Pan de Bono (Colombian Cheese Bread)

Pan de Bono, or pandebono, is a Colombian cheese bread that conquers everyone who tries it. This flavorful ball is made with yucca flour or cassava starch, pre-cooked corn flour or masa arepa, Tropical Quesito Colombiano, and Queso Blanco. It’s a perfect companion for your morning or afternoon coffee. And when it’s fresh out of the oven, it’s irresistible!

This tasty Colombian Cheese bread is naturally gluten-free and made with simple ingredients. You can find yucca flour, cassava starch, and precooked corn flour, masa arepa, in the Latin products aisle of any supermarket.

How to make pandebono?

This authentic recipe of homemade pandebono is super easy. Mix all the ingredients to create the dough, then shape the balls with your hands and put them in the oven. You can place the dough balls in the fridge until you’re ready to bake them. We found that the best cheeses to make pan de bono are Tropical Quesito Colombiano, which is a bit more crumbly, combined with shredded Tropical Queso Blanco, which is firmer, balancing the texture. You can also use our specific Tropical Cheese for Pandebono.

How many calories does Pandebono have?

Depending on the size, each pandebono has around 150 calories. This recipe doesn’t include added sugar, and the cheese provides around 9 grams of protein in each serving.

What’s the difference between Pandebono and pao de queijo?

Both of them are cheese breads. Pandebono is from Colombia, and pao de queijo is from Brazil. Both pandebono and pao de queijo are made with cassava starch, cheese and eggs, but pan de bono also includes pre-cooked corn flour or masarepa. Pao de queijo can use tapioca flour instead of cassava flour (both made from yuca). Some recipes add a touch of sugar to the pandebono, so it’s slightly sweet, but pao de queijo is always savory and cheesy. Although, there’s no need to choose when you can try both!

Serve this Colombian cheese bread warm with coffee in the morning or as a snack anytime, and get ready for seconds!

You can buy Tropical Quesito Colombiano and Tropical Queso Blanco at supermarkets where Tropical products are sold. Use our Store Locator to find a location near you.

Ingredients

• ¾ cup cassava starch
• ¼ cup pre-cooked corn flour or Masarepa
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup Tropical Quesito Colombiano, crumbled 
• ½ cup Tropical Queso Blanco, shredded
• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup of milk

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. To create the dough, place the cassava starch, baking powder, salt, both Tropical Cheeses and Masarepa in a food processor. Process until everything is well mixed. Slowly add the egg and then the milk while mixing.
3. Divide the mixture into 8 portions and shape into balls using your hands.
4. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown on top. Serve them warm. Enjoy them with coffee!