Yes, it goes in at the same time 🙂
I make these and instead of regular salt I add garlic salt & OOOOH MAN it really adds to the flavor.
Before I bake these I want to refrigerate the dough, so I can bake them at a friend’s house. Should I roll out the dough first then chill or just chill the dough and roll and bake when I’m ready?
I would probably chill first, then roll and bake…
Thanks, Erica. I’ll be baking these tomorrow. Can’t wait for our friends to have some!
Can these be frozen and thawed later? My daughter has a school project but we baked them and now they have a snow day!!
ehhhhhh, I wouldn’t. I don’t think they would freeze well. You can sure try it though!
You can freeze them uncooked,just make the little balls and put them on the baking pan in the freezer and later transfer to a ziploc bag.when you want to bake them there’s no need to thaw just pop them in the oven!
I tried it and it works perfectly. Can’t even tell they aren’t fresh! Thanks.
Erica – My wife just made these for me. Totally reminded me of miniature versions of the ones I ate down in Rio. These were delicious!
Have you ever made a sweet version of these and turned them into cream puffs? Seems like it would work as a choux recipe by omitting the savoury ingredients.
I have never made them sweet before. It could be a possibility though! If you try it, let us know how it turns out!
Not sure if this helps but I’ve had sweet ones fresh from the market. They usually fill with cream or dulce de leche, or just roll in cinnamon and sugar. Simply amazing with vanilla ice cream.
This was delicious! My husband ate the whole batch and he’s brazilian!
About how many does this recipe make? Making these for Thanksgiving tomorrow so I need to know if I should double it or not. Thanks!
Yikes! Sorry this is a late reply.. it makes about 2 dozen… give or take a few.
cool iam definately trying this wen i get home after work today
This recipe looks awesome! Can’t wait to try it. 🙂
I am brazilian and I loooove cheese bread.
Yours seems to be pretty good. =D
Oh wow! These sound fabulous and dangerous at the same time!
I am from Brazil and make this for my family all the time. You can put all your ingredients in the blender and skip the boiling. My recipe is as follows:
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 cup milk
2 cups tapioca starch
8oz, plus cheese, I like to use a combination like the Italian blend.
1 Tsp salt
Blend everything together and poor into tiny cupcake pan and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes till golden brown.
I found that using Parmesan, provolone, mozzarella, asiago, blend really does add to the flavor and more cheese never hurts. I also find that going to a local Chinese grocery store you can find the tapioca starch much cheaper, $.99 here. Each package makes one recipe. Hope this helps you on the days you don’t want to burn your hands. You can also prepare extra and freeze for 3 months. Also once they are cold we re-heat them for a few seconds and they always taste really good.
You can also get the tapioca flour for way cheap in the bulk bins at Winco!
Kroger carries the tapioca flour in the health food section.
..tapioca starch ?? where to find it ? wich ones is the brand ??
I found some at Winco in the bins or you can find the Bobs Red Mill brand
Hi! They don’t have the tapioca flour where I live. Do you exactly know which flour from Bob red mills? I would really appreciate it!
https://www.bobsredmill.com/tapioca-flour.html
Hi,
We just came back from Brazil. I had a couscous bread which tasted alot like corn bread. It had platains on the top, and was cooked on stove top in a steamer. Do you know how to make this dish. I have googled my heart out trying to find it.
Never heard of it but I know some people from Brazil that I could ask!
I’m from Brazil too and have made different kinds of cheese breads, I like all of them 😉 I buy my tapioca at asian store market, its true, way cheaper then anywhere else! I pay .69 cents!!!
Would love to make these beauties…
Can I use ‘Regular Flour’ rather than ‘Tapioca’ please…
Any advice would be welcome,
Many thanks,
Odelle Smith. (U.K.)
I am sure u could, but it would completely change the texture and consistency of the cheesy bread. I’ll tell u this, they use tapioca flour originally, it’s not something folks did to get a gluten free product. This is traditional with tapioca flour… And In all honesty the somewhat chewy consistency of tapioca flour ADDS to the cheesyness. They are crisp and golden on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside…. I encourage u to try them in their original recipe prior to changing ingredients.
If uv never been to a Brazilian steakhouse house, or tried these awesome little breads (I can eat maybe a total of 10 oz at a time due to health problems… And I could NOT stop shoving these into my mouth lol) then I deffinTely encourage u to search for a Brazilian steakhouse house locally that makes them (plus u’ll never have better meats of ALL kinds) my area just opened it’s first in my state of Washington, usa (west coast) but there are like 60 franchises so u mY have one nearby. Texas de Brazil is the name of the franchise and they search the breads plus insane delicious food. Go, try, enjoy, make at home 🙂
Sachi
Help required please!
Can I use ‘Regular Flour’ in place of ‘Tapioca Flour’?
Would I use the same amounts & method?
These look delicious, would love to make these ASAP…
Loving your recipes, many thanks,
Kindest Regards,
Odelle Smith. (U.K.)
It will not come out the same if you don’t use tapioca flour.. the consistency of the tapioca flour is what makes them so chewy and good. You can try it but I can’t promise they will taste the same!
If you use wheat flour, you’re essentially making pate a choux, or profiterole paste. Cheesy profiteroles are tasty, just not the same as this recipe.
Suuuuper long ago but THESE ARE AMAZING!! Came across the OP recipe but yours sounded way easier lol. Made it twice in three days!!
Thanks for this suggestion. Do use shredded italian cheese or the finely grated parmesan-style cheese?
Thank you! Your recipe comments sound wonderful.
I made these and they were very gummy. The mix was very strange, and I expected that but it was almost to dense. Not sure I would use this recipe again.