Substitute For Blue Cheese: 5 Ideal Options

So you’re making a fresh and light cucumber salad. 

You head straight to the fridge to get some crumbly blue cheese so you can put it on top of the salad to add creaminess to the cucumber, tomato, and red onion combo. 

Unfortunately, you’re running out of blue cheese—you’re doomed! 

Or let’s say, you don’t keep blue cheese or you don’t buy this dairy product, period, because you can’t deal with that smell of blue cheese. 

Don’t fret! Luckily, in both cases, there are a few other ingredients that can come to the rescue and I’ll name some of them today! 

Substitute Cheese	Suggested Starting Ratio	Flavor Profile	Ideal Usage
Feta	1:1 (adjust to taste)	Saltier than blue cheese	Salads, pasta dishes
Queso Fresco	Slightly more than blue cheese (adjust as needed)	Milder flavor	Versatile in various dishes
Goat Cheese	Less than blue cheese (adjust to taste)	Tangy, earthy, creamy	Dishes requiring a tangy, creamy texture
Aged Cheddar Cheese	1:1 (adjust to taste)	Nutty, less intense than blue cheese	Dishes needing a nutty, sharp flavor
Habañero Cheddar Cheese	Use sparingly, adjust for heat	Spicy	Recipes where spicy, cheesy flavor is desired

Subs and how to use them

If you don’t have blue cheese in your fridge or simply have a picky eater in your family, here are some alternatives you can use instead of blue cheese.

1. Feta

The tangy, rich, and salty flavor of crumbled feta makes the ingredient an ideal blue cheese substitute.

Just like blue cheese, feta is incredibly versatile and can be used over salads or pasta dishes. 

Feta is saltier than blue cheese, so start with a small amount of feta and work your way up if you feel that your recipe needs more flavor. 

• Ratio: Start with a 1:1 ratio, as feta is saltier than blue cheese. Adjust according to taste.
• Usage: Ideal in salads or pasta dishes.

2. Queso Fresco

A commonly used soft cheese from Mexico, queso fresco has a bit of a bitter, salty, and tangy flavor, making it also a great blue cheese alternative. 

Its taste is mild, though, so you might be adding a little more queso fresco than the blue cheese called for in your recipe. 

But I suggest starting with a small amount to get a better idea of its flavor.

• Ratio: Begin with slightly more queso fresco than blue cheese due to its milder flavor, then adjust as needed.
• Usage: Suitable for a variety of dishes where a milder, less tangy flavor is desired.

3. Goat Cheese

Goat Cheese is another cheese alternative for blue cheese. When young, it has earthy and tangy notes with a sharp undertone. 

As the cheese ages, its soft consistency becomes crumbly and its flavor turns creamy with hints of hazelnut and dried herbs. 

Furthermore, goat cheese is often saltier than feta and blue cheese so it’s advisable to start with a smaller quantity when replacing and work your way up.

And make sure you choose a plain goat. It comes in lots of flavors now but those may not closely meet your blue cheese needs.

• Ratio: Start with a smaller amount than blue cheese, as goat cheese can be saltier. Adjust to preference.
• Usage: Works well in dishes requiring a tangy, earthy flavor with a creamy texture.

4. Aged Cheddar Cheese

Typically, cheddar cheese is mild, creamy, and smooth when young. 

However, when the cheese matures, it becomes nutty, sharp, and tangy. 

Sadly, it has a light and creamy yellow hue and doesn’t have the distinctive blue veins in blue cheese. 

Still, this cheese is often a suitable replacement for blue cheese. 

Blue cheese is stronger flavored than cheddar cheese so start with the same amount of aged cheddar as blue cheese and work your way up.

• Ratio: Begin with an equivalent amount to blue cheese, then adjust to taste, as aged cheddar is less intense.
• Usage: Good for dishes where a nutty, sharp flavor is needed.

5. Habañero Cheddar Cheese

Though it features an extra-spicy kick, habanero cheddar cheese is still one of the possible alternatives for blue cheese thanks to its saltiness. 

It’s a great replacement if you’re looking for a spicy version of blue cheese. 

To use it as a substitute, I suggest you begin with a small amount, considering the spiciness of the cheese.

• Ratio: Use sparingly at first due to its spiciness, and increase as per the desired heat level.
• Usage: Best for recipes where a spicy, cheesy flavor is desired.

Substitute blue cheese for other easy-to-find ingredients like:

• feta
• queso fresco
• aged cheddar cheese
• goat cheese
• habañero cheddar!

While gorgonzola cheese may be the first cheese to come to mind as a substitute for bleu cheese, it’s technically already a type of blue cheese. If you’re asking if you can substitute gorgonzola for blue cheese, the answer is always yes. For Roquefort cheese, yes, it’s a blue cheese substitute as well.

In this article, I’m also going to show you how to use these substitutes in your everyday cooking journey. 

But first things first, know what you’re replacing.

What is blue cheese?

Blue cheese is a type of cheese made from pasteurized cow, goat, or sheep’s milk. 

The milk is cured with cultures of penicillium roqueforti, an essential fungus commonly widespread in nature.

Generally, blue cheese features a salty and sharp taste with a pungent aroma.

However, this may vary depending on its variety. It may be soft and creamy or crumbly in texture. 

You can find blue cheese in cheese boards, salads, pasta dishes, dips, dressings, sauces, or pair the cheese with fruits and nuts.

The flavor of blue cheese

As mentioned, blue cheese has a salty and sharp flavor in general. It has a pungent aroma and may be soft and creamy or crumbly in texture. 

The cheese is delicious on its own and can be eaten as is. But blue cheese lovers include them in their salads, cheese board, and pasta dishes. 

🐐🧀  Maybe you need a Goat Cheese alternative.🐐 🧀

The bottom line

Now that you already know some of the great substitutes for blue cheese, there’s no reason for you to abandon that recipe you’re working with! 

But before using them, keep in mind that the following cheeses aren’t a doppelgänger replacement as they’re just a close-as-possible substitute, meaning you might add or subtract the amount of cheese that your recipes call for. 

Did you come by for a great blue cheese dressing recipe? We got you.