A naturally gluten-free crepe made purely from hydrated cassava starch cooked on a hot griddle, where the granules fuse into a pliable white wrap. Folded around sweet or savoury fillings, it is a Northeastern staple eaten any time of day.
An indigenous Brazilian preparation rooted in cassava processing by native Tupi peoples, now iconic across the Northeast and sold from street griddles nationwide.
The wrap is warm, soft and faintly chewy with almost no flavour of its own, a blank canvas for what is inside. A savoury cheese filling turns it stretchy and gooey; a sweet coconut one makes it dessert. Light and surprisingly filling.
When hydrated cassava starch granules hit the hot surface they gelatinise and partially melt, bonding edge to edge into a cohesive flexible sheet without any flour, gluten or fat.
Variations
tapioca with cheese and coconut, with carne de sol, sweet banana and cinnamon, dulce de leche filling
On the Palate
Where Tapioca Brazilian sits in the Brazilian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 2How it's made
8 steps · 10 min active
- 15 min
Hydrate cassava starch with water and a little salt, then rest until crumbly.
- 23 min
Press the moist starch through a fine sieve to make even fluffy granules.
- 32 min
Heat a non-stick pan or griddle over medium heat with no oil.
- 41 min
Sprinkle a thin, even layer of sieved starch across the hot surface.
- 52 min
Let the granules melt and fuse into a solid white disc, about 2 minutes.
- 61 min
Flip the crepe briefly to set the other side.
- 72 min
Add fillings such as cheese and ham, or coconut and condensed milk, to one half.
- 81 min
Fold the tapioca over the filling and serve hot.
