Pan de yuca or cassava cheese bread - Laylita's Recipes (2024)

Pan de yuca or cassava cheese bread - Laylita's Recipes (1)

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Ecuadorian pan de yuca are small cheesy breads made with yuca flour (cassava/tapioca starch) and cheese. Thereare variations of these delicious breads in many Latin countries. They are known aschipas 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 most supermarkets, in Latin grocery stores, or online.

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Pan de yuca or cassava cheese bread - Laylita's Recipes (2)

Pan de yuca or cheese bread

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

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Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 20 -25 small yuca breads

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ cups yuca or cassava starch - sometimes also called yuca flour or tapioca starch/flour
  • 4 cups grated mozzarella cheese can also use half mozzarella & half queso fresco or quesillo
  • 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
  • 2-4 tablespoons of water or milk, add more if the dough is dry

To serve:

  • 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 tablespoons of water or milk. Add more if needed.

  • 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.

Notes

See variations below for more helpful tips & ideas.

Pan de yuca or cassava cheese bread - Laylita's Recipes (3)

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.

Pan de yuca or cassava cheese bread - Laylita's Recipes (4)

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.

Notes, tips, ideas & variations for making yuca cheese breads:

I’ve been making these delicious cheesy breads for so long, and in different places when we travel. I am constantly finding that the yuca bread dough is so flexible and can be used in many different ways. Here’s a quick compilation of some of the variations, tips, and ideas that I’ve tried over the years:

Pan de yuca or cassava cheese bread - Laylita's Recipes (5)

– The texture of the yuca breads will vary based on the type of the cheese you use, this recipe uses mozzarella (not fresh, but the grated harder type) and I sometimes mix it with queso fresco. This results in very soft and smooth tasting breads which my family loves. For a cheese bread with a crunchier texture and stronger cheese flavor, you can use a harder more aged cheese: parmesan, gruyere, emmental, etc. When we visit my in-laws in France I usually take the tapioca flour from the US and use local cheese (usually the grated emmental they sell at most grocery stores there). When making these with dryer aged cheese you will need to add more liquid (water or milk) to the dough to get it to the right consistency.

Pan de yuca or cassava cheese bread - Laylita's Recipes (6)

– If you want the yuca breads to have a perfect uniform shape or if they tend to fall flat after baking (this tends to happen more if they didn’t have time in the fridge before or if the oven isn’t pre-heated/very hot when baking them) – you can use a small muffin tin to keep them in place.

Pan de yuca or cassava cheese bread - Laylita's Recipes (7)

– To freeze the unbaked yuca bread rolls, place them on a baking sheet with wax paper, place in the freezer. As soon as the breads are frozen, transfer them to a Ziploc bag and save in the freezer until needed. To bake them from frozen, pre-heat the oven to 400-425F, place the frozen yuca breads on a baking sheet lined with parchment, and bake until golden on top.

Pan de yuca or cassava cheese bread - Laylita's Recipes (8)

Grilled yuca cheese breads: You can also grill the yuca breads, this works best on a pizza stone. Make sure your grill is very hot and the pizza stone is pre-heated, then place the breads on the stone and let them cook until golden. They tend to have a crunchier outer texture when grilled.

Pan de yuca or cassava cheese bread - Laylita's Recipes (9)

Yuca cheese griddle tortillas: You can also flatten them into thick tortilla shapes and cook them in a grill or in a stovetop pan.

Pan de yuca or cassava cheese bread - Laylita's Recipes (10)

Yuca bread waffles: Another idea is to cook them in a waffle maker. Simply form the dough into a thicker patty (slightly smaller than your waffle maker), and place it in the waffle maker, cook until crispy on both sides.

Pan de yuca or cassava cheese bread - Laylita's Recipes (11)

Yuca bread pizzas: You can flatten the dough as thin as you would like, add a light layer of sauce (tomato, pesto, etc), your favorite toppings, and bake at 450F until crispy.

Pan de yuca or cassava cheese bread - Laylita's Recipes (12)

Stuffed yuca cheese breads: Make the breads as usual, but put a piece of guava paste in the middle of each one, seal, and bake for a sweet & savory variation. Other filling ideas include cooked chorizo, cooked bacon, a piece of a different type of cheese, etc.

Pan de yuca or cassava cheese bread - Laylita's Recipes (13)

Yuca bread empanadas: Use the yuca bread dough to make gluten free empanada discs, just be warned that the dough is very fragile, fill it with you favorite savory or sweet filling, and bake or fry.

Pan de yuca or cassava cheese bread - Laylita's Recipes (14)

Fun holiday shaped yuca bread treats: For holidays you can use cookie cutters to cut the dough into different shapes and decorate them with olives, pimento peppers, etc. For Halloween, I used a ghost cookie cutter to make these cute little yuca cheese ghosts with pimento pepper eyes.

