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Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo)

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Yummy Brazilian cheese bread (Pão de Queijo) recipe. Easy 20 mins recipe and yields the best homemade Brazilian cheese bread (Pão de Queijo) that you are going to love!

Yummy Brazilian cheese bread (Pão de Queijo) recipe. Easy 20 mins recipe, they're SO GOOD and you can't stop eating them. | rasamalaysia.com

loads of Brazilian cheese rolls or Pão de Queijo fresh out of the oven
Originally published in 2010, updated with new photos. 

I Love Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo)

When I was working in LA, every week my colleagues and I would go to The Farmers Market at the Grove for the Brazilian BBQ.

Pampas Grill—the stall selling the BBQ—is probably one of the most popular eateries at the Farmers Market.

There is always a long line of patrons lining up for the hot-off-the-grill, juicy, and scrumptious Brazilian BBQ, and the amazing Brazilian cheese bread, or “Pão de Queijo” – including the Hollywood kind.

One time, the ex-husband of Courtney Cox, David Arquette and his entourage were lining behind me.

basket of freshly baked Brazilian cheese bread,or Pão de Queijo ready to serve

What are Brazilian Cheese Rolls (Pão de Queijo)

While the meats served at Pampas Grill are amazingly good, myself and others went there mostly for this Pão de Queijo, or Brazilian cheese bread.

If you haven’t had Brazilian cheese bread, you are missing out.

Pão de Queijo are mini cheesy puffs in ball-like shape that are soft but chewy, puffy and addictive.

I would load up a bunch of them to go with the meats.

Lunch was always good.

Puffy Brazilian cheese bread (Pão de Queijo) in hand ready to eat

Brazilian Cheese Rolls (Pão de Queijo) at Home!

Earlier this year, when Elise of Simply Recipes posted her Pão de Queijo recipe, I was so excited to finally make my own Brazilian Cheese Bread but I was pregnant then and followed a very strict diet that precluded me from eating cheese.

Anyway, time flies and now that Baby G is here, I am sort of on a cheese binge these days.

I finally made the Brazilian Cheese Bread.

I finished all of them in practically 15 minutes and immediately made a second batch.

I just love these soft, fluffy, chewy, and cheesy Brazilian cheese rolls.

They are absolutely delightful and takes less than 30 minutes from prep to out of oven.

Soft, chewy center of Brazilian cheese bread or Pão de Queijo

This Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo) recipe is a keeper and I am sure this is going to be one of my favorite baking recipes.

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Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo) Recipe

Yummy Brazilian cheese bread (Pão de Queijo) recipe. Easy 20 mins recipe, they're SO GOOD and you can't stop eating them. 

Prep Time 10 minutes
Baking Time 20 minutes
Servings 20
Calories 87 kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 egg at room temperature
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 2/3 cup milk
  • Scant 1 1/2 cups (170 grams) tapioca flour (tapioca starch)
  • 1/2 cup packed grated cheese of your choice (about 100 grams). I like the combination of cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese.
  • 1 heaping teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease a mini muffin tin generously. Put all of the ingredients into a blender and pulse until smooth. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the blender so that everything gets blended well, it will yield about 2 cups batter.
  2. Transfer the batter into the mini muffin tins. Fill up about 3/4 full. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, until all puffy and just lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack for a few minutes. Eat while warm or save to reheat later.

Recipe Notes

You can buy tapioca flour or tapioca starch at Asian food stores such as 99 Ranch Market. It's also available at Whole Foods, or online, according to Simply Recipes.

Nutrition Facts
Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo) Recipe
Amount Per Serving (20 g)
Calories 87 Calories from Fat 54
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 6g 9%
Saturated Fat 2g 10%
Cholesterol 14mg 5%
Sodium 156mg 7%
Total Carbohydrates 8g 3%
Sugars 0.5g
Protein 2g 4%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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148 COMMENTS... read them below or add one

  4. Hi Rasa

    Thanks for the recipe, these look yummy and easy enough for me to try, i have one question, what does it mean when you say:

    Scant 1 1/2 cups (170 grams) tapioca flour (tapioca starch)

    What is Scant?

    Thanks again Rasa!

    Reply

  7. have never heard of brazilian cheese bread but this looks so good! when you said bread, i was worried abt having to knead dough/let it rise etc etc but there’s none of that here. cant wait to try out this recipe!

    Reply

  9. that looks delicious! just wanted to know what would be a substitute for the tapioca flour?
    i just have wheat flour, corn flour, all purpose flour and maize flour…

    Reply

  10. Great photo! You can pick up the Minas Gerais cheese at the Brazilian Mercado on Venice Bl in Culver City. Other cheeses will work of course if you can’t find the queijo Minas, but it’s a whole different bite with that Minas Gerais cheese, now imported from Brazil. Bom apetite!

