You'll love these keto pão de queijo – otherwise known as Brazilian cheese puffs! They're super cheesy little rolls that are low carb, LCHF, and gluten free!
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Have you heard of Pão de Queijo? Here's what wiki tells us:
Pão de queijo (or Brazilian cheese bread or cheese puffs) is a small, baked cheese roll or cheese bun, a popular snack and breakfast food in Brazil.”
They're traditionally made from tapioca flour (also known as yuca starch), which makes them naturally gluten free, but sadly not low carb. So I decided to adapt my recipe for fathead bread rolls by making them smaller, adding grated Parmesan, and for some authentic flavor – some crumbled queso fresco. If you can't buy queso fresco locally then a very mild feta cheese would be a good alternative.
Got some cheese leftover? Try my new recipes for Queso Fresco Scrambled Eggs and Low Carb Chilaquiles!
How to Make Low Carb and Keto Pão de Queijo
Make the dough by melting shredded mozzarella and cream cheese together in the microwave – it takes about a minute. Add in some grated Parmesan, fine almond flour, and baking powder.
Next, add a beaten egg.
Knead the dough until as smooth as possible.
Add in the crumbled queso fresco. It won't blend in, so just try to make sure that it is evenly distributed. Divide the mixture into sixteen golf-ball sized balls and place them on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat.
Bake in a preheated oven until they start to turn golden brown on top, about seven or eight minutes. Let cool for five minutes.
This keto Brazilian cheese bread is best enjoyed warm from the oven. But they also reheat really well in the microwave!
They should be lightly crunchy on the outside, and chewy on the inside – and there's no hiding the amount of cheese in them!
You might also like my recipe for fried queso fresco!

Low Carb and Keto Pão de Queijo
You'll love these keto pão de queijo - otherwise known as Brazilian cheese puffs! They're super cheesy little rolls that are low carb, LCHF, and gluten free!
Ingredients
- 1½ cups shredded mozzarella
- 2 tbs cream cheese
- ¾ cup fine almond flour
- ½ cup grated Parmesan
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 egg, beaten
- ½ cup crumbled queso fresco
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F.
- Make the dough by melting the shredded mozzarella and cream cheese together in the microwave for 1 minute.
- Stir in the almond flour, Parmesan, and baking powder.
- Next, add a beaten egg. Knead the dough until as smooth as possible.
- Add in the crumbled queso fresco. It won't blend in, so just try to make sure that it is evenly distributed. Divide the mixture into sixteen golf-ball sized balls and place them on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat.
- Bake until they start to turn golden brown on top, about seven or eight minutes. Let cool for five minutes before serving.
Notes
7g net carbs per serving of four rolls
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Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 4 rollsAmount Per Serving Calories 360Total Fat 27gSaturated Fat 10gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 15gCholesterol 95mgSodium 843mgCarbohydrates 10gNet Carbohydrates 7gFiber 3gSugar 2gProtein 20g
Nutritional information for this recipe is provided as a courtesy and is my best approximation. I cannot guarantee completely accurate data due to variations in ingredients and cooking methods. Carbohydrates from sugar alcohols are not included in net carb counts as it has been shown that they do not impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
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Mysty says
I found these a bit meh. I added a bit of salt and and oregano to my second batch.
Georgina says
Sounds good to me!
Morin says
Mine turned out completely flat. They were still tasty though. How can I get ‘buns’ instead of ‘pancakes’?
Georgina says
Hmmm. Can you tell me what type of what mozzarella you used?
Salwa says
I liked very much the taste but I think I might have used fresh soft mozzarella cheese. Would that be the reason they were flat? Thank you so much for your advice
Georgina says
The pre-shredded mozzarella is best for this recipe!
Carolyn says
Could you swap out lupin flour for almond flour?
Georgina says
Sorry, I’ve never worked with lupin flour. If you try it, let me know!