Of all the foods I fell in love with in Brazil, Pao de Queijo (literally
translated to ‘bread of cheese’, how can that not be delicious?) is right up there at the top. And it’s been tormenting my soul for the past 10 years as I’ve tried recipe after recipe trying to duplicate the taste and texture I love. You can buy pre-packaged mixes, but they’re not quite the same as homemade. The problem is that there are several different methods to making these little balls of heaven. A lot of them involve lots of hard to find ingredients, and methods like heating a mixture on the stove, kneading a big messy dough, etc. When I was in Brazil, I learned how to make the most quick and easy version- an ultra fast liquid batter that you just poured into a muffin tin. It’s been driving me crazy that I couldn’t find my recipe or one that was like it. And then a few weeks ago something magical happened. My husband walked in after organizing some junk in the garage and asked me if I wanted a little pink notebook. I knew immediately what it was. It was bursting with little scraps of papers. Scraps of papers with recipe notes on them. I heard the hallelujah chorus. We ate Pao de Queijo about 25 minutes later. And it was heavenly.
If you’ve never had this type of Brazilian cheese bread, it’s tricky to explain. It’s actually not “bread” at all- at least not like we’re used to here in the US. It’s almost more like the texture of a cream puff shell or popover, but with more substance on the inside. The outside is slightly crisp and browned and the inside is airy and chewy. If you’re not familiar with them at all then I want you to be fully informed so you don’t expect an actual yeast bread “roll”. If you do, then you’ll probably think these are super weird and gooey. They’re served at popular Brazilian restaurants, but honestly, while I adore those restaurants, I’ve yet to have a really good Pao de Queijo at any of them. So trust me when I tell you that if you like those (or any of the pre-packaged mixes), you will probably love these homemade ones. And if you know anyone who has ties to Brazil like I do, you are sure to melt their heart with these. Once you see how quick and easy they are you’ll be making them all the time!
The best part is that I have 99% of the ingredients in my house pretty much at all times.
The only semi-strange ingredient in there is Tapioca Flour, and it’s actually easier to find than you might think. It’s a really smooth, soft flour that feels much like cornstarch. It’s made from the ground roots of the cassava plant and it’s gluten free for those of you that care about that 🙂
You can grab it off Amazon and have it delivered to you, but a lot of normal grocery stores carry a good selection of Bobs Red Mill products which is the brand I use. Here in Idaho I can always find them at Fred Meyer, near the health food/specialty foods isle. You can also find tapioca flour at Asian markets as it’s used in a lot of Asian cooking, and also at health food stores and places like Whole Foods where you can find a good selection of wheat flour alternatives. Definitely check the gluten free isle of well stocked store. If you live in an area with WINCO grocery stores, people are telling me you can find it in the bulk section (how did not know this?? Thank you readers!) You can’t substitute any other type of flour– the tapioca flour is key, so when you find a good place to buy it, stock up!
Okay, ready for easy? You can prep these in about 60 seconds. Seriously. Put everything but the cheese in the blender (I adore my Blendtec) and blend until smooth.
Then add in your cheese and pulse the blender one or two times. I like to break it up a bit and mix it in, but not pulverize it. And you can be creative here. I like a mixture of Parmesan and sharp cheddar. It’s important to use cheese that has a stronger flavor because it’s really the only flavor you’re putting in there and if it’s too mild I’ve found the rolls turn out pretty bland. But play around with it and find your perfect mix. You can also add more or less cheese, it’s pretty flexible.
Now just take your blender and pour the batter into little mini-muffin tins. It’s a very thin batter so pour slowly!
I like to sprinkle a little more parmesan on top. Because I like to sprinkle a little parmesan on top of just about everything. I inherited that from my father, who puts parmesan on just about everything he makes. A little sprinkle of kosher salt is also yummy.
Recently I was browsing food blogs and was excited to see a nearly identical recipe on Bewitching Kitchen. She mentioned putting rosemary in there, which at first I thought sounded a little strange. Not because I don’t think it would taste good, but because I’d never had pao de queijo with any type of herb before. I tried it just for kicks and man was it good! You can either sprinkle a little dried or fresh rosemary on top, or blend it right in the batter. Loved that addition.
