18 Blue Cheese Recipes Even Haters Will Love (2024)

Love it or hate it, blue cheese crumbles add an undeniable punch of flavor to salads, sandwiches, burgers, and pizzas. Incorporating blue cheese into a recipe is a great gateway for learning to appreciate it if you typically stay away. Here are some of our favorite ways to use the wonderfully pungent cheese, from crostini to salad dressing.

01of 18

Grilled Summer Squash with Blue Cheese and Pecans

18 Blue Cheese Recipes Even Haters Will Love (1)

For grilled squash with a uniformly crisp texture, chef Vivian Howard cuts her squash lengthwise into quarters and then removes the seedy interior. This gorgeous summer salad is tossed with a bright, lemony dressing.

Get the Recipe

02of 18

Rosemary Flatbread with Blue Cheese, Grapes, and Honey

18 Blue Cheese Recipes Even Haters Will Love (2)

This rosemary flatbread is both fluffy and crusty, and the blue cheese — which goes from crumbly to creamy in the oven — melts in your mouth.

Get the Recipe

03of 18

Creamy Polenta with Three-Cheese Fonduta

18 Blue Cheese Recipes Even Haters Will Love (3)

This creamy polenta with three-cheese fonduta is a luxuriously rich mixture of thick, sweet polenta and three cheeses: whole-milk ricotta, crumbly Gorgonzola, and nutty Parmigiano-Reggiano. Thyme-infused brown butter adds a woodsy, nutty bite to this indulgent side.

Get the Recipe

04of 18

Chicken Quesadillas with Blue Cheese and Caramelized Onions

18 Blue Cheese Recipes Even Haters Will Love (4)

Cookbook author Melissa Clark's tangy twist on chicken quesadillas will leave you wondering how you've never tried this dish with blue cheese.

Get the Recipe

Autumn Salad with Figs and Blue Cheese

18 Blue Cheese Recipes Even Haters Will Love (5)

Food blogger Mimi Thorisson's mesclun salad is sweetened with figs, apples, and grapes yet still maintains acidic and spicy flavors from the apple cider vinegar and whole-grain mustard.

Get the Recipe

06of 18

Firecracker Shrimp with Blue Cheese Dressing

18 Blue Cheese Recipes Even Haters Will Love (6)

Leave it to star chef Andrew Zimmern to cook up the ultimate football season (or any season, if you ask us) comfort food: fried shrimp dunked in blue cheese dressing.

Get the Recipe

07of 18

Beet and Blue Cheese Salad

18 Blue Cheese Recipes Even Haters Will Love (7)

Chef Nicolaus Balla's beet and blue cheese salad, made with scallions, herbs, and red wine, is bright and sweet.

Get the Recipe

08of 18

Focaccia with Caramelized Onions, Pear, and Blue Cheese

18 Blue Cheese Recipes Even Haters Will Love (8)

Pear and blue cheese are a classic pairing. This simple focaccia adds sweet caramelized onions and comes together in just four steps.

Get the Recipe

09of 18

Umami Burgers with Port and Stilton

18 Blue Cheese Recipes Even Haters Will Love (9)

Resist the urge to pile any of the usual toppings — lettuce, tomato, ketchup — onto these burgers. "The port is your condiment," explains restaurateur Adam Fleischman.

Get the Recipe

10of 18

Charred Broccoli with Blue Cheese Dressing and Spiced Crispies

18 Blue Cheese Recipes Even Haters Will Love (10)

Chicago chef Stephanie Izard amps up broccoli with a punchy vinaigrette, creamy blue cheese dressing, and an irresistibly crunchy, butter-toasted Rice Krispies topping.

Get the Recipe

11of 18

Three-Cheese Cauliflower Gratin

18 Blue Cheese Recipes Even Haters Will Love (11)

If there’s a better way to eat cauliflower than this gratin, we have yetto come across it. A powerhouse of English cheeses — Montgomery’s crumbly and nutty cheddar; Ogleshield, a washed-rind Jersey cow's milk cheese; and buttery, blue-veined Colston BassettStilton — blankets cauliflower florets in a béchamel.