Pan de yuca or cassava cheese bread - Laylita's Recipes (15)

Photos of yuca bread or pan de yuca preparation:

Pan de yuca or cassava cheese bread - Laylita's Recipes (16)

Pan de yuca or cassava cheese bread - Laylita's Recipes (17)

Pan de yuca or cassava cheese bread - Laylita's Recipes (18)

Pan de yuca or cassava cheese bread - Laylita's Recipes (19) Pan de yuca or cassava cheese bread - Laylita's Recipes (20)

Pan de yuca or cassava cheese bread - Laylita's Recipes (21) Pan de yuca or cassava cheese bread - Laylita's Recipes (22)

Pan de yuca or cassava cheese bread - Laylita's Recipes (23)

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Pan de yuca or cassava cheese bread - Laylita's Recipes (25)

Related

Pan de yuca or cassava cheese bread - Laylita's Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between pan de bono and pan de yuca? ›

Difference between pandebonos, almojábanas and pan de yuca

Pan de yuca: contains tapioca (yuca) starch and queso costeño (fresh and salty tasting cheese), but no cornstarch. Pandebonos: contain tapioca (yuca) starch and cornstarch, and queso costeño.

Is pan de yuca the same as pão de queijo? ›

In Ecuador, there is also the pan de yuca, which is almost exactly the same as the Brazilian pão de queijo, with all the same texture, shape and flavour. In Ecuador, it has become a habit to eat the pan de yuca accompanied by fruit yoghurt.

What is Pan de Yuca made of? ›

Pan de yuca is one of the most popular appetizers on the Ecuadorian coast and the recipe is one of the easiest to prepare. This gluten-free cheese bread is made with cassava flour, cheese, eggs, butter, baking powder, and salt. Its texture is spongy with a somewhat crunchy, firm crust when fresh out of the oven.

What country is Pan de Yuca from? ›

Pan de yuca (Spanish for Cassava bread) is a type of bread made of cassava starch and cheese typical of western Ecuador and southern Colombia.

Is pan de bono made of yuca? ›

Pandebono, or pan de bono, is a delicious cheese bread, perfect for breakfast or an afternoon snack with coffee. It's a simple recipe made with cheese and two kinds of flour—tapioca flour (cassava or yuca starch) and cornmeal.

What is cassava bread called? ›

Casabe also known as cassava bread is made from yucca. It is traditionally flat, crisp and white in color and eaten along with many Latin dishes.

Is cassava flour safe to eat? ›

Cassava flour is low in calories, fat, and sugar.

The best way to use cassava flour is to mix it with other nutrient-dense foods to boost fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Cassava flour is not harmful. But you shouldn't eat it in its raw form, as it contains cyanogenic glycosides, which can turn into cyanide in the body.

What do you eat with pao de queijo? ›

In Brazil, people traditionally eat pao de queijo for breakfast or as a snack – often with jam, honey or other sweet condiments for breakfast, or with savoury accompaniments and as a side to stew-like dishes.

Is cassava bread healthier than regular bread? ›

Cassava flour is a great alternative for people with gluten sensitivities, because it's gluten free. It's also high in fiber and vitamin C, and has a low glycemic index. This means that it doesn't cause a spike in blood sugar levels like white flour does.

How healthy is cassava bread? ›

Cassava flour contains resistant starches. There are a variety of possible health benefits to eating resistant starches. These potential health benefits may include improved digestive and colon health and improved insulin sensitivity. Resistant starch in cassava flour may also help with weight loss efforts.

What can cassava bread be eaten with? ›

It is usually eaten in bread form, often with peanut butter spread on the top or with milk. Cassava flour, known as musa or moussa, is boiled to create a meal of the same name. Cassava can also be eaten with various stews and soups, such as the traditional pumpkin soup referred to as soup joumou.

Is yuca good or bad for you? ›

While some people are concerned by the carb content, yuca is an overall nutritious food with plenty of potential health benefits including: Rich energy source due to its complex carbohydrate content. Carbohydrates are the most efficient energy source out of all the major nutrients.

What does yuca do to your body? ›

Yuca root starch helps feed the “good” bacteria that lives in your intestines, helping your digestive system function more smoothly. It also helps you to feel more full, which can help you moderate your food intake and may help prevent weight gain for many people.

Is yuca healthier than a potato? ›

But What are the Health Benefits of this Precious Root? Low Glycemic Index – Yuca has a low glycemic index of 46/100, compared to a normal potato which has an index of 78/100. This means that for those looking to control their blood sugar, yuca is the better option in comparison.

What is the difference between pan de bono and pao de queijo? ›

Pao de queijo is made with cassava starch, milk, cheese, eggs and butter or oil, and pandebono is made with corn flour, cassava starch, cheese, eggs, and a little sugar. We've found that pandebono also tastes a little sweeter than pao de queijo, thanks to the sugar.

Is pan de bono the same as almojábanas? ›

Almojábana is a traditional Colombian bread that is very similar to pandebono. Pandebono is made with yuca flour and costeño cheese, and almojábanas are made with white cheese and cornmeal flour.

What is the meaning of pan de bono? ›

Pandebono or pan de bono is a type of Colombian bread made of cassava starch, cheese, eggs, and in some regions of the country, guava paste.

What is the difference between pan de bono and pan de queso? ›

Pan de bono is similar to other South American cheese breads like pan de queso, difference being added conr flour or cornmeal, and a hint of sweeteness due to the addition of sugar. It is usually served warm with a cup of hot chocolate on the side.

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