Then you pop these babies in a hot oven and watch them do their magic. They puff up into perfectly little bubbly golden balls of cheesy goodness. How’s that for a descriptive sentence?
You want to cook them just until they’re set on top and barely golden. If you over cook them, the tops actually look pretty similar, but you can tell by the bottoms. Case in point:
And don’t be concerned if the rolls sink in the middle. These photos are actually a bit misleading because I photographed them literally seconds after coming out of the oven. It’s perfectly normal for them to sink down in the centers and they taste exactly the same!
Eating Pao De Queijo warm is a definite must. I’ll just say that right now. As soon as they’re cool enough to handle, bust one open and eat it.
They’ll be a little crispy on the outside and soft, airy, and tender on the inside. Almost a little chewy. Some of them are even kind of hollow. This version is definitely less dense than the kneaded dough variety. The yield is anywhere from 16-24 rolls, depending on how full you fill your muffin pan. I fill mine pretty full (a good 3/4 full) and I generally get about 16-18.
I dare you to just eat one. This recipe is a little dangerous.
Quick Brazilian Cheese Rolls {Pao de Queijo}
- Yield: 16
Description
Literally translates to “bread of cheese”…how can that not be delicious? Quick, easy, and fantastic every time.
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 cup tapioca flour (sometimes labeled tapioca starch) no substitutions
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 C grated cheddar cheese* (preferably medium or sharp)
- 1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
- Optional: extra cheese to sprinkle on top and any herbs/flavorings you’d like to add. Try rosemary and or garlic powder, my favorites!
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place egg, milk, oil, tapioca flour, and salt in blender and blend until smooth. Add cheeses and pulse 2 times. Immediately pour batter into a mini muffin tin (if your muffin tin isn’t non-stick, spray lightly with non-stick spray first), filling each well about 3/4 full, or just slightly less. If desired (and I recommend), sprinkle a bit of parmesan cheese on top and/or a tiny sprinkle of kosher salt.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until puffed and golden. Remove from oven and cool for a few minutes before removing rolls from pan. Serve warm. {Que Gostoso!}
Notes
- *Tip: You can play around with the cheese. I’ve used Monterey Jack, low-moisture mozarella, swiss, and even gruyere in place of the cheddar. All great!
- Keep in mind, these actually don’t re-heat well, so I recommend making and eating fresh.
Can you use coconut oil?
Never have, you’ll have to experiment!
I used avocado oil and it came out great!
I just made these, and they are in the oven right now. These are one of my weaknesses! Unfortunately, I’m worried they aren’t going to turn out 🙁 The dough was a solid mass, not thin and liquidy like described. I had to add twice the milk just to be able to scoop it out with a spoon. I did use homemade tapioca flour (where I ground up tapioca pearls super fine with my blendtec) so that could be the problem…..
I just tried to make these after having them at a local brazilian restaurant and they came out oily, flat and extremely gooey. I only had 1% milk in the house – could this explain it? Please help! I am craving these golden bites of heaven!
Amy, the milk shouldn’t make much of a difference, but perhaps they weren’t cooked long enough? that’s the only thing I can think of!
One thing I would also add is that if you are using a dark non-stick pan you might consider lowering the temp to 375F. I found when I got new dark pans my bottoms became too brown and the insides weren’t done.
I am about to try this recipe to send to Brazil day with my 2nd grader. They said to send in candy wrapped in white tissue paper. Huh? I didn’t even know it was for Brazil, but when I found out, i asked if I could send something a little more authentic!
Anyway, I ground tapioca pearls in a wheat grinder and tried a recipe that boiled the milk and it turned into rubbery chunks. And then my friend told me (and since you said you’re in Idaho, I thought I’d pass this along) that WinCo has tapioca flour in their bulk bins.
HELLO! All that trouble and I coulda just gone to Winco.
