Cheesy, Soft, and Irresistible!
Brazilian Cheese Bread, known as “Pão de Queijo”, is a beloved snack in Brazil that’s famous for its chewy texture and irresistible cheesy flavor. Made with tapioca starch, this gluten-free cheese bread is light, airy, and slightly crisp on the outside, while soft and chewy on the inside. The addition of cheese gives each bite a savory richness that pairs well with coffee or tea, making it a perfect snack or breakfast treat. Whether enjoyed fresh out of the oven or reheated, Brazilian Cheese Bread is a simple yet delicious delight that’s easy to make and impossible to resist!
Brazilian Cheese Bread Ingredients
- 250 g Polvilho Azedo (sour Tapioca starch)
- 250 g Polvilho Doce (regular Tapioca starch)
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 100 g Melted Butter (or 100ml vegetable oil)
- 1 cup Milk
- 300 g Shredded Cheese (you can use a mix of different cheeses such as mozzarella, gouda, cheddar, parmesan. Make sure to include at least 100g of parmesan)
- 2 eggs
Tapioca Starch
Make sure you get the right Tapioca starch. For the traditional Brazilian Cheese Bread we normally use half “Polvilho azedo” (sour Tapioca starch) and half “Polvilho doce” (regular Tapioca starch).
Tapioca starch is a gluten-free flour made from cassava root. If in your city there is no Brazilian or Latin America supermarket, you can try to find tapioca starch in Asian markets.
How to Make Brazilian Cheese Bread
- Preheat the oven at 390°F (200°C).
- In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients: tapioca starch and salt. Mix it well with a spoon to make sure the salt is well mixed.
- Warm the milk and melt the butter. Either in the stove or on the microwave. No need to boil it, just make sure the butter is melted and the milk is hot. If you decide to use oil, instead of butter, you can warm it up only the milk.
- Add the liquid (milk + butter/oil) to the dry ingredients. Mix it well. At the beginning you might want to use a spoon, but at some point you will need to switch to using your hands.
- Add all the cheese and lastly, the eggs. Mix everything well with your hands.
- In a baking tray, add a baking paper at the bottom. If you don’t have one, you can put some oil and flour at the bottom, to make sure the cheese bread will not stick when baking.
- Make small balls with the size of your preference. Just try to make them similar sizes so the time of baking is the same for all of them. Make sure to keep a small distance between each ball, since they will grow in the oven.
- Bake for about 10-12 minutes.
- Your delicious cheese bread is ready! Brazilians normally eat them for breakfast or for an afternoon snack. It is also great to serve them when you have guests with some coffee. It is always a crowd pleaser.
Recipe Tips
Can you freeze Brazilian Cheese Bread?
I absolutely love cheese bread. It is not only a great snack to have for breakfast or an afternoon tea, but also fantastic to serve to your guests. In that case, I make sure I always have some cheese bread in my freezer, to be ready to bake whenever I need them.
To freeze the cheese bread, you should:
- First consider doubling the recipe. Bake the ones you want to eat immediately and separate the dough for the part you want to freeze for eating later.
- Grease a baking tray with oil (or butter) and place the cheese balls (unbaked) into this baking tray. Since you won’t bake them, you don’t need to leave so much space in between them, just enough that they don’t touch each other.
- Place the baking tray in the freezer for about two hours, or until the cheese balls are very firm.
- Finally, remove the cheese balls from the baking sheet and place them in plastic food bags. Seal the bag well to remove all air inside and label it with the date.
- You can store cheese bread up to 3 months in the freezer.
Now you have frozen cheese bread ready to bake whenever you want.
How to Unfreeze Brazilian Cheese Bread?
Do NOT defrost the cheese balls before baking. This can cause them to lose their moisture and become dry. They should go from the freezer directly to the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Place the frozen cheese balls on a greased baking sheet (or place a baking paper at the bottom), leaving space between them so they can rise.
- Bake the cheese balls for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until they are golden and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
- Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
Other Party Food Recipes:
Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo)
Cheesy, Soft, and Irresistible!
Servings: 6 people
Ingredients
- 250 g Polvilho Azedo (sour Tapioca starch)
- 250 g Polvilho Doce (regular Tapioca starch)
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 100 g Melted Butter (or 100ml vegetable oil)
- 1 cup Milk
- 300 g Shredded Cheese (you can use a mix of different cheeses such as mozzarella, gouda, cheddar, parmesan)
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Start by making sure you get the right Tapioca starch. For the traditional Brazilian Cheese Bread we normally use half "Polvilho azedo" (sour Tapioca starch) and half "Polvilho doce" (regular Tapioca starch). Tapioca starch is a gluten-free flour made from cassava root. If in your city there is no Brazilian or Latin America supermarket, you can try to find tapioca starch in Asian markets.
- Preheat the oven at 390°F (200°C).
- In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients: tapioca starch and salt. Mix it well with a spoon to make sure the salt is well mixed.
- Warm the milk and melt the butter. Either in the stove or in the microwave. No need to boil it, just make sure the butter is melted and the milk is hot. If you decide to use oil, instead of butter, you can warm it up only the milk.
- Add the liquid (milk + butter/oil) to the dry ingredients. Mix it well. At the beginning you might want to use a spoon, but at some point you will need to switch to using your hands.Add all the cheese at once and lastly, the eggs. Mix everything well with your hands.
- In a baking tray, add a baking paper at the bottom. If you don't have one, you can put some oil and flour at the bottom, to make sure the cheese bread will not stick when baking.Make small balls with the size of your preference. Just try to make them similar sizes so the time of baking is the same for all of them. Make sure to keep a small distance between each ball, since they will grow in the oven.Bake for about 10-12 minutes.
- Your delicious cheese bread is ready! Brazilians normally eat them for breakfast or for an afternoon snack. It is also great to serve them when you have guests with some coffee. It is always a crowd pleaser.
Notes
How to Freeze Cheese Bread
I absolutely love cheese bread. It is not only a great snack to have for breakfast or an afternoon tea, but also fantastic to serve to your guests. In that case, I make sure I always have some cheese bread in my freezer, to be ready to bake whenever I need them.
To freeze the cheese bread, you should:
- First consider doubling the recipe. Bake the ones you want to eat immediately and separate the dough for the part you want to freeze for eating later.
- Grease a baking tray with oil (or butter) and place the cheese balls (unbaked) into this baking tray. Since you won’t bake them, you don’t need to leave so much space in between them, just enough that they don’t touch each other.
- Place the baking tray in the freezer for about two hours, or until the cheese balls are very firm.
- Finally, remove the cheese balls from the baking tray and place them in plastic food bags. Seal the bag well to remove all air inside and label it with the date.
- You can store cheese bread up to 3 months in the freezer.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Place the frozen cheese balls on a greased baking sheet (or place a baking paper at the bottom), leaving space between them so they can rise.
- Bake the cheese loaves for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until they are golden and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
- Remove from the oven and serve immediately