What Is Manchego cheese and How Can I Use It?
If manchego cheese has turned up in a recipe or caught your eye at the store, here's what you need to use it with confidence and how to choose it, cook it, store it, what to substitute, and 10 recipes to try it in.
What is manchego cheese?
Manchego is a cheese made in the La Mancha region of Spain from the milk of sheep of the Manchega breed, which is aged for between 60 days and two years.
Manchego has a firm and compact consistency and a buttery texture, and often contains small, unevenly-distributed air pockets. The colour of the cheese varies from white to ivory-yellow, and the inedible rind from yellow to brownish beige. The cheese has a distinctive flavour, well developed but not too strong, creamy with a slight piquancy, and leaves an aftertaste that is characteristic of sheep’s milk.
Where found
Manchego cheese is usually found in the cheeses section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.
| In Chinese: | 曼彻格奶酪 | |
| British (UK) term: | ||
| en français: | fromage manchego | |
| en español: | queso manchego |
Recipes using manchego cheese
There are 10 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Gnocchi in Creamy Red Salsa
An easy "al forno" (from the oven) baked gnocchi recipe with a spicy rosé gnocchi sauce and Manchego cheese. On the table in 20 minutes, simple and delicious.
Cheese Arepas
Manchego cheese arepas venezolanas. Crispy corn flour cakes dressed up with avocado, tomatoes, and black olives. Authentic, easy and surprisingly delicious. Learn how to make arepas ready in 20 minutes (or less).
Chorizo & Black Olive Pizza
Recipe made by the ambassador for Olives from Spain José Pizarro. Spain is the largest producer of olives in the world. The four main varieties of Spanish table olive available from major supermarkets in the UK are: Manzanilla, Gordal, Hojiblanca and Cacereña. Spanish table olives can be served in a different number of ways including: whole, pitted, stuffed with one or more ingredients such as pimento, onion, tuna, anchovy, salmon, almond, etc. It is a healthy seasonal ingredient, with the Spanish olive harvest running from September-March.
Roasted Broccoli, Garlic & Toasted Almonds with Pasta
Roasting develops lot of delicious flavor, the roasted garlic makes this roasted and garlicky paste that adds tons of flavor into the pasta.
Corn Crepes & Lobster Stack
Stacked cornmeal crepes layered with lobster, Manchego cheese, toasted pine nuts, and cilantro, baked under a silky poblano chile cream. Southwestern elegance on a plate.
Green Chicken Chilaquiles Casserole
Green chicken chilaquiles casserole: shredded chicken in tangy tomatillo salsa and cream, layered with softened corn tortillas and three Mexican cheeses, then baked bubbling and golden.
Spanish Burgers with Manchego & Chorizo Hash Browns
Juicy ground sirloin burgers seasoned with smoked paprika and garlic, topped with melted Manchego and roasted red pepper paste. Served alongside crispy chorizo hash browns.
Chorizo Burger
Juicy grilled sirloin-chorizo patties topped with caramelized onions, saffron-roasted red pepper ranch sauce, and shaved Manchego cheese. This is the burger upgrade your backyard has been begging for.
Cheese & Poblano Quesadillas
Authentic Mexican quesadillas with three cheeses, roasted poblano strips, and chipotle salsa. Manchego, panela, and cotija melt together in buttery, griddle-crisped tortillas.
