Butterkäse Cheese Recipes: 9 Ways to Cook With It

Butterkäse is one of the best all-purpose melting cheeses you can cook with, and it works in everything from grilled cheese and mac and cheese to eggs, pizza, and the viral stuffed sweet potato.

Once I got my hands on a block of this stuff, I went a little overboard testing it in everything I could think of. It melts so smoothly that it’s hard to mess up, and I wanted to know exactly where it shines and where it needs a little help.

So here are the 9 ways I’ve actually used it for a solid butterkase cheese recipe, what worked, and the one thing you need to know before you cook with it: it’s mild, so a few of these need a partner cheese to really pop. If you’ve been searching for a good butterkase recipe to start with, grilled cheese is it.

Key Takeaways

• Grilled cheese is the one dish where butterkäse needs nothing else, it carries the whole thing
• For mac and cheese, pair it with a sharper cheese like white cheddar so it isn’t one-note
• It melts fast, doesn’t get greasy, and shreds best straight from the fridge
• The viral stuffed sweet potato is worth trying if you haven’t yet
• Slice it for melting, since shredding it soft turns into a clumpy mess

Quick cheat sheet: what to pair it with

Dish	Butterkäse alone or paired?	My go-to partner
Grilled cheese	Alone, no partner needed	None
Mac and cheese	Paired	Sharp white cheddar
Scrambled eggs	Alone	None
Quesadillas	Paired	Pepper jack or chorizo
Pizza	Paired	Mozzarella
Burgers	Alone	None
Dip or fondue	Paired	A pinch of sharp cheddar
Soup topper	Paired	Whatever the soup already uses
Stuffed sweet potato	Alone	None

9 Ways to Cook With Butterkäse Cheese

Here’s everywhere I’ve put it to the test, starting with the one that made me a believer.

1. The grilled cheese that started it all for me

This is the dish that made me a butterkäse believer, so it gets the full treatment.

What you need:

• 2-3 slices of butterkäse (not shredded)
• 2 slices of good sandwich bread
• Butter, softened, for the bread
• Optional: caramelized onion, a smear of Dijon, or thin apple slices

How I make it:

1. Butter one side of each bread slice
2. Layer the butterkäse (and any add-ins) between the unbuttered sides
3. Cook in a skillet over medium heat, butter-side down, about 3-4 minutes per side
4. Flip once the bottom is deep golden, and press gently with a spatula so the cheese melts all the way through

It never turns greasy or grainy on me the way an aged cheddar sometimes does, and it takes on almost any add-in without a fight. A cast iron skillet holds heat evenly enough to get that deep golden crust without babysitting the pan.

2. Mac and cheese, the honest version

Butterkäse makes a beautifully creamy sauce here, but on its own it tastes pretty flat. Here’s how I fix that:

• The base: 8 oz butterkäse, melted into a simple roux-and-milk sauce
• The fix: 2 oz sharp white cheddar stirred in alongside it, roughly a 4:1 ratio
• The finish: a little extra shredded cheddar broiled on top for color and bite

The butterkäse does the creamy heavy lifting. The cheddar brings the flavor punch it’s missing on its own.

Skip the cheddar and you’ll end up with something that melts great and tastes like not much at all.

3. Scrambled eggs and omelets

This one surprised me, honestly. Fold thin slices into soft-scrambled eggs right off the heat and it melts almost instantly into the curds. No extra cheese needed.

It works just as well tucked into an omelet right before you fold it, or shredded into a quiche if you’re feeding a crowd at brunch. A good nonstick omelet pan makes folding it over without tearing a lot easier.

4. Quesadillas, dressed up your way

Butterkäse melts fast enough that the tortilla never over-browns before the cheese goes fully molten, which is really the whole battle with quesadillas. But it’s mild, so I like giving it a partner with some attitude:

• Pepper jack, for heat
• Cooked chorizo, for a savory punch
• A spoonful of salsa or pickled jalapeños, for acid and crunch

5. Pizza and flatbread

I’ve used it on a caramelized onion pizza and it worked beautifully, smooth and rich without overpowering the onions.

For anything closer to a Detroit-style pie, I’d blend it with mozzarella rather than going solo. Butterkäse alone reads a bit one-note under all that sauce.

A pizza stone gets the crust crisp enough to hold up under all that melt.

6. Burgers

A single slice melts into a rich, velvety layer over a hot patty. Makes American cheese look boring by comparison, and needs zero help.

If smash burgers are your thing, a burger press gets you that crispy edge before the cheese even goes on.

7. Cheese dip or fondue

For a dip, melt it down with a splash of cream. For something closer to fondue, use white wine, garlic, and a little nutmeg instead, in an actual fondue pot so it stays melted at the table instead of seizing up.

Either way, it’s forgiving to work with, but I always throw in a pinch of something sharper so the final result isn’t bland.

8. Soup topper

Broiled on top of French onion soup or melted into a broccoli-cheddar base, butterkäse gives you that smooth, even melt without stealing the spotlight from whatever’s already in the pot. Oven-safe soup crocks let you broil individual servings right at the table.

9. The viral stuffed sweet potato

This is the recipe that made butterkäse famous, and if you haven’t tried it yet, it’s worth the hype. My Roasted Sweet Potato with Melty Cheese recipe covers the full method, cheese pairing guide, and troubleshooting, including a faster oven version and an air fryer method if you don’t want to wait around for the low-and-slow bake.

Ways to switch it up:

• Swap in a white or russet potato, then finish with garlic and Parmesan
• Stir a spoonful of white miso into the flesh and top with furikake
• Add a Creole seasoning blend and a drizzle of chili oil for heat

What I’ve learned handling this cheese

• It melts fast and doesn’t get greasy. Even at moderate heat, it stays smooth instead of breaking into oil the way an aged cheddar can
• Shred it cold, straight from the fridge. It softens fast at room temperature and turns into a sticky mess on the grater if you wait too long
• Slice it for melts, don’t shred it. Soft shreds clump together instead of melting evenly
• It works cold too. Sliced onto a sandwich straight from the fridge is actually its traditional use in Germany, not just something you melt

My actual advice

If you only try one thing on this list, make the grilled cheese first. It’s the fastest way to understand why this cheese is worth the hype, and it needs zero extra ingredients to prove it.

If you’re cooking something more flavor-driven, like mac and cheese or a dip, remember the pairing rule: let butterkäse handle the creaminess, and let a sharper cheese handle the flavor. Once that clicks, you’ll find a use for it in almost anything.

If you haven’t grabbed a block yet, my What Is Butterkäse Cheese guide covers where to find it, including what to do if your store is sold out. And if the sweet potato is the reason you’re here in the first place, my Roasted Sweet Potato with Melty Cheese recipe is right this way.

Frequently Asked Questions