Cheesy parmesan bites made with tapioca starch! Well and some other ingredients too. So addictive! They're great to have for tea or snacks. Best eaten warm. Do try these super delish cheesy bites, or also known as Brazilian cheese bread (pao de queijo).
If you like this Brazilian cheese bread, you may also like my spiral curry puffs and shrimp ball fritters.
Recipe Video
Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pao de Queijo)
Cheesy parmesan bites made with tapioca starch! Well and some other ingredients too. So addictive! They're great to have for tea or snacks. Best eaten warm. Do try these super delish cheesy bites, or also known as Brazilian cheese bread (pao de queijo).
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Servings: 30 balls
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk (250 ml)
- ½ cup olive oil (125 ml)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups tapioca starch (500 gr)
- 3 eggs
- 9 oz grated parmesan cheese (250 gr)
Instructions
- In a pot, add in milk, olive oil and salt. Stir everything and bring it to a boil. Turn the heat off and set aside.
- In a bowl, add in tapioca starch. Slowly and carefully pour in the hot milk mixture while mixing everything together at the same time, using a wooden spoon. Mix everything as much as you can.
- Once the mixture is not that hot to handle, mix everything with your hand. It will look crumbly.
- Add in 3 eggs and immediately mix everything together. Then add in parmesan. Mix to incorporate everything and then knead until nothing sticks to your hand. It's going to take a few minutes but don't worry.
- Take a piece of dough and form it into 1 inch balls. Place them on a baking tray with a baking sheet, 1 inch apart.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 400ºF (200ºC) for 25 minutes or until the cheese turns golden brown and the balls are fully cooked. Best eaten warm, enjoy!
What If My Dough Is Sticky (Updated)
- Don't worry. Different flour brands have different results. I know because I tested some brands. Here's what you should do:
- Leave the sticky dough covered for 10-15 minutes. It's going to be more manageable by then. Using a 1 ½ tablespoon (20 ml) ice cream scoop, scoop the dough onto a baking tray with baking sheet (leaving 1 inch apart).
- Then roll the balls on your hand to get smooth balls. Finally bake as instructed.
Nutrition Facts
Calories: 137.2kcal, Carbohydrates: 16.2g, Protein: 3.4g, Fat: 6.9g, Saturated Fat: 2.1g, Cholesterol: 24.8mg, Sodium: 237.1mg, Potassium: 38mg, Sugar: 0.4g, Calcium: 88.3mg, Iron: 0.3mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @elmundoeats and tag #elmundoeats!
Magdalena says
Thank you! Super delicious! Will be definitely making them again 😊
Wondering how can I store and reheat them once baked? And can the dough be prepared in advance and baked the next day?
Bea & Marco says
Happy to hear you liked them 🙂 Store them in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, and reheat at 350F (175C) in the oven for a few minutes. Regarding the dough being prepared in advance, I haven't tried it but I would say no because this type of dough hardens with time. Hope this helps!
Declan says
This worked perfectly. Would not consider myself a baker but they turned out great! One question for all the experts out there. How might I make them a little lighter and fluffier?
Bea & Marco says
Happy to know you liked them 🙂 Thanks for letting us know.
karla says
hello please advise which tapioca starch is best to buy for the bread. I'm in California and there are so many to choose from. what consistency or colors am i looking for? thank you for sharing your recipes
Bea says
Hi! I like to use the brand Yoki, I don't know if you can find it at your place. Perhaps in the Latin American aisles? It's very white in colour with very fine texture, similar to corn starch. hope it helps and let me know how it goes.
angela says
HI,
can I turn the mixture due to not having enough tapioca four into bread not small rolls
cheers
Bea says
Hi Angela! Honestly I haven't tried it so I can't really say. Sorry though!
Naomi says
Perfect on my first try, I am really impressed and so were my Brazillian friends. Obregada!!!
Bea says
I'm so happy to know you and your friends liked it! Thanks for the feedback Naomi!
Silvia says
Hi, Bea!
I made Pao de Queijo for the first time and I am super happy with the results. I got 43 balls out of the recipe! The dough was a little sticky at first, but I let it rest per your instructions and used a cookie scoop and then rolled them with my hands. Thank you for this awesome recipe!
Bea says
Awesome, I'm glad to hear that Silvia! Thank you so much for your feedback 😍!
Ana says
Finally, I found out an amzing Brazilian cheese bun recipe! Thank you for sharing,
Bev says
Hi, Bea! Thank you for sharing your recipe with us! I’ve tried making this a few times but I would end up with a super watery and runny dough (unlike video) every time after adding the eggs and after adding the cheese and kneading for a long time, it’s still runny and making it impossible to shape into balls. So I always end up with cheese biscuits instead of the cute little balls shown in your video. 🙁
Is there a reason why this keeps happening to me? I don’t see anyone else having the same problem. Would love to hear from you! 🙂
Bea says
Hi Bev! Did you use the same exact measurements as mentioned in the recipe? Was there something that you changed/sub for the ingredients? The dough is the opposite of runny, it takes a few minutes to bring it together.
Bev says
Hey, Bea! Thanks for getting back to me. Everything was the same! Measurements and ingredients. Which was why I found it strange that it turned runny! ☹️
Bea says
Hi Bev! Yes it's very strange because for me, it's the opposite of runny. It takes quite an effort bring the dough together. Could it be the type of flour 🤔
June says
I use cheddar as substitute as I have a lot leftover. I was skeptical when the dough was so fragile to mold at first. But voila! The inner and outer textures turned out so fine aft baking. Awesome recipe! 😋🙌🏽
Bea says
That's great June, thank you for your feedback!
Jen says
Hi! I have a question. Can I use regular flour or corn starch instead? Because I don’t have tapioca starch or tapioca flour.
Juliana says
I just tried this recipe and it's amazing! I'm Brazilian so I can attest this is the real deal. I used half of parmesan and half of Monterey Jack (because I didn't have enough parmesan). I also put a piece of the parmesan rind in the milk and oil to boil for some added flavor.
It turned out perfect! My mother asked for the recipe (she's been making these her whole life, but she likes this recipe better.
Thanks so much!
Bea says
Oh coming from a Brazilian and even her mother approves, well that makes me beyond happy 😆! We simply LOVE these, they’re so addictive you can’t stop munching on them 🤣. Thank you for your feedback, warm regards to you and your mother 😍!