    Reply

  12. I just just made these! AMAZINGLY SIMPLE! So little to wash up! I’m bringing this over for a Xmas Eve Dinner later tonight.

    Thanks for saving my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Have a great Xmas holiday and a very happy new year ahead, to you and your lil family! :D

    Reply

  14. these look so cute! I am thinking about making these cuties, but all i have at home is just bread flour. Can i use bread flour instead or do i really need to use tapioca flour?

    Reply

  15. Absolutely great. My wife, who does not like cheese, devoured these. Took some to a party last night, should have baked more. As with every recipe I have tried from your site, it was excellent. Keep up the great work!

    Reply

  17. have never heard of brazilian cheese bread but this looks so good! when you said bread, i was worried abt having to knead dough/let it rise etc etc but there’s none of that here. cant wait to try out this recipe!

    Reply

  21. Omg looks so delicious! But just wondering if i were to use the normal cupcakes size pan, is the temp and cooking time still the same as the mini ones?

    Reply

  23. Thanks for this recipe (and for your website). I have tried it several times, and I LOVE them. But I do have one question: Although the texture outside is perfect, the center appears semi-translucent and the texture is a little gummy. I have tried baking them longer, but they still appear that way, and only the outside gets more crisp. Is this how the center should be? (Oddly enough, the day after I bake them, the center actually changes into a more bread-like look and texture).
    Thanks again, I look forward to your book!

    Reply

  24. Hi Bee, I hope you are enjoying motherhood!
    I made the cheese bread today and was wondering if they are really supposed to be super moist and elastic in the middle? I didn’t have a mini-muffin pan, so I just used the regular sized ones. I did bake them for more than 20 min. Is there a way to salvage the batch, can I re-bake them for a few min. considering they have already cooled?

    Reply

  25. Hi I’ve made these using recipes I’ve found online but they don’t quite taste exactly like those sold in bakeries, albeit they’re quite similar. Hmm
    I’m wondering if you’ve tried the bread from provenance in Singapore or sun moulin at the basement of shaw?? Because these buns are sold there and I’m wondering if you know how to duplicate them? (:
    Oh and I’m wondering if the type of cheese used matters, I tried with cheddar an parmesan and once with parmesan but both were rather similar.
    Also, I do not like the smell of olive oil when baking- will it be better if i use butter or are there any better alternatives??

    Cheers, Fiona (:

    Reply

    • I tried using mozzarella. The taste is similar to Provence but the skin is not as crispy. This skin is smoother and oiler.

      Reply

  26. YES! I finally found a pao de queijo recipe that is simple! I’m korean but born and raised in brazil. i never knew how to make pao de queijo, i’d either buy them or make them from the packages where u just mix water (by the way, those are terrible!) but ill definitely try these out and see how they are. thank yoU!

    Reply

  27. I wound up doubling the recipe, and to one half I made it as written (with a bit less salt) and the second (and third) batch I added more salt and more cheese. They were good, but chewy. I shared them with a Colombian and he said they were just like a South American bread he grew up with and he loved them. My family devoured them, so they must have been alright :P

    Thanks for always having amazing recipes!

    Reply

  28. Just made this earlier – I must have overbaked the first batch cos’ they turned out hard & crispy but yummy all the same! The second batch was much better – crunchy on the outside & chewy on the inside. Thanks for the recipe ! By the way, I wonder if I could omit the cheese & make it plain, to eat with kaya? They do remind me of ‘kaya balls’ !

    Reply

  29. OMG thank you so much for posting this! I work at a bank and one of our clients brought in these amazing rolls a couple of times and each time I have missed him and didn’t have a chance to ask him for the recipe. I also had a hard time finding the recipe online because if you look up cheese and rolls you will come up with a million plus results. I didn’t know these were Brazilian rolls. I am so excited to try this recipe out! Thanks again!

    Reply

  30. Great recipe, easy to make and delicious to eat. Very convenient for working mums. My kids like them too.

    Reply

  31. I couldn’t find tapioca flour or starch in the stores in Japan. Can I substitute it with cornflour or potato starch (katakuriko) or a mixture of both?

    Reply

  35. hello here, can I use a hand blender to mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl instead of a blender?

    looks easy and fast to make!!

    Reply

  36. Hi Bee,
    My bread deflated immediately after
    I took them from the oven. And the center of the bread is very hollow.
    Can you tell me what I did wrong!?
    Thanks.

    Reply

  37. I had the same problem as Feibe. My bread is flat and deflated. I took it out when the edges looks brown and when I took them out the whole bottom was over cooked and crispy. :(

    Reply

  38. I made this over the weekend and must had something wrong because the outside was crunchy! Do you recommend I take out it exactly 20 mins because I did leave it in for a few extra minutes.

