Cynthia 
The best Catupiry cheese substitute is mascarpone for cooking and pasta, or a blend of softened cream cheese with heavy cream for pizza and coxinha fillings. Both come closest to Catupiry’s silky, mild, pourable creaminess without the tang and density of plain American cream cheese. I first tasted Catupiry at a Brazilian friend’s birthday party
The best Robiola cheese substitute is fresh goat cheese (chèvre) for boards and spreads, and mascarpone for pasta sauces and risotto. Both match either the tangy freshness or the silky, creamy richness that makes Robiola so special in Italian cooking. I need to correct something before this article goes any further. The previous version of
The best scamorza cheese substitute is low-moisture mozzarella for unsmoked scamorza, and smoked mozzarella for scamorza affumicata. Both are in the same pasta filata family and deliver the same stretch, melt, and structure that makes scamorza so valuable in Italian cooking. Scamorza was not a cheese I thought much about until an Italian friend served
The best caciocavallo cheese substitute is provolone, which is in the same pasta filata (stretched-curd) family, has nearly the same flavor profile, and works at a 1:1 ratio in every caciocavallo application from pizza to pasta to cheese boards. I first encountered caciocavallo on a trip through Southern Italy, where it was hanging in pairs
The best Tilsit cheese substitute is Havarti, which shares the same semi-soft, buttery, mild character. No wonder, since Havarti was literally called “Danish Tilsiter” before it got its own name in 1952. Tilsit is one of those cheeses that shows up in European and German recipes and leaves American home cooks doing a double take.
The best Longhorn cheese substitute is plain Colby, which is the exact same cheese pressed into a different shape, giving you identical flavor, texture, and melt with no compromise. I had never actually thought about what Longhorn cheese was until I found myself standing in a grocery store looking for it and realizing I had
The best substitute for Kraft Roka Blue Cheese Spread is a blend of 4 ounces of softened Philadelphia cream cheese and 2 tablespoons of crumbled blue cheese, which is the official replacement recipe that Kraft Kitchens published when the product became hard to find. The first time I went to make my mom’s holiday cheese
The best labneh cheese substitute is full-fat Greek yogurt strained for a few extra hours with a pinch of salt, which gets you so close to real labneh that most people cannot tell the difference. The first time I made a Middle Eastern mezze spread, I went to three grocery stores looking for labneh and
The best Sulguni cheese substitute is low-moisture mozzarella mixed with a small amount of feta, which recreates Suluguni’s melt, stretch, and tangy-salty flavor better than any single cheese on its own. I have to be upfront about something: the original version of this article said Sulguni comes from Italy. That is completely wrong, and I
The best Teleme cheese substitutes is Brie, which shares the same soft, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth texture and mild, lightly tangy flavor that makes Teleme so special on pizza, polenta, and cheese boards. I spent years thinking Teleme cheese was just some obscure California thing until I finally tried it melted over polenta at a San Francisco
The best Pepper Jack cheese substitute is Monterey Jack mixed with minced jalapeños, which rebuilds the exact creamy base and spicy kick that makes Pepper Jack so useful in nachos, burgers, and quesadillas. I have been in the middle of making nachos more times than I can count when I reach into the fridge and
The best Stilton cheese substitute is Gorgonzola Piccante, which matches Stilton’s crumbly texture and bold blue character closely enough to work in every dish that calls for it. I remember the first time a recipe called for Stilton and I stood in the cheese aisle completely lost. The store had about six varieties of cheddar
The best Eden Cheese substitute is Velveeta, which matches its mild, creamy, processed cheese character and melts just as smoothly in Filipino spaghetti, cheese dips, and cooked dishes. If you grew up in the Philippines, Eden Cheese is more than just a pantry staple. It is the flavor of pandesal breakfast, cheese pimiento at parties,
The best Kefalotyri cheese substitutes is Pecorino Romano, which shares the same sharp, salty, sheep’s milk character and works as a 1:1 swap for grating, baking, and most Greek recipes. I ran into this problem the first time I tried to make saganaki at home. Kefalotyri was nowhere to be found at any of my
The best Wensleydale cheese substitute is Lancashire cheese, which shares the same crumbly texture and mild, slightly tangy flavor and works as a 1:1 swap on cheese boards, with fruit, and in most recipes. If you have ever watched Wallace and Gromit, you already know about Wensleydale. It is Wallace’s favorite cheese by name, and