Pão de Queijo
This originally Brazilian salty snack – literally translates to “cheese bread” in Portuguese – is the perfect snack. Invite friends over to watch a good movie or go hiking in the weekend, and you will see nobody can resist this snack after the first bite.
It’s relatively inexpensive and is easy and quick to make. The best part is, this snack is good for people with celiac disease and gluten intolerance.
Pāo de Queijo originated from African slaves in Brazil as they used ingredients that were plentiful and indigenous to the region to make bread rolls. They peeled and soaked cassava (tapioca, manioc, yuca) roots and used these in different ways. However during that period cheese and milk were not readily available and was added at the end of the 19th century when it became more accessible, which is how the Pāo de Queijo came to be how we know it today.
When I hear Pāo de Queijo I immediately think of a snack, but in Brazil it’s very popular for breakfast. You can walk into the local bakeries and order a few to go. Some groceries even sell it in frozen packages, but we are all about the home-made items.
I’ve made this recipe countless times as my family and friends love this and request it all the time. The recipe makes 24 balls.
Kyara has been playing around with the recipe and adjusted it into a very nice flatbread which is perfect with spreads and dipping sauce. Try Kyara’s flatbread, you will not regret it!
Pao de Queijo
Equipment
- 24-cup mini muffin tin
- Oven
- foodprocessor
Ingredients
- 2½ cups tapioca flour
- 2 eggs large
- 1 cup parmesan grated
- ⅓ cup grapeseed oil
- ¾ cup almond milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 225°C.
- Mix tapioca flour with baking powder.
- Put eggs, oil, almond milk, salt and parmesan into a blender and mix.
- Start adding 1 cup tapioca and baking powder mix to the blender, mix well, then add the next cup flour, mix and finally the last half cup.
- Fill a 24-cup mini muffin tin with the mixture. Fill the holes half way.
- Bake until it’s golden brown. It’s about 18-20 minutes depends on your oven. The dough expands to double the size when baking.
- Let it cool off on an oven grid.
Fabulous! I didn’t have a mini muffin tin, so I took a risk and tested out my large muffin tin, and a mini-cannelé silicone mould that I had. Despite the shape (they looked like smurf hats) the taste and texture were perfect! I will invest in a mini muffin tin so that I can make these in future as gifts for my savoury loving friends!
Dear Maddison,
Thank you very much for your nice comment. I am very happy to hear that you could successfully make my recipe.
Enjoy❤️
Andrea