Gluten-Free Cheese Bread Rolls
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These Gluten-Free Cheese Bread Rolls are incredibly addictive. Crisp on the outside and chewy and cheesy in the middle. They are made with tapioca flour so are naturally gluten-free.
Table of contents
This is the easiest and most addictive gluten-free cheese bread roll recipe you will find. These rolls take just 30 minutes from grabbing the ingredients to munching on one warm from the oven. And there is no way you will stop at just the one.
Why you'll love this recipe
- These cheese bread rolls are loosely adapted from a traditional Brazilian recipe called Pão de Queijo.
- The only flour used here is tapioca flour so the recipe is totally gluten and grain free.
- They are made in the blender!
- 5 minutes to blend and 20 minutes to bake.
- So little washing up required!!
- Be warned – they are addictive.
I’ve been baking up batches of these rolls for a few years ago, ever since my market stall days. My cake stall was next door to a Brazilian bakery stall and they sold mounds and mound of these gorgeous rolls. Mainly to me!! I used to buy a big bag for snacking on over the course of the day. Gluten-free offerings at the market were in short supply in those days (except for the amazing cake stall of course!)
When I changed markets and lost my cheese roll supplier I was devastated and resolved to learn how to make them myself. Well, over the past few years I have really perfected the recipe and made sure they take no more than 30 minutes to make from getting out the ingredients to enjoying one straight out of the oven.
List of ingredients
- Tapioca Flour (tapioca starch)
- Cheese
- Milk
- Egg
- Olive oil
- Salt
What cheese to use
You can use 120g of any cheese you’ve got to hand. Here we use mozzarella for extra chew and cheddar for a deep cheesy taste.
You can use anything though. All cheddar, or feta for a bit of tang, gruyere for melty nuttiness or even blue cheese.
How to make them
- Weigh out all the ingredients straight into your blender and blend.
- Pour into a lightly greased muffin tin.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
- Eat warm straight out of the oven.
Oooh, that ooey gooey cheesiness. So good!!!
Baker’s tip!
Place your blender jug on the digital scales and measure your ingredients straight into the jug then there is just that and your muffin tin to wash up. So easy.
Don’t have any digital scales? I seriously recommend you get some. They are an essential kitchen appliance which makes baking so much easier and so much more accurate. Plus – they are super cheap!!
READ MORE >> Why should you weigh your ingredients rather than measuring with cups.
How do you eat these cheese bread rolls?
These rolls are a perfect snack warm from the oven, on their own as they are. They are ridiculously addictive.
However… I learned this from a local chef. If you bake them up nice and big then you can make burger rolls out of them. Now this, my friends, is the greatest dinner invention in the world! You must try it!
This recipe makes 4 burger rolls if you divide the batter into 10cm tart tins to bake.
FAQs
How long do the cheese rolls keep? Eat the rolls straightaway out of the oven, or at least the same day. If you keep any longer you will need to refresh them in the oven (see below)
Can you reheat? Yes! Re-heat in an oven for 10 minutes at 190°C/ 170°C fan/ gas mark 5.
These Gluten-Free Cheese Bread Rolls are really quick and easy to make, unfortunately even quicker and easier to eat and I really encourage you to give them a go whether you’re gluten-free or not. I cannot stress how good they are.
If you like this recipe then you'll love
- Juciest Burgers
- The Ultimate Guide to Tapioca Flour
- Gluten-Free Irish Soda Bread
- Gluten-Free Naan Bread
If you make these Gluten-Free Cheese Bread Rolls then please leave a comment below and/or give the recipe a rating. If you then go on to use this recipe as a launch pad for your own baking creation then I’d also love it if you’d share it and tag me on Instagram. It is so lovely for me to see your versions and variations of my recipes.
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Gluten-Free Cheese Bread Rolls
Ingredients
- 240 g tapioca flour (starch)
- 180 g whole milk
- 60 g olive oil
- 1 egg - medium
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 80 g mozzarella cheese - cubed
- 40 g cheddar cheese - cubed
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 190°C/ 170°C fan/ gas mark 5.
- Grease 9 holes of a standard muffin tin.
- Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend on high until smooth.
- Pour the mixture into 9 muffin tin holes, filling almost to the top.
- Bake for 20 minutes until golden.
- Remove the rolls from the tins straightaway onto a cooling rack.
- The rolls are delicious eaten directly from the oven.
Notes
- Use any cheese you have to hand - all mozzarella, all cheddar or maybe feta, gruyere. The flavour will be reflected in the flavour of your cheese rolls.
- You can place your blender jug on the scales and weigh all the ingredients directly into the blender. It makes for very low key washing up when you're done.
- The rolls are best eaten straightaway but are good up to a day.
- If you can’t manage all the rolls within the day then keep in an airtight tin and re-heat in an oven for 10 minutes at 190°C/ 170°C fan/ gas mark 5.
Ingredient measurements
- Please note when you see ‘grams’ listed as opposed to ‘millilitres,’ or any other term of measurement, that is not incorrect. I weigh all of my ingredients, including liquids, for accuracy.
- US customary measurements for the ingredients provided are based on a conversion calculator. This recipe was tested with metric measurements and I recommend using a digital scale to weigh ingredients for the most accurate results. READ MORE >>> Why you should always weigh vs measuring with cups
These were lovely as they came out the oven. The family's consensus though, was that the leftovers were the nicer: take your cold tapioca puffs out of the fridge and cut into slices. Add the slices to a frying pan along with whatever else is in there e.g. bacon, eggs, tofu, and let them get well fried. Lovely flavour, slightly crispy, however the tapioca flour ensures a bit of 'give' remains. This is how we eat them now!
