Cheese Paratha (Cheese Stuffed Flatbread)

Cheese paratha is a delicious whole wheat unleavened flatbread stuffed with a cheesy savory stuffing made with cheddar cheese, onions, green chilies and black pepper. These cheese flatbreads make for a wholesome breakfast or brunch. I also share the instructions for making pizza paratha as it is very similar to making this cheese paratha.

About Cheese Paratha

There are many varieties of paratha made and this is one such tasty paratha which kids will love. I make different types of stuffed paratha and I have shared all of them on the blog like Aloo Paratha, Gobi Paratha, Mooli Paratha, Paneer Paratha etc.

This is another variation of cheese paratha that I make for a quick breakfast or brunch. The recipe makes for a cheesy paratha and you can include either cheddar cheese or a mix of cheddar and mozzarella cheese.

The cheese stuffing mixture can be customized according tor your needs. You can make it more or less spicy.

I make a minimally spiced cheese stuffing that is not spicy or hot. So you can change the spice factor in the cheese stuffing accordingly. If making for small kids then skip the green chilies and black pepper.

These cheese paratha are best served hot as the cheese will be goeey and melted. On cooling the cheese can solidify. Thus I would not suggest to pack them in a tiffin box or lunch box.

The cheese can become dense and the parathas become chewy once they turn cold. So these paratha have to be served hot or warm.

Accompany these cheesy paratha with curd (yogurt) or mango pickle or tomato ketchup or sriracha sauce or a spicy chilli sauce.

How to make Cheese Paratha

Knead Dough

1. In a large mixing bowl or plate/tray take 1 cup whole wheat flour, ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon oil or ghee (clarified butter). Add some water in parts.

2. Mix everything and begin to knead into a smooth and soft dough. Add more water as you go on kneading. The amount of water needed depends upon the quality of the flour.

Cover the bowl with a lid or cloth and keep the dough aside for 20 to 30 minutes.

Make Cheese Stuffing

3. When the dough is resting, prepare the cheese stuffing.

In a bowl or plate, take all the stuffing ingredients – ½ cup tightly packed grated cheese, ¼ cup finely chopped onions, 1 or 2 green chilies (skip for small kids), finely chopped and ¼ to ½ tsp crushed black pepper (skip for small kids).

Here I added orange cheddar cheese. You can use regular plain cheese or cheddar cheese.

I add onions as we prefer them in these parathas. But you can easily skip the onions and increase the quantity of cheese. You can also add garlic or ginger if you want.

Tip: Make sure that the onions and green chilies are finely chopped. Otherwise, they will come out of the paratha while rolling or roasting.

4. Mix everything very well. No need to add salt as cheese already has a lot of salt.

Assemble and Fill

5. Pinch two small balls from the dough. Roll them between your palms. Flatten them and dust with whole wheat flour.

6. With a rolling pin, roll them into about 4 to 5 inches diameter rounds. Try making both the rounds of the same size.

7. On one of the rolled dough circle, place the cheese stuffing in the center and keep about 1 inch empty space from the sides.

Don’t overstuff or understuff the filling. An overstuffed paratha might break while rolling.

Whereas in an under-stuffed paratha you will only get to taste more of the dough and less of the savory cheesy stuffing.

8. Gently place the second circle on top and press and seal the edges with your fingertips.

9. Dust some flour on the stuffed paratha.

10. Begin to roll the paratha. Dust some more flour if required.

11. Roll the paratha into a round of about 7 to 8 inches in diameter or about the size of a normal roti or chapati.

Make Cheese Paratha

12. On a hot tava/skillet/griddle place the rolled paratha. Keep the heat to medium to medium high.

13. The tava should be hot and not at a low temperature. Cooking parathas at a low flame will harden them. Parathas ideally are crisp as well as soft.

14. When the base is partly cooked, flip the paratha with the help of tongs or a spatula.

15. With a spoon spread some oil or ghee (clarified butter) on the partly cooked part.

16. Flip again and this time this side has to be cooked more than the previous side. You will see brown spots on the cheese paratha.

17. Spread some ghee on this side too. While taking photos I accidentally spilled more ghee on the paratha.

18. Flip again once or twice till both the sides are cooked properly. You should see crisp brown spots on the paratha.

Press the paratha edges with a spatula or spoon, so that they are fried well.

Sometimes the paratha edges might remain uncooked. So ensure that they are also cooked well.

19. Here the cheese paratha is roasted nicely with some brown-black blisters and the edges are also cooked. Remove the paratha from the tava and serve them hot.

Make all cheese paratha this way. While making the second paratha if you see some brown or burnt wheat particles on the tawa then wipe it with kitchen paper towel or napkin before roasting the paratha.

The recipe will make 4 to 6 cheese paratha, depending on the size and thickness. The recipe can be doubled too.

20. Serve these cheese paratha hot with curd/yogurt or mango pickle or tomato ketchup.

It also makes for a filling evening snack or an after school snack. If you have some leftover dough then these parathas come together in less time.

For more delicious cheese recipes, you can check this collection of Cheese Recipes.

How to make Pizza Paratha

You can also use this recipe to make stuffed pizza paratha.

1. Prep the cheese stuffing with a mix of cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese, onions and black pepper. You can opt to only use mozzarella cheese. Add ½ teaspoon of Pizza seasonings or Italian seasonings. You can also choose to add finely chopped capsicum and some red chili flakes. Mix and set aside.
2. Spread some olive oil on one of the rolled dough.
3. Then spread a light layer of pizza sauce. You can use homemade Pizza Sauce or packaged one. Ensure that the pizza sauce is nicely thick and not runny or watery. Or else you risk your pizza paratha becoming soggy.
4. Add the cheese stuffing evenly to the pizza sauce. Don’t overfill or under-fill with the stuffing.
5. Cover and seal the edges. Roll into a 6 to 7 inches paratha. Then roast the pizza paratha in ghee or oil (any neutral oil). You can also use olive oil for roasting.
6. This pizza paratha has to be served hot or warm for best taste.

Expert Tips

• Knead the dough very well. The dough has to be smooth, pliable and soft.
• You can use cheddar cheese or mozzarella cheese or processed cheese. I usually make them with cheddar cheese or a mix of cheddar cheese or mozzarella cheese.
• Choose to vary the flavor of the paratha stuffing as you desire. E.g. you can get pizza like flavors by using Italian seasonings. For a Mexican-style cheese stuffing include Mexican seasonings or Mexican spices and herbs.
• If making for small kids or if you are sensitive to spice then omit the green chilies and black pepper.
• Don’t make them in advance as on cooling the flavor and the texture changes. The cheese solidifies and the paratha can become chewy.

More paratha recipes

• Paratha Recipe
• Methi paratha
• Palak paratha

Cheese Paratha recipe from the archives was originally published on March 2015.