The single most useful thing to know about cooking with cheese: grate it yourself. Pre-shredded cheese is coated in potato starch or cellulose to stop it clumping in the bag, and that coating is exactly what makes a cheese sauce grainy. Every recipe below that builds a sauce says shredded, and every one of them works better with a block and a box grater.

Twenty-five recipes grouped by type: mac and cheese first, then grilled cheese, cheese balls and dips, fried and baked cheese bites, cottage cheese, cheesy dinners, and three cream cheese desserts. Every entry lists the real total time, the servings, the ingredient count, and which cheeses it actually calls for.

Mac and Cheese

Four, from a twenty-five-minute stovetop version to lobster mac for eight. All four build a real roux rather than melting cheese into cream.

One Pot Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese

A roux of three and a half tablespoons of butter and three of flour with two cups of whole milk, then a cup and a half of cheddar and three quarters of a cup of mozzarella. The macaroni cooks in the sauce. Twenty-five minutes, one pot. View the full recipe — 25 minutes · 4 servings · 12 ingredients

Gruyere Baked Mac and Cheese with Panko Topping

Four cheeses: a cup of Gruyere, half a cup each of sharp cheddar and Colby, and a cup of mozzarella, in a sauce of three cups of whole milk, under a buttered panko top. View the full recipe — 1 hour · 6 servings · 16 ingredients

Lobster Mac and Cheese with Gruyere and Cheddar

A pound of cavatappi with twelve ounces of Gruyere, eight of cheddar and a cup of parmesan in a sauce of three and a half cups of milk, plus a pound and a half of cooked lobster meat and a half teaspoon of nutmeg. Eighteen ingredients. View the full recipe — 1 hour · 8 servings · 18 ingredients

Smoked Mac and Cheese with Cheddar and Gouda

A pound of macaroni with two cups of cheddar, a cup and a half of gouda and four ounces of cream cheese in half and half, smoked rather than baked. The gouda is the right choice here because it takes smoke well. View the full recipe — 1 hour 35 minutes · 8 servings · 13 ingredients

Grilled Cheese

Four. The first is four ingredients and twelve minutes; the last is a full French dip with its own jus.

Cheddar and Mozzarella Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Four ingredients: two slices of sourdough, two tablespoons of salted butter, a third of a cup of sharp cheddar and an ounce of mozzarella. The cheddar is for flavor and the mozzarella is for the pull. View the full recipe — 12 minutes · 1 serving · 4 ingredients

Garlic Bread Grilled Cheese

Five ingredients: butter mixed with half a tablespoon of garlic powder and dried parsley spread on the outside of the bread, with a cup of mozzarella and cheddar blend inside. Thirteen minutes. View the full recipe — 13 minutes · 2 servings · 5 ingredients

Garlic Mushroom Grilled Cheese with Cheddar

Eight ounces of cremini mushrooms cooked down with two cloves of garlic, between sourdough with four slices of sharp cheddar. Eight ingredients, twenty-five minutes. View the full recipe — 25 minutes · 2 servings · 8 ingredients

French Dip Grilled Cheese

Twelve ounces of roast beef and eight slices of Swiss with two caramelized onions, served with a jus built from two cups of beef broth, Worcestershire, soy sauce and thyme. Twelve ingredients. View the full recipe — 50 minutes · 4 servings · 12 ingredients

Cheese Balls, Dips and Spreads

Four party staples. One is five ingredients and one is ready in fifteen minutes.

Stovetop Nacho Cheese Sauce

Eight ingredients: a butter and flour roux with a cup of evaporated milk and a cup of sharp cheddar, seasoned with chili powder. Fifteen minutes, and evaporated milk is why it stays smooth instead of splitting. View the full recipe — 15 minutes · 6 servings · 8 ingredients

Baked Cream Cheese Crab Dip

Eight ounces of cream cheese with eight ounces of lump crab, mayonnaise, sour cream and a cup of cheddar, baked. Eleven ingredients, serves eight. View the full recipe — 45 minutes · 8 servings · 11 ingredients

Southern Pimento Cheese Spread

Eight ounces of sharp cheddar grated into eight ounces of cream cheese with four ounces of pimentos, mayonnaise, garlic powder, Worcestershire and hot sauce. Grate the cheddar yourself for this one above all. View the full recipe — 1 hour 10 minutes · 8 servings · 8 ingredients

Classic Cheddar Cheese Ball

Five ingredients: sixteen ounces of cream cheese with a cup of sharp cheddar, garlic powder, onion powder and half a cup of chopped pecans rolled onto the outside. View the full recipe — 1 hour 15 minutes · 8 servings · 5 ingredients

Fried and Baked Cheese Bites

Four. The first two are four and five ingredients, and one of them has no breading at all.

