Mbejú is a Paraguayan starch-and-cheese flatbread of Guaraní origin — cassava starch and fresh cheese rubbed with fat and griddled dense, crumbly and golden. Naturally gluten-free, it is breakfast with a gourd of bitter mate.
Break a piece of mbejú and it is dense, crumbly, and golden, the cassava starch chewy-tender and rich with melted fresh cheese, mildly salty and toasty from the pan. Bite: satisfying and a little chewy, cheese-rich and starchy, neither bread nor cake but its own thing, lovely warm with bitter mate. The gluten-free Guaraní staple of the Paraguayan morning.
Cassava starch has no gluten, so the cake binds through fat and melted cheese rather than dough development — giving its signature dense, crumbly-yet-chewy texture. Griddling sets the outside golden while the cheese melts through; cornflour adds a little structure.
Variations
With anise seed. With more cheese. As chipá guazú (baked). Smaller. With egg. With milk curds.
On the Palate
Where Mbeju Paraguayo sits in the Paraguayan flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
8 steps · 25 min active · 10 min waiting
- 14 min
Rub cassava starch and a little cornflour with soft butter or lard.
- 23 min
Crumble in plenty of fresh cheese and a pinch of salt.
- 34 min
Add just enough milk to make a damp, crumbly mixture that holds when pressed.
- 43 min
Heat a dry or lightly greased pan over medium heat.
- 53 min
Press the mixture into a flat disc in the pan.
- 68 min
Cook until the underside is golden and set, then flip carefully.
- 77 min
Cook the second side until golden and the cake holds together.
- 83 min
Serve hot with mate or coffee.
