Cheese Recipes from Creamy to Golden and Crisp

Guide

Cheese recipes for hot and cold dishes

Cheese can be a creamy sauce, a spicy filling, a golden brown crust, a fresh topping or the centre of a dish. The right type is crucial: mozzarella melts gently and elastically, mountain cheese is spicy, feta tends to remain crumbly and cream cheese combines sauces and fillings.

On this page you will find cheese recipes for pasta, casseroles, potatoes, salads, snacks and social food. Combine them with ideas from the categories Vegetables, Noodles, Potatoes and Fruit.

Which type of cheese goes with which recipe?

Water content, fat, ripeness and production influence taste and melting behaviour. Young semi-hard cheeses melt evenly, hard cheeses provide strong spice and cream or soft cheeses ensure creaminess. Not every cheese forms threads or a smooth sauce.

• Mozzarella: Mild and elastic for pizza, pasta, casserole and stuffed vegetables.
• Gouda, Edam and Emmentaler: good for baking, toast, gratins and casseroles.
• Mountain Cheese, Gruyère and Cheddar: strong for sauce, fondue, cheese spaetzle and spicy crusts.
• Parmesan and other hard cheeses: Finely grated for pasta, risotto, soup, salad and crispy toppings.
• feta and shepherd cheese: crumbly for salad, baked vegetables, fillings and dips.
• Ricotta, cream cheese and curd cheese: creamy for fillings, spreads, sauces and pastries.
• Brie, Camembert and Goat Cheese: for oven, bread, salad and cheese platter.
• Blue Cheese: economical for strong sauces, dressing and combinations with pear or nuts.

Which cheese melts particularly well?

Many young to medium-ripe semi-hard cheeses are suitable for an even melt. Gouda, Emmentaler, Cheddar and Gruyère become soft and combine well with casserole or sauce. Mozzarella pulls strings but can release fluid due to its high water content. Therefore, drain well.

Feta and ricotta become warm and soft, but do not form an elastic layer. Parmesan melts finely grated in sauce and risotto, but forms a spicy crust on its own rather than long threads. Very long-matured or low-fat cheese can melt drier or less evenly.

Gratins and casseroles browned until golden brown

A good casserole needs a cooked or almost cooked base, sufficient sauce and a suitable amount of cheese. Potatoes, pasta, rice and solid vegetables are pre-cooked according to the recipe, so that the surface is not already dark while the inside remains hard.

Spread grated cheese evenly and mix it with breadcrumbs, chopped nuts or some hard cheese for a crisper crust. If the surface is browned too early, the mould can be temporarily covered. For more seasoning, combine mild processed cheese with a small amount of mountain cheese or Parmesan cheese.

Creamy cheese sauce without lumps

Grate cheese finely to spread quickly. First, prepare the liquid base or a thickened sauce, then reduce the heat and stir in the cheese in portions. Heavy cooking can separate fat from protein, making the sauce oily or grainy.

Starch from a sweat, cornstarch or a little pasta water stabilizes many sauces. A small dash of warm milk, broth or pasta water helps to thicken a sauce. Salts only after the cheese, because Parmesan, feta, blue mold and mountain cheese already bring a lot of spice.

Pasta, gnocchi and risotto with cheese

In pasta, starchy cooking water combines cheese and fat to make a sauce. In delicate recipes, remove the pan from the direct heat, add finely grated cheese and stir in only enough water until the sauce coats the pasta, reducing the risk of the cheese clumping together.

Ricotta and cream cheese are suitable for filling ravioli, cannelloni or lasagna. Mozzarella is melted in oven paste, Parmesan is seasoned. In risotto, cheese is only stirred in with butter at the end to maintain the creamy consistency.

Cheese with potatoes and vegetables

Potato gratin, baked potatoes, rösti, cheese spätzle with vegetables and stuffed potatoes combine a mild base with spicy cheese. Emmentaler, Gruyère, Gouda or mountain cheese are suitable for gratins. Cream cheese and curd cheese go well with dip, feta with baked potatoes and vegetables.

Broccoli, cauliflower, leek, spinach, pumpkin, tomatoes, zucchini and mushrooms go well with cheese. Watery vegetables should be fried before baking or drained well to prevent the sauce from becoming diluted. Fresh herbs and lemon juice are added only after baking.

Vegetarian main courses with cheese

Cheese gives flavour and texture to vegetable dishes, but it should not be the only component. Combine it with vegetables, potatoes, pasta, rice or legumes to make lasagna, quiche, stuffed peppers, vegetable casserole, halloumi bowl or salad with feta.

For a balanced dish, opponents such as tomatoes, herbs, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard or a crisp salad are helpful. For more meatless combinations, see Vegetarian Dinner.

