23 Ultra-Cheesy Recipes We Love
Gouda! Camembert! Mozzarella! We're big fans of cheese at Food & Wine, and this roundup pays homage to some of our favorite recipes. You'll find creamy grits laced with extra-sharp cheddar, classic cheese fondue, and a grilled cheese sandwich that will produce the cheese pulls of your dreams.
Baked Four-Cheese Spaghetti
Celebrity chef Marc Murphy grew up eating this intensely cheesy baked spaghetti. "When I was young, we lived in Genoa, where spaghetti is the pasta of choice. This is my mother's version of macaroni and cheese," he says.
Labneh
Labneh, a soft cheese made from strained yogurt, is rich, lightly tart, and entirely delicious. Because labneh is not always easy to find at the grocery store, we make our own. While many recipes call for just whole-milk yogurt, we like the creamier texture and tangier flavor of a yogurt-sour cream combination.
Macaroni and Many Cheeses
At the end of their wine and cheese parties, Cheesewhizzes Helen Jane Hearn and Natalie Wassum gather any leftovers to make an incredible mac and cheese later in the week. This adaptation, based on a recipe from Marion Cunningham's The Supper Book, works beautifully with any semi-hard cheese but is particularly good with an international blend of French Mimolette, aged Dutch Gouda, and American Vella dry Jack. A fine layer of Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano forms a crisp topping.
Classic Cheese Fondue
Chef Ryan Hardy makes his luxurious fondue with two kinds of Swiss cheese (Emmentaler and Gruyère) and two kinds of spirits (white wine and kirsch), all traditional ingredients. Some of the dipping items are also classic, like cubes of crusty bread and pickles, but some are unconventional, like slices of Hardy's salami and other hearty house-cured charcuterie, which are all wonderful with the winey fondue.
Four Cheese-Stuffed Portobellos
Chef Laurent Tourondel's mushrooms, which are stuffed with cheese, brightened with lemon zest, and topped with golden toasted breadcrumbs, are a perfect side dish or appetizer.
The New American Grilled Cheese
The best grilled cheese is the gooiest grilled cheese, says food writer Laura Werlin: "After you bite into it, the cheese should stretch out past your face as far as your arm will reach. Otherwise, it's just not right."
Best-Ever Cheese Soufflé
? Matthew Armendariz
Diners — and the chefs who feed them — are embracing retro dishes. Chef Alex Guarnaschelli perused old supper-club menus and came away with ideas for cheese soufflé and chilled tomato soup.
Tirokroketes (Greek Fried Goat Cheese Balls) with Honey
Club soda lightens the egg batter that coats the cheese, and a double-coating of panko crumbs amplifies the crunch. Chef Victoria Moore serves the sweet-savory balls as an appetizer or a dessert.
Grilled Manouri Cheese with Caramelized Plums
Chef Michael Psilakis likes to riff on saganaki — fried cheese with lemon. He uses manouri, a fresh, milky white cheese made from the whey that's drained off during feta production. Like nearly all Greek cheeses, it's produced from either sheep's or goat's milk.
Goat Cheese Puddings
Pastry chef Dana Cree uses techniques she picked up at the Fat Duck in the U.K. and New York City's WD-50. "I learned to divorce flavors from their original textures to create something new," she says.
Toasted Pistachio-Cheese Arancini
This recipe for arancini — fried risotto balls — comes from bakery owner Renato Poliafito, who got it from his Sicilian cousin Emanuele Sanfilippo. These arancini are the size of tangerines, filled with creamy, cheesy rice, studded with nuts and green peas, and encased in a great crunchy crust.
Fromage Fort
Fromage fort is the ultimate way of using leftover cheese. Chef Jacques Pépin's father used to combine pieces of Camembert, Brie, Swiss, blue cheese, and goat cheese together with his mother's leek broth, some white wine, and crushed garlic. Now his wife makes a milder version in a food processor that takes only seconds. It's delicious with crackers or melted onto toasts. It also freezes well.
Corn Husk–Grilled Goat Cheese with Corn Relish and Honey
With the smoky essence of the husk infused into the hot molten cheese, a generous drizzle of honey melting in, and that charred sweet corn relish, all spooned onto a hunk of crusty bread — plus a bottle of pink bubbly (high in acid to stand up to the tartness of the dish), a patio, and a pile of friends — this is the perfect pre-dinner snack on a summer evening.
Crespelle with Ricotta and Marinara
? Quentin Bacon
In this recipe, adapted from Wine Bar Food by Tony Mantuano and his wife, Cathy, lush ricotta-filled crêpes bake in a rich marinara sauce.
Honeyed Goat Cheese Tart with Pistachio Crust
Like sugar, honey caramelizes as it cooks. Here, warm honey is drizzled over a mixture of goat cheese and Greek-style yogurt, where it cools to a caramel-like consistency. For a crunchier topping, heat the honey until it reaches 250°F on a candy thermometer.
Summer Squash Pizza with Goat Cheese and Walnuts
? JAMES BAIGRIE
Zucchini and yellow squash can both be mild in flavor, but nothing about this tangy, herby pizza is bland. The summer squash is sliced into slender coins, then roasted in a hot oven until it's lightly caramelized, bringing out its sweetness.
Cheese Grits
"I seriously have received three marriage proposals over a bowl of my cheese grits," says chef Amber Huffman. "I've accepted none so far."
Cheese-Stuffed Grilled Peppers
Wine aficionados Robert Perkins and John Lancaster love making this snack at backyard barbecues using all types of medium-sized peppers: As the peppers blister, the cheese mixture tucked inside turns warm and gooey.
Fried Zucchini Blossoms with Prosciutto and Mozzarella
Zucchini blossoms can be ordered online, and are seasonally available at farmers markets. Prosciutto cotto and Parisian ham should be available at a well-stocked grocery store with a cheese counter; substitute cooked ham if needed.
Cheddar-Scallion Biscuits
The buttermilk dough for these biscuits bakes atop a pile of grated cheddar, bringing not just a wonderfully caramelized flavor, but a clever textural element in the form of crisp, lacy "feet" that form around the bottom of each biscuit. Add a hefty amount of chopped scallion into the mix and it's a savory, joyous match for the ages.
Achari Pimiento Cheese Spread
Chef Farhan Momin took this Southern staple and gave it a makeover by incorporating his mom's classic Indian pickling spices. Serve this with some crackers, between two slices of white bread, or toasted naan.
Cherry and Cream Cheese Kolaches
For the filling in these kolaches, a quick jam of summer's fresh sweet cherries is dolloped over lemon-scented cream cheese.
Goat Cheese Soufflé
A classic French cheese soufflé is made of a simple béchamel gently folded into airy whipped egg whites. Chef Ludo Lefebvre's version adds layers of flavor with tangy goat cheese, a touch of spicy cayenne, and warm earthiness from thyme and nutmeg. As always, serve these straight from the oven.