Baked and breads
Cheese roll
Southland sushi: slices of white bread rolled around a cheese filling, toasted and buttered, from New Zealand's south.
The cheese roll is a snack from Southland and Otago in New Zealand's South Island. Slices of white sandwich bread are spread with a cooked cheese mixture, usually made with grated cheese, evaporated milk and onion soup mix, rolled into tubes, then toasted and buttered. Locals call them Southland sushi.
What goes in
- Cheddar-style cheese529%, Grated, often mild.
- White sandwich bread635%, Crusts removed.
- Evaporated milk318%, Makes the filling smooth.
- Onion soup mix16%, Savoury seasoning.
- Butter212%, For toasting.
Rough parts by weight. The ring shows each ingredient's share of the dish.
Made step by step
Each drawing shows the operation for that step. Quantities and timings differ from house to house; this is one traditional way, in outline.
Step 1: Grate Grate the cheese. Step 2: Melt Heat the cheese with evaporated milk and soup mix, stirring until smooth and thick. Step 3: Rest Cool the filling slightly. Step 4: Fill Spread it on slices of bread and roll each one up. Step 5: Bake Toast under a grill or in a toaster until golden, then butter well. Step 6: Serve Serve hot with tea. Finished Cheese roll, by share.
Southern tradition
Cheese rolls have been made in the south since at least the mid twentieth century, and they are part of local identity. Schools, sports clubs and churches make and sell them in large batches to raise funds, and families freeze them for later. Cafés from Invercargill to Dunedin keep them on the counter, and they have spread north in recent years.
Method
Recipes vary widely and are often family secrets. The filling is cooked on the stove until smooth and thick, then cooled and spread on bread with the crusts removed. The bread is rolled up, sometimes in a square shape, and toasted under a grill or in a sandwich toaster with plenty of butter. They are eaten hot with tea.
Where it is used
The cheeses in it
Also part of it, and being written: Cheddar cheese (The cheese most Southland cooks use.).
Sources and further reading
Original text and drawings by the EveryCheese desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. The shares are a rough, illustrative ratio, not a recipe: every family and kitchen makes it differently. If we have something wrong, tell us.