In the days before we had kids, my husband and I did a lot of travel. We were fortunate enough to visit Brazil, and that country has always held a special place in our hearts. Brazil has the most amazing people and culture. Part of that culture is the food. We ate a lot of street food while we were there, and one of our favorite treats was a cheesy dough ball called pão de queijo. When I came across a post on Kid World Citizen where they shared a Pão de queijo Brazilian Cheese Bread recipe, I was inspired to make my own. I was so excited as we have not had this since we were in Brazil. I could not wait to share this treat with my husband and kids! For more recipes kids will love check out Cooking with Kids.
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Why kids love making Pão de queijo
Pão de queijo is a great recipe to make with kids. After you initially mix the sticky dough, kids can help to roll it into balls.
Ingredients
- vegetable oil
- whole milk
- tapioca flour
- shredded mozzarella cheese
- Parmesan cheese
- eggs
- salt
How to make Brazilian cheese puffs
Pão de queijo uses tapioca flour which you can find online or at many local stores.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.
Mix together the oil and milk and heat in a saucepan until just boiling.
Add the milk and oil to a large bowl containing the tapioca flour.
Knead the mixture and add all of the other ingredients and knead again until a dough forms.
Roll into ping pong sized balls and place on greased cookie sheet.
Bake for 25 minutes.
I showed my kids how they could roll ping pong sized balls and place them on a baking sheet sprayed coated with cooking spray. Rolling the pão de queijo reminded them of playing with play dough, so they were all too happy to roll balls for me.
We made a full cookie pan of pão de queijo, but we had lots of dough left over so we kept on rolling and froze the remainder of the balls. They keep fine in the freezer and you can just pop them in the oven when you want some more. And you WILL want some more!
When baked, the pão de queijo balls turn a pretty golden color. The outside of the bread is nice and crisp and the inside in gooey and cheesy.
Break one open and enjoy the Brazilian cheesy bread goodness. The tapioca flour gives the pão de queijo a nice chewy texture.
This snack was just as good as we remembered and now we have a whole new generation of pão de queijo fans in our house.
This is a simple pão de queijo recipe that will bring home the flavors of Brazil!
📖 Recipe
Food Fun Friday: Pão de queijo Recipe -Brazilian Cheese Bread
Ingredients
- ½ cup oil
- 1 cup milk
- 24 oz tapioca flour
- 10 oz shredded mozzarella
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese
- 4 eggs
- Few pinches of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a cookie sheet.
- Mix together the oil and milk and heat until just boiling.
- Add the milk and oil to a large bowl containing the tapioca flour.
- Knead the mixture and add all of the other ingredients and knead again until a dough forms.
- Roll into ping pong sized balls and place on greased cookie sheet.
- Bake for 25 minutes.
Video
Nutrition
This nutritional information is approximate and was calculated using online calculators. Your nutritional information may vary depending on numerous factors.
Frequently asked questions
You can certainly substitute shredded cheddar cheese for the mozzarella.
While you can use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, it is not necessary. We just did the mixing in a bowl with a spatula.
Yes, Brazilian cheese bread is gluten free!
Vicky
I hear you Pam.
Vicky
If you love cheese, this is for you!
Vicky
They are very convenient.
Vicky
Thank you Marlee.
Vicky
Thanks Lisa!
Vicky
Thanks for the kind words!
Lisa | Garlic & Zest
I can see why this is so popular! They remind me of little cheese biscuits, but the ingredients are different. Would love to give them a try.
Marlee
What a simple bread to make. I love being able to freeze large batches of pre-portioned foods, this is a fantastic idea if you don't want to bake it all at once!
Pam Greer
I love that you can keep these in the freezer and pop them out whenever you want some! They look so cheesy and good!
Veena Azmanov
Wow, this CHEESE BREAD looks incredible! This is absolutely fantastic! I definitely want to try this, and I'm sure it's very tasty. Thank you for sharing this great recipe!
Pam
Bread and cheese? Two of my favorite things! Got to try this.