14 Easy and Delicious Cheese Recipes to Soothe Your Soul

Cheese! It! Up!

It's hard to deny the pleasure of melted cheese after a long day. It's one of the most traditional forms of comfort food.

If you’ve had one of those days where nothing seems to be going right, it can be a beautiful thing to eat your feelings. You’ll find no charcuterie here. This is about what feels right in your soul. Ahead lies the ooey, the gooey, the melty; the power of cheese.

kimchi grilled cheese from odd bbq — Anthony G. / Yelp

1. Kimchi Grilled Cheese

There is of course nothing wrong with a traditional grilled cheese, but you’ve probably already got your favorite recipe in mind when it comes to that. We’re here to help you spice things up a bit, and kimchi is an ideal way to do it. Melty cheese and fermented crunch are quite a pairing.

Recipe: NYT Cooking

For more creative twists, check out our favorite ways to make an ordinary grilled cheese extraordinary.

Mozzarella Penne Baked Ziti — EzumeImages/istockphoto

2. Baked Ziti

I don’t believe in a lot, but I believe in baked ziti. The enchantment of saucy, cheesy pasta meets crusty, golden edges in the best way in this classic Italian-American dish. Hit it with a little parsley and eat it fresh out of the oven. Mama mia.

Recipe: Once Upon a Chef

Baked mac and cheese — VeselovaElena/istockphoto

3. Raclette-Gruyère Mac and Cheese with Pickled Shallots

Here’s another leveled-up classic. Kraft can definitely cure the blues, but probably not as well as the way the acid from the shallots cut through the unctuousness of the sharp cheeses used here. Sign me up.

Recipe: Food & Wine

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4. Cheesy Hot Crab Dip

Crab dip never disappoints. This beautiful nectar is great for chip dipping, spreading on crostinis (crabby snacks, anybody?), and crudité. Go on, dip your feelings away.

Recipe: Valerie’s Kitchen

5. Taco Casserole

There aren’t many recipes in this world as comforting as a melty taco casserole. This is the type of recipe to get liberal with cheese; the meltier the better. Don’t forget to top with plenty of fresh avocado, and if you don’t have a bag of your favorite chips on hand for dipping, you’re doing it wrong.

Recipe: The Pioneer Woman

Feta Pasta by Like_the_Grand_Canyon (CC BY-NC)

6. Creamy Baked Feta Dip

Though GenZ has claimed this concept as their own idea in a new TikTok food trend, hot feta dip has actually been around for quite some time. Roasty, bursting tomatoes and quality olive oil are the key here. When this comes together properly, there are few flavors as magical.

Recipe: Food by Maria

Homemade Healthy Broccoli Cheddar Soup — bhofack2/istockphoto

7. Panera’s Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I’ve eaten a lot of broccoli cheddar soup in my day, and I’ve never found one that competes with Panera. Broccoli and cheese are barely even a pairing that I care about outside of this dish, but Panera's mastered it; here's a well-rated copycat recipe.

Recipe: The Girl Who Ate Everything

8. Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup Dumplings

You’ll need a deep fryer, or at least a pot big enough to fully submerge these in oil. These are shockingly easy to make; I made them once for a party and they were a major hit, if I do say so myself. Just make sure you don’t try to get too cheffy with this. You need white bread (Wonder is best) and cheddar.

Recipe: KeyIngredient

Closeup of Potato Croquettes on a White Plate — Thawatchai Chawong/istockphoto

9. Cheesy Pumpkin Nuggets

I can’t say I’ve ever partaken in such a treat as a cheesy pumpkin nugget, but those are three of my favorite words and I’m highly intrigued. Like the dumplings, the more space you have to fry the better.

Recipe: Taste

You Like Trying New Foods — Alexander Spatari / Moment / Getty Images CC

10. Khachapuri

Making a traditional Georgian flatbread is no small undertaking, but if you’re a dough savant, here’s a fun one. Khachapuri is kind of like a cheesy, eggy pizza. And it’s highly Instagramable to boot.

Recipe: Simply Homecooked

11. Saag Paneer

If you’ve got some Indian paneer cheese, there are few recipes more comforting than saag paneer to use it in. Indian cooking is about layering multiple levels of flavor, so be patient. It’s worth it.

Recipe: Cook With Manali

Cheese Grits, Home Grown — Tramy V./Yelp

12. Grillades and Cheesy Grits

This classic Creole recipe is a great plate of food to drown your sorrows into. Cheesy grits can really heal the soul, and when you hit ‘em with tender top round, cooked low and slow…

My mind’s gone blank. All I can think about now is grillades and grits.

Recipe: Food & Wine

Spaghetti cacio e pepe — Michele Oliveri/istockphoto

13. Cacio e Pepe

For a dish with only three ingredients, you’d be surprised how much technique is involved here. I’ve tried and failed a few times myself. Interested in mastering the Bourdain-beloved dish? There are few people better than Evan Funke, the pasta whisperer himself. Check out his recipe on USA Today below.

Recipe: USA Today

fried cheese balls by Marco Verch (CC BY)

14. Fried Goat Cheese Balls

Friends, this ain’t rocket surgery. If you fry up a bunch of goat cheese, garnish it with red pepper, and dunk it in honey, it’s going to be delicious. So do that.

Recipe: Midwest Foodie