A semi-soft American version of a classic French cheese, Muenster cheese is yellow in color and is made from cow's milk. It's a lovely mild-flavored cheese that's easily recognized by an orange-red coloring around its edges. The color is sometimes brought by the addition of annatto to make it look like its European version.

However, it actually doesn't bring out any alterations to its taste. Muenster is quite bland and features a sweet and nutty flavor, along with some super smooth textures.

It melts wonderfully and grabs a good spot in pizzas, cheeseburgers, tuna melts, and more – at the same time being served as a great appetizer. Plus, you can also serve it with your favorite drinks and enjoy it's velvety touch on your taste buds.

However, there may be places where it's not that readily available, but this one's flavors are surely a must-try. Suppose you can't get your hands on this awesome cheese in the stores. In that case, you may try one or more of its substitutes that showcase surprising similarities with Muenster cheese.

muenster substitute

Best Muenster cheese substitutes

The best substitutes to Muenster are Monterey Jack, Gouda, Havarti, Provolone, Port Salut, and Edam Cheese. If Muenster is a mild-tasting, super smooth cheese, it's alternatives must be as well.

This means that replacing it with a stronger or crumblier cheese would change up the flavor or texture too much. If you really want to use something else, be our guest, just know that the end result will be different.

Most of these substitutes are easy to come by, so you should have zero trouble using them. Let's take a better insight into all the Muenster cheese substitutes and the kind of dishes they go just right with, while also looking at their individual characteristics in detail.

Monterey Jack cheese

A marvelous American cheese that can be used as a replacement for Muenster cheese, Monterey Jack is a semi-hard pale yellow preparation from cow's milk. Described best as mild and buttery in flavor, this one comes with a firm, compact and creamy texture. It's usually aged from a month to a maximum of 6 months for its different varieties, and pairs just well with wines.

Available as pre-packaged slices as well as large blocks, Monterey Jack can simply be eaten with bread or crackers or used in sandwiches or quesadillas. The fact that it melts easily makes it perfect for baking.

Gouda cheese

One of the best substitutes to Muenster cheese, Gouda, is a versatile variety of cheese that melts amazingly well. The Dutch yellow cheese is prepared out of cow's milk and seems to be quite similar to cheddar jack and Colby jack cheese. It can be prepared just perfect in whatever ways you like, ranging from sliced, grated, cubed, or melted. It's semi-hard nature makes it go hand in hand with macaroni, veggies, salads, fondues, sandwiches, and pastas.

Young, unsmoked Gouda turns so much more creamier and richer when melted, delivering some unmatched levels of good flavor. If you're looking for a perfect cheese to accompany your wines, soups or sauces – Gouda is going to delight you every single time.

Read also: 6 Awesome Gouda Substitutes To Try Right Now

Havarti Cheese

This equivalent of Muenster is one of the most popular cheeses from Denmark. Prepared using pasteurized cow's milk, Havarti is a semi-soft cheese featuring a pale yellow color. It's marked by a nutty, slightly sweet but mild flavor, along with an extremely smooth and creamy texture.

Typically, aged for three months, Harvarti doubles up as a wonderful table cheese that you can have with crackers or bread, or simply pair it with wine or fruits.. This firm cheese tastes awesome when melted, and comes in varieties sparked up with different herbs. As it ages, it's hazelnut flavor only grows more, and it goes oh so well for pasta, sandwiches, and macaroni.

Provolone

It is very commonly used in salad dressing, Provolone goes miraculously well for sandwiches, soups, and pasta dishes. This light yellow cheese has a sharp Italian cheese flavor and can be used to cook and as a grating cheese. It's available in various shapes, of which pear-shaped provolone is the most common.

The semi-firm texture and the mild taste bring out a very smooth touch when the cheese is melted. It's delicious and healthy at the same time, and yields some amazing flavors when used in combination with manicotti shell and many other pasta recipes.

Port-Salut

Port-Salut is a velvety, semi-soft French cheese that is marked by a sweet and savory, mellow flavor. It's the first cheese prepared from pasteurized cow's milk, and originated in the mid-19th century.

It can rightly work as a Muenster cheese substitute, and goes very well with crackers and fruits. Port-Salut melts quite easily, and that's why it's a great choice for a grilled cheese sandwich and Mornay sauce.

You can slice it on a baguette, shred it onto a pizza, or use it in fondue. It's good melting characteristics and the mild flavor make it very easy to use in almost any recipe that goes for melted Muenster.

Edam Cheese

Edam cheese is a wonderful low fat alternative to Muenster. The semi-hard cheese is worked up from cow's milk and is typically sold in small spheres. It features a pale yellow color accompanied by a very mild flavor that gets stronger with age. It is a bit salty and has a characteristic nutty taste quite similar to Muenster cheese. You can pair this one with wines as well as serve it with a nice fruit platter.

All of the above cheeses are great alternatives to Muenster. They're soft, melty, mild and most of all go great with anything. You can use them in cheese platters, mac n cheese, fondue, eat them as-is, make pastries, you decide !

Depending on the availability of the cheese around your local stores as well as the kind of meal you are willing to add cheese to, you can easily take your pick from the above and get an awesome dish!

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