Top 81 American Soft Cheeses

Muenster is an American imitation of the famous Munster cheese that's traditionally produced in France. This one is made from pasteurized cow's milk. Underneath its orange rind, the texture is smooth, supple, and elastic. This soft cheese has pungent aromas and savory flavors that range from mild to sharp. Compared to the French Munster, Muenster is much milder and it's also sold younger than the French one. Muenster has great melting properties so it's often used in sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, burgers, and pizza. It's recommended to pair it with a glass of beer.Expand

Harbison is an American cheese that's produced in Vermont, at Jasper Hill Farm. It is made from cow's milk and has a bloomy rind. The cheese is traditionally wrapped in strips of spruce. It has a creamy and soft texture, the aromas are fruity, rich, floral, and mushroomy, while the flavors are best described as sweet, woody, and lemony. The cheese is named after Anne Harbison, who originally contributed to its production. It is recommended to serve Harbison with baguettes, mostarda, and barrel-aged sour beer.Expand

Point Reyes Bay Blue is an American cheese hailing from California. The cheese is made from pasteurized cow's milk and it's left to age for 90 days. Underneath its natural rind, the texture is crumbly and creamy with blue-green veining running throughout the paste. The aromas are strong and earthy, while the flavors are creamy, sweet, mushroomy, salty, and buttery, with hints of caramel at the finish. It's recommended to pair Point Reyes Bay Blue with toasted nuts or grilled peaches. The cheese also melts well, so it's often used in risottos and pasta dishes or on steaks and burgers.Expand

Pimento cheese is a combination of grated cheddar, pimento peppers, mayonnaise, and a variety of seasonings or special ingredients that vary regionally. Although pimento cheese is nowadays a staple of the American South, some claim that it actually got its start in New York when cream cheese was first starting to be made by mixing cream with Neufchatel curd. At the same time, red peppers that were imported from Spain started to become available in the Americas, and it was just a matter of time before these two ingredients were combined. Nowadays, pimento cheese is usually served as a spread on crackers, tortilla chips, and hamburgers, but sandwiches with pimento cheese are especially popular.Expand

Oma is an American cheese produced on Jasper Hill Farm in Vermont by the Von Trapp family (yes, the descendants of the family from The Sound of Music). The cheese has a washed rind and it's made with raw milk coming mostly from Jersey cows. The body is soft and supple, yet never runny. The aromas are nutty and earthy, while the flavors are rich, creamy, meaty, barnyardy, pungent, and slightly sweet, with notes of chocolate, butter, and cured meat. It is recommended to pair this cheese with Belgian ales, IPA beer, and fig jam. The name Oma is actually a German word (or a term of endearment) meaning grandmother.Expand

Mt Tam is an American cheese hailing from California, where it's produced by Cowgirl Creamery. This soft triple-cream cheese is made from organic cow's milk with the addition of cream. It has a bloomy rind and the texture is firm, smooth, dense, and creamy. The flavors are rich and buttery with earthy, mushroomy, and grassy hints. Mt Tam is named after the majestic Mt. Tamalpais in Northern California. It's recommended to pair the cheese with a glass of Sancerre.Expand

Purple Haze is an American cheese produced in California by Cypress Grove. It dates back to the 1970s, when Mary Keehn found herself with excess goat milk and invented the cheese in the process. Nowadays, the milk is pasteurized in vats with coagulants and cultures, and the mix is then placed into a curd press to drain. The curd is combined with salt and shaped into disks which are dusted with wild fennel pollen and lavender. Without aging, the cheeses are sent to markets where they can be sold and consumed. This aromatic, fresh, soft cheese has no rind, and its texture is crumbly, smooth, creamy, and spreadable. The flavors are earthy and herbaceous. It's recommended to pair Purple Haze with Riseling or Sauvignon Blanc. Try it with bacon-wrapped dates or finocchiona salami.Expand

Hooligan is an American cheese produced in Connecticut by Cato Corner Farm. The cheese is made from raw milk of Brown Swiss and Jersey cows. Its rind is washed in brine, and underneath it, there is a chalky, soft, creamy, and slightly runny texture of the body. The aromas are pungent and stinky due to the washed orange rind which contains surface-ripening bacteria and yeasts. Hooligan is aged for 2 months, resulting in flavors that are grassy, vegetal, intense, mushroomy, and savory. The cheese melts very well, so it can be used in (fabulously stinky, in this case) grilled cheese sandwiches. It's recommended to serve Hooligan with hot pepper jelly, caramelized pecans, cranberry walnut bread, and honey. Pair it with sweet white wines and Belgian-style ales.Expand

Hoop Cheese or Red Rind Hoop Cheese is a traditional cheese hailing from Wisconsin. This soft cheese is made from pasteurized cow's milk, and the whey is completely drained out before it's placed in a round mould known as a hoop. The cheese comes with a waxy red coating which is why it's also called Red Rind Hoop Cheese. The texture is springy and soft, but the cheese spoils fast because it's not aged. The flavors are typically mild, salty, and slightly nutty. Due to its very short shelf life, Hoop Cheese is nowadays usually found at gas stations and small restaurants in the southern parts of the United States.Expand

Provel is an American cheese made from pasteurized cow's milk. It is produced by combining different cheeses such as Cheddar, Provolone, and Swiss cheese. Its texture is supple, creamy, and gooey, while the flavors are buttery and slightly spicy. Provel is often used in cheese soups and St. Louis-style pizza due to its low melting point.Expand

