Cheeses for dinner
Gratins, pastas, curries and the evening meal.
At dinner, cheese is cooked into the main dish: melted into pasta, baked in gratins, simmered in curries and stews, and grated over soups. Palak paneer and matar paneer in India, macaroni cheese in Britain and North America, lasagne and risotto in Italy, Käsespätzle in southern Germany and Austria, ema datshi in Bhutan and aligot in France are dinners in which cheese does the heavy lifting.
Paneer at the evening table
Paneer holds its shape in sauce, which makes it the centre of many North Indian dinners: palak paneer with spinach, matar paneer with peas, shahi paneer in a cream and nut gravy, kadai paneer with peppers, and paneer butter masala. For many vegetarian households, paneer fills the place meat might take elsewhere. In Bengal, chhena is cooked into a curry called chhanar dalna, and in Odisha into chhena tarkari, both made with potatoes and warm spices.
Pasta, rice and dumplings
Italy cooks Parmigiano, pecorino and Fontina into risotto, lasagne, cacio e pepe and baked pasta. Macaroni cheese, baked with cheddar, is a family dinner in Britain and the United States. In southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Käsespätzle layers soft egg noodles with mountain cheese and fried onions. Polish pierogi ruskie fill dumplings with potato and twaróg, and Georgian khinkali have a cheese-filled version beside the classic meat.
Cheese stews of the mountains
Bhutan's ema datshi cooks green or dried chillies with datshi into a sauce eaten with red rice, and kewa datshi does the same with potatoes. In Nepal and Sikkim, churpi is cooked with greens and tomatoes. France's aligot, from the Aubrac, beats young tomme into mashed potato until it stretches in long ribbons, and Savoy's tartiflette bakes Reblochon over potatoes, onions and lardons. These are dishes made to feed people after a cold day outside.
Worth knowing
- Palak paneer: Paneer in spinach
- Matar paneer: Paneer with peas in tomato gravy
- Macaroni and cheese: Baked pasta in cheese sauce
- Käsespätzle: Egg noodles layered with mountain cheese
- Ema datshi: Bhutanese chillies with cheese
- Aligot: Stretchy cheese and potato of the Aubrac
- Tartiflette: Reblochon baked over potatoes
- Pierogi: Polish dumplings with potato and twaróg
Sources and further reading
About this page
Original text by the EveryCheese desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Customs are described as tradition, not as advice. If we have something wrong, tell us.
Dinner on EveryCheese
The cheeses written up so far, best known first.
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreMozzarella
A semi-soft Italian stretched-curd cheese made from cow or buffalo milk.Cow · Semi-soft · Milky and fresh
🇮🇹 Italy and 3 moreParmesanParmigiano Reggiano
A hard, granular cow's-milk cheese aged at least a year in northern Italy.Cow · Hard · Sharp and tangy-aged
🇫🇷 FranceCamembert
A soft-ripened cow's milk cheese from Normandy with a white mould rindCow · Bloomy rind · Earthy and cellar
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreFetaφέτα
A crumbly Greek brined cheese made from sheep and goat milk.Sheep · Brined · Tangy and lactic
🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreGorgonzola
A creamy Italian blue cheese from Lombardy with two distinct styles.Cow · Bloomy rind · Salty
🇺🇸 United StatesAmablu
A creamy American blue cheese aged in sandstone caves since 1936.Cow · Blue
🇸🇪 Sweden and 1 moreMoose cheese
A rare cheese made from moose milk, produced in Sweden and Russia.Other · Fresh
🇦🇹 AustriaSura Kees
A low-fat sour milk cheese from the Montafon valley in Austria.Cow · Tangy and lactic
🇪🇸 SpainPata de mulo cheese
A tubular, hard ewe's-milk cheese from Spain, shaped like a mule's leg.Sheep · Hard · Salty
🇲🇹 MaltaĠbejna
A small Maltese sheep's-milk cheese shaped in reed hurdles and sold fresh, dried, or peppered.Sheep · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇺🇸 United StatesCold-pack cheese
A chilled blend of natural cheeses mixed with flavorings without cooking.Mixed · Bloomy rind · Savoury and brothy
🇲🇽 MexicoPanela cheeseQueso panela
