If you ask me there’s always a good reason to make fancy little appetizers and they don’t get much better than gougeres. Buttery, cheesy and and light as air these delectable french cheese puffs are much easier to make than you’d think. Put on your favorite French film, pour a glass of champagne and make yourself a batch of these tasty gougeres.
The Casual Foodist contains affiliate links, when you make a purchase through these links the Casual Foodist receives a small commission that helps support this site at no additional cost to you.
What are gougeres?
Gougeres, or French cheese puffs, are a traditional French appetizer made from pate a choux. Pate a choux is the same dough that are used to make cream puffs and eclairs, cheese is used for gougeres for a savory take on the classic cream puff.
What kind of cheese to use for gougeres?
Traditionally gruyere is used for gougeres but you can use any sharp cheese that melts well . Cheddar and parmesan would be great options for these French cheese puffs .
How to make gougeres.
Whether you’re making cream puffs, eclairs or gougeres the pate a choux dough starts off the same. This dough is made in a saucepan, first melting butter along with water and salt. Once the butter is melted add in the flour and stir, cooking for 1-2 minutes until the dough comes together. Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool for about 5 minutes before stirring the eggs in one at a time, making sure each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next. At this stage you have basic pate a choux dough, but for gougeres we stir in cheese and a bit of black pepper.
The dough puffs can be made either by spooning the dough out onto a baking sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat, or piping the dough with a pastry sheet. The gougeres are then baked, first at 425 degrees for 10 minutes then an additional 20 minutes at 375 degrees, until they are puffed up and golden. Gougeres are at their best warm but can also be served at room temperature.
If you like these gougeres be sure to take a look at some of my other recipes!
Asparagus Puff Pastry Tart with Ricotta
Baked Brie with Hot Honey and Pecans
If you make this Gougere recipe please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest for my latest recipes. Also, if you do make this recipe please tag me on Instagram, I’d love to see what you guys are making!
Gougeres – Classic French Cheese Puffs
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter cubed
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup Gruyere cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- In a medium saucepan heat water, butter and salt over medium heat until butter is melted. Reduce heat to low and mix in flour, stirring for 1-2 minutes until dough comes together and pulls away from the pan. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes before stirring in the eggs one at a time. Add in the black pepper and cheese making sure is thoroughly combined.
- You can use a spoon or a pastry bag to create your dough puffs, each puff should be about 1 inch wide and spaced 1.5 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat.
- Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, then lower the temperature to 375 degrees and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until the cheese puffs golden and fluffy.
Would you like to save this recipe?
We’ll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Dates says
Learnt something new today. Gougeres look like a perfect snack. Will give these a shot soon. Thanks Brianna
Beth says
Yummy! These looks so amazing and tasty! I can’t wait to make these!
Kay says
My daughter is doing a home school project on food in France and was looking for an easy to follow recipe. Your recipe helped her and we all thoroughly enjoyed the Gougeres, that you helped her make! 🙂
Brianna says
Aw, that warms my heart! I’m glad you all enjoyed them!
Dannii says
You had me at cheese. These look amazing, and would be perfect for a party.
Charla says
I love cheese puffs, so addictive and more-ish. Can’t wait to try your recipe!
Rob says
Gougeres are one of my favorites! This recipe makes it look so simple. I look forward to trying it.
Kay says
I love gruyere cheese, so had to try this out! This baked french style dough made for a great starter that the whole family enjoyed!
Anaiah says
I love cheese puffs! I could eat all of these as a whole meal lol! This is a great snack recipe for my son also. Looking forward to trying these.
Angela says
I love how these came out. Such a fun recipe.
Leslie says
Great recipe for Cheese Puffs!
Kristina says
These are so good!
Swathi says
I love gourgeres . my favorite treat.
Jeri says
These turned out great! Thanks for the recipe!
Jeannie says
these are my fave! thanks for the recipe
Anna says
So easy to make and absolutely delicious!
Allyssa says
Super loved this cheese puff recipe! Highly recommended! Thanks a lot for sharing this one, will surely make it again!
Joshua says
These cheese puffs came out amazing and were so tasty with gruyere cheese! It was like eating at a restaurant.
Liz says
These look delicious!
Natalie says
Oh wow, this is such an easy recipe and puffs sound delicious. I bet my boys would love this, they devour anything with cheese inside. I can’t wait to try this.