    Reply

  39. My husband and I LOVE pao de queijo! This recipe was much easier than the last one I tried and they worked out really well. They were a bit salty for my taste so next time I’ll probably cut back on the salt. Thank you for the quick and easy recipe!

    Reply

  40. Our family love cheesebread so i tried your recipe and they all loved it, i added a little sugar just to suit our taste. This will now be a reugular thing in our weekly family bbq.

    i love your Kung Pao chicken, and whenever i crave for a chinese food i browse first your site.

    Regards and thank you!

    Reply

  42. I have made these twice now, the first time I made it, I followed it to the letter and my son finished all of it.. The second time I made it, I added some bacon bits and then cut back on the salt. It tasted great!
    thanks for all your wonderful recipe.

    Reply

  43. hi! ive made this recipe twice and i always hava a problem with it sticking to tin. ive put oil liberally using canola oil. is it because i used canola oil instead of olive oil? this recipe is really yummy, may husband and i can easily eat these babys in one seating. hope u can help me with this, thanks so much for the recipe. :)

    Reply

  44. Hi,
    I made it yesterday, but i dont get the hollow inside the cake. N mine just like mochi or kue kranjang inmy country Indonesia. What’s wrong? Help pls. But the taste is very good, just i want the hollow like yours. Thanks for sharing the recipe

    Reply

  45. One of the things I love about this site is the eclectic mix of recipes, from Asian to Western baked goods! Bee, I have your cookbook, and also visit this site frequently as I’ve found your recipes to be delicious, to our taste, and very reliable. I’ve not found a clunker yet.

    This bread, just amazingly delicious. I live in the sticks in a rural area, had to Amazon the tapioca flour. Made my first batch, looked weird, never seen “batter” this thin and runny. Whatever, I thought, put it in the oven and don’t even peak for 15 min. I didn’t expect much from the way the batter looked. Peaked in at 15 min, and wow! Looked like mini popovers! When they were done, three of us polished off 24 of these in record time while still warm and wanted more.

    I’ve made them several times since then, it’s one of my standard recipes now. I’d had cheese bread before in Latin areas, nothing to compare with these in flavor chewiness. Outstanding!

    Reply

    • Hi Sev, thanks so much for your sweet comment. Awww, I am so glad to have you as a reader. I know, this is the most amazing cheese bread recipe ever and they are so addictive. I finished mine in no time and had to make them the next day. I am so glad you love these. Thanks for your kind support! :)

      Reply

  46. Just tried your recipe. Tastes delicious except that the bread doesn’t look anything like yours. The centre actually sank and looks oily!

    Reply

  48. Hey!
    I live at the Pão de Queijo’s land, the state of Minas Gerais, in Brazil. Here, we usually make these buns with cured cheese, like parmesan cheese (here, we have the amazing Canastra cheese). Another tip: we do it in another way. Boil the milk, the oil and the salt together, combine with the tapioca and mix it well, making the liquid get all the grains of flour. Let it cool and add the cheese and the egg, kneading with your hands. Next, you don’t need to put it on the muffin tin. Just put some oil in your hands and shape the dough into the buns. You gonna have another effect on this, trust me!
    BTW, I love your site!

    Reply

  49. I am Brazilian there are different recipes, I’ll try to get an original recipe that I make here, obs I’m not good at English then I will use the google translator, sorry for mistakes

    come on

    ingredients

    1 cup milk
    50 ml of soybean oil
    50 ml of water
    250 g of polvilho de mandioca but in the case of you is the substitute flour tapioca
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1 egg
    250 g of Minas cheese (half cure or standard) butin the case of you use grated Parmesan

    How to prepare

    1 – In a saucepan place water, milk and oil until it begins to boil
    2 In a bowl place the tapioca flour and the salt
    3- After it boils, add the mixture to the pan in the bowl of tapioca flour, scalding it
    4- When the dough is warm, add the egg and cheese
    5- Knead the dough well until it is uniform and little sticking hands
    6- Take the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, so that the dough is firm
    7 Remove the dough from the refrigerator
    8. Grease hands with oil and form balls with the dough, place the balls on greased baking sheet with oil
    9. Bake in preheated oven until the cheese rolls are golden

    *the oven to 180 degrees Celsius on average takes 12 minutes throne

    enjoy

    *you can freeze the dough into balls and place when baking as direct and straight to the oven does not need to thaw

    Reply

  51. Does high altitude make a difference? I am at 7000 ft, I wondered if the the temperature or time need to be adjusted. My nephews wife is Brazilian and makes these all the time. But they are not at our altitude.. Just found your site through this recipe and it looks like a great one. I will be trying more of your recipes.. Thanks for your help.