A fresh, white Mexican cow's-milk cheese that holds its shape when fried.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇨🇭 Switzerland and 5 moreEmmentalEmmentaler
A yellow, medium-hard Swiss cheese with natural holes, aged for several months.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇮🇳 IndiaKalimpong cheese
A mild, crumbly cow's-milk cheese from a West Bengal hill station, started by a Jesuit priest.Cow · Semi-hard · Tangy and lactic
🇨🇾 Cyprus and 3 moreHalloumiχαλούμι
A squeaky, brined cheese from Cyprus that holds its shape when fried.Mixed · Brined · Salty
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreRicotta
A fresh Italian whey cheese made by reheating leftover proteins from other cheesemaking batches.Sheep · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇾🇪 YemenYemeni cheeseجبنة تعز
A smoked semi-hard sheep or goat milk cheese from Taiz Governorate in Yemen.Sheep · Semi-soft · Savoury and brothy
🇮🇹 ItalyMascarpone
A soft, unripened Italian cream cheese made by acid-set coagulation of heavy cream.Cow · Fresh
🇨🇭 Switzerland and 2 moreGruyère
A hard, pressed Swiss cheese made from raw cow's milk, aged for several months.Cow · Hard · Sweet and caramel
🇮🇳 India and 4 morePaneer
A fresh, non-melting acid-set cheese made from cow or buffalo milk in South Asia.Cow · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 moreCasu MarzuCasu martzu
A Sardinian fermented sheep cheese containing live fly larvae.Sheep · Savoury and brothy
🇮🇹 ItalyGrana Padano
A hard, grainy Italian cow's-milk cheese aged for at least nine months in the Po Valley.Cow · Hard · Nutty
🇸🇰 Slovakia and 5 moreBryndza
A tangy, crumbly sheep's milk cheese from Central and Eastern Europe.Sheep · Fresh · Tangy and lactic
🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreTilsitTilsiter
A semi-hard smear-ripened cow's milk cheese from East Prussia with a dark yellow rind.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreReblochon
A soft washed-rind cow's milk cheese from the French Alps with a nutty flavour.Cow · Bloomy rind · Nutty
🇳🇱 NetherlandsMaasdam
A semi-hard Dutch cow's milk cheese with holes, aged for one to three months.Cow · Semi-hard · Nutty
🇮🇹 Italy and 4 moreFontinafontine
A semi-soft cow's milk cheese from Italy's Aosta Valley, known for its nutty flavor and excellent melting quality.Cow · Semi-soft · Nutty
🇫🇷 FranceBeaufort
A firm, hole-free Alpine cow's milk cheese from the French Savoie region.Cow · Alpine · Buttery and creamy
🇮🇹 Italy and 1 morePecorino Romano
A hard, salty sheep's-milk cheese from Italy, aged at least five months and protected by EU law.Sheep · Hard · Salty
🇬🇪 Georgia and 1 moreSulguniსულგუნი
A brined, elastic Georgian cheese from Samegrelo, often deep-fried.Cow · Brined · Salty
🇮🇹 Italy and 2 moreAsiago
A pressed cow's milk cheese from the Veneto plateau, sold fresh or aged.Cow · Semi-soft · Sweet and caramel
🇫🇷 FranceBrocciu
A fresh Corsican cheese made from sheep milk and whey, drained in rush baskets.Sheep · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇮🇹 ItalyScamorza
A stretched-curd cow's-milk cheese from southern Italy, often smoked and tied with string.Cow · Stretched curd
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreKefalotyriκεφαλοτύρι
A hard, salty Greek cheese made from sheep or goat milk, aged for grating or frying.Sheep · Hard · Salty
🇫🇷 FranceSalersSalèrn
A semi-hard cow's-milk cheese from the Auvergne, aged in caves for up to four years.Cow · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇸🇾 Syria and 5 moreAkkawiجبنة عكاوي
A white brined cow's milk cheese from the Levant named after Acre.Cow · Brined · Salty
🇫🇷 FranceSaint-NectaireSench-Nectari
A semi-soft washed-rind cow's-milk cheese from the volcanic Auvergne region of France.Cow · Semi-soft · Nutty
🇫🇷 FranceRocamadourRòcamador
A small, soft goat's-milk cheese from southwest France with a protected status.Goat · Bloomy rind · Milky and fresh
🇬🇷 Greece and 2 moreKasseriκασέρι
A pasta filata sheep's milk cheese aged for at least three months in Greece and Turkey.Sheep · Semi-hard · Savoury and brothy
🇮🇹 Italy and 5 moreBuffalo mozzarellamozzarella di bufala
A fresh, soft pasta filata cheese made from Italian Mediterranean buffalo milk.Buffalo · Fresh · Milky and fresh
