Pandebono is a bread made with masarepa, yuca flour, cheese and egg. This Colombian cheese bread is very popular, easy to make and delicious.
What is Pandebono?
It is a traditional Colombian cheese bread. I have been getting a lot of e-mails asking me for this recipe, so here it is my friends. I made these delicious Pandebonos last week and they came out perfectly and were delicious. For a minute, I did not miss Colombia while eating these fantastic cheese balls, accompanied by a cup of Colombian coffee of course. I ate so many of them, I could not get up from the couch for a while. Try them, you’ll thank me for it 🙂
Like many Colombian recipes there are many variations and every cook has its own.I am not a professional baker, but try to recreate the food I miss from my home country.
These wonderful Colombian pandebonos are perfect for breakfast or for an afternoon snack with a cup of coffee. This bread recipe is also gluten free.
Ingredients You will Need
All the quantities, baking directions and step by step video are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Tapioca Starch: You will find here in the United States as Tapioca flour or starch in a lot of supermarkets or online.
Precooked Cornmeal: Also known as masarepa.
Queso Fresco: In Colombia we use quesito, but here in the US I use farmer cheese or queso fresco.
Feta Cheese: Mixing feta cheese with queso fresco gives the perfect flavor and texture to this pandebono recipe.
Egg: I recommend using cage free eggs.
How to Make Pandebonos
- Pre-heat the oven to 400°F.
- In a food processor, place the yuca flour, cheese and masarepa. Process until well combined. Add the egg slowly while food processor is running.
- Divide the mixture into 12 equal size portions, shaping them into balls.
- Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden on top. Serve warm.
Baking Tips
*I like to use a food processor to mix the dough, but you can do it by hand if you prefer. Start by mixing the tapioca starch and precooked cornmeal in a bowl, then, in another bowl, combine the cheeses and the egg. Add the flour mixture to the cheese and mix well using your hands until well combined. If the dough is dry you can add a tablespoon of milk.
*The dough is sticky, I recommend oiling your hand to roll the bread.
*You can bake the pandebonos immediately after making them or store them in the fridge until ready to bake. I like to keep them in the fridge to settle for at least 15 minutes before baking.
*If you want the pandebono to have a more round shape use a muffin pan to keep them in shape.
More Colombian Style Breads:
Pandebono (Colombian Cheese bread) Recipe
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup cassava starch or yuca flour
- ¼ cup precooked cornmeal or masarepa
- 1 cup Mexican queso freso or Colombian quesito
- 1 + ¼ cup feta cheese
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 400°F.
- In a food processor, place the yuca flour, cheese and masarepa. Process until well combined. Add the egg slowly while food processor is running.
- Divide the mixture into 12 equal size portions, shaping them into balls.
- Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for about 20 to 30 minutes or until golden on top. Serve warm.
Diana
I was looking at your pan de yuca recipe and I wanted to know if there is a difference between the tapioca starch used there and the cassava starch used in this recipe. Are they the same thing? I can't wait to make these!
Erica Dinho
Yes, it's the same.
Angela
I don't know what went wrong, but my dough turned out waaay too liquidy, so I had to add a huge heap of extra flour, unmeasured. And I had to cook for a much longer time. Turned out okay though, but the cheese flavour was too subtle.
Erica Dinho
I don't know,Angela! What kind of cheese did you use?
Andrea
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I tried it tonight with bob's red mill masa harina since it was all I had. I used queso fresco and cotija. They weren't as airy & light as I hoped, a bit dense. I believe the cheese was too salty.
I will try again with the Colombian cheeses next time.
Nick
The first batch I made were too salty and dense, I'm making another batch now with only 1 cup of feta and 2 tsp of sugar to help offset the sodium from the cheese. They still look like they're going to be dense though and are taking a lot longer than the 15-20 minutes recommended in the recipe, has anyone else experienced this or knows how to make them less dense?
Glennette
I love this pan de bono,Its my first time to taste it ...it was given to us by our favorite columbian Dr...for nurses week and I was curious about this pan coz. I cld not identify the ingredients right away...Im a good cook and a baker but this bread is amazing.Simple and its so delecious.Thanks for sharing the recipe.Gracias !!!!!
Angélica
Ya probamos esta receta y nos encantó.... Nos gustaría saber el peso de los quesos en gramos ya que así no tendríamos que rayarlos previamente para poder medirlos con los cups 😛
Mireya
Muy buena receta!❤
Marisa
Hi Erica, My husband made these pandebono last night and they came out amazing! Just as good or better than the Colombian bakery we usually go to. Now we can make them at home and enjoy them fresh out of the oven! Thanks so much, I really enjoy your site and can't wait to make more of your recipes.
Erica
Marisa-Thank you for your feedback!
Cristina
La mejor pagina para recetas colombianas. Me encantan todos los platos.
Colombian in Tennessee
just made the pan de bonos, they look and taste like the ones from the Colombian bakeries in Miami. Living away from Miami i have to make everything from scratch. I added 1Tablespoon of sugar before mixing the dough. Next time I'll add 2 Tablespoons. I like them a little sweet. great recipe Erica thanks.
Pablo
I tried it, I liked it, my Colombian wife approved and recognized it as pandebono.
I don't have a food processor capable of doing the job, so it was the "old fashioned way".
It is a fairly heavy, dry dough. I will try letting the cheese sit out overnight to warm up more next time, perhaps be more generous with the cheese, or add a small portion of cottage cheese for more moisture.
Pablo
I haven't tried this recipe yet, hope to soon. I'm surprised the dough will hold together with so little moisture. The Queso Fresco locally available, when shredded, has the consistency of mozzarella. I haven't had much experience with Feta, other than what is sold crumbled for topping salads.
Sounds like a fairly solid dough.
Chris
It seems that the Colombian and the Brazilian cuisine have a lot of similar dishes. Pandebono is very similar to pao de queijo. Anyway, a must try because this cheese bread is simply delicious - even more with a very good Colombian or Brazilian coffee 🙂
Chris - welovechicken.com
Chrissy
If any one felt as though the amount of feta was too salty how much would you guys decrease it by? I love pandebono, this will be my first time making it and my family is not a big fan of food that is too salty. An quick response would be greatly appreciated 🙂 Thank you!
Tania
We live in Miami and are lucky to have a couple of places to buy great pan de bono, but my husband and I have tried a few different recipes to make our own at home. After I found your recipe, I tried it out today, and my husband (who is from Cali) ate up most of them! The kids and I liked them, too. They're definitely the best we've tried at home. I don't have a food processor, so I tried the blender (didn't work) but ended up just cutting the flours and cheeses together and mixing them by hand in a bowl before adding the egg. I think next time I will use a little less feta (ours was very salty) and a little more quesito colombiano, and maybe a tsp of sugar. But this is definitely a winning recipe for us, and we'll be using it again! I'm now eager to try your other recipes, since it's hard to find Colombian recipes that are easy to follow and written in English with English measurements instead of metric. Thanks!!
Angie Chen
Hi Tania! Would you mind telling me what you changed to the original recipe and instructions? I did the same exact thing, and found it too salty. I used a blender and it didn't really work and it came out nothing like the picture. I still enjoyed this recipe, but I will have to make this for about 30 people soon. What did you change to it? Thank you in advance. 🙂
Eva
For people in the states and Canada looking for yuca flour: you can often find it in Asian markets as tapioca flour or tapioca starch (it´s often a Thai brand). Also, I´ve tried making pandebono with regular cornmeal and it definitely did not work.
Marta
My sister made those yesterday for a brunch and they were so delicious! I came to print the recipe. Thank you for all your wonderful Colombian recipes. I love your site.