List of the Best Brick Cheese Substitutes: We assessed 15

Brick cheese is ideal for pizza, sandwiches, and other applications that need melted cheese.

They believe that unless you reside in Wisconsin, it’s difficult to get true Wisconsin brick cheese. As a result, it is not unusual for individuals to seek replacements.

Here is a list of some of the finest brick cheese replacements available:

1. Cheddar
2. Mozzarella
3. Provolone
4. Monterey Jack
5. Colby Cheese
6. Muenster
7. Fontina
8. Havarti
9. Halloumi

Fortunately, you have a plethora of options to choose from. But first, let us learn more about the history of this cheese.

15 Best Brick Cheese Substitute

The first thing that springs to mind when discussing Detroit-style pizza is brick cheese, especially Wisconsin brick cheese. But what exactly is brick cheese, and why is it made in Wisconsin?

Brick cheese first appeared in Wisconsin in 1877. Brick cheese making began in Wisconsin. As a result, anything processed outside of the region is not regarded genuine brick cheese. This is why Wisconsin brick cheese is associated with brick cheese.

Brick cheese is a semi-hard, pungent cheese with a white to light yellow rind and an orange hue. The manufacturing procedure for brick is the same as that for American white cheddar. Brick cheese, on the other hand, develops a distinct protein structure and a larger fat content as a result of its high temperature culturing.

Brick cheese melts easily, making it ideal for grilled cheese sandwiches. The flavor of brick cheese is another distinguishing feature. The younger type has a mild, sweet, earthy taste, while the older version has a tangy, nutty flavor and unique scent. The rind of old brick cheese may be eaten as well.

We researched 15 brick cheese replacements and settled on cheddar as the best option. Cheddar is a semi-hard cheese that may be aged or fresh.

It has strong, somewhat earthy, bitter flavor, and taste qualities comparable to brick cheese, and it slices and melts smoothly.

Cheddar Cheese

Cheddar cheese is the second most popular cheese in the United States, but it is the most popular in its homeland of the United Kingdom.

The hue of cheddar cheese varies from white to bright yellow. The English like a light white tint, but Americans add annatto to get a rich yellow, nearly orange color.

The flavor of cheddar is determined by how long cheese has been aged. The flavor of young cheddar cheese is mild, creamy, sweet, and earthy. The texture of aged cheddar is flaky and dry, with a sour taste.

Both cheeses slice and melt nicely, but the young cheddar has a gooier, meltier quality. Both young and aged cheddar are excellent substitutes for brick cheese on pizza, spaghetti, sandwiches, and burgers.

Mozzarella

Fresh mozzarella was invented in Italy. It is a buffalo milk curd cheese that is simple to slice. Mozzarella made in the United States is made from cow’s milk.

There are six types of mozzarella, with mass-produced mozzarella being the best equivalent for brick cheese. It has a rubbery, stiffer texture, as well as a moderate, somewhat salty taste. It melts and slices beautifully, making it a popular topping for pizza and lasagna.

Fresh mozzarella is often prepared from buffalo milk and has a mild, milky taste. It is widely used in baked goods, pizza, and salads, and it goes well with tomatoes. Mozzarella is also melty and creamy, so it’s great for filling meatballs, poultry, veggies, and other meat dishes.

Provolone

Provolone is an Italian semi-hard cheese manufactured from cow’s milk. The provolone manufactured in the United States has a sweet flavor and a light yellow to white tint.

It is also available in unsmoked and smoked variants. Provolone is a typical sandwich ingredient that also works well in grilled cheese sandwiches.

Provolone in Italy is categorised as either Provolone Dolce or Provolone Piccante. Piccante has a harsher flavor and has been matured for more than 4 months, whilst Dolce has a sweet taste, a light yellow to white tint, and has been aged for 2 to 3 months. Dolce is comparable to American provolone.

Monterey Jack

Monterey Jack is a semi-hard aged American cheese that is often used for slicing and melting.

Monterey Jack comes in two varieties: high moisture and low moisture. The high-moisture kind is comparable to brick cheese in appearance.

There are two varieties of low-moisture Jack. The regular Jack is aged for up to ten months, while the Dry Jack is aged for longer.

It is light yellow in appearance and has a moderate taste. It has a buttery flavor and a compact and delicate texture. Monterey Jack melts nicely and is a popular cheese for recipes that call for melted cheese. Because of these properties, it is an excellent alternative for brick cheese.

Colby Cheese

Colby cheese is a semi-hard, pasteurized cow’s milk cheese created in the Wisconsin town of Colby. Colby cheese is distinct from Colby Jack (a cross between Colby and Monterey Jack).

Colby has a sweet, mild scent and taste, as well as a bouncy, open texture. It is often mistaken with cheddar because to its yellow tint. The only thing they have in common is that they both employ annatto as a coloring agent.

Colby melts really nicely, making it an excellent cheese for grilled cheese sandwiches, cheese sauces, burgers, and mac & cheese dishes.

Muenster

Muenster is another Wisconsin cheese. It has enough similarities to brick cheese to be a suitable alternative.