🇪🇸 SpainTetillaQueixo Tetilla
A soft, conical cow's-milk cheese from Galicia with a distinctive nipple-like peak.Cow · Bloomy rind · Buttery and creamy
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreVacherin Mont d'Or
A soft, seasonal cow's milk cheese wrapped in spruce bark from the Jura mountains.Cow · Bloomy rind · Earthy and cellar
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreCancoillotte
A runny French cheese made by melting metton, served hot or cold in the east.Cow · Processed · Milky and fresh
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreMonterey Jack
A mild, semi-hard cow's-milk cheese from California with a creamy texture and slight sweetness.Cow · Semi-hard · Sweet and caramel
🇫🇷 FranceBrie de Meaux
A soft-ripened cow's milk cheese with a white rind from the Brie region of France.Cow · Bloomy rind · Milky and fresh
🇨🇭 SwitzerlandSchabziger
A hard, green whey cheese from Switzerland flavored with blue fenugreek.Cow · Hard · Herbal and grassy
🇬🇷 GreeceGravieraγραβιέρα
A hard Greek cheese made from sheep or cow milk, aged for months and marked with a crisscross rind.Sheep · Hard · Sweet and caramel
🇧🇷 BrazilMinas cheesequeijo minas
A semi-soft cow's milk cheese from Brazil with fresh and aged varieties.Cow · Semi-soft · Salty
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Havarti: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Brie de Meaux: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Brocciu: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Minas cheese: The original uploader was Hellkt at German Wikipedia . ( Original text, Public domain, source
- Buffalo mozzarella: Luigi Versaggi, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Salers: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pecorino Romano: Jon Sullivan, Public domain, source
- Paneer: Sonja Pauen - Stanhopea, CC BY 2.0 de, source
- Rocamadour: Myrabella, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Beaufort: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Monterey Jack: Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Akkawi: Paul Joseph, CC BY 2.0, source
- Emmental: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tetilla: Tamorlan, CC BY 3.0, source
- Ricotta: 8w9d, CC0, source
- Scamorza: Yozh, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Saint-Nectaire: Homer Ectus, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Vacherin Mont d'Or: Zubro, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gruyère: Rolf Krahl ( Rotkraut ), CC BY 4.0, source
- Parmesan: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Feta: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Mascarpone: Brodolò1, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Casu Marzu: Shardan, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Reblochon: Pierre-Yves Beaudouin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cancoillotte: Popo le Chien, CC0, source
- Schabziger: Flyout, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sulguni: Georgian Recipes at Georgia About, CC BY 3.0, source
- Halloumi: Rainer Zenz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kalimpong cheese: Coyau, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Panela cheese: Pyb, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ġbejna: Chattacha, CC BY 3.0, source
- Pata de mulo cheese: Triplecaña, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sura Kees: Clemens M. Brandstetter, Buers, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Amablu: Loganh7, CC0, source
- Mozzarella: Popo le Chien, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Camembert: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fontina: Dominik Hundhammer, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Asiago: Shabicht, CC0, source
- Grana Padano: Claudia Castaldi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bryndza: Kagor, GFDL, source
- Graviera: Catlemur, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Gorgonzola: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kasseri: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Maasdam: Arz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kefalotyri: J.P.Lon, CC BY-SA 4.0, source