What can I make with cheddar cheese?
Cheddar Cheese carries a dish on its own. Recipes using cheddar cheese are below, plus notes on melting it without turning it stringy or greasy.
9 recipes with cheddar cheese
Ground Beef Tacos
Classic American-style hard shell beef tacos.
Mexican20m4Stovetop Mac & Cheese
Ultra-creamy macaroni with sharp cheddar and gruyère.
American25m6Egg Muffins
Baked mini frittatas loaded with veggies and cheese.
American30m4
Torta de fiambre
Line the bottom of a springform of 20-2cm (8-9inches) with parchment paper, I usually leave some overhang as the batter is very liquid and may spill a bit.
Uruguayan4
Bolita di Keshi
Grate finely and toss together.
4
Macaroni Pie
Bring water to a boil and add the broken-up macaroni, elbows, and salt.
4
Zapiekanki
step 1 Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
Polish4
Chorizo, potato & cheese omelette
step 1 Cook the potato in boiling water for 8-10 mins or until tender.
Spanish4
Grilled Mac and Cheese Sandwich
Make the mac and cheese 1.
United States4
Cooking with cheddar cheese without splitting or clumping
- 1Bring cheddar cheese closer to room temperature before it meets heat; cold dairy in a hot pan is what curdles.
- 2Add it off the heat or on the lowest setting, stirring constantly.
- 3A teaspoon of flour or cornstarch stabilises a sauce and keeps it glossy.
- 4Salt and acid go in at the end - both encourage splitting when added early.
What goes well with cheddar cheese
Cheddar Cheese is at its best with bread, tomato, basil, black pepper, honey and pasta. Any two or three of those, plus cheddar cheese, is already a dinner rather than an ingredient list.
Storing cheddar cheese
Keep cheddar cheese in the main body of the fridge, not the door, where the temperature swings most. Wrap cheese in paper rather than plastic so it can breathe. Hard cheeses freeze acceptably for cooking; fresh dairy does not freeze well.
Substituting cheddar cheese
If you are out of cheddar cheese, look for something that behaves the same way in the pan rather than something that tastes the same. Match the moisture level, the cooking time, and the richness, and adjust the liquid slightly if your substitute releases more water. When in doubt, describe what you actually have in the chat and Mr. Chef will rewrite the recipe around it.
Cheddar Cheese recipes: common questions
- What can I make with cheddar cheese and not much else?
- Plenty. With cheddar cheese plus an onion, garlic, oil, and salt you already have the base of a skillet dinner, a soup, or a simple sauce. Add a starch - rice, pasta, bread, or potatoes - and it becomes a full meal. The recipes above are ordered so the ones needing the fewest extra items come first.
- What is the quickest cheddar cheese recipe?
- Look for the entries above marked 20 minutes or less. As a rule, anything cut small and cooked in a hot pan beats anything roasted whole, and one-pan recipes save more time in cleanup than in cooking.
- Can I substitute cheddar cheese?
- In most recipes yes, as long as the replacement plays a similar role - similar moisture, similar cooking time, similar richness. Swapping across roles (a watery vegetable for a starchy one, for instance) usually needs a change in liquid or cooking time too.
- How do I use up leftover cheddar cheese?
- Fried rice, a frittata, a grain bowl, a soup, or a quesadilla will absorb almost any leftover cheddar cheese without a recipe. If you want something specific, tell Mr. Chef exactly what is in the fridge and it will build a recipe around it.