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Light, airy, and irresistibly cheesy, this Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão De Queijo) is easy to make at home with simple ingredients and always turns out delicious. These little bites are naturally gluten-free, freezer-friendly, crisp on the outside, and soft and chewy in the middle, just like the warm Brazilian cheese bread you get at a restaurant.
5 Star Reviews ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Best recipe I’ve found. It’s delicious, crisp outside, soft inside and all-round incredible.” – TWNZMAMA2
“This is an amazing recipe! I tried to make Brazilian cheese bread for the first time and the balls turned out how I used to get them frozen from a store. The flavor, taste, and texture are exactly what I get from an expensive tiny bag at a store.” – Yana
“I’ve been making these for a long time and they are absolutely delicious! Want to add that they freeze and bake perfectly as though you just made the batter. Thanks again for sharing your recipe!” – Jenna
A Taste of Brazil at Home
I love this recipe because it brings a little taste of Brazil right into my kitchen. My husband went to Brazil back in the 90s and completely fell in love with these little Brazilian cheese bread bites. He talked about them all the time, but I had no idea what he meant until years later when we found them at Tucanos Brazilian Grill in Utah. The first time I tried one, I totally understood the hype. The smell was amazing, and that warm, cheesy, chewy bite was so good I had to stop myself from eating the whole basket.
Now I make this Brazilian Cheese Bread at home all the time, and it is always a hit with family and friends. I love that it feels special, but the ingredients are simple and the process is easy once you do it once.
I also love serving these with a full Brazilian-inspired meal. They pair so well with our Brazilian Rice and Beans and Brazilian Limeade.
I’m so excited for you to try them!
🩷 Erica
Table of Contents
- 5 Star Reviews ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- A Taste of Brazil at Home
- Why This Brazilian Cheese Bread Works
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- How to Make Brazilian Cheese Bread
- Quick Blender Method (optional):
- Recipe Tips
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Troubleshooting
- Make Ahead and Storage
- More Hot Bread Recipes
- Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pao de Queijo) Recipe
Why This Brazilian Cheese Bread Works
This recipe works because a few simple things come together the right way.
- Tapioca flour (tapioca starch) gives Brazilian cheese bread its signature chewy texture and helps the puffs rise.
- Heating the milk, oil, and salt before mixing in the tapioca flour helps create the right dough texture in the traditional method.
- Eggs and cheese give the dough structure, flavor, and that soft, stretchy interior.
- Not overbaking keeps the centers chewy instead of dry. A soft, slightly gooey center is normal for Brazilian cheese bread. That texture is part of what makes it so good.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Milk, oil, and salt – These are heated together to create the base and help build the dough texture.
- Tapioca flour (tapioca starch) – This is the key ingredient that makes Brazilian cheese bread chewy and naturally gluten-free.
- Eggs – Eggs help bind the dough and give the puffs structure as they bake.
- Parmesan and cheddar cheese – A mix of Parmesan and sharp or medium cheddar gives a bold, salty, cheesy flavor that works really well.
Ingredient Additions and Substitutions
- Cheese options – Try gouda, mozzarella, or gruyère for a different flavor twist.
- Tapioca flour types – You can use regular tapioca flour (tapioca starch). In Brazilian recipes, you may also see sour tapioca flour (polvilho azedo) and sweet tapioca flour (polvilho doce), which give slightly different flavor and chew.
- Milk – Whole milk gives the richest texture, but 2% milk can work if that is what you have.
- Oil – Vegetable oil is my go-to, but another neutral oil works too.
- More Parmesan – If you like a stronger, saltier flavor, you can increase the Parmesan slightly and reduce the cheddar a little.
- Milder flavor – Use medium cheddar instead of sharp cheddar for a less bold taste.
How to Make Brazilian Cheese Bread
- In a saucepan, warm the milk, oil, and salt until it begins to simmer. Remove from heat.
- Gradually stir in tapioca flour until the dough becomes grainy and gelatinous.
- Transfer to a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until smooth and cooled slightly.
- Whisk the eggs separately. With the mixer running, add the eggs in two batches, letting each fully incorporate. Then mix in the cheese until the dough is sticky and stretchy.
- Use a cookie scoop or spoon to form 1-2 inch balls.
- Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 25-28 minutes until puffed and golden.
Quick Blender Method (optional):
This is the best option when I want Brazilian cheese bread fast or I do not feel like pulling out the mixer.
- Fill and bake – Pour or spoon the batter into the mini muffin tin. Fill each cup about ¾ full to give them room to puff. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until puffed and lightly golden. Do not overbake.
