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Brazilian

Pão de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread)

A chewy Brazilian cheese bread made with tapioca starch, milk, egg, and cheese.

Published and reviewed by Kitchgrow on 1 September 2026Updated

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Pão de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread)

37 mintotal

25 min hands-on12 min hands-off

Prep 15 min · Cook 10 min

Serves
2
Difficulty
Medium
Spice
None
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Ingredients

Quantities are for 2 servings.

You'll need: Oven, Stovetop.

Includes brief cooling after the hot milk is mixed into the tapioca starch before adding the egg.

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line a baking tray and keep the tapioca starch ready in a mixing bowl.

  2. Heat the milk, neutral oil, and salt in a small pan until steaming and just starting to bubble at the edges.

  3. Pour the hot milk mixture over the tapioca starch and stir firmly until the starch looks slightly gelatinous and clumpy.

  4. Cool for 5 minutes, then mix in the beaten egg. Add both cheeses and stir until a sticky dough forms.

    5 min

  5. Shape small balls with lightly oiled hands and place them on the tray with space between each one.

  6. Bake for 18–22 minutes, until puffed, lightly golden, and dry on the outside. Serve warm.

    18–22 min

How to tell it's done

The outside should be lightly crisp and dry, while the inside stays stretchy, airy, and chewy.

Getting it right

Tip

Let the hot starch mixture cool briefly before adding egg so the egg blends in instead of scrambling.

What to serve it with

Serve warm as a snack with coffee or alongside soups and stews.

Common mistakes

The dough is too runny to shape.
Pour the milk over the starch genuinely hot and let the mixture cool before the egg goes in. That scalding is what gelatinises the tapioca; done with warm milk, the dough stays loose and no amount of extra starch fixes the texture.
They come out flat and dense.
Bake them in a properly hot oven and do not open the door early. Pão de queijo puffs on steam alone — there is no raising agent — and a cool oven or a dropped temperature collapses them.

Substitutions

  • Use another firm grating cheese if Parmesan is unavailable, but keep some aged cheese for savory depth.
  • Do not replace tapioca starch with wheat flour; the chewy pão de queijo texture depends on tapioca starch.
  • Packaged grated cheese can contain anti-caking agents, so check labels for allergen and additive concerns.

Storing and reheating

Best warm from the oven. Baked ones keep two days and revive in a hot oven for five minutes. Shaped raw balls freeze for three months and bake straight from frozen with a few extra minutes, which is how most Brazilian households keep them.