🧀 Pão de queijo
Pão de queijo are small Brazilian cheese breads made with tapioca starch instead of wheat flour, which gives them a crisp shell and a chewy, stretchy, cheesy centre. The dough is made by scalding the starch with hot milk and oil, then beating in egg and grated cheese. They are eaten warm for breakfast or as a snack with coffee.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 250 g tapioca starch (sour or sweet)
- 120 ml milk
- 60 ml vegetable oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 eggs
- 120 g grated hard cheese
Method
- Heat the oven to 200 °C.
- Bring the milk, oil and salt to a boil and pour over the tapioca starch, mixing until smooth.
- Let it cool slightly, then beat in the eggs one at a time.
- Mix in the cheese and form small balls with oiled hands.
- Bake for 20–25 minutes until puffed and lightly golden.
How to make it lighter
- Make them small — about 20 g each — so a portion is easy to count.
- Use half the oil in the dough; they stay chewy.
- Pair two or three with fruit or a salad instead of a whole basket.
History
Pão de queijo comes from Minas Gerais, where cassava starch has long been used in baking. It is now eaten all over Brazil and sold everywhere from bakeries to airport cafés.
Count it in one photo
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →