Don't you hate it when you go to the store and one of your favorite items is sold out? I do. Interestingly enough, the ingredients to make these delicious bites are commonly available at the store. With a couple of quick steps, you can make your own. These can be ready in about 15 minutes and are a great match to the customer's favorite. My copycat Trader Joe's Oven-Baked Cheese Bites recipe is also gluten-free and keto-friendly, so if that is why you pick those items up, then keep this recipe handy! Parmesan Crisps like this is truly easy to make.
I love Trader Joe's Oven-Baked Cheese Bites. But apparently, a lot of other people do. While it makes my weekly shopping list, it doesn't make it into my cart regularly. Why? Because at some point, prior to me getting to the store, someone has already cleared the shelf for me.
It's that serious.
So rather than sulk about it. I went over to the cheese section and dealt with the issue directly. One chunk of parmesan cheese went into my cart as did one chunk of Grana Padano cheese.
Why those? Because those are the only ingredients in the original product.
After a bit of experimenting, I figured a pretty close ratio was 3:1. In this case, 3 cups of Grana Padano Cheese to 1 Cup of Parmesan Cheese.
In other words, after a bit of kitchen tinkering, I realized that 4 cups of shredded cheese would yield about 24 crisps.
So one cup of parmesan with three cups of freshly grated Grana Padano seemed about right.
Now, about that round shape. That was an easy problem-solving issue. Some basic kitchen equipment and you'll also have a similar (but not exact) shaped crisp.
Do I Have To Use the Cheese You Mentioned?
No. They just won't taste like the copycat that they are trying to be. If you use cheddar, you'll have cheddar bites. Use all parmesan, then you'll have parmesan crisps. At the end of the day, this is just a really simple parmesan crisp recipe.
What's the Difference Between Grana Padano and Parmesan Cheese?
While both kinds of cheese mention "parmesan" there are some differences. Both products are DOP controlled, meaning there are certain rules that are in place to protect this product from being named anything other than what it is.
In order for it to be called:
Grana Padano Parmesan-it must be aged at least 9 months, must be produced in the Po River Valley, must be produced with partly skimmed cow's milk and will contain the Trademark on the rind.
Parmesan Reggiano- it must be aged at least 12 months, is a mix of whole and skim cow's milk, is only made in certain northern provinces of Italy, and will also contain an indication on the rind about its origin.
Watch Me Make My Copycat Trader Joe's Oven-Baked Cheese Bites (40 Seconds)
Tips for making
- These are essentially just parmesan crisps, so any hard cheese you would enjoy would work here
- Keep an eye on these as the process moves pretty quick
- If you are watching these from the window of your oven, you will watch the following phases: melting, bubbling, frying, and when they look dry they are done.
- While they come out slightly darker than the cheese bites in a bag, they are just as delicious.
How Do I Make these at Home?
Step 1: Get two chunks of cheese: one of parmesan and one of Grana Padano. Preheat your oven to 400F.
Step 2: Grate the cheese.
Step 3: In your mini muffin tin, put one tablespoon of cheese shreds into each space. Four cups of shredded cheese should yield 24 bites.
Step 4: No need to grease the pan. The cheese has enough fat to prevent it from sticking. After you have filled all 24 spaces, place into the oven. You will see the cheese go through various phases: melting, bubbling, what looks like frying. Once there is less liquid in each space, then you'll need to keep an eye on these. They will brown quickly from this point.
Step 5: Allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Use a spoon to pop these out of their place. If there is still some grease left, then allow them to dry on a paper towel. If they seem dry, then place them into an air tight container for storage.
Step 6: Taste and enjoy!
I hope you enjoy these Copycat Trader Joe's Oven-Baked Cheese Bites!
If you try this, would you mind hitting the “Rate” button? I’d love to know what you thought of it. If you modified the original recipe here, please let me know how it turned out. I love comments!
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Copycat Trader Joe's Oven Baked Cheese Bites
Ingredients
- 1 cup parmesan cheese shredded
- 3 cups grana padano cheese shredded
Kitchen Equipment Needed
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400F
- Shred cheeses
- Add 1 heaping tablespoon to each space in a mini muffin pan.
- Bake for 11-14 minutes
- Allow to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Use spoon to pop them out of their space.
Video
Notes
- These are essentially just parmesan crisps, so any hard cheese you would enjoy would work here
- Keep an eye on these as the process moves pretty quick
- If you are watching these from the window of your oven, you will watch the following phases: melting, bubbling, frying, and when they look dry they are done.
- While they come out slightly darker than the cheese bites in a bag, they are just as delicious.
- If they come out with a little "crown" of cheese, don't worry, that is delicious too. It's great for sampling your work.
Alek says
You can do a bit larger size and drape it over a bowl of tomato soup. YUM! The fun part is cracking the cheese top.
becomebetty says
Hey Alek! You can totally put a bit on a cookie sheet and make whatever size you'd like. I tried to keep these round to keep with the spirit of the original snack. And yes, tomato soup is an excellent pairing with these. Thanks so very much for stopping by!
Dagmar says
I absolutely love cheese crisps (frico). I periodically have purchased them from Trader Joe's but I also get them from Sonoma Creamery on Amazon because they have bars that are individually packaged and also bags. In addition to that they have a number of flavors -different kinds of cheeses like a bacon cheddar, everything bagel cheddar, savoury seed cheddar, pepper jack etc. It can be costly but I wait for Lightning Deals and right now it looks like they're having a $2 off coupon. I actually prefer the individually packaged bars in the variety pack because there are two good sized rectangular bars for about 110-120 calories and about 5-7 grams of fat per pack. Portable keto cheesy protein. When I've got them on sale on Amazon I have got them for about a $1.80 a pack which is not bad.
becomebetty says
Hey Dag! Yummy! I'll have to look for those! Amazon has made the UPS guy a regular around here. And yes, I totally need to do a double check on the calories of this. I entered the cups, but I'm not sure if that matches the weight of what the software I'm using has. And OMG Bacon Cheddar. Yum! Thanks so much for sharing this with me and everyone else here.
judilyn says
What a great toss-in for a green salad! Super crouton! ;->
Virtual hugs,
Judie
becomebetty says
Hey Judie! These do make for super croutons in any salad! Thanks so much as always for stopping by!
Beth says
How many bites are in a serving for 294 calories? That seems high for 4 bites as shown in the recipe. Great idea. Thank you so much.
becomebetty says
Hey Beth! I just noticed that too. The software I'm using I think calculated it as if I'm using a pound of cheese, to which I'm not. I'm going to weigh things again tomorrow to see if there are any adjustments that I need to make. Thanks so much for flagging this for me!
becomebetty says
Hey Beth! I just wanted to get back to you. I weighed the ingredients. The shredded cheese in 4 cups is 6 ounces. So the calories now reflect what is actually in these bites. I hope that helps!
PattiAnn says
Question? Is the TJ parmesan that is already grated and sold in tubs an OK sub for this recipe? Or does that parm have some kinda stabilizer in it? Also I buy the grated Pecorino Romano & Parmesan blend in tubs. What do you think about using that?
Thanks for your help. I'm looking forward to trying your technique for cheese crisps.
becomebetty says
Hey PattiAnn! I don't know about the TJs brand, but I just got back from the store (not TJs brand I was looking at). Anyways, I saw your question and investigated a bit further. I noticed grated parmesan cheese had an anti-caking agent in it. So I'm not sure 100% if it will work, but it still might. If you buy the pre-shredded it might be ok, but the finely ground parmesan cheese might present some issues and might even throw the timing off as there will be more product in each tablespoon. With the shreds there is technically more space. Doesn't hurt to try (even if you fill just one space to test it out). Let me know if you try it! Would love to hear back from you!
Dagmar says
An idea why don't you sprinkle some of Trader Joe's Everything Bagel Seasoning on the cheese prior to baking!!!!
becomebetty says
Hey Dag! I might try that out, but since there are dried onions in there I'm also worried about that burning. However, I guess there is only one way to find out! Thanks so much for adding this!
Dagmar says
Try it towards the end of the baking time when it is still somewhat melty and not totally crisp yet and press the seeds into the cheese
becomebetty says
There will be another batch coming this weekend, so I'll give it a try.
Ttrockwood says
Was it more cost effective to make your own?
becomebetty says
Hey Ttrockwood! That's one thing I'm going to have to go back and figure out. I'll have to do a weight comparison to see what I come up with. This weekend I'll make another batch and weigh everything so I can answer both your question and the calorie question (again, I think the weight issue came into play). Especially with the fine shreds I was dealing with it seemed pretty light. Thanks a bunch for asking and I promise I'll get back to you.
denverkat276 says
YEAH!!! I love the cheese bites and that little bag is $2.49 here in my area. I cannot wait to give it a try. I figured that it was very simple but I wasn't sure if there was something other than just baking and waiting to cool. Thanks for this. I am going to have to make a big ol' batch of these as there is no carbs and gives me a satisfying CRUNCH!! I do have one question in regards to storage. Do you store in fridge or can it be stored in a seal container at room temperature? Mind you, most likely we will all eat them up before a need for storage is necessary, but thought I would ask!! Thanks so much. Next I must find a hack on the TJ's Turkey Jerkya
becomebetty says
Hey There Denverkat! I left them at room temperature in an air tight container. Now, how long do they last? In my household they've never made it more than 48 hours. So we have a similar problem here too ;). As far as they turkey jerky, that I haven't made yet. But it can be something to work on. I'd love to hear what you think of these. Glad it helps and I hope you enjoy these. They are pretty easy to make.
Dr. Tabouli says
Love these! Made them with the two cheeses you suggested and they turned out great. I brought them to my family Christmas and they were the most popular food on the snack table (they were competing with some other really good home made appetizers, but people kept dipping into the cheese bites). Looking forward to experimenting with other cheeses and add ins. Thanks for the recipe.
becomebetty says
Hey Dr. Tabouli! I'm so happy to hear they were a hit. Thanks so much for sharing this. It really made my day!