Muenster cheese has a mild and creamy flavor. It becomes acidic and bitter as it matures. It has a white skin and an orange rind. The rind is produced from paprika and colored with annatto.

Muenster has less fat than cheddar, Jack, and mozzarella. It also melts beautifully. As a result, it works well in pizza, grilled cheese sandwiches, burgers, quesadillas, macaroni, and other pasta dishes.

Fontina

Fontina is a Danish cheese produced from unpasteurized cow’s milk. It has a 45% fat content and is ideal for preparing sweets and baked items.

Fontina cheese comes in two varieties: immature and mature. Like its American counterpart, the juvenile fontina is soft, fatty, creamy, and somewhat sweet in flavor.

Fontina melts well, making it ideal for fondue, cheese sauces, dips, pizza, spaghetti, cheeseburgers, and grilled sandwiches.

Havarti

Havarti, a semi-soft cow’s milk cheese, has its origins in Denmark. Without the peel, Havarti is a rectangle cheese with a creamy to light yellow tint.

Havarti is a sweet cheese with a buttery scent and a mild tanginess. In terms of taste and texture, aged Havarti is comparable to aged brick cheese. Because of the beneficial bacteria injected during the production process, it has holes like Swiss cheese.

Havarti cheese slices and melts nicely, making it an excellent choice for meals that call for grilled, sliced, or melted cheese.

Halloumi

Halloumi is traditionally produced from goat milk, sheep milk, or a combination of the two. However, using cow’s milk is not unusual.

Because halloumi has a high melting point, it is ideal for meals that call for sliced, grilled, or melted cheese. It has a similar texture to mozzarella and a salty, biting flavor. However, after cooked, it becomes creamier and less salty.

It works well as a replacement for brick cheese in grilled sandwiches, salads, and gluten-free recipes that call for cheese.

Gruyere

Gruyere is created from unpasteurized cow’s milk that has been matured for 6 months or more. It contains holes generated by gas bubbles since it is a kind of Swiss cheese, but its holes are smaller than those of other types of Swiss cheese.

Gruyere cheese is creamy, somewhat nutty, and rich, with a pale yellow tint. It cuts and melts nicely. One of the two main types of cheese used in classic fondue recipes is Gruyere.

Jarlsberg

Jarlsberg is a mild-aged semi-hard cheese. It is a hybrid between Emmental and Danish Gouda.

Jarlsberg has a rubbery, silky texture and a nutty, buttery taste. It’s a deli counter and restaurant classic, thinly sliced and used on sandwiches.

Jarlsberg may also be served sliced on cheese boards, hot or cold sandwiches, and snack platters. It melts wonderfully in quiches, gratins, casseroles, soups, spaghetti, fondue, frittatas, and other baked dishes and may be shredded.

Gouda

Gouda is a cheese that originated in the Netherlands. However, it lacks a protected designation of origin (PDO), resulting in a broad range in quality.

Gouda is a semi-hard aged to hard cheese with a colorful wax-coated rind and a mild, sweet, buttery to powerful nutty and caramel taste. As it matures, the taste of gouda gets more powerful, with a hard crystalline texture.

You can cube, grate, slice, and melt young Gouda. It’s an artisan cheese that’s great for cheese plates, cheese boards, and sandwiches.

Emmental

Emmental is another kind of Swiss cheese that naturally creates holes during the fermenting process.

Emmental is a semi-hard cow’s milk cheese. It has a solid, robust body and a tough, inedible rind. Depending on how long it has been aged, its taste may vary from buttery and smooth to fruity, nutty, and full-flavored. Normally, aging takes at least 8 months.

Emmental has excellent melting qualities, making it ideal for gratins, casseroles, grilled cheese sandwiches, eggs, spaghetti, and other meals that need melted cheese. Emmental may also be served cold on platters or cheese boards.

Emmental is one of the two main types of cheese used in classic fondue (the other being Gruyere).

Limburger

Limburger cheese is a brick-shaped, washed-rind cheese from Belgium. It’s a semi-soft to semi-hard cheese with a strong pungent fragrance and a mild, meaty taste.

Because limburger cheese smells, it’s a good thing it slices and melts smoothly. It is light golden in hue with a peachy-pink edible rind.

It may be used in gratins, mac and cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, and other dishes that call for a rich, melting, full-flavored, soft cheese. Limburger goes well with dark beers, ales, lagers, Trappist ales, and porters that have a strong taste.

Tilsit

Tilsit is a semi-hard to hard cow’s milk cheese. Tilsit comes in two varieties. The first is unpasteurized, which is sweeter and fattier than pasteurized and may induce diarrhea. The second is pasteurized, which is less flavorful but safer.

Tilsit has a rich sweetness and cheesiness to it. It has a light, acidic, buttery, fruity flavor and a faintly caustic scent, making it ideal for herb and spice pairing.

It works well in grilled and baked dishes, as well as snacks and appetizers. Tilsit has a limited shelf life of 2 to 6 months, which is one disadvantage.