Get the Recipe

12of 18

Stilton-Stuffed Pickled Peppers

18 Blue Cheese Recipes Even Haters Will Love (12)

Two high-impact ingredients — funky Stilton cheese and pickled sweet or spicy peppers — come together to form the ultimate one-bite snack. Pickled peppers, like spicy pepperoncini and mild Peppadew, are packed with enough flavor to stand up against strong cheeses. You can use most blue cheeses here, including Gorgonzola and Roquefort.

Get the Recipe

13of 18

Double-Cut Rib Eye with Sweet Gorgonzola Butter

18 Blue Cheese Recipes Even Haters Will Love (13)

At her modern chophouse, Jar, in Los Angeles, 2002 F&W Best New Chef Suzanne Tracht's menu changes with the seasons. To celebrate summer, she says, "This juicy, sweet combo of Gorgonzola and beef alongside fresh heirloom tomatoes is how I kick off the outdoor months."

Get the Recipe

14of 18

Restoration Salad with Farro, Orange, and Blue Cheese

18 Blue Cheese Recipes Even Haters Will Love (14)

"In each bite, you get a little nuttiness, a lot of chewiness, some juicy bits, a pleasant amount of bitterness, and some creamy richness," cookbook author Ann Taylor Pittman writes of this salad.

Get the Recipe

15of 18

Caramelized Onion and Bread Soup with Brûléed Blue Cheese

18 Blue Cheese Recipes Even Haters Will Love (15)

In their book Wine Food, sommelier Dana Frank and recipe developer Andrea Slonecker pair funky, bright wines with flavorful, vegetable-forward dishes. In this vegetarian version of classic French onion soup, blue cheese and oloroso sherry bring new layers of flavor and depth. Notes of toasted nuts and fruit compote in the sherry pair well with caramelized onions, and its briny acidity cuts through the richness of the cheese.

Get the Recipe

16of 18

Crostini with Grilled Sweet Onions and Blue Cheese

18 Blue Cheese Recipes Even Haters Will Love (16)

On the river, chef Andrae Bopp wraps whole sweet Walla Walla onions in foil and tosses them into the coals of the campfire to roast and caramelize; here we've adapted his recipe for your home grill. Don't skip the zippy honey-vinegar drizzle — it coaxes out even more flavor from the sweet onions and balances the blue cheese.

Get the Recipe

17of 18

Leftover Blue Cheese Chicken Salad Sandwich

18 Blue Cheese Recipes Even Haters Will Love (17)

Chef Jonathan Waxman’s tasty chicken salad is dressed with a mix of yogurt and Gorgonzola cheese. You needn't wait until you have "leftover" cheese to make it, but the recipe only calls for two ounces.

Get the Recipe

18of 18

Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon and Blue Cheese

18 Blue Cheese Recipes Even Haters Will Love (18)

This isn't your typical macaroni and cheese. Onion, bacon, and beautiful blue cheese bake together with pasta until the dish is golden and bubbling, then it's all topped with snipped chives.

Get the Recipe

18 Blue Cheese Recipes Even Haters Will Love (2024)

FAQs

Why is blue cheese controversial? ›

Yes, blue cheese is made with mold. Some people find this troubling (some even go so far as to describe it as tasting like feet) despite the fact that this particular mold is not only safe for human consumption, but could even be healthy.

Why avoid blue cheese? ›

Mycotoxins. Blue cheese can spoil if a person leaves the cheese unrefrigerated for too long or if they refrigerate it but do not eat it within several weeks. In either case, the mold present in the cheese can produce toxic compounds called mycotoxins. These can cause short- and long-term health effects.

What meat pairs well with blue cheese? ›

FOR CREAMY BLUES: BEEF

Blue cheese has a natural meatiness that makes sweet love with some actual red meat. Use a creamy blue for easy melting and pop it on a burger or a roast beef sandwich. If you're feeling extra naughty, finish it off with a little bacon-onion jam. Try it with Cambozola, Chiriboga, or Cashel Blue.

Why do I hate blue cheese so much? ›

David Gremmels, president of Rogue Creamery, says the piquancy can be overwhelming. “I also find that most people are turned off by the acidity, metallic notes, and off-putting texture created by hom*ogenization and standardization in commodity blue cheeses,” says Gremmels, who has helped steer the company since 2002.

