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Pao De Queijo Brazilian Cheese Bread is a simple and cheesy gluten free bread from Brazil. It’s made with tapioca flour and a mix of Parmesan and Mozzarella cheeses.
One of my favorite things about this recipe is that you make, bake, and then eat them. No yeast. No rising, and no waiting. They also freeze super well to eat on a different day.
They are slightly crispy on the outside and soft, chewy and cheesy on the inside. Pretty much cheesy bread perfection!
Have you ever been to Tucanos? It’s this fantastic Brazilian restaurant that serves Churrasco style. The meat comes around on skewers and you turn your little wooden thingy to green for start the food and red to stop. It. Is. Awesome. Forrizle. Every single year we celebrate Cade’s birthday at Tucanos. It’s tradition.
Anyway, we love taking the kids and letting them experience this Brazilian restaurant. Ok, it’s not the real deal like they have in Brazil, but it’s as good as we are going to get around here. The kids love when the drums come out and everyone sings to Cade. Don’t you just love a good tradition?
They have this bread called Pao de Queijo in Brazil and so, of course, it’s served at Tucanos. I have been tweaking and testing this recipe for years and this is finally IT! I can’t stop popping these little bundles of joy into my mouth!
What is Pao De Queijo?
Pronounced pow-du-KEHjo, pão de queijo is a popular snack and breakfast food in Brazil. It is similar to a pate a choux, but it is made with tapioca flour rather than all-purpose flour.
It is a small, baked cheese roll.
Ingredients for Pao de Queijo
You don’t need many ingredients to make these little cheese breads. Here is your shopping list:
- Tapioca Flour
- 2% Milk
- Water
- Salt
- Vegetable Oil
- Parmesan Cheese
- Mozzarella Cheese
- Eggs
The complete recipe with all the measurements can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Where Can I Find Tapioca Flour?
You should be able to find tapioca flour at any grocery store near all the other flours. Bob’s Red Mill makes a tapioca flour that works great.
Is There Something You Can Use Instead of Tapioca Starch?
You can use one tablespoon of arrowroot, cornstarch or flour for every 1 1/2 teaspoons of tapioca starch.
Storing, Freezing, and Reheating Pao de Queijo
To store baked pao de queijo, let them cool completely to room temperature and place them in a ziploc bag and store them in the refrigerator. They will keep for 4-5 days in the fridge.
To freeze the pao de queijo, place the unbaked dough balls on a baking sheet and stick the sheet in the freezer for an hour or so until they are solid and then place them in a ziploc bag in the freezer. They will keep for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to bake them, preheat your oven to 400 degrees and bake for 20-25 minutes.
To reheat either frozen or refrigerated pao de queijo, place them in the oven at 350 degrees for 8 minutes or until warmed through.
If it’s those addicting little cheese breads that you crave, there’s no need to head to your closest Brazilian restaurant. You can make pao de queijo from scratch at home and it’s so easy!
More Brazilian Recipes to Try:
Pao De Queijo
Ingredients
- 4 Cups Tapioca Flour
- 1 ¼ Cups Milk, 2%
- 1/2 Cup Water
- 2 teaspoons Salt
- 6 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
- 2 Large Eggs
- 1 ¼ Cups Parmesan Cheese, shredded
- 1 ¼ Cups Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a mixer add the flour.4 Cups Tapioca Flour
- In a pot, add the milk, water, salt and oil. Bring to a boil. Remove the pot from the heat and turn the mixer to low. Slowly pour in the liquids until combined.1 ¼ Cups Milk, 1/2 Cup Water, 2 teaspoons Salt, 6 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
- Add one egg and mix. Add the next egg and mix again until smooth. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the cheeses until well combined.2 Large Eggs, 1 ¼ Cups Parmesan Cheese, 1 ¼ Cups Mozzarella Cheese
- Use a small cookie scoop in water to scoop onto cookie sheets.
- Bake for 20 minutes or we prefer to freeze for a few hours and then bake (*see note).
- Serve while warm.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I used to make pao de queijo often but got out of the habit once I found it frozen at Sam’s. Alas, they no longer carry it and my kids begged. I ran out of tapioca flour and subbed arrowroot for more than half the flour in this recipe. I also subbed out some of the cheese for cheddar, so it had three cheeses altogether. It was perfect. I made a ton so flash-froze one pan for a quick breakfast snack some time. Great recipe.
Hi Ginny! Thank you so much for the feedback! I appreciate your tips on substitutions too!
Definitely too much liquid in this recipe. I usually use another, but could not find it. Texture was completely wrong here. What a waste of good ingredients
I have no idea what happened – when I was done adding everything it was a bowl of liquid – there was no scooping going on here! But there is a similiar recipe on the tapioca bag that says to pour the batter into cupcake molds, which is what I ended up doing. Was so looking forward to trying this! Bummed! I used mini tart molds and still baked for 20 minutes – not sure if they’re done now may throw back in for a few more minutes lose on the cookie sheet.
Oh no! Are you sure you measured the flour and all the liquids correctly? It should definitely be scoopable!
What can I use instead of Tapioca flour? Thanks.
You can use one tablespoon of arrowroot starch, cornstarch, cassava flour or flour for every 1 1/2 teaspoons of tapioca flour. We just love the texture and flavor of the tapioca flour.
Do you think I could use almond or coconut flour to make it keto friendly?
Hi Robin! I’ve never tried it so I can’t say for sure. Let me know if try it!
Hi, I don’t know what I did wrong, my dough looks like oatmeal and really liquidity. I put bowl in the fridge hoping it’ll firm up. Help or wish me luck!! Lol
Hi LuAnne! Oh no! How did it turn out? Something definitely doesn’t sound right.
Instead of vegetable oil can I use olive oil?
Technically, yes, but I prefer not to because you can taste the olive oil in it.
Hi. I tried. Raw in middle but starting to burn on the outside. Any tips on what I might have done wrong.
Thanks!
Hi Beth! They are stretchy in the middle so they may appear raw but it’s all that cheese!
Oh my, these are heavenly. If you like cheese, these will be perfect with a bowl of soup or stew or just by themselves. I had no trouble making them, although next time I might use my dough hook. I used the large cookie scoop and got 27 rolls. Might serve them at my next book club with some wine.
Yay!! Thank you so much for the feedback Goldie! I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
This looks YUM..! Btw, I just saw your Knorr comercial in blogland and recognized you from our knorr cooking class. I was next to you :)Glad to see you won the challenge! How exciting!
New Follower,
Lina
Fancy Frugal Life