    Reply

  52. Love this, we can not keep a batch in our house. I must make more, for those looking for the flour Publix sells it with the Bob Mills items.

    Reply

  55. Hi, I just made it today, but mine are deflated. I already follow all of the instruction.
    Are you sure this recipe doesn’t need to cook to form a dough ball before bake?

    Reply

  57. Hi!! OMG I’m so happy to see a correct recipe from Pão de Queijo. I am brazilian, and this is an icon of our culinary!! You are awesome!! If u want, I can send some another recipes from here to you taste!! <3

    Reply

  61. Hi there! Just wanted to leave a comment to thank you for this wonderful recipe. We have made this multiple times and followed the recipe to a T and it has yielded yummy Brazilian cheese bread each time! Even my kids are able to do this on their own. I noticed though that the amount of time it’s allowed to bake varies on the pan I use. We love the original recipe, however, we’ve modified it by adding a little grated cheese on top. The ‘cheese-on-top’ version is a hit with the kids!

    Reply

      • Sorry for the late reply. We used a tiny bit of cheddar on top. Using too much will deflate the bread. Thanks again for your awesome recipe!

        Reply

  62. I just saw the recipe today and immediately made some. Delicious! They taste just like the ones I’ve if at Fogo de Chao in ATL!

    Reply

    • Yes! That’s exactly what I was hoping to replicate. The lil cheese breads at Fogo de Chao in Baltimore. I just made these tonight and was disappointed but told husband I was not giving up. I followed directions but did a full cup and a half of tapioca and I used my nutria system blender which pulses. I figured it is a combo of a “scant” too much tapioca, the pulsing blender thing (I don’t have a traditional blender) and based on comments a smidge too much cheese and a smudge too little salt. Mine came out like the photo and it was chewy on inside but there was almost no taste. The actual cheese bread at Fogo reminds me of what a warm cheese nip would taste.

      Next time I will follow it precisely but mix cheddar and Parmesan. I will say my first batch made 24 minis and an additional 6 minis. The 2nd batch came out and did not fall like the first. The only difference was I eyeballed the first batch and the second I took out at exactly 20 min so those of you with issues of the bread falling, I’m guessing it’s cooking a tiny bit too long.

      I won’t give up, because everything else I’ve cooked on this site was amazing and just as pretty as the photos. Thank you, from a huge fan in Annapolis MD

      Reply

  63. Hi! Have you ever made these in regular size muffin tins? I was planning on making these tonight, but just realized that I let a friend borrow my mini muffin pan. Thanks!

    Reply

  64. Hi have you ever made these in regular muffin tins? I was planning on making these tonight and then realized that I let my friend borrow my mini tins recently. Thanks!

    Reply

  65. Hello. I made these yummy breads. It was unfortunate that they stuck to the cup tin although i oiled them generously. Upon the second batch i poured them in cup cakes but they stuck to the paper this time and was difficult to peel. Any ideas? Please

    Reply

      • I have not tried the paper liners, but maybe the temperature was too low and baked too slow? I periodically check my oven temperature to make sure the setting is correct. There have been times in the past where I have had to adjust my baking times.

        Reply

  66. I very excited to found this recipe it look like mochi mochi cheese that I like.I made it , very easy and delicious recipe .thank you so much.

    Reply

  67. I was working with Brazilian company for more than 4 years. My Brazilian colleagues always made this tapioka cheese ball for us. It’s damn good & nice.

    Reply

  68. I couldn’t find tapioca flour at my local market but found that you can use half the amount of rice flour. It didn’t have a nice cavity like in your photo but they were crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. I used sharp cheddar. It didn’t quite have the cheese taste I’d like so next time I’ll try hand mixing in the cheese. This recipe was so easy. Thank you.

    Reply

  69. These are great! My friend made them for me so I had to try making them myself. But I couldn’t eat them all myself… how would you suggest reheating them?

    Btw, they are amazing with raspberry jam!

    Reply

  70. I just finished making these. The recipe was so simple and easy to use. Usually, when I try to make any type of bread, I fail horribly. This is the first time that it came out like the pictures and tastes delicious. Thank you so much for sharing!

    Reply

  71. Just made these again, it’s been a while since I last did this. Definitely must not wait that long again, these are just the most amazingly tasty things ever. So simple, I’ve found that often the fewer ingredients the better the recipe turns out to be. Made them today to go with homemade cream of tomato soup, another simple, few ingredient recipe I have. Puts Campbell’s to shame.

    Still have to try them someday in a larger muffin tin. Another in a long line of superb Rasamalaysia recipes!

    Reply

  72. Best recipe ever, Been using it for years and now it’s a staple during Lunar New Year and Christmas parties. I’ve wondered if it was better to have a thicker mixture or a more watery mixture to make it fluff up?

    Reply

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