Is blue cheese good for your gut? ›

Researchers have proved it's actually good for you. Along with other aged cheeses, blue cheese is great for your gut health and therefore you're over all well-being. Cheese is one of the foods many dieters ditch in the new year, thinking it's calorific because of the high fat content and will cause weight gain.

Why can't celiacs eat blue cheese? ›

Mold spores are added to the milk mixture to make blue cheese. These spores are sometimes grown on rye or wheat bread. But blue cheese rarely contains more than 20 ppm gluten. So it should not trigger a gluten allergy.

Is blue cheese an inflammatory food? ›

Blue cheese doubles as an anti-inflammatory, which means that it can help in reducing inflammation. Many conditions like arthritis, sinusitis, and asthma cause inflammation, and blue cheese can help relieve people suffering from these problems by reducing inflammation.

Does blue cheese go bad in the fridge? ›

Like other types of cheese, blue cheese can go bad if it's not properly stored. Therefore, it's important to store blue cheese tightly wrapped in the refrigerator. If stored properly, blue cheese can last 3–4 weeks in the refrigerator. You can also freeze blue cheese to help extend its shelf life even further.

What drink goes best with blue cheese? ›

Best wine & blue cheese pairings
  • Port.
  • Fortified shiraz/stickies.
  • Sweet wines.
  • Sparkling white (or red, for that matter)
  • Riesling.
  • Cabernet sauvignon and shiraz.

What jam pairs with blue cheese? ›

A mild blue cheese, like Roth's Buttermilk Blue, offers a spicy, flavorful taste that is wonderfully tempered by a sweet blackberry jam.

What crackers go best with blue cheese? ›

Fig & Spelt Sourdough Crackers + Long Clawson Blue Stilton

This creates the perfect texture contrast with the crunch of the cracker. A classic pairing for any traditional cheeseboard.

What is the most disliked cheese in the world? ›

Casu martzu (Sardinian: [ˈkazu ˈmaɾtsu]; lit. 'rotten/putrid cheese'), sometimes spelled casu marzu, and also called casu modde, casu cundídu and casu fràzigu in Sardinian, is a traditional Sardinian sheep milk cheese that contains live insect larvae (maggots).

What happens if you eat too much blue cheese? ›

Overconsumption of blue cheese can be harmful because it has high sodium, calories and fats. Extra calories can lead to weight gain, excess sodium can lead to blood pressure issues, and excess fats can cause harm to your heart. Hence, excess blue cheese can be harmful.

Why is blue cheese so controversial? ›

There are also elemental reasons why some people recoil at the sight of blue cheese, and it usually has to do with the noticeable blue mold within the creamy cultured milk. “We grow up learning that mold is bad, and so we have this preconceived notion that anything moldy is bad for us,” says G.

Is disliking blue cheese genetic? ›

Whether you love blue cheese or despise it, you'll probably agree that the smell is... Distinct. But if you really can't stand the smell of blue cheese, there might be a genetic component involved. Moldy blue cheese affects certain people very intensely.

What is the story behind blue cheese? ›

Legend has it that a distracted shepherd forgot his lunch of bread and cheese in the cave. When he returned a few months later, the cheese had become infested with penicillium roqueforti, a mold that was growing in the cave.

Why does the US ban unpasteurized cheese? ›

The USA does not allow unpasteurised cheese at all as it is seen as a health risk but this means your rule out huge numbers of delicious cheeses that must be made from raw milk. USA citizens can enjoy pasteurised versions but these are often cited as not being as good as the real thing.

Why did they stop giving out government cheese? ›

Government cheese was provided through the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Program to recipients of welfare, food stamps, and Social Security, at no cost to them. Government cheese was nominally removed in the 1990s when the dairy market stabilized.

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Sen. Emmett Berge

Last Updated:

Views: 5500

Rating: 5 / 5 (80 voted)

Reviews: 95% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Sen. Emmett Berge

Birthday: 1993-06-17

Address: 787 Elvis Divide, Port Brice, OH 24507-6802

Phone: +9779049645255

Job: Senior Healthcare Specialist

Hobby: Cycling, Model building, Kitesurfing, Origami, Lapidary, Dance, Basketball

Introduction: My name is Sen. Emmett Berge, I am a funny, vast, charming, courageous, enthusiastic, jolly, famous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.