Salads, bowls and cold cheeses

Feta, mozzarella, goat cheese, halloumi, parmesan and blue cheese add different accents. Feta goes well with cucumber, tomato and watermelon, mozzarella with tomato, peach or roasted vegetables, goat cheese with beetroot and blue cheese with pear and walnut.

Add cheese to lettuce just before serving, so that dressing and salt do not soften the leaves too early. Hard cheese is sliced, feta is crumbled and soft goat cheese is distributed in small portions. Nuts, seeds, croutons and fresh herbs provide additional texture.

Fillings, snacks and savoury baking ideas

Ricotta, cream cheese, feta cheese and grated semi-hard cheese are suitable for pasta, quiche, strudel, puff pastry snails, stuffed mushrooms or peppers. A good filling must not be too moist. Therefore, let spinach, mushrooms and other watery vegetables cool after cooking and squeeze out excess liquid.

For toast, quesadilla and sandwich, cheese is finely sliced or grated and spread between drier ingredients. Moderate heat causes it to melt before bread or dough turns too dark. A dip made from cream cheese or curd cheese can be varied with herbs, vegetables, horseradish or spices.

Plan fondue and raclette in a relaxed way

Mild and strong, well-melting varieties are often combined for cheese fondue. Finely grated cheese melts in the prepared liquid at controlled heat. A little starch can support the bond. As soon as the mixture is smooth, it is kept warm and not cooked too much.

For dipping, bread, pre-cooked solid vegetables, potatoes and raw vegetables are all suitable. Raclette is made up of cheese, vegetables, potatoes, bread, pickled ingredients and small toppings, so that everyone can combine them in portions and less leftovers are left.

Compose a cheese platter

A clear selection of three to five types is usually sufficient. Combine, for example, mild cream or soft cheese, semi-hard cheese, strong hard cheese and, if desired, blue or goat cheese. Different types of milk, maturity levels and textures bring more variety than many similar types.

Serve with bread, crackers, grapes, pear, apple, figs, nuts, olives, chutney or mustard. Take the cheese out of the fridge for a manageable time before serving and then refrigerate any leftover pieces. Use a separate knife for very strong varieties.

Can I eat the rind of the cheese?

Naturally ripened bark and the desired noble mould of brie or camembert are basically edible for healthy people. Coatings made of wax, paraffin or plastic are removed, however. If goods are loose or labelled unclear, demand at the cheese counter helps.

The Advisor of the Federal Center for Nutrition advises that pregnant women, the elderly, young children and people with weakened immune systems should remove cheese rind as a precaution and observe special recommendations for raw milk and smear cheese.

Store cheese correctly

Cheese should be stored in the refrigerator, covered. Original packaging, cheese paper or a suitable tin protect against dehydration and prevent odour from spreading to other foods. Very aromatic and mould-ripened varieties are packed separately.

Cream cheese, mozzarella and other moist cheeses are consumed particularly quickly after opening and removed with clean cutlery. Hard and sliced cheeses usually last longer, but dry out when cut open. Please observe the use-by date, packaging information and visible changes. BfR to dispose of the food concerned; the desired noble mould must be distinguished from it.

Freeze cheese and use later

Hard and sliced cheese can be frozen in portions or grated. Once defrosted, the texture can be crumbler, making it particularly suitable for cooking and gratinating. Grated cheese can often be served directly frozen on casseroles or pizza.

Fresh and soft cheeses can change more when frozen. Freeze only quantities that will be used later in sauce, stuffing or hot dishes. Pack the cheese airtight, label it and thaw pieces in the fridge.

Making good use of cheese leftovers

Small hard cheese leftovers add seasoning to soup, risotto, pasta and sauce. Semi-hard cheese goes well with casseroles, toast, omelettes or stuffed vegetables. Feta and goat cheese complement salad and baked vegetables, cream cheese becomes a dip, sauce or stuffing.

Grate various suitable cheeses finely for a residual crust and mix them with breadcrumbs or nuts. Use very strong cheeses only in proportion. Cool cooked cheeses quickly, keep them covered and heat only the portion you need later.

Common mistakes in cheese recipes

• Wrong variety chosen: Feta or ricotta do not form an elastic melting layer like mozzarella or gouda.
• Too high heat: Cheese sauce separates and becomes oily or grainy.
• Mozzarella not drained: Pizza and casserole will be watery.
• Salted too early: Spicy cheese quickly makes the finished dish too salty.
• Casserole not precooked: The crust is browned before potatoes, pasta or vegetables are cooked.
• Cheese stored open: It dries out and transfers odour to other foods.

With the right variety, controlled heat and a fresh counterpart, cheese becomes a targeted flavour carrier instead of a heavy additional layer.