Fried Cheese Stuffed Tortilla Chips

Four ingredients: mozzarella pressed between tortilla chips, dredged in flour and fried. Twenty minutes and the shortest ingredient list in this collection. View the full recipe — 20 minutes · 4 servings · 4 ingredients

Parmesan Mozzarella Cheese Bites

Five ingredients: a cup each of parmesan and mozzarella bound with one egg, onion powder and pepper, baked. No flour, no breadcrumbs, no frying. View the full recipe — 30 minutes · 4 servings · 5 ingredients

Baked Broccoli Cheese Balls

Fourteen ounces of broccoli with panko, two eggs and three quarters of a cup of cheddar, baked rather than fried, with a lemon yogurt dip. Makes sixteen. View the full recipe — 45 minutes · 16 servings · 14 ingredients

Breaded Fried Cheese Bites

Sixteen ounces of mozzarella through flour, egg and a cup of panko, fried in two cups of oil. Seven ingredients, and the full fifty minutes includes the freeze that keeps them from leaking. View the full recipe — 50 minutes · 4 servings · 7 ingredients

Cottage Cheese

Three dishes that use cottage cheese as the base rather than as a substitute for something else.

Cottage Cheese Alfredo

A cup of full fat cottage cheese blended smooth with three quarters of a cup of milk, half a cup of parmesan and a teaspoon of cornstarch to stabilize it. Nine ingredients, twenty-five minutes, no cream. View the full recipe — 25 minutes · 4 servings · 9 ingredients

Cottage Cheese Egg Bites with Cheddar and Veggies

Six eggs blended with a cup of cottage cheese and half a cup of cheddar, baked in a muffin tin. Six ingredients, makes twelve, and they keep five days. View the full recipe — 35 minutes · 12 servings · 6 ingredients

Soft Cottage Cheese Flatbread

A cup of cottage cheese with two eggs, a cup of flour, baking powder and garlic powder, cooked in a pan. Seven ingredients. View the full recipe — 40 minutes · 4 servings · 7 ingredients

Cheesy Dinners

Three mains where the cheese does the heavy lifting.

Spinach Cream Cheese Stuffed Chicken

Four chicken breasts stuffed with four ounces of cream cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, a cup of spinach and garlic. Ten ingredients, forty-five minutes. View the full recipe — 45 minutes · 4 servings · 10 ingredients

Cheese Stuffed Chili Rellenos

Four poblano peppers filled with eight ounces of Monterey Jack, battered with four whipped eggs and fried, served in a quick tomato sauce. Ten ingredients. View the full recipe — 1 hour 10 minutes · 4 servings · 10 ingredients

Easy Cheese Lasagna with Ricotta and Mozzarella

No meat at all: sixteen ounces of ricotta bound with two eggs, two cups of mozzarella and parmesan, layered with a sauce of twenty-eight ounces of diced tomatoes with oregano and Aleppo pepper. Serves eight. View the full recipe — 1 hour 25 minutes · 8 servings · 14 ingredients

Cream Cheese Desserts

Three. One takes no oven, and one makes twenty-four cookies.

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

Four ounces of block cream cheese with only a quarter cup of butter, plus a quarter cup of cornstarch for a soft, cakey crumb. Makes twenty-four. View the full recipe — 1 hour 35 minutes · 24 servings · 11 ingredients

Lemon Cream Cheese Bars with Graham Cracker Crust

Sixteen ounces of cream cheese with a quarter cup of fresh lemon juice and a tablespoon of zest on a graham base, finished with raspberries. Sixteen bars. View the full recipe — 3 hours 45 minutes · 16 servings · 11 ingredients

No Bake Cream Cheese Lemonade Pie

Eight ingredients, no oven: eight ounces of cream cheese with powdered sugar, five ounces of evaporated milk and half a cup of lemonade concentrate in a graham crust. The long time is the chill. View the full recipe — 4 hours 15 minutes · 8 servings · 8 ingredients

Cheese Questions, Answered

Why does my cheese sauce turn grainy?

Two reasons, and both are fixable. Pre-shredded cheese is coated in starch that will not dissolve, so grate from a block. And cheese added to liquid that is too hot will split, so take the pan off the heat before you stir it in. The nacho sauce here uses evaporated milk partly because it resists splitting.

Which cheeses melt best?

Young, high-moisture cheeses: mozzarella, Monterey Jack, Gruyere, young cheddar, Colby, gouda. Aged, dry cheeses like parmesan and well-aged cheddar give flavor but can go oily on their own, which is why the mac and cheese recipes here blend both: Gruyere or mozzarella for the melt, sharp cheddar for the taste.

What is the fastest recipe here?

Cheddar Mozzarella Grilled Cheese at twelve minutes for one, then the garlic bread grilled cheese at thirteen and the nacho cheese sauce at fifteen. Of the dinners, stovetop mac and cheese and cottage cheese alfredo at twenty-five minutes.

Why does mac and cheese need mustard powder?

It sharpens the cheese flavor without tasting of mustard. Three of the four mac and cheese recipes here include it, and the smoked version uses a full tablespoon. It is the single most common ingredient people leave out and then wonder why theirs tastes flat.

Can cottage cheese really replace cream?

In some places. Blended until completely smooth, it makes a workable alfredo, as the recipe here does with a teaspoon of cornstarch to keep it from splitting. It will never be as rich as cream, and it does not behave the same in baking, but for a pasta sauce it holds up.

How do I stop fried mozzarella from leaking?

Freeze it after breading, which is why the fried cheese bites take fifty minutes for seven ingredients. Frozen cheese needs longer to melt than the coating needs to brown, which is the whole trick. Double-breading helps too.

Which recipes feed the most people?

Baked Broccoli Cheese Balls at sixteen and cream cheese chocolate chip cookies at twenty-four. Of the dishes you serve as a meal, lobster mac, smoked mac and the cheese lasagna each serve eight.