Ecuadorian pan de yuca are small cheesy breads made with yuca flour (cassava/tapioca starch) and cheese. There are variations of these delicious breads in many Latin countries. They are known as chipas in Paraguay/Argentina, pan de queso in Colombia, cuñape in Bolivia, and pao de queijo in Brazil. The variations and exact ingredients vary from one place to another, my recipe for pan de yuca is made with yuca starch, cheese, butter and eggs. Yuca bread makes a delicious warm appetizer and the breads can be made in advance and baked minutes before serving. Leftover breads will get hard when they get cold, but can be reheated in the microwave (great for breakfast the day after). The flour is made from yuca root, and is also known as cassava or tapioca starch, the flour can be found in specialty stores.
Pan de yuca, also known as cheese bread or yuca bread, are yummy melt in your mouth warm breads made with cheese and yuca or cassava starch
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups yuca starch (sometimes also called yuca flour) or tapioca starch
- 4 cups grated mozzarella cheese
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1 stick of butter (4 oz or 113 grams), room temperature, cut into 8 pieces
- 2 large eggs
- Optional: 2-4 tbs water (or milk), if the dough is very dry
- Tree tomato hot sauce
Instructions
- Combine the yuca starch or flour, cheese, baking powder and salt in a food processor, blend to mix well.
- Add the butter and eggs
- Mix until small dough balls begin to form, if it's too dry add 1-2 tbs of water.
- Remove the dough from the food processor and roll into a ball, you can make the dough ahead and store in the refrigerator for up to a day.
- To make the dough by hand, combine all the ingredients in large bowl, using melted (cooled down) butter, and mix until you have a smooth dough. It's actually very easy to prepare by hand.
- Pre-heat the oven to 500 F.
- Make small round shaped breads with the dough and place on a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Bake immediately or store in the fridge until ready to bake. I find that they turn out best if you do let them chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes before baking.
- Once the oven reaches 500F, turn on broiler, place the breads on the middle rack and bake until the breads are golden, about 5-7 minutes. Another option is to pre-heat the oven to 400F and bake at 400F for about 5 minutes and then turn on the broiler.
- Serve immediately, can be served alone or with tree tomato aji.
In Ecuador, pan de yuca is usually served with yogurt smoothies and there are several restaurants whose specialty is yuca bread with yogurt. I usually serve yuca bread as an appetizer, with tree tomato aji, but they are also great for breakfast or with an afternoon coffee or tea. My kids love yuca bread and I always let them have some dough so they can make their own shapes: ovals, triangles, spirals, etc. They get very excited as they watch the oven and wait for their bread to be ready.
I used to make yuca bread by hand, and it is probably one of the easiest breads to make by hand, the ingredients are easy to mix, but it is a little bit sticky, so I tried using the food processor instead and it works great. If you don’t have a food processor or prefer to make it by hand, just melt the butter to make it easier to mix the ingredients.
Photos of yuca bread or pan de yuca preparation:
Great recipe!!! I just baked it today and was easy to do. I changed the measures a little but everything was perfect. Thanks
I’m taking from the oven, easy and good, nothing like to made something from your own country, my husband love it…
Thank you so much. My family and I loved them. I didn’t put the griller on, I just baked them at 180 C and they were still yummy.
Had these at a Brazilian restaurant and they were fabulous so immediately tried to find a recipe online. Found your recipe and now have mine chilling in the fridge for 30 minutes. Can’t wait to try them!
How long do you think you could keep these in the fridge if you wanted to make them ahead of time for dinner guests? Could you keep them a couple hours in the fridge? Overnight, if covered? Or would the butter and cheese be too firm?
Hi Lisa – They can stay in the fridge for a couple of days. You can also freeze them (place them on a baking sheet lined with wax paper, freeze them, and then put them in a freezer bag) and then bake them directly.
Layla, I ate these with Ecuadorian Avocado Soup while in the Peace Corps. Could you find the Avocado Soup from around the mid-sixties and print it? Thanks so much for your site. I have always said “I should have stayed in Ecuador”. Yuca bread from Chone and Biscochos from Cayambe were heavenly.
Made these last night and my ecuatoriano bf said they were fantastic — I couldn’t agree more lol. que rico!
Soy de Guayaquil y vivo en Utah y ya he hecho estos panes de yuca varias veces para mi familia, la verdad que saben increibles y se los acaban al momento. Incluso ya he compartido su receta con otras personas. Muchas gracias por sus recetas, siempre que busco algo Ecuatoriano para cocinar, vengo a su pagina. Saludos.
Marcelo
Hi, I am looking forward to making this recipe. Is cassava flour ok ? Looks yummy! Love your site !!
Thanks
Yes, cassava flour, tapioca starch/flour are all the same thing.
Thanks for the quick reply!
This recipe is perfect!!!! Thank you
Great Recipe!!! Came out perfectly. So excited to have this recipe!
This is the best recipe ever! So delicious and my 5 year old son who has Celiac loves them! Great recipe! Thank you.
Thanks for the recipe. In Colombia this is pan de yuca as far as I remember from my mom’s cooking. Pan de queso doesn’t have yuca and pan de bono has yuca and masarepa.
Thank you so much for the wonderful recipes. My husband and I are moving to Cuenca and me being a true foody, this site opens many doors for me. I will be making your Chicken and rice soup today ( snowing today) and these rolls for dinner. My 80 year old mother-in-law has Celiac disease and I will have her over.
Thank you, thank you!!!!! I had these in Florida and a few years back and every time I go visit I make sure I take a bag full home which is El Paso right now…. I can’t wait to make them, all I have to do is find some yucca flour… I look forward to trying more of ur recipes…..
Hi Veronica – Yuca starch is also known as tapioca starch – and now you can find it at most major supermarkets (in the baking/flour section). You can also order it online from Amazon.
This bread is far healthier than other types of bread because it is made with yucca. All wheat (and the flour that is made from it) is genetically altered and has been shown to be the cause of major health problems…diabetes, metabolic syndrome, heart disease and cancer. While yucca is a carbohydrate and therefore contributes to insulin levels, it is far healthier than wheat.