Paraguay's iconic gluten-free cheese bread — chewy rings of cassava flour, hard cheese, anise, and eggs baked until crusty and golden.
Chipa is the bread of Paraguay — sold from straw baskets at bus stations, churned out by neighborhood ovens before dawn, and eaten by the dozen during Holy Week. The dough is a paste of cassava starch (almidón de mandioca) and hard cheese — usually Paraguay or queso fresco — bound with eggs, pork lard or butter, anise seed, and just enough milk to hold it together. Shaped into small rings or torpedoes and baked in a hot oven, chipa puffs into a chewy, gluten-free, faintly tangy bread with a deep golden crust and a stretchy cheese-rich interior. Each Paraguayan family has its own chipa recipe, and the variations — chipa avati made with corn flour, chipa guasú as a corn-and-cheese cake, chipa mbocá grilled on a stick — are countless. The classic ring is the icon.
Serves 12
Heat oven to 220°C with a baking sheet inside — chipa needs blistering heat from below to puff properly. Line a second sheet with parchment.
In a large bowl, beat lard or butter with grated cheese for 2 minutes until well combined. The cheese should be very finely grated — large shreds prevent the dough from coming together.
Beat in eggs one at a time. Add salt, anise, and baking powder if using.
Add cassava starch in three additions, mixing with a wooden spoon. The mixture will look crumbly at first.
Drizzle in milk a tablespoon at a time, mixing, until the dough comes together as a slightly sticky but pliable mass. You may not need all the milk.
Cassava starch absorbs liquid unpredictably. Stop adding milk as soon as the dough holds together when squeezed.
Turn onto a clean surface and knead 2 minutes until smooth. Don't over-knead — cassava starch develops no gluten and overworking just makes the dough sticky.
Divide into 24 equal pieces. Roll each into a 12 cm rope, then form into a ring, pressing the ends together. Place on the parchment-lined sheet, leaving 3 cm between rings.
Slide the parchment onto the preheated baking sheet. Bake at 220°C for 18–22 minutes until deep golden brown and the chipa sounds hollow when tapped underneath.
Cool 5 minutes only — chipa is at its absolute best within 30 minutes of baking, while the cheese is still soft inside and the crust is shatteringly crisp.
Use only cassava starch (almidón / tapioca starch), never cassava flour — they're different products and cassava flour will give you a dense, gummy result.
Paraguay cheese is hard and salty; substitute a 50/50 mix of low-moisture mozzarella and aged provolone or pecorino for the closest result.
Chipa is unforgiving once cold — eat warm, or refresh in a 200°C oven for 4 minutes to bring it back.
Pork lard gives the most traditional flavor; butter works but is slightly less rich.
Chipa guasú: a corn-and-cheese cake baked in a pan, not formed into rings.
Chipa avati: incorporates fresh corn into the dough for sweeter, denser bread.
Mini chipa cocktail-bite version: roll dough into marble-sized balls, bake 12 minutes, serve with chimichurri.
Add 2 tbsp anise-flavored liqueur (anís) to the dough for the Semana Santa version.
Best on the day they're baked. Freeze raw shaped rings for up to 2 months; bake from frozen, adding 5 minutes to cook time. Refrigeration ruins texture — avoid.
Chipa originated with the Guaraní indigenous people of Paraguay, who used cassava (mandioca) as a staple long before European contact. The cheese-and-egg version developed in the 17th century after Jesuit missionaries introduced dairy farming to the region. Chipa is now so central to Paraguayan identity that the country's National Chipa Day is celebrated on August 24.
They are the same product under different names — both refer to the starch extracted from cassava root. 'Almidón de mandioca' is the Paraguayan label and is what authentic chipa requires.
Cheese is the structural backbone — without it the dough is dry and bland. You can reduce by 30% but going lower changes the dish substantially.
Either your oven wasn't hot enough at the start, or your dough was too wet. Chipa needs a powerful initial blast of heat to puff the cheese and starch. Always preheat the baking sheet.
Yes — cassava starch contains no gluten, and cheese, eggs, and milk are naturally gluten-free. Chipa is one of the world's most beloved naturally gluten-free breads.
Per serving (70g) · 12 servings total
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