Easy Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo)

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May is Food Allergy Awareness Month. This year, Food Allergy Awareness Week takes place from May 11-17, and it’s a good time to raise awareness about food allergies and support those individuals and families who are affected by them.

Around 27 million adults in the United States are estimated to have at least one food allergy, and approximately 5.6 million children are estimated to have them as well. Common food allergens include milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish and fish. For those who are affected, a reaction can occur within minutes or hours, and symptoms can range from mild to life-threatening. 

For many, the allergic reaction can be severe, resulting in anaphylaxis, a rapid onset of multiple symptoms that can compromise the airway. Anaphylaxis can occur within minutes of exposure to the allergen and can progress rapidly if not treated promptly. It requires immediate medical attention, including the use of epinephrine, and delayed treatment can be life-threatening. 

My husband has a nut allergy. I carry Benadryl at all times, and he has an EpiPen for emergencies. In all the years we have been married, he has never had an allergic reaction at home, but even though we are careful, he has had a few of them eating out. 

The first time I saw just how severe a reaction can be, we were at a formal event for graduation.  He ate a bite of some sort of paté or terrine from the buffet and in a matter of seconds his airway, face and hands started to swell. We later found out the food in question had ground up pistachios. He was wearing a tuxedo and the next time I looked at him, he looked just like Marlon Brando in the Godfather. Lesson: be extra wary at buffets. 

The next time was at an Indian restaurant. We told our server he had a nut allergy. They assured us his meal was safe. In addition to the anaphylaxis, he became violently ill after eating. Lesson: nuts are often hidden in ethnic foods, again, ground up in sauces. Unfortunately, servers don’t always take allergies as seriously as they should, or they may be unaware of what is really in each dish. We make curry at home now. 

Another time, happened at a gluten-free bakery. Again, he asked about nuts and was told  which baked goods had them, but for some reason the same server didn’t realize that the lunch entree he gave us was dairy-free and had ground up cashews as a cheese substitute. Lesson: gluten-free, dairy-free, plant-based could also mean “contains nuts”. 

Finally, and this one was my fault, I gave him a protein bar. We were at Costco and came out starving. I bought a box that had gluten-free labels all over it. I had checked the ingredients and it had a peanut butter bar that had no nuts. However, the lemon bar he picked from the pack had you guessed it, cashews. Lesson: read every single label. Twice. Bottom line: prepare foods at home. I’ve been feeding him for 40 years and it hasn’t happened once here. 

This Easy Brazilian Cheese Bread recipe is a great example of the kind of allergy-friendly food I like to serve. It’s easy to make, easy to eat, and while it is gluten-free (and nut free!) it doesn’t call too much attention to the fact that it is. I like that you can serve it to everyone and no one feels left out. I also like that it doesn’t make the person with the food allergy feel like they are not included or being treated differently, which is usually the case with food allergies. They can enjoy the same food as everyone else without a lot of fuss being made of the fact that their food is different. 

I am crazy for these Pão de Queijo, the little cheese puffs that are a beloved snack in Brazil. Irresistibly good, they’re soft and chewy, cheesy and delicious. I usually buy the popular store-bought variety because they are a guaranteed morale booster and just the thing to serve when you need a quick appetizer or add-on to your meal. I try to keep a bag of them in the freezer because you can pop them in the oven and in just a few minutes you’ve got a warm and delicious treat. If you haven’t tried these, you don’t know what you’re missing. 

I was doing a little pantry reorganizing and discovered an unopened bag of Bob’s Red Mill tapioca flour. Wouldn’t you know it, there was a recipe for this fun little bread right on the back. It looked so easy, I had to try it and not only was it easy, it was delicious! There is a little wait time of 20 to 30 minutes once you make the batter, but other than that, you just add the ingredients to your blender and bake. 

The cheese breads bake up puffy and golden, something like a popover or Yorkshire pudding, except that they don’t deflate. They were at least twice as big as the store-bought ones, and while they were really, really good, I felt like something was missing from the flavor. I Googled the ingredient list and there it was: Parmesan cheese. Next time I make these, I’m going to try adding a tablespoon or two measured into the 1/2 cup of cheddar. Otherwise, they were spot on. Best when fresh from the oven, you can reheat your puffs in the microwave, a few at a time, for 10 seconds on high heat. 

Brazil’s irresistible cheese bread is warm, cheesy bite-sized fun that’s easy to make at home. Enjoy some yourself and see! 

Easy Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pão de Queijo)

20 mini cheese breads

• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing the pan
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups tapioca flour
• 1/2 cup packed grated cheese, such as white cheddar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400° F. Brush a small amount of olive oil around insides of each well of a non-stick mini muffin tin. Combine olive oil, egg, milk, tapioca flour, grated cheese and salt in blender cup and blend on low speed to thoroughly mix. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the blender, then blend again, repeating as needed, so that everything gets blended well.

Allow batter to rest for about 20-30 minutes, then quickly blend again. Pour batter into prepared muffin tin, leaving about a 1/8-inch from the top. Bake at 400°F for 15-20 minutes until puffy and golden browned. Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack for a few minutes. Serve immediately or store in an air-tight container in refrigerator for up to one week.

-Camila Alves McConaughey