Gouda is a Dutch, semi-hard, mild cheese with a hint of a sweet taste. It is available in most grocery stores at a moderate price. But, if you’re in a position when you have no choice but to substitute it, here are some of my favorite gouda alternatives.
Edam, Monterey-Jack, yellow cheddar, and Gruyere, have a similar texture and mild taste to Gouda. Therefore, being great substitutes for Gouda.
Like always, I will be explaining why these alternatives work best in the article below, so if you are looking for an expanded answer, keep on reading.
The Best Gouda Cheese Substitutes
Edam Cheese
Edam or Edammer is a pale yellow cheese with a semi-hard texture that originates from the Netherlands. In its early stages, this Dutch cheese has a nutty flavor that gets sharper as it ages. This is one of the most popular cheeses out there and is reachable for everyone.
5 Edam Cheese Recipe Ideas
- Create your own charcuterie plate using sliced pears, grapes, neutral crackers, slices of salami, and a mild version of Edam cheese. Serve it with a fruity wine of your choice.
- Make a grilled cheese sandwich. This type of cheese is easy to melt and has the perfect stretchy and gooey texture that we want our sandwich cheese to have. Simply put two slices of Edam cheese between any type of bread and in a generously buttered pan grill the sandwich until golden brown and crispy. I recommend serving it with a bowl of tomato soup.
- For all the mac n’ cheese lovers, you’re in luck. You can absolutely use this nutty cheese in your pasta. You can also use Edam(preferably aged) as a substitute for Parmesan cheese. It will give your dish a sweet flavor.
- Serve it along with some American cheese and pair it with sweet beers for your next sports event
- Make a cheesy cauliflower casserole. All you’re going to need is Edam cheese, bread crumbs, a couple of eggs, and boiled cauliflower. It is a fun way to make your kids eat their vegetables without noticing.
Monterey-Jack Cheese
Like Gouda, Monterey Jack is also a semi-hard cheese with a mild, nutty flavor. Originating from Monterey Califonia, this cheese truly deserves its nickname ”The true American cheese”.
It is produced from cow’s milk and has a soft and creamy texture. It is sometimes flavored with lots of different spices like wild thyme, rosemary, chili flakes, and jalapeno peppers.
What Is Monterey-Jack Used For
- This cheese just goes amazing with spices. Jalapeno poppers are nothing without the filling of creamy Monterey-Jack cheese as well as many spicy Mexican dishes.
- Like Edam, this famous cheese is an excellent table cheese. You can serve it as it is, or slice it along with some walnuts and grapes on the side. You don’t have to make it fancy for it to be a tasty snack.
- Pair this cheese with a semi-dry white wine along with some crackers and prosciutto-wrapped slices of melon.
- Cheesy biscuits are one of my favorite thing to do with this cheese because it easily melts into the dough and produces a flaky and crispy texture to my baked goods.
Dry Jack Cheese
Dry Jack is a dried and aged Monterey-Jack cheese. It has a hard and sturdy texture, yellow/brown color, and a nutty and salty taste. The process of aging can last from six months to a year.
The taste enhances as the cheese ages. Dry Jack is a good replacement for Parmesan cheese and it is usually shaved on top of pasta dishes.
Pepper Jack Cheese
Pepper Jackis a semi-soft cheese with pieces of pepper, rosemary, garlic, jalapeno peppers, and other herbs and spices. It goes great with basically everything you want to pair it with.
This cheese can easily melt through, which makes it a lead role in pizzas, casseroles, nachos, sauces, and can mix well with lots of baked goods.
Colby-Jack Cheese
Colby-Jack cheese is a mixture of Colby and Monterey- Jack cheese and it is also a classic American cheese. It has an interesting yellow color with white splatters on it.
The taste of Colby-Jack is mild, sweet, and smooth. Either served on a plate on its own or melted on top of burritos, nachos and pizzas, Colby-Jack certainly is a favorite in many people’s homes.
I recommend putting this cheese in a sandwich with a great piece of salami or put it in a mac n’ cheese casserole dish.
Yellow Cheddar
In my opinion, this cheese is the best alternative for Gouda after the Edam. The texture is the same as the Gouda, semi-hard with a mild flavor. The only difference in taste is that yellow cheddar has a more milky taste and not nutty. Yellow cheddar gets its bright yellow-orange color from annatto seeds. Annatto seeds are a natural food coloring substitution mostly used for coloring dairy products, snacks, and sometimes meat.
Uses For Yellow Cheddar
This cheese is often melted. That being said, you can put it on everything. Pizzas, nachos, cheeseburgers, pasta, omelets, and cheese sauces are popular foods to put this bright yellow-colored cheese in.
Few Recipes That Would Be Great With Some Yellow Cheddar In Them
- Cheeseburgers are known for that orange-yellow slice of cheese, melting on top of the burger. When you’re almost done with the cooking of your burger, put a slice of cheddar on top of it and cover it with a lid for two minutes.
- Mac and cheese is the most delicious and easy recipe you can make with yellow cheddar. Combine your pasta with some shredded cheddar along with a little bit of pasta water and a stick of butter and there you go, the easiest macaroni you can make.
What Is The Difference Between White And Yellow Cheddar
In essence, there is no real difference between white and yellow cheddar if they have been left to age at the same time and in the same conditions. The food coloring in the yellow cheddar does not affect the taste, it only changes the color.
Gruyere Cheese
Gruyere is a known type of Swiss cheese with a smooth, soft texture and a mild, almost buttery flavor. The name comes from the Gruyere town in Switzerland and it is usually used to amazing French dishes. The taste is mild, a little bit nutty, and the texture is creamy and smooth.
What Can Gruyere Cheese Be Used For
- Fondue is one of the best types of food that requires this cheese. Gruyere is known for quickly melting which is a big point, especially when making a fondue, a dish that requires your products to be melted in with each other like a smooth sauce. Of course, get yourself some delicious baguette bread to pair the gooey cheese with.
- Croque Monsieur is a classic French sandwich, served in every Parisian cafe and bistro. The original version of this hot sandwich is made with Emmental cheese, Gruyere cheese, Parmesan, and ham. Other variants of Croque Monsieur are with bechamel sauce and a fried egg on top.
Simple Croque-Monsieur Recipe
I love making this type of grilled cheese when I feel like a want more than just a simple sandwich and want to fancy it up a little bit.
Start with evenly buttering the inner parts of your slices of bread, and mix it with some Dijon mustard (the mustard is optional, you do not have to do this). Make bechamel sauce and put a generous amount of Gruyere and Emmental cheese in it, you do not have to melt the cheeses through.
Put your mixture on one piece of bread, sprinkle in some Parmesan, and finally put the ham on top of all that. Cook until golden brown in a buttered pan.
Substitute For Gouda Cheese Related FAQs
Can I Substitute Cheddar For Gauda
Yes. My advice is to get a mild, and not aged cheese, it should be aged for two months max. Yellow cheddar will work best and resembles the texture and taste.
Is Gouda A Good Melting Cheese
Gouda is one of the best cheeses to melt. You can use it in plates of pasta, lasagnas, and other cheesy meals. Other melting cheese alternatives are Gruyere, Mild Cheddar, Edam Cheese, and Monterey- Jack cheese.
What Cheese Is Similar to Gruyere
Emmental is no doubt the best alternative for Gruyere but, you can also try Beaufort or Raclette.
Can I Use Gouda Instead Of Cheddar?
Yes, you can. Since cheddar is a good replacement for gouda, of course, they both can replace each other at any time.