I love that idea of using the leftovers - I'm definitely trying it!
These rolls are delicious! Even my husband (who isn’t celiac) likes them. I’m currently living in france and can’t find cheddar cheese here. I substituted feta and they were a success. I freeze the extras so I can have something good when everyone else is enjoying their French breads.
Yes they actually work well with so many different cheeses. I'm so happy you are enjoying them!!
This is very similar to a Brazilian recipe I've been making for a while. It's one of my favourite recipes, being naturally GF, and where I live cassava flour/manioc flour is one of the most common flours. My recipe has a lower liquid to flour ratio, it boils milk and oil together in a saucepan, adds the flour and mixes to a stiff dough, then beats in egg and cheese. I find it similar to making choux pastry. The finished dough is like a soft pastry dough, we make little balls and bake them on a tray in the oven.
Can you confirm that the flour you're using is cassava flour? (As opposed to tapioca starch that is like cornflour?) Thanks, I get very confused with my tapioca/cassava/polvilho flours
This particular recipe is made with tapioca starch.
Oh, that's interesting, I'm going to try my recipe that way too! Thanks
Is it possible to make these with plant milk - just because that's all I have in my cupboard right now
Yes it is!
Hallo Georgina, I made your recipe yesterday but I too had to make them in a bigger baking tin.
They tasted really good despite that. I was wondering if I could put some blitzt dried rosemary from my garden to add something to the taste what do you think? Would that make it not work.
I would also like to add a small amount of some kind of more substantial flour than a white, refined tapioca flour. Just to 'pretend' I was 'binging' on a healthier bread.
Do you think that might work, if so which one?
Hi Lindy, the rosemary sounds like a great idea! Normally I'm all for swapping flours around to suit. Unfortunately I can't recommend switching the flour for this particular recipe as the starchy tapioca flour is the reason the bread sticks together and has that chewy texture. If you switch for a wholegrain flour then the rolls wouldn't stick together and would be dry and crumbly.
I don't know if you're able to find cassava or mandioca flour where you live? It's a lot more robust than the fine white tapioca flour, it's what I've always used to make paozinhas de queijo with a Brazilian recipe
Yes - we have cassava flour - that sounds like a great alternative!!
Forgot to say: those freeze really well if you do so as soon as they cool down, so don't be afraid to make large batches.
While also delicious, this is not exactly pão de queijo, but "bolo de goma" (literally gum cake). You can even try to make it without cheese, it's still great that way. When I make it, I follow a very similar recipe, but I use coconut oil instead of olive oil.
Pão de Queijo requires scalding of the starch, and it works better if you mix sour (fermented) starch with the sweet (regular) one. However, sour tapioca starch is hard to find outside of Brazil. Also, the whole process take 1h30min, if you're efficient, which is thrice the time of the bolo de goma.
Another similar recipe that's quick to prepare is Paraguayan chipas, you should give it a try someday.
I make both, and in both I use coconut oil.
Thank you so much for your input and advice. Mine is certainly not an authentic recipe and I will change the title to reflect that.
Made these and totally love them, they are delicious, I had only the large muffin tin, and so they were quite big, still delicious though, I’m going to keep making them large, as the one we had leftover I was able to slice in three and it toasted beautifully, I’m sure they would make great burger buns as well. Going without because I’m newly diagnosed gluten sensitive? I don’t think so, now I’ve found your website I can’t thank you enough
Hi Carol, that's great to hear and you are so welcome! Yes I do love these as burger buns - they take an average burger to the next level.
Absolutely love these!! Thanks for the recipe, will definitely make these regularly now!!
That's lovely to hear!!
Could you use coconut milk to replace the whole milk?
I haven't tried it so I can't guarantee but I don't see why not.
Hi Georgina
Are they ment to be quite chewy gooey inside or fluffy?
I was 20g short on the flour and tried to adjust the rest
So if not it might be my not quite accurate measures
Thank you
I’ve eaten already 2
Know what you mean about being addictive
Hi Helene, definitely chewy!! This is the exact right texture. They are not like regular bread rolls - the tapioca flour makes them incredibly unique.
Oh I loved them
Nice to have something different
And so quick to make just for a lunch or dinner
I had 4 while they were still hot
Another successful recipe of yours
Thank you
xx
Do you have any suggestions for making this dairy free?
I haven't tested a dairy-free version but you could use a vegan cheese and non-dairy milk.
Stop, stop with these super-easy and delicious recipes that never fail. They make such a gluten-free glutton out of me — I lost count of how many I ate last time I made them.
I hear you!! These cheese rolls are dangerous!!
Would an egg alternative work? I’m allergic to eggs but would love to try these.
I haven't tried an egg alternative I'm afraid so I can't guarantee the results.
Hi Georgina
Thanks for this, very interested. Would they be ok to freeze?
Best wishes
Sharon
Hi Sharon, yes they will freeze. Defrost completely and then re-heat as per the notes on the recipe. Well done if they make it to the freezer - ours are baked and disappear within about 20 minutes!!
These sound delicious! Would 2% lactose free milk work? Also, what would the farenheit temperature equivalent be?
Hi Donna, the cooking temp is 375F. I haven't tried it with lactose free milk but I don't see why not!
Would this work with plant milk?
Yes it would but are you trying to make it dairy-free/vegan as you will still have the cheese in the recipe.