- Preheat and prep the pan – Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a mini muffin tin well.
- Blend the batter base – Add all ingredients except the cheese to a blender. Blend until smooth, about 20 seconds, scraping down the sides if needed.
- Add the cheese – Pulse in the cheese 3 to 4 times until evenly incorporated. Do not overblend once the cheese is added.
Blender Method Notes
- The batter is thinner than the traditional dough, so a mini muffin tin works best.
- If you use a regular muffin tin, they may spread more and need a few extra minutes.
- The outside texture is a little more bread-like, and the inside is still soft and chewy.
Recipe Tips
- Use tapioca flour, not cassava flour – They are not exactly the same, and tapioca flour gives the best texture for this recipe.
- Shred your own cheese – Freshly shredded cheese melts better and gives better flavor.
- Expect sticky dough – The dough should be soft, stretchy, and sticky, somewhere between cookie dough and thick batter.
- Use a cookie scoop – This makes portioning easier and keeps the cheese breads more even in size.
- Wet or spray your scoop – This helps prevent the dough from sticking.
- Do not overbake – Bake just until puffed and lightly golden so the center stays chewy.
- A slightly gooey center is normal – That chewy, soft middle is part of what makes Brazilian cheese bread so good.
Frequently Asked Questions
Brazilian Cheese Bread, also called pão de queijo, is a traditional Brazilian cheese bread made with tapioca flour instead of wheat flour. That is what gives it its chewy texture. It is naturally gluten-free and does not require yeast.
It is commonly pronounced “pow duh kay-zhu” (you may also hear slightly different pronunciations depending on accent).
Yes! That gooey center is part of the charm. Tapioca flour naturally creates a chewy texture even when fully cooked.
That’s totally normal! The dough should be soft, stretchy, and sticky—somewhere between cake batter and cookie dough. Use a cookie scoop sprayed with cooking spray or dipped in water to make portioning easier.
Yes. The blender method is a great shortcut, especially when using a mini muffin tin. It is quick, easy, and perfect for busy days.
Troubleshooting
- Why did my Brazilian Cheese Bread turn out flat? Usually the dough or batter was too runny. Use tapioca flour, measure carefully, and use a mini muffin tin for the blender method.
- Why are they dense instead of airy? This can happen from too much flour, uneven mixing, or overmixing. Measure carefully and mix just until combined.
- Why did they deflate after baking? A little settling is normal. Big deflating can happen if they were underbaked or the batter was too thin.
- Why did they stick to the pan? Grease the pan well, especially for the blender method, and let them cool briefly before removing.
Make Ahead and Storage
This Brazilian Cheese Bread is best served warm, but it stores and freezes really well.
- Room temperature – Store in an airtight container for 1 to 2 days
- Refrigerator – Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days
- Freezer (baked) – Freeze in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 2 months
- Freezer (unbaked batter) – Scoop into silicone molds or portion onto a tray, freeze, then bake from frozen with a few extra minutes added
Reheating Tips
- Microwave – Heat 1 to 2 rolls for 10 to 15 seconds (they will be softer and less crisp)
- Oven (350°F) – Reheat for 5 to 8 minutes until warmed through and lightly crisp
- Air fryer – Reheat for 1 to 2 minutes
More Hot Bread Recipes
- Pani Popo (Samoan Coconut Rolls)
- Mom’s Homemade Rolls
- Easy Monkey Bread
- Irish Soda Bread
- Rosemary Garlic Focaccia Bread
This Brazilian Cheese Bread recipe is one of my favorite breads to make when I want something warm, cheesy, and a little special without a lot of fuss. It is simple, naturally gluten-free. I’d love to hear what you think! Drop a comment below and let me know how it turned out. 💛
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 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 a cookie 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
- Use tapioca flour (tapioca starch), not cassava flour.
- Freshly shredded cheese melts better and gives the best flavor.
- Dough should be sticky and stretchy, this is normal.
- A cookie scoop dipped in water or sprayed with nonstick spray makes portioning easier.
- Do not over-bake or the centers can lose their chewy texture.
- A soft, slightly gooey center is normal and expected.
- Traditional method bakes at 350°F on a sheet pan.
- Quick blender method bakes at 400°F in a mini muffin tin.
- Store leftovers airtight at room temp for 1 to 2 days, in the fridge up to 3 days, or freeze up to 2 months.
- Reheat in the oven or air fryer for the best texture.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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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.