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Bacon Parmesan Gougeres - cheesy and savory Gougeres or French cheese puffs recipe. Every bite is loaded with bacon bits and Parmesan cheese, so good!
I recently discontinued the hot food and snack meal plan at my son’s preschool because he wasn’t eating and was wasting the food daily.
As a result, I’ve been packing his lunch box and snacks every day.
For his snacks, I’ve been baking simple breads and cheese puffs, such as cheesy garlic bread, mini monkey bread, gougeres (or French cheese puffs), Brazilian cheese bread, choux pastry, and cheese breadsticks.
All these snacks are easy to make and can be whipped up quickly without turning the kitchen into a disaster zone.
More importantly, we all love these breads and puffs!
I’ve made the regular gougères recipe from my archive a few times, but little G seems to be getting bored with it.
I had a Bacon and Parmesan Gougeres recipe saved from Fine Cooking magazine earlier this year, so I decided to give it a try this past week.
Since little G loves bacon (both regular and Canadian bacon) and cheese, I was almost certain he would enjoy these cheese puffs as an afternoon snack.
I ran out of regular bacon, so I used Canadian bacon for these gougeres. I diced it into small bits and mixed it into the dough.
I love that every bite is a hidden treasure of bacon; the cheesy gougeres tasted rich, savory, and absolutely mouthwatering fresh out of the oven.
We enjoyed them a lot.
Have a wonderful week, and I hope you get to try this amazing Bacon Parmesan Gougeres recipe soon!
Ingredients
- Bacon
- Whole milk
- Unsalted butter
- Onion powder
- Cayene
- Bread flour
- Parmesan cheese
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
How To Make This Recipe
Step 1. Heat the oven to 425°F (218°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium-low heat until crisp but not too dark. If using Canadian bacon, dice it into small pieces. Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels and reserve 1/4 cup of the rendered fat. When the bacon is cool, chop it to make 1/2 cup.
Step 2. Bring the milk, 1/2 cup of water, the butter, and the reserved bacon fat to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the salt, onion powder, sugar, and cayenne.
Step 3. Add the flour and, using a wooden spoon, stir very quickly in one direction. The flour will quickly absorb the liquid and form a dough. Continue stirring to cook the flour and simmer off more of the moisture until the dough pulls away from the sides of the saucepan, about one to two additional minutes.
Step 4. Transfer the dough to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on medium speed until each is incorporated into the dough, which will change from shiny to sticky as the eggs are added. On low speed, stir in 1 cup of the Parmesan and the bacon (or Canadian bacon) until just combined.
Step 5. Using a small ice cream scoop (about 2 inches [5 cm] in diameter), scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets. Top the gougeres with an equal amount of the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan.
Step 6. Bake until puffed and golden, about 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is only 100 calories per serving.
What To Serve With This Recipe
For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
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Bacon Parmesan Gougeres (Cheese Puffs)
Ingredients
- 4 strips thick-sliced bacon , or 4 slices Canadian Bacon
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
- 1-1/4 cups bread flour, sifted
- 3 large eggs
- 1-1/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 425°F (218°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium-low heat until crisp but not too dark. If using Canadian bacon, dice it into small pieces. Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels and reserve 1/4 cup of the rendered fat. When the bacon is cool, chop it to make 1/2 cup.
- Bring the milk, 1/2 cup of water, the butter, and the reserved bacon fat to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the salt, onion powder, sugar, and cayenne.
- Add the flour and, using a wooden spoon, stir very quickly in one direction. The flour will quickly absorb the liquid and form a dough. Continue stirring to cook the flour and simmer off more of the moisture until the dough pulls away from the sides of the saucepan, about one to two additional minutes.
- Transfer the dough to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on medium speed until each is incorporated into the dough, which will change from shiny to sticky as the eggs are added. On low speed, stir in 1 cup of the Parmesan and the bacon (or Canadian bacon) until just combined.
- Using a small ice cream scoop (about 2 inches [5 cm] in diameter), scoop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets. Top the gougeres with an equal amount of the remaining 1/4 cup of Parmesan.
- Bake until puffed and golden, about 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I would recommend adding an herb to this recipe – such as oregano; but overall I think it lacks flavor and I even added a clove of garlic w/ kosher salt to make a paste, and used 3 different cheeses for flavor: parmesan, pecorino and sharp cheddar. I used canadian bacon as well and used 5 pieces.
I am definately making these for our Sunday Mothers Day meal. Thanks they look amazing
Can these be frozen?
I think so.
Thank
can I use all purpose flour if I don’t have bread flour? will that make any difference in the result? thanks
I think should be OK. :)
Sounds really good. Can’t wait to try. Is there any way you could list calories and things?
Hi Carol, good suggestion, I will consider it, but let’s just eat and enjoy and thank of calories later for now. ;)
If using Canadian bacon, and there isn’t enough rendered fat, would it be ok to use vegetable oil? – I was also thinking of using diced prosciutto as a special treat :-)
Oooh la la, diced prosciutto, how come I didn’t think about that. Yes, I think you can use a little vegetable oil…let me know how’s your experiment! :)
Can’t wait to try making this! I love cheesy bread!
Lovely! Can’t wait for the updated crust recipe.