Jasper Hill Farm is a farmstead cheese producer based in Greensboro, founded in 2003 with a clear mission to strengthen the rural economy of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom through high-quality cheesemaking. The operation is built around milk from its own farm, with a strong emphasis on consistency, milk quality and expressing a sense of place through different cheese styles. A central pillar of the business is The Cellars at Jasper Hill, a purpose-built underground aging facility designed to provide precise control over humidity, temperature and microbial development during affinage. These cellars are used not only for Jasper Hill’s own cheeses but also to support other small regional producers by offering professional aging, storage and distribution services. This collaborative model has positioned Jasper Hill as both a producer and an infrastructure backbone for the local artisan cheese community. Their portfolio spans multiple styles, from blue and soft-ripened cheeses to alpine-inspired varieties, many of which have received international recognition. Jasper Hill Farm is widely regarded as one of the most influential producers in American artisanal cheesemaking, known for combining technical rigor with a strong commitment to regional sustainability.Expand

Murray's Cheese, based in New York City, is a prominent gourmet cheese and specialty foods retailer and wholesaler, with a rich history dating back to its founding in Greenwich Village in 1962. Known for its wide selection of cheeses from around the globe, Murray's operates not only a flagship store but also a restaurant and cheese bar in New York. They are notable for their state-of-the-art cheese caves in Long Island City where they age their own cheese. In 2017, Murray's became part of the Kroger Company, expanding its reach nationwide through over a thousand Kroger stores. Murray's is also committed to community involvement, supporting local charities and educational initiatives related to food and wellness.Expand

The Farm at Doe Run is an award-winning creamery located in Coatesville, Chester County, in the southwestern part of Pennsylvania. It was founded in 2008 by Richard Hayne, the founder of Urban Outfitters, with the goal of creating a local farm that produces high-quality cheeses and provides jobs for the community. Today, the farm is run by a team of experienced cheesemakers, including Olivia Haver, a former member of the Jasper Hill team, who, together with colleagues from Vermont, has taken the lead in cheese production and affinage. The farm exclusively raises grass-fed Jersey and Normande cows, East Friesian sheep, and Saanen and Nubian goats. This biodiversity allows for the production of a wide range of cheeses, from soft and creamy to aged and textured. All cheeses are handcrafted using the farmstead method, meaning that only milk from the farm is used, without any ingredients sourced externally.Expand

Tulip Tree Creamery, based in Indianapolis, specializes in producing handcrafted cheeses and butter using traditional European recipes with a local twist. The Creamery sources its milk from Indiana dairies to support local farmers and ensure freshness. Their product range includes a variety of soft-ripened and fresh cheeses.Expand

Prairie Farms Dairy is one of the largest dairy cooperatives in the United States. Founded in 1938, it operates as a cooperative, meaning it is owned by dairy farmers who supply the milk and other dairy products. Prairie Farms Dairy produces a wide range of dairy products, including milk, cheese, butter, ice cream, and yogurt, and distributes them across a large portion of the United States. The cooperative's business model is centered around supporting local dairy farmers while offering high-quality, fresh dairy products to consumers. Prairie Farms Dairy is known for its commitment to sustainability and animal welfare, as well as for using advanced technologies in dairy farming to ensure the quality of their products.Expand

Briar Rose Creamery is a small, family-owned creamery located in the heart of the Willamette Valley wine region in Dundee, Oregon. It was founded by Sarah Marcus and her husband Jim Hoffman. Sarah developed her love for cheese working as a cheesemonger at Cowgirl Creamery in San Francisco, and then honed her craft in England, Spain, North Carolina, and Vermont before moving to Oregon in 2008 to open their creamery. Briar Rose Creamery produces handmade cheeses from fresh, pasteurized cow’s milk. Their cheeses are known for their rich flavor and delicate texture, with each small batch carefully nurtured to achieve the best possible taste and texture, highlighting the seasonal characteristics of their cheeses.Expand

BelGioioso Cheese, based in Green Bay, USA, is renowned for its production of Italian-style cheeses since 1979. The company operates out of multiple facilities and crafts over 27 different varieties of cheese. BelGioioso is known for its commitment to quality, using fresh, local milk and traditional cheesemaking methods. This commitment is evident in their practice of processing milk into cheese on the same day it is collected from local farms to ensure freshness and flavor. BelGioioso has been recognized widely in the cheese industry, receiving numerous awards from prestigious competitions like the World Cheese Championship and the American Cheese Society. Their range includes popular Italian-style cheeses such as fresh Mozzarella, Mascarpone, Ricotta, and aged cheeses like Parmesan and American Grana, which are aged in specialized caves to enhance their flavor.Expand

Vermont Creamery is a renowned creamery from the U.S. state of Vermont, known for producing high-quality artisanal dairy products. It was founded in 1984 with the goal of combining the traditions of French and American dairy production, initially focusing on handcrafted cheeses and butter. Over time, its portfolio expanded to include goat cheeses, cultured butter, and crème fraîche, making it recognized for its rich flavor and exceptional quality. The creamery sources its milk from local family farms, ensuring sustainable and ethical production. This close collaboration with farmers allows each product to reflect the character of the region, while Vermont Creamery simultaneously supports the local community and promotes responsible resource management.Expand

Klondike Cheese is a family-owned creamery from the heart of Wisconsin, led for generations by the Buholzer family. Their tradition blends artisanal dedication with modern technology, grounded in carefully selected milk from local farms and the highest quality standards. The result is a line of products distinguished by reliability, pure dairy flavor, and consistent texture. Their classic cheeses, such as Havarti, Gouda, Brick, and Muenster, stand out for their versatility and rich taste. Whether served on an elegant cheese board, incorporated into favorite dishes, or simply enjoyed melted, Klondike cheeses always deliver the perfect balance of tradition and modern flavor.Expand