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The perfect paneer substitute
August 5, 2007 | 34 Comments
It is a creamy, soft, and mild unaged white cheese that originated in Mexico. It is made by pressing the whey from cottage cheese. It is very similar to cheeses called pot cheese and farmer cheese. It has also been compared to Indian paneer. Queso blanco is considered to be one of the easiest cheeses to make. Called Queso Blanco ( “white cheese” ) in the Spanish-speaking world, it is used throughout the world by different names. This fresh and slightly salty cow’s milk cheese can be eaten straight or mixed in with various dishes. This cheese does not melt when heated, but only softens. For this reason, it makes a creamy addition to recipes, and is often used as a topping for spicy Mexican dishes such as enchiladas and empanadas.
It is made almost exactly the way paneer (Indian cottage cheese) is made.
Traditionally, it is produced from skimmed milk or whey, coagulated with lemon juice, although recently some creameries have begun making it with full-cream milk, coagulated with rennet. The curd is scaled and pressed to create an elastic texture which holds its shape when heated. The flavor is milky, creamy and lemon-fresh. It is wonderful to cook with, because unlike American-type cheeses, it will become soft and creