Amazing Cheesy Recipes

Mac and Cheese Sandwich With Braised Short Ribs

This hearty grilled macaroni and cheese sandwich recipe is generously stuffed with mouthwatering short ribs and smothered in lip-smacking steak sauce. It makes the perfect, comforting weeknight dinner on colder evenings, or a treat during a weekend lunch. You'll need leftover mac and cheese and ribs, a skillet or panini press, and just 22 minutes to put this sandwich together. Pair it with a tangy salad of arugula with lemon and parsley dressing.

Scalloped Potatoes With Cheddar Cheese

These scalloped potatoes should be in everyone's recipe book because they're delicious, easy to make and go well with any protein or vegetable. The recipe calls for cheddar cheese, milk, flour, and butter, but you can use any other cheese of your liking. This recipe can be easily made with dairy-free ingredients using vegan margarine, rice milk, and vegan cheese in the same amounts.

Use the same oven to make a lemon-herb roasted chicken and be ready for a simple and satisfying meal in 1 1/2 hours (the chicken takes 95 minutes and the potatoes 75 minutes).

Fried Chicken and Waffle Grilled Cheese

We think Elvis would have approved of this fried-chicken-and-waffles grilled cheese sandwich. A little over the top, this checks all the boxes for satisfying, flavorful, buttery, and filling. For a quick version, use frozen waffles, chicken nuggets, and any sliced cheese. But if you have the time and want to knock the socks off dinner guests (or your lucky family), make waffles and chicken from scratch and buy fancy cheese (e.g., fontina, Asiago, or brie). Add a hot sauce and honey blend and grill your sandwich until the cheese has melted. The elaborate version takes one hour to cook.

Pair this sandwich with a refreshing salad of cubed Granny Smith apples, chopped celery, and green goddess dressing.

Cheddar Bacon Puffs

Fancy enough to impress your boss but easy and quick to make in just 20 minutes, these savory, cheesy appetizers are airy little puffs with loads of flavor. Our recipe uses a quick version of a choux pastry dough and adds crunchy bacon and cheese.

Use them as an amuse-bouche with a glass of wine before you serve dinner, or have them as part of a cheese and charcuterie plate.

Apple and Cheddar Stuffed Pork Chops

This main dish is made out of juicy pork chops, stuffed with a mixture of breadcrumbs, diced apple, raisins, and cheddar cheese. Use orange or apple juice with butter to moisten the stuffing, make a pocket in the pork chops to place the stuffing, and bake covered for 45 minutes and uncovered for 20 minutes. The prep time is short, and while the pork chops are in the oven, you can make the rest of your meal by cooking coconut jasmine rice (20 minutes) and tossing some baby spinach with onion salad dressing (10 minutes).

Cheese and Sausage Quiche

Quiches are the perfect main for brunches and tea parties. An all-in-one dish, they just need a side salad to compose a perfect and satisfying plate. Buy a pie shell, make a filling with beaten eggs, sausage, cheese, and hard-boiled eggs, and bake for 35 minutes.

This quiche is very easy to alter: if you don't like pork sausage, use any ham you'd prefer or turkey or chicken sausage. Replace our suggested cheeses with your favorites, and add sautéed veggies for crunch. There is no wrong combination.

Pair it with an endive and pear salad with lime-agave dressing.

Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese

Give your mac and cheese a Buffalo chicken wing spin. Shredded chicken cooked in a spicy sauce is just the beginning of this Buffalo chicken mac and cheese recipe. The sauce uses mustard and two types of cheese, including pepper jack, which is a perfect match for the hot sauce. Add macaroni, top it with breadcrumbs, and bake it. Serve it for game day, take it to a potluck, or just enjoy it with your spice-loving family.

Turkey, Cranberry, and Brie Sandwich

This no-cook turkey sandwich takes under 10 minutes to make and uses cooked turkey meat, tangy cranberry sauce, and smooth brie cheese.

For a party version, stuff a large baguette with the same ingredients, and slice each baguette in 10 pieces, securing each small sandwich with a party skewer. Offer veggie chips and dips for a fun, easy-to-eat spread.

Cheddar, Ham, and Pasta Bake

For this simple bake, cook macaroni, make a beer-based cheese sauce with mushrooms and ham, mix, top with breadcrumbs and butter, and bake for 45 minutes with a pinch of paprika on top. The whole dish takes 55 minutes, from prep to table—perfect for a weeknight.

While the casserole is in the oven, make a Caprese salad with avocado and use the oven to toast a 10-minute garlic bread.

Blue Cheese-Walnut Steaks

Alert meat lovers. Use sirloin steaks, filet mignons, or small rib-eye steaks. Pat dry the meat and coat with a garlic-rosemary and salt mixture. Mix walnut, blue cheese, rosemary, and parsley. Cook the meat to your liking and add a generous amount of the blue cheese mixture on top. This flavorful recipe takes 25 minutes for two steaks and is the perfect dish for a couple's celebration.

Pair with mashed potatoes with apples and some mixed greens with tarragon dressing.

Grilled Chicken With Goat Cheese

It's hard to believe this juicy chicken dish featuring two sauces is ready in just 45 minutes. Feta cheese and red-pepper sauces moisten the chicken. Flatten out your chicken by pounding with a meat tenderizer or ask your butcher to butterfly the chicken breast. The cheese sauce features olive oil, wine, chicken broth, herbs, and cheese, while the pepper sauce blends roasted peppers with garlic and hot sauce. Serve with one sauce at the bottom of the plate and one on top.

Pair with sweet potato fries. Cut one head of clean iceberg lettuce in four big wedges and pour cucumber-yogurt dressing on top.

Cheesy French Onion Soup

French onion soup is a bistro classic and makes a fantastic first course to serve at your dinner parties. This delicious onion soup is ready in under an hour.

Make the soup ahead of time and bake at the last minute. Pair with baguette and blue cheese butter.

Baked Beefy Nachos

These delicious pub-style nachos are loaded with ground beef and classic vegetable toppings, like tomatoes, onions, and peppers. Refried beans add creaminess to the sauce. Layer a baking dish with tortilla chips and cover with the beef sauce, top with cheddar cheese, and bake for 20 minutes.

This is a great dish for a family-style dinner, plus it's filling and flavorful. Serve with guacamole, extra chips, and pico de gallo for a Mexican-inspired dinner. For extra cheesiness and decadence, make a vegetarian cheesy quesadilla.

Cheese Soufflé

Have you always wanted to try your hand at a classic French cheese soufflé, but felt intimidated? This matter-of-fact recipe will change your life, by taking you step-by-step through easy, basic instructions for creating the perfect cheese soufflé. Once you've mastered this recipe, you can adapt it with your favorite additions, but be aware that extra ingredients must be cooked in advance before adding them to the soufflé mixture.

You need 50 minutes to prep and cook. Remember not to open the oven for the first 20 of the 35 minutes of baking. The colder air from outside will drop the temperature inside and your soufflé might collapse.

Keep the French theme and serve your soufflé with a goat cheese salad.

Scrambled Eggs With Queso Fresco

Put your cereal box back in the pantry. The same 10 minutes you use to prepare your dry breakfast is what you need to make this scrambled eggs with queso fresco. Queso fresco is a mild-tasting, fresh cheese that adds delicious flavor, softness, and creaminess to eggs (and it's perfect used cold on any bread). Add hot sauce to spice up the flavors and pair with toast or crush tortilla chips on top.

If you have some time, make Venezuelan-style arepas and stuff them with your eggs. For a complete brunch display, make some chocolate-banana smoothies.

New York Cheesecake

No collection of the best cheesy recipes would be complete without a New York cheesecake. This basic recipe is simple to follow and has the classic buttery graham cracker crust, which you can prebake for 10 minutes while making the filling.

Serve with a fruity sauce like cherry or a spoonful of strawberry-rhubarb jam.