Belo Horizonte’s Cheese Bread Circuit Runs Free Until Sunday
Belo Horizonte · FOOD
Key Facts
- —What happened Belo Horizonte’s free cheese bread circuit runs until Sunday 23 August, closing with a street festival in Savassi.
- —How big a jump This is the second edition of the week-long event, which began Monday 17 August with four days of programming left.
- —The real story The circuit is a city-backed celebration of pão de queijo, a gluten-free cassava roll made with protected Minas cheese.
- —The catch Most events are free, but individual stalls charge for food; a plain pão de queijo costs about US$1 to US$1.55.
- —Who it touches Join the Sunday festival on Avenida Cristóvão Colombo, or try Café Nice and Mercado Central.
- —What comes next Check the city’s events portal on the morning you plan to go, as street programming can move.
A week of free cheese-bread programming across Belo Horizonte, closing with a street festival in Savassi on Sunday. Four days left.
The Circuito do Pão de Queijo is running in Belo Horizonte until Sunday 23 August. Most of it is free, and four days of programme remain.
What it is
The cheese bread circuit, formally the Circuito do Pão de Queijo, is a week of events across Belo Horizonte. This is its second edition.
The city’s events portal describes it as a celebration of the affection people here feel for their favourite snack. That is a fair description of the week.
It began on Monday 17 August, the informal national cheese bread day, and runs to Sunday 23 August.
That leaves four days as of Wednesday. The best of it comes at the end.
What is still to come
Wednesday’s item is the Fan Trip Rota do Pão de Queijo, a route around the city’s main tourist points.
There is also the Expresso do Pão de Queijo, an open-sided tour bus around the Praça da Liberdade. It comes with tastings and a guided commentary.
The Pão de Queijo das Crianças is a family afternoon at the Praça da Assembleia.
A Corrida do Pão de Queijo, a run through the Centro-Sul district, is on the programme too.
Sunday is the one to plan for
The circuit closes on Sunday 23 August with the Festival do Pão de Queijo on Avenida Cristóvão Colombo, in Savassi.
Savassi is Belo Horizonte’s most walkable eating district, a few blocks south of the Praça da Liberdade.
A Sunday street festival in Savassi is the format this city does best. Expect stalls rather than a ticketed event.
The afternoon is the safe window if you only get one shot at it.
Why Minas Gerais and not anywhere else
Pao de queijo is made from cassava starch, Minas cheese, eggs, milk and oil. It contains no wheat, so it is naturally gluten free.
The cheese is the part that ties it to this state. Minas has a protected artisanal cheese tradition that predates the recipe.
In Belo Horizonte the result is treated as civic property, not simply as a snack. A week-long circuit follows naturally from that.
If you have recently moved here, it is one of the cheapest ways into a real local food culture.
If you want to eat rather than walk
The circuit is a programme of events, not a restaurant guide. If you simply want the city’s best pão de queijo, that is a different question.
Belo Horizonte’s Mercado Central is the obvious starting point, with several counters within a few metres of each other.
Chefs gave the local press their own picks this week. Café Nice downtown, Café Dois Irmãos and Cafeteria Lá no Mercado were among them.
A plain one runs roughly five to eight reais, about US$1 to US$1.55 at the official rate of 5.2043 on 18 August.
What it costs
Most of the circuit is free. It is a city-backed initiative rather than a commercial festival.
Individual bakeries charge for what they sell, which is normal. A plain pão de queijo usually costs a few reais.
Nothing in the published programme needs a ticket bought in advance. You can decide on the day.
One thing to know about Minas cheese
The queijo minas that goes into the dough is a protected artisanal product with regional variations, not one industrial cheese.
Canastra, Serro and Araxá are the best-known producing regions, and each one tastes different.
A baker using a particular regional cheese will usually say so. It is a good thing to ask about at a stall.
It is also why the same recipe tastes different two blocks apart.
How to fit it around a working week
The weekday items are short and scattered across the city. They suit a lunch hour more than a day off.
If you can only do one thing, do Sunday. The closing festival is the concentrated version.
Savassi is well served by taxis and app cars, and parking on a festival Sunday will be difficult.
Bring cash. Brazilian street stalls take cards more than they used to, but not all of them.
Street programming moves, so check the city’s events portal on the morning you plan to go.
More: Brazil news, every day from The Rio Times.
When is the Circuito do Pão de Queijo?
Monday 17 to Sunday 23 August 2026, in Belo Horizonte. It is the second edition and it is still running.
Is it free?
Most of the programme is free. It is a city-backed circuit rather than a ticketed festival, though individual stalls charge for what they sell.
What happens on the last day?
The Festival do Pão de Queijo closes the circuit on Sunday 23 August, on Avenida Cristóvão Colombo in the Savassi district.
What is pão de queijo?
A small chewy roll made from cassava starch, Minas cheese, eggs, milk and oil. It has no wheat, so it is naturally gluten free.
Sources
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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