Which Cheese Is Best for Breakfast?
Bagel and cream cheese
We’ve been told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and studies back that up, showing that breakfast helps with metabolism, improves memory and attention. But choosing the right breakfast food is crucial, and cheese might be the perfect choice. “It's full of protein, good fats, and nutrients to kick the day off right,” explains Randall Felts of Chicago cheese shop, Beautiful Rind who notes that it’s a better choice than eating something super sugary that will leave you hungry only an hour later. In fact, cheese helps fill you up, shares Bonnie Kaufman, brand manager of Marin French Cheese, based in Petaluma, CA. Marin.
Randall Felts, owner of Beautiful Rind
Fortunately, there are lots of options beyond just a bagel and cream cheese. Cheese can be added to omelets, served with toast or fruit, incorporated into recipes for pancakes, and stuffed into crepes. Another enthusiastic fan of cheese for breakfast, Luciana Villanueva, cheese director at San Francisco’s Gus’s Community Market points out that cheese adds great flavor and texture to your breakfast foods but also has a great mouth feel. And of course, cheese just tastes good. “It’s a perfect food,” Villanueva says.
So which cheese is best for breakfast? Here are the cheeses that experts around the country like for breakfast, and suggestions for how to serve them.
Fresh Cheeses
Vermont Blueberry Chevre
Fresh cheeses are an excellent way to start the day. Soft fresh cheeses tend to be creamy in texture sometimes with a bit of tartness and include everything from ricotta and burrata, to cream cheese and feta.
Luciana Villanueva
Villanueva recommends Vermont Creamery's line of fresh chevre, which includes flavors such as Strawberry Spritz and Wild Blueberry, Lemon & Thyme. John Antonelli of Austin, Texas based Antonelli’s Cheese recommends pairing Vermont Creamery’s Crème Fraîche with mixed berries and Tupelo honey. He describes it as “the French answer to yogurt and granola — indulgent, but with a healthful twist.” Villanueva adds that Vermont Creamery's Mascarpone is also another great option for dipping fruit.
Another classic fresh cheese for breakfast is ricotta and ricotta-like cheeses. Villanueva recommends Calabro Hand Dipped Ricotta Creme for a quality ricotta. It’s quite creamy and a tad on the rich side. If you are looking for a super easy breakfast dish, try ricotta on toast with honey.
John Antonelli, co-owner of Antonelli's Cheese
Or if you really want your ricotta much sweeter, Antonelli suggests reworking a classic Italian dessert: the cannoli. He suggests the Calabro Hand Dipped Ricotta with pistachio crema on a croissant. The “light, fluffy ricotta adds protein and creaminess to a buttery croissant, while pistachio crema brings a nutty sweetness,” he notes, “In Sicily, pistachio and ricotta are classic partners in desserts like cannoli — so why not enjoy them in the morning?”
Nicassio Valley Foggy Morning Jalapeno
In addition to ricotta, Villanueva recommends the Nicasoio Valley Cheese Company’s Foggy Morning cheeses, a fromage blanc style cheese, which is a bit like a cream cheese. It comes in two additional flavors: Basil & Garlic and Jalapeño if you want a bit of a kick or more savory breakfast cheese. Villanueva describes the cheeses as “like an upgraded ricotta.” And let's not forget cottage cheese, which is wildly popular these days, and can be served with toppings or in pancakes or baked egg "muffins."
Feta and brined fresh cheeses are popular in parts of the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Marinated brined cheeses, and other soft cheeses are another good option. Australian-made Meredith Dairy Marinated Cheeses are an easy start to the day as they can be spread on toast, or used in omelets or frittatas.
Semi-soft Cheeses
Carr Valley Jalapeno Bread Cheese
Semi-soft cheeses offer exciting breakfast possibilities. These cheeses generally melt quite easily. Antonelli recommends Carr Valley Jalapeño Bread Cheese, a spicy take on the classic Finnish cheese. It’s great to melt. Antonelli recommends using the Carr Valley cheese with hemp seeds and Everything Bagel Seasoning. The cheese acts as a replacement for the bread. He says, “Bread cheese is baked so it squeaks when you bite it — warm it in a skillet and it tastes almost like grilled bread. Adding avocado and seeds makes it feel modern and nutrient-packed.”
Shepherd’s Way Sogn and apple
Felts has found some alternatives to the classic yogurt and fruit combo with lactic cheeses, which “are a little more sophisticated.” For example, he recommends trying the Shepherd’s Way’s Sogn Tomme, a white crumbly fruity and nutty-tasting cheese, with figs and pears.
Or if you want some bite with your breakfast, you can always opt for the delicious Limburger cheese from Chalet Cheese, a washed rind known for its over-the-top smell. You can pair it with strawberry jam or if you are like me, eat it straight. Read more about the only American maker of limburger cheese.
Marin French Breakfast Cheeses
Another fun option comes from Petaluma, CA-based Marin French Cheese. The company started making their flagship breakfast cheese in 1865 for gold miners when eggs were scarce. The small format serving as a substitute for eggs. The original breakfast cheese is the Petite Breakfast, which is described as a fresh brie. While brie is a bloomy rind cheese aged from 4-10 weeks, the breakfast cheese is sold after only 3-4 days of aging. Recently Marin Cheese came out with Big Breakfast, which is a larger size of the Petite, as part of its 160 anniversary. In addition to the Big Breakfast, Marin released two flavored versions, Petite Breakfast Chive and the Petite Breakfast Everything, named after the famous bagel flavor. Kaufman touts the versatility of the breakfast cheese line: you “can cut into wedges, slice, crumble, and even grate! It melts well and incorporates into cooked dishes that an aged product couldn’t.”
Semi-Hard & Hard Cheeses
Flory's Truckle
Semi-hard and hard cheeses are aged longer and have a lower moisture content. They include everything from Cheddar to Emmental. Many of these cheeses can be sliced or melted onto your morning toast.
Cheddar cheese is a very traditional breakfast cheese. Antonelli points out that Cheddar used to be part of an English farmer’s breakfast. He suggested pairing Flory’s Truckle, a traditional bandaged cheddar from Milton Creamery, with Phillip Ashley Chocolate Covered Bacon. It’s “sweet, salty, smoky, and sharp all at once. The aged complexity of Flory’s Truckle…cuts through the richness of chocolate-coated bacon,” he says, “It’s like the best of a diner breakfast — eggs, bacon, toast, and jam — all concentrated into one playful bite.”
Alternatively, you can go for something more savory with Somerdale Red Dragon, an English cheddar with wholegrain mustard seeds stored in a wax coating. Villanueva suggests shredding it with a veggie slicer and melting it on a croissant.
Sweet Cheese
Brunost and bagels
If you want to try something a little different, there’s the Norwegian cheese Gjetost, also known as Brunost; it’s a brown sweet cheese that some describe as fudge or butterscotch-like. Villanueva recommends shaving the cheese on waffles, something she says is a popular combination in Norway. Fans of gjetost can also try it on apple or oat muffins, suggests Felts.
That should help you get some great ideas on adding cheese to your first meal of the day. And the best thing? You can have breakfast for dinner too.