Lol Susie- do our 2nd graders go to the same school?? I was in charge of Brazil day and had that tissue paper assignment too, they must have been using the same paper!
And pour this batter into 2 pie pans lined with parchment paper and you have 9″ gluten free pizza crusts! And they’re fabulous!
Would you have a Sequillos recipe?
Nope, sorry!
Nevermind I see it, didnt see the first time I read it, this recipe looks awesome cant wait to try it!!
Do you grease the cupcake pan?
As a Brazilian, I’ve got to say this recipe is the best for a quick pao de queijo! It’s so good I translated the recipe to Portuguese and shared it with my friends on my blog (I’m giving you guys credit).
Oh that makes me SO happy!
Great! Thank you for posting the recipe. I’d made these once or twice before with my sister after eating at Fogo de Chao, then lost the recipe. Whipped up a batch tonight and had cleaned up the kitchen before the came out of the oven. Oh so tasty, and with my mother in law visiting who eats gluten free, a perfect snack to share.
Asiago and sharp cheddar are delicious together and create such a nice flavour.
Also I had some left over the next day and I cut them in half heated them up in a pan, spread on some goat cheese and sandwiched them back together and they were quite yummy!
Thank you for sharing such a delicious and simply recipe.
This is a great and quick recipe for pao de queijo. I have made pao de queijo from mixes, from frozen packages, from scratch using the stove method prior to baking, etc and this is by far the easiest method with great results! Thank you for posting this.
An alternative to Bob’s Red Mill Tapioca flour is just tapioca flour from the Asian stores/markets, for those that live in areas that have these. They only cost around $0.79-$1.00 per package and these packages have enough for at least 1.5 of the recipe above.
Whole foods only had Bob’s Red Mill Tapioca pearls. Would it be okay to grind them up with my blender into a fine flour and use that?
I made these in my Baby cakes maker! Much better than in the mini muffin tins
Your Pao de Queijo recipe was a life-saver! I always buy the Yoki mix at our local Asian grocery store. My 6th grader did a project on Brazil and I went to go buy some mixes to prepare pao de queijo for her class and they were out, and don’t expect more for 2 weeks. I will never buy the mix again after finding your recipe. It is so awesome, feels like being in Brazil. Wish I could actually go! Thank you for this delicious recipe!
I just made this recipe for my son who has celiac and he loved it. We put a long side Chicken Marsala and it was perfect to sop up all the gravy. Yum! Thank you…will definitely make again very soon.
Love these! And so did a Brazilian friend. She was stunned….”Where did you get this recipe?!” She had been buying the frozen stuff from the Brazilian market, which was pricey and not nearly as good, because she didn’t have a recipe!
I have made these delicious cheese breads and they are irresistible. however I also found when I ran out of tapioca flower that if you substitute a half mixture of self rising flour and mashed potato mix a little more about 2 tablespoons more to make up the balance of the flour mixture you get a very different but similar product. the outside is crisp and the inside is chewy just like the Pao de Queijo you taste a little of the potato. almost like a cheese and potato pirogi filling but with fuller body and taste you also cant eat just one.
I have made these before, thanks to your great (and easy) recipe and a husband who LOVES them, but I am wondering if I can make the batter ahead of time and keep it in the fridge(?). We are having a big Brazilian potluck tomorrow and I would love to be able to just show up ready to pour and bake!
Sorry I didn’t answer your question in time! I would think that would work just fine, as long as you mixed it all up well again before baking. Did you try it?
How far in advance can this batter be prepared? I made these last night and they are beyond delicious! I would really like to be able to make the batter and put it in the pan and set them aside until time to bake, but don’t know if they would still rise as beautifully if they sat out for 30 minutes or so. Also, have you ever doubled the recipe? Sometimes doubling doesn’t work with baking, but would definitely need more for a dinner party. I have two growing boys and a husband, and not a crumb was left!
I don’t know what went wrong but my pao de queijo didn’t look like rolls at all. They went flat even when they’re still in the oven. I tried to do it exactly as your recipe said. But they’re still delicious though, my daughter loved it!