12 cheese recipes to expand your horizons beyond Cheddar

1. Gouda: Miso cheeseburgers 

Cheddar and Gouda can sometimes be used interchangeably depending on the flavours you want to highlight. Gouda is a softer, sweeter cheese that melts more easily than Cheddar, which makes it perfect for Bianca Strydom's miso cheeseburger. There's Gouda in the spicy miso cheese sauce to balance the flavours, plus the sliced cheese melts onto the patty perfectly.

Find the recipe for miso cheeseburgers here.

2. Feta: Harissa-roasted broccoli with herby feta yoghurt

Whether you're crumbling it onto your salads, stuck on the viral baked feta pasta trend, or making feta-fried eggs, feta will always be a go-to cheese. Why not expand your feta horizons with this recipe by Clement Pedro? The star of the dish is a whipped herby feta yoghurt, which is the ideal pairing for the crispy harissa-roasted broccoli. In fact, it's a great dip in general!

Find the recipe for harissa-roasted broccoli with herby feta yoghurt here.

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3. Mozzarella: Crispy mozzarella sticks

If you want an epic cheese pull, mozzarella is the GOAT. Whether you use it in cheese toasties, on pizza, or to top baked pastas, you'll never be disappointed by this reliable classic. We reckon that mozzarella sticks showcase the melty, stretchy magic of this cheese best. Abigail Donnelly shows us how to make perfect mozzarella sticks every time using just 5 ingredients.

Find the recipe for crispy mozzarella sticks here. 

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4. Soft cheeses: 5-ingredient caramelised onion tart

We hope this recipe inspires you to use Brie, Camembert and other soft cheeses for more than cheeseboards. This caramelised onion tart by Kate Wilson may look fancy, but it's really easy to make and will impress anyone who's lucky enough to eat it. Plus, you can use any soft cheese you like, which means you can make a signature version with your favourite, or change things up every time you make it.

Find the recipe for 5-ingredient caramelised onion tart here. 

5. Halloumi: Broccoli and bulgur wheat with spicy halloumi

When it comes to fried cheeses, halloumi is the MVP. Salty, chewy and versatile, it adds great flavour and texture to almost any dish, like this IG-worthy salad by Hannah Lewry. Not only does the halloumi perfectly complement the sweet and spicy flavours in the salad, it looks the part too.

Find the recipe for broccoli and bulgur wheat with spicy halloumi here.

ALSO READ: 8 mozzarella recipes that prove it’s the ultimate cheese

6. Gruyère: Apple-and-pear Gruyère mini tarts

This Swiss cheese's flavour changes subtly as it ages. It's creamy, nutty and slightly sweet, making it a perfect pairing for fruit. Gruyère also becomes richer and creamier when melted, so these mini tarts by Bianca Strydom are the best way to showcase this cheese's best features (although we'll eat it in any form to be honest).

Find the recipe for apple-and-pear Gruyère mini tarts here. 

7. Chevin: Pull-apart buns with baked cheese dip

Zesty may seem like a strange adjective for cheese, but it feels right for chevin (goat's cheese). It's also creamy and spreadable, which is why you'll often find it on a cheeseboard or in salads. But this baked cheese dip by Hannah Lewry is a top-tier way to serve it. The dip also features cream cheese and is topped with honey. Hannah serves it with crispy home-made pull apart rolls, but you can dunk whatever you like.

Find the recipe for pull-apart buns with baked cheese dip here. 

8. Gorgonzola: Ravioli with Gorgonzola cream

You either love strong-flavoured cheese or you hate it – there's no in-between. If you're in the love camp, you have to try this Gorgonzola cream by Hannah Lewry. It's decadent and packed with flavour. She adds it to Woolies' fresh spinach-and-ricotta ravioli and butternut pansotti, with capers and lemony greens to help cut through the richness. It's perfection.

Find the recipe for ravioli with Gorgonzola cream here.

9. Labneh: Fried eggs in brown butter with labneh and corn “ribs”

If you're not serving fried eggs on a creamy smear of labneh, you're missing out! It's also a more creative way to enjoy this spreadable cheese than spreading it on crackers or adding it to a salad. Abigail Donnelly paired the egg-and-labneh combo with corn "ribs", but you can add whatever you like.

Find the recipe for fried eggs in brown butter with labneh and corn “ribs” here. 

ALSO READ: 10 ultimate cheese recipes according to TASTE readers

10. Gruberg: Four-cheese, egg and herb pizza

We can't have a cheese round-up and not include pizza! As the recipe title states, this one by Hannah Lewry stars four cheeses (no Cheddar though), but the stand-out addition is Gruberg. It's a Swiss-style cheese that's proudly South African. Its rustic, nutty flavour works well with the Gorgonzola, hard cheese and mozzarella that's also on this pizza. The egg is optional, but highly recommended!

Find the recipe for four-cheese, egg and herb pizza here. 

11. Oak-smoked Stanford: Cheese fondue dippers

Another local and lekker cheese that should to be on your radar is oak-smoked Stanford. It's smoked the old-fashioned way using a cold-smoking technique, which adds great flavour to the cheese and any dish it's used in. One of our favourites is this easy cheese fondue by Bianca Strydom. Plus, the oak-smoked Stanford delivers Instaworthy cheese pulls when you dip into the fondue.

Find the recipe for cheese fondue dippers here. 

12. Raclette: Potato bread, tomato soup and roasted raclette

Tomato soup and a cheesy side is a classic combo, but Abigail Donnelly took this one to the next level. She tops the soup with roasted raclette cheese. The heat intensifies the full, nutty, sweet flavours of the cheese, plus it has great elasticity when melted.

Find the recipe for potato bread, tomato soup and roasted raclette here.