Gluten Free Brazilian Cheese Bread
I don’t need to eat a gluten free diet, no celiac disease or sensitivity, but I do know friends and family who do. When I first started Bakes & Blunders, I had a lot of interest in tackling gluten free baking. This delicious gluten free Brazilian cheese bread, aka pão de queijo, seemed like a tasty recipe to tackle!
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This recipe was originally published on November 12, 2019 and is being republished with updates on April 15, 2021.
Story Time
When I studied abroad in Mexico, I became good friends with another student on the trip who happens to have celiac disease. This is back before gluten free was “trendy”, so I didn’t know a lot about it.
Whenever I would find something labeled “gluten free” I sent her a picture because I was so excited for her. Our favorite snack in Mexico was lime potato chips and chocolate milk (snack of champions), so you could say our friendship had a food theme going on.
Gluten Free Flour
Nowadays, you can find a lot of gluten free options in the store and flour replacements are more readily available. My personal favorite is the measure for measure gluten free flour from King Arthur Baking. In this gluten free Brazilian cheese bread recipe, we’ll be using a bit of it with chickpea flour (aka garbanzo bean flour).
Chickpea flour is high in fiber and I like that it adds to the color of these tasty cheesy bread bites. If you’re curious about other gluten free alternatives, you can read about other options here or you’ll find a more extensive list in the Resource Library.
Gluten Free Brazilian Cheese Bread
I’ve never had gluten free brazilian cheese bread or regular pão de queijo for that matter, but it sounded like it would be a hit (with me at least!). Little bites of bread loaded with cheese? I mean, what is there to complain about?
You can enjoy these little bites as a snack or with a meal. Or you can keep them in a container on the counter and everyone just pops one in their mouth whenever they walk by. That seems to work well for us.
Tweaking, Not Twerking
When I first published this recipe, it used baking soda instead of baking powder. But my little bites came out dense. After I analyzed the recipe more, I realized there’s no acid in to activate the baking soda! So now, I use baking powder for a nice soft bite of gluten free Brazilian cheese bread.
But how did I figure that out? Baking soda is 4x more potent, so I had to increase the baking powder amount. I suggest that you also become more familiar with basic baking ingredients, if you’re not already. You can find an Ingredient Glossary in my Resource Library too!
Related Reading: Gluten Free Buttermilk Biscuits
Blunders
This time around, there weren’t any. Thank gravy! But this recipe took me three different batches to really nail it down. It’s a simple recipe, but I wasn’t very familiar with gluten free baking when I first tried this recipe. Never be afraid to tackle something new, even though it may not work out on your first try. You’ll learn and be better for it!
Enjoy!
This Gluten Free Brazilian Cheese Bread is so tasty, you won’t be able to stop popping a few every time you walk by them. Or at least, I don’t seem to be able to! They are a great side for a family dinner.
Let me know how they worked for you or if you try any other gluten free flours or substitutes. Follow Bakes and Blunders on Pinterest for even more delicious recipes.
Gluten Free Brazilian Cheese Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup chickpea flour aka garbanzo bean flour (4 oz)
- 1/2 cup gluten free flour (2.5 oz)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup shredded cheese (2 oz)
- 1 cup milk (8 fl oz)
- 1/3 cup olive oil (3 fl oz)
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375℉ and lightly spray a mini muffin tin with Baker's Joy.
- Sift flours, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk in shredded cheese to fully combine.
- In a separate bowl or mixing glass, whisk together the milk, oil, and egg.
- Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the milk mixture. Whisk until smooth and combined.
- Use a tablespoon to fill a mini muffin tin. Each well should be less than 3/4 full. Bake for 12- 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.
My Favorite Products For This Recipe
Colleen
Hi there! I’m Colleen, a novice baker with a passion for learning and improving my bakes… and blunders. On Bakes and Blunders, you can find all sorts of tasty recipes that range in difficulty, but most importantly, I’ll try to explain the reason behind important steps. If you know why a recipe works, you can tweak and adapt it to suit your unique tastes, and you’ll be able to reliably produce some very delicious treats. If you love baking and want to expand and grow your skills, or if you are a casual baker and just need some pointers, my blog is right up your alley! Join me on my baking journey and we’ll learn how to make more impressive recipes together.
19 Comments
Maitê
I’m sure your cheese breads are delicious! However, they differ a bit from the traditional Brazilian cheese bread recipe. Authentic pão de queijo is usually made with sweet cassava starch, sour cassava starch, cheese, oil, milk, egg, and a pinch of salt there aren’t typically variations using chickpeas, baking soda, baking powder, or other gluten-free flours, and the dough is shaped by hand. I hope you get the chance to try the traditional version someday it’s really delicious.
Paula
This sounds like a great recipe. Have you ever tried baking it in a loaf pan to make a loaf of bread? I’m interested in making a loaf of gluten free cheese bread to imitate the Italian crescia (cheesebread) that I make for my family. Thank you.
Colleen
I have no idea if it would work in a loaf pan, but that sounds like a delicious idea! If you decide to give that try, please let me know how it turns out.
Fraser
These are great, nice and easy. I just found them to be a tad dry. Which is fine cause I’ve found them to be great with things like chili and eggs Benny. The option to make them more moist would be great though. Do you have any suggestions? TIA! 🙂
Colleen
Funny thing actually… I just made these yesterday! I’m updating the recipe next week. With the changes, I’m swapping out the leavener and a tiny bit of the chickpea flour. If you find them a bit dry still, I would add just a bit more olive oil and/ or reduce the baking time by a few minutes.
Beth
Oh, this was so much fun to read. I can imagine just popping one in my mouth right now. Of course I’d have to figure out dairy-free options, but it’s aways so great to have a starting point and know what’s been tried. I love chickpea flour for noodles and so many other things – great to see it here.
Colleen
I love playing around with recipes. If you ever do try dairy free options, I’d love to hear how it goes.
Paula
I have just made a batch of these, they are absolutely delicious! Will be looking at more recipes here.
Colleen
I’m so happy you liked them 😀
Morgan
These look delicious! I love that they are ready in under 30 minutes!
Colleen
Thanks! Quick recipes are the best.
Kim
They have something similar at costco. I bet these fresh ones are way better!!!
Colleen
In my opinion, homemade almost always tastes better, but you can’t really beat the convenience of store bought.
Angela Greven | Mean Green Chef
I agree what’s not to love with a load of cheese and olive oil, I honestly love both! We don’t eat GF either but sure do know a lot of folks that do, so it’s always nice to have a special dish on hand if needed. Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Colleen
We don’t have any special diets in our household, but I’ve been enjoying dabbling in GF and vegan recipes.
Suzanne Donzero
We have eaten at a Brazilian style steak house and am in love with their little cheese rolls. The waitress saudy they were made with garbanzo bean flour. These rolls had a wonderful crispy crust and a chewy interior with little bits of cheese. They appear to be rolled and baked. The crust is also shiny and the inside looks like yeast was used. Could be you.help me find the recipe? Thanks so much!
Colleen
Those sound delicious! Unfortunately, I’m not familiar with that style of roll. Good luck on your search though 😀
Erika
These look great. I can see them going very quickly in my house.
Colleen
Since they’re so small, you don’t even realize you’ve had three of them until you do a recount. Oops!