10 Gruyere Cheese Substitutes for Quiche
Quiche is an incredibly rich and delicious appetizer, which you can turn into a meal if you want. It is a pastry crust filled with an eggy, cheesy, and decadently rich filling. The signature quiche ingredient is that each quiche variety must contain cheese. The cheese you need for quiche must be flavorful, but more importantly, it needs to melt well. Therefore Gruyere cheese is the cheese that does the best job here. However, the good news is that you easily substitute this cheese in quiche, as there are other cheeses with similar melting properties. So, what are the best Gruyere cheese substitutes for quiche?
Ementaler cheese, Feta, Cheddar, Comte, Monterey Jack, Mozzarella, Mascarpone, Raclette, Jarlsberg, and goat cheese are all excellent substitutes for Gruyere cheese in quiche.
Since Gruyere is not so widely available cheese, chances are you will not have it in your fridge whenever you want to treat yourself to some quiche. So, to help you enjoy yourself and make that quiche you have been craving, I will give you some ideas on gruyere substitutes for quiche in the following paragraphs.
Gruyere Substitutes for Quiche
The one thing you need to look for in a Gruyere cheese substitute in quiche is that it melts well. Still, no two pieces of cheese are identical, so if you don’t mind a few cheese chunks in an otherwise creamy cheese consistency, you don’t have to worry, even if your cheese doesn’t get completely creamy. If you like it smooth and silky, you can always use heavy cream or butter to help the cheese melt all the way.
Each cheese substitute brings its own magic to the table, so don’t expect your quiche to taste the same with Mozzarella as it would with Gruyere. Still, when it comes to food and cooking, differences and experimentation are always welcomed, so you will, by all means, get a tasty result.
Emmentaler
Emmentaler cheese is known as the best substitute for gruyere cheese, not only for quiche but for fondue and other cheese-containing recipes calling for Gruyere.
Made of cow’s milk, Emmentaler cheese is firm and stable but melts very nicely, leaving an incredibly flavorful sensation. Since quiche is a dish that can also be served cold, the melted and then hardened Emmentaler cheese will become even more flavorful than before.
Feta
Healthy, light, and tasty, Feta is an incredibly good substitute for many cheese types, not only Gruyere cheese. The consistency and quality characteristics of the feta cheese make it very easy to combine with many flavors, the exquisite quiche flavor among them.
The Feta cheese is solid on the outside but still with a certain softness and elasticity, making it perfect for melting. It could happen, though, to get a few chunks of Feta in your quiche, but it’s nothing a little heavy cream can’t fix if you mind the chunks in the first place.
Cheddar
Cheddar is a cheese famous for melting perfectly. It stays compact without chunks or lumps, and it tastes incredibly delicious. Therefore, it is no wonder Cheddar deserved a place on this list.
Cheddar does an excellent job adding creaminess and flavor as a Gruyere substitute in quiche. Even though Cheddar is a bit less flavorful than gruyere cheese, it still has a lot of other qualities you can and should praise for.
Its silkiness, richness, and smoothness are not to be underestimated, as well as its fullness in terms of its perfectly balanced flavor.
Comte
Coming from Comte- Switzerland, this cheese is pure elegance. It is a protected cheese, and it cannot be found anywhere else, meaning that its availability is pretty limited, which is the only downside of this cheese.
The Comte cheese is also known as Comte gruyere, which makes it self-explanatory why this cheese is one of the best gruyere substitutes. Cold, it is solid and stable, with a characteristic nutty flavor, and melted, it becomes pure silk and refinement, with a more intense nuttiness.
This cheese gives the quiche a very particular elegance and silkiness, bringing the dish into a whole different dimension.
Monterey Jack
With many fans worldwide, this American-made cheese is also known as spicy because of its very particular flavor. This cheese is produced as solid cheese but is more famous for its use melted, as it is mainly served that way.
Therefore, I mention it here, as one of the best substitutes for Gruyere, mainly for its melting properties. Melted and then hardened again, the Monterey Jack has an even more intense flavor, which rubs off of the quiche uniquely so that you will feel the difference, of course, in the most positive sense.
Raclette
The Raclette cheese is another Swiss-made cheese with extraordinary melting properties. Made of cow milk, this cheese can taste fruity, nutty, or buttery, depending on the region in which it is made.
The Raclette cheese substitutes excellently for Gruyere, not only in a quiche but also in fondues and other recipes requiring well-melting cheeses.
Jarlsberg
The Jarlsberg cheese originated in Norway, and with time it also became a Swiss national cheese. It has recognizable Swiss cheese holes and the same refined and natural flavor marking all types of Swiss cheese.
This is a semi-soft cheese made of cow milk that tastes nutty and a tad sweet. It is milder tasting than the gruyere cheese but still as exquisite. It melts uniquely, becoming waxy and even fuller, making your quiche even richer.
Mozzarella
Although more on the gooey side and not melting as well as the cheeses I mentioned above, Mozzarella is still worthy of a place on this list, as it brings something special to the table.
Soft and rich, Mozzarella is an excellent substitute for gruyere cheese in quiche, as it will taste amazing mixed with the other ingredients. Adding heavy cream will not make the Mozzarella cheese melt all the way, nor should it, as the unique consistency of this cheese is what makes the mozzarella quiche so special.
However, the downside is that Mozzarella is a pretty neutral-tasting cheese, which can be problematic as quiche calls for full-flavored cheeses. Still, it’s nothing a little more salt cannot solve.
Mascarpone
Known for its use in cheesecakes and other creamy desserts, Mascarpone does an excellent job as a gruyere cheese substitute in quiche. However, like the Mozzarella, it is not very flavorful, compensating for its amazingly rich and creamy consistency.
Mascarpone fits perfectly in quiche, making its filling even softer than it normally is. On the upside, Mascarpone tends to be more flavorful when cold, so if you make your quiches using Mascarpone, I’d recommend you have it chilled.
Goat Cheese
Goat cheese is one of the most versatile cheeses, texture-wise. Though it has a very particular smell, which you either love or you don’t, it doubles very well for Gruyere in quiches. It melts very distinctly, creating a creamy foundation with some small cheese lumps.
