Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pāo de Queijo)

Name: Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pāo de Queijo)
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup vegetable oil; 1/2 cup milk; 2 eggs; 1/2 tsp salt; 1 and 1/2 cups tapioca flour; 1 cups shredded mozzarella (plus more for the top)

The easiest gluten free bread recipe you can bake in under 30 mins. The batter is made in a blender and baked until golden, light and puffed.

Sometimes there are recipes you see online and think nooooooooo wwwwayyyyyyy this is going to work. Those ingredients and that combination cannot yield that result and yet I get proved wrong some times and this is one of those times. These Brazilian cheese breads are so simple to make, we literally blend the ingredients together and it is baked until golden, puffed and delicious. These bread puffs are yummy when hot out of the oven. They can be served as a side dish, paired with anything. Did I mention they are gluten free? Oh yes, they are GLUTEN FREE TOO!

What ingredients do you need to make these Brazilian cheese bread?

To make these popovers we need tapioca flour (there is no substitute for it), vegetable oil, milk, eggs, mozzarella cheese, salt. I also liked adding a little black pepper into the batter. I have not substituted the ingredients in this recipe some other recipes suggest a combination of cheeses but I have not tested this one with options.

What equipment do you need to make these Brazilian cheese bread?

To make the batter we need a blender, the popovers are baked in a cupcake/muffin tray in the oven. I have sprayed the tin with oil but you can use a brush and brush each cavity with oil or melted butter. I do this step even when I am using a non stick just to make sure it does not stick to the tray once baked.

How to make and serve these Brazilian cheese bread?

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C and spray a non stick cupcake tray with oil or brush with melted butter. In a blender add the eggs, oil, milk, tapioca flour, salt and blend until smooth. Add the shredded mozzarella cheese and pulse until just combined. Pour into the prepared tin 3/4th of the way as they will rise. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until risen, golden and puffed up. Once they are baked you can serve them as a side with chicken, fish, beef, gravy and peas. They are so simple and yummy. I also like serving them with shepherds pie. They are best served and eaten hot/warm.

Storing this bread and make ahead options:

Once they are baked the leftovers can be stored in air tight containers at room temperature for 1-2 days. I like to reheat them in the oven for 4-5 minutes at 180 deg C. You can also make the batter ahead of time – up to 2 hours ahead and bake as recommended.

Looking for more side dish recipes?

Spruced up dinner rolls
Quinoa salad
Spring salad
Tomato puff

Now that we have covered how to make this Brazilian cheese bread recipe, you can have a look at the recipe video on my socials but let’s get to it. Don’t forget to follow along for more fun recipe inspiration.

If you try this recipe out, don’t forget to share it with me on pinterest & instagram so I can see how it turned out. I’d love nothing more than to chat with you on your cooking/baking.