Creamy, stringy, and irresistibly melty, Oaxaca cheese will turn your dishes into fully loaded family favorites.
If you haven’t tried it yet, then get started with this list of 13 Oaxaca cheese recipes!
Did you know that Oaxaca cheese is also called Italian mozzarella?
Oaxaca cheese, or quesillo, is a proud Mexican cheese named after its origin–Oaxaca City in Mexico.
It shares many similarities with Italy’s mozzarella, which explains the charming nickname.
But unlike mozzarella, which is made with buffalo or cow milk, Oaxaca can only be made from cow’s milk.
The reason for the resemblance can be traced back to Oaxaca’s history.
Mexicans learned to make this cheese from Italian priests who settled in their country.
Since then, Oaxaca has been a part of Mexico’s and Latin America’s dynamic and vibrant food culture.
It’s found in popular street food like tacos and empanadas, as well as in home-cooked specialties such as quesadillas.
Oaxaca (pronounced wa-ha-ka) might be hard to pronounce at first, but it’s so easy to use in many dishes.
You can instantly use it as an alternative cheese in your favorite meals or look through this list for 23 exciting Oaxaca cheese recipes you can try at home.
Oaxaca Mexican Frittata makes for a satisfying brunch.
Try Homemade Queso Fundido for a flavor-packed dipping sauce.
#13 is a classic cheesy comfort food!
Starting off this list is a homemade cheese dip!
Fundido is simply a melted cheese dip with other ingredients mixed in.
It gets unbelievably thick and melty from the different types of cheese.
The dip has a meaty and savory flavor from the chorizo.
Chorizo is a Mexican or Spanish sausage with a ton of flavor.
Depending on the chorizo you use, it can also be smoky or sweet.
It has a spicy kick, but the creaminess of the cheese tones it down.
You can enjoy this dip with nachos and chips or as a sauce for game-day appetizers.
You’ll love this next recipe if you’ve ever had a rolled lasagna.
Each tortilla is filled with grated cheese before rolling.
They are placed in a large pan on a thin layer of enchilada sauce.
Before baking, the rolled-up tortillas are first topped with a lot of cheese, more sauce, and green onions.
The tomato-ey enchilada sauce gives the dish a lot of bright flavors.
The oven heat slightly browns the cheese and thickens the sauce, creating a deep roasted taste.
Try this recipe with Mexican coleslaw, black beans, rice, or other side dishes for enchiladas!
Cut back on the kitchen mess and cooking time with this air fryer recipe.
If you’ve ever tried to make quesadillas in a pan, you know how challenging it can get.
It is easy for the filling to leak out when you flip the quesadillas.
With an air fryer, you can avoid all that!
The even heat of the air fryer perfectly melts the cheese filling while creating a crispy crust.
Cheese is a delicious filling, but you can make this dish with chicken and other ingredients.
If you’re thinking of food to pair quesadillas with, we suggest guacamole or pico de gallo.
Are you looking for new recipes for your next backyard barbeque?
We got you covered!
You’ll need thick, large pork chops and an enormous appetite for this recipe!
Just one pork chop is enough to serve two people.
The chops are cut in half, filled with stuffing, and closed up using toothpicks before grilling.
Grill smoke sticks to the outside of the pork, giving the dish a pleasant smoky taste.
Since you can cook multiple chops on a grill simultaneously, this is an effortless way to serve a large party.
The recipe uses a spicy rub, but you can use any seasoning you like.
5. Birria Tacos
Low and slow is the key to this recipe!
You’ll need a lot of love and patience for this one, but it’s worth it.
The beef is cooked until it’s fall-apart tender.
It takes at least 10 hours, but on the bright side, you don’t have to do anything but wait.
The beef is seared before slow cooking to develop a nice crust and yummy browned flavors.
Braising it with the seasoning allows it to absorb all the tasty goodness.
The secret to a restaurant-quality pizza is a searing hot oven that can cook the pie in minutes.
If you can’t use your oven, an easy cheat is to cook pizza on the grill.
Sliced cherry tomatoes get wonderfully caramelized as the pizza cooks.
They’re like pockets of tangy and savory flavor that burst as you bite into them.
Letting the pizza dough sit in the fridge for at least a day in advance gives it time to develop a delightfully chewy texture and will help it brown better.
Topping the pizza with veggies doubles as a fun activity for the kids.
Who can resist a cheese overload?
This recipe makes a show-stopping finger food or appetizer, but you can also serve it as a meal since it’s filled with hearty ingredients.
Poblano peppers are stuffed full of chorizo, beans, corn, and cheese.
The oven heat cooks the peppers until they’re nice and soft and slightly charred on the outside.
Peppers are great vessels for the filling.
The ingredients steam inside the peppers, allowing them to get coated with cheese as it melts.
If you’re feeling adventurous, swap out the poblano for a hotter pepper, like jalapeños.
For vegetarians out here, this meatless recipe is for you.
Compared to other wrapped goodies, this one is wholly wrapped like a calzone or a pizza pocket.
Biting into the light, crispy dough is an experience in itself.
The inside is soft and thick from the mashed beans and melted cheese.
Fresh homemade salsa drizzled on the empanadas gives them a touch of acidity to balance out the rich flavor.
A squeeze of lemon or lime juice also brightens the dish.
This recipe is meatless, but you can use chicken, beef, or other protein as filling if you like.
Chicken, bacon, chorizo–we can’t get enough of this meaty recipe!
Tortilla wraps are often eaten as an appetizer or as a light snack.
Strips of bell peppers add a vibrant veggie crunch to this dish.
Chunks of unmelted Oaxaca cheese provide a soft, chewy bite and a fresh, milky flavor.
Salsa verde, salsa macha, and other Mexican sauces can boost the flavor of this dish.
10. Oaxacan Frittata
There’s nothing like a filling brunch to get you in the mood for a well-deserved weekend rest.
If we’re talking brunch, frittata has got to be on the menu.
Fresh, ripe tomatoes give the dish a sweet and sour flavor punch.
They are also great for adding an umami component without using meat.
The egg and cheese mixture coats the tomatoes, onions, and herbs.
A wide, thick-bottomed pan like a cast iron skillet makes for a crispy and evenly cooked frittata.
11. Taco Quesadillas
If you ever need to make a tough choice between tacos and quesadillas, we have good news.
This next dish is a taco and a quesadilla in one!
You get the meat and veggie filling of a regular taco and the cheesy explosion of a quesadilla.
Cumin, garlic, and chipotle powder give the taco meat warm and savory notes.
Browning the meat well ensures maximum flavor.
The taco shells are crisped-up in a pan to melt the cheese.
Using enough cheese will help close up the taco when you fold it.
This next dish is excellent finger food for a family movie night.
It’s all about the rich and creamy cheese sauce or queso.
It’s made with just two ingredients: cheese and chorizo.
A pizza slicer cuts up the tortilla before frying.
Frying turns the soft tortilla into crunchy chips that are satisfying to eat.
The sauce is so good, but you can kick things up a notch with red pepper flakes, herbs, and other ingredients.
Cheese pull alert!
This isn’t your regular grilled cheese.
First, it has bacon, so that’s already a plus.
Oaxaca cheese is ideal for a stretchy cheese pull because it’s easy to melt and has a stringy texture.
Adobo sauce packs a flavor explosion with its rich, savory, and spicy taste.
The smooth texture of the chipotle crema with the adobo sauce works excellently with the crispy toasted bread.
The bottom line
Oaxaca cheese has a lot of versatility because of its texture and flavor.
It’s a soft cheese that melts quickly and has a gooey consistency when melted.
Its subtle milky flavor makes it a welcome addition to many dishes, not just Mexican or Latin cuisine.
Try using it for yourself with these 23 recipes to find out why it’s called Mexican mozzarella!
Delectable Oaxaca Cheese Recipe Collection
Oaxaca cheese will turn your dishes into fully loaded family favorites; get started with this list of 13 delectable Oaxaca cheese recipes!
Ingredients
- Homemade Queso Fundido
- Cheese Onion Enchiladas
- Air Fryer Cheese Quesadilla
- Pork Chops Stuffed With Oaxaca Cheese & Green Chile
- Birria Tacos
- Grilled Mexican Pizza With Salsa Verde & Chorizo
- Chorizo Stuffed Poblano Peppers
- Black Bean & Oaxaca Cheese Empanadas
- Chicken Alambre
- Oaxacan Frittata
- Taco Quesadillas
- Chorizo Queso With Flour Tortilla Chips
- Oaxaca Grilled Cheese
Instructions
- Find your favorite recipe from our Oaxaca Cheese Recipes list.
- Gather all the ingredients needed.
- Start cooking and make us proud!