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Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pao de Queijo) is SO easy to make and is the perfect addition to any meal. You will love the chewy bread and cheesy center.
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This Pao De Queijo recipe, or Brazilian Cheese Bread, is the stuff dreams are made of! I originally discovered it at a restaurant called Tucanos Brazilian Grill in Utah. Every time I go there, I seriously have to try to limit myself to only a few of these little cheese rolls or I will completely go to town on them. They are so good! If you haven’t had these rolls before, now is the time! Oh, and did I mention they are GLUTEN FREE?! So this one is for all of my gluten-free friends out there!
What is Pao de Queijo?
Pao de Queijo (pronounced “pow duh kay-ju”), literally translates to “cheese bread” in Portuguese. These small, round, baked cheese rolls are a popular snack and breakfast food in Brazil. And even though it’s called “bread”, the dough doesn’t use yeast (hence, gluten-free!). These cheese rolls are actually really easy and fun to make, and even more fun to eat!
Getting the Right Ingredients
The ingredients used to make this Pao de Queijo recipe are very simple, such as oil, milk, eggs, and salt. The two key ingredients here are the flour and the cheese:
Tapioca Flour (or Tapioca Starch) – Tapioca flour is the key ingredient in Brazilian cheese bread. It is the main binding agent for the pão de queijo. 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 Pao de Queijo: sour tapioca flour (polvilho azedo), which provides a tangy flavor and chewy texture, and sweet tapioca flour (polvilho doce), which has a neutral taste. Both types are gluten-free and contribute to the unique characteristics of Brazilian cheese bread.
Cheese – any kind of shredded cheese will work. 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, hands-down, is a combination of sharp cheddar cheese and parmigiano reggiano. That way you get the smoothness of the cheddar and also the bold flavor of the parmesan. Grate the cheeses finely to ensure even distribution throughout the dough.
Two Easy Methods to Make Brazilian Cheese Bread
1. The Authentic Way – The first way is the more “authentic” way to make them. There is a little more technique and skill involved. This is the way as described in the recipe below.
2. The 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. I honestly can’t tell much a difference between the two methods. I am all about ease and usually find myself putting it all in a blender more often than not. Here’s what you do:
- Preheat oven to 400-degrees
- Put all the ingredients except the cheese in a blender.
- Blend until smooth (about 20 seconds) then scrape the sides of the blender.
- Add cheese and pulse 3-4 times to incorporate.
- Spray a mini muffin pan with cooking spray and fill each cup with the cheese mixture until almost full.
- Place in the oven and bake 15-20 minutes or until the outside of the rolls are golden brown and puffed up. 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 Making Brazilian Cheese Bread
When it comes to making Brazilian cheese bread, here are some helpful tips to ensure delicious results:
Quality Ingredients: Use high-quality ingredients, especially cheese and tapioca flour. Freshly grated cheese will enhance the flavor and texture of your cheese bread.
Proper Mixing: When combining the ingredients, mix the dough thoroughly to ensure all the ingredients are well incorporated. You can use a blender or mixer to get the right consistency.
Consistent Dough Balls: Use a cookie scoop to get consistent balls. If using the blender method, you can use a mini muffin tin to get them all the same size.
Use Parchment Paper: This prevents sticking and makes for easier cleanup.
Baking Time: Keep a close eye on the cheese bread while baking, as the baking time can vary depending on the size of the bread. Generally, it takes around 20-25 minutes, or until the bread develops a golden color and puffs up.
Enjoy Fresh: Brazilian cheese bread is best enjoyed fresh from the oven when it’s still warm and at its peak texture.
Freezing Options: If you have leftovers, you can freeze the unbaked cheese bread dough balls and bake them straight from the freezer whenever you crave a fresh batch (like the popular Brazilian Bites). Simply adjust the baking time accordingly.
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
READ MORE: 35+Quick and Easy to Follow Dinner Ideas
More Roll Recipes
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!
How to Make Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pao de Queijo)
Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pao de Queijo)
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups tapioca flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill — I found mine in the gluten-free section of the grocery store)
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese get a small block of Parmesan and shred it yourself… it makes a BIG difference
- 3/4 cup sharp or medium cheddar cheese shredded (shred yourself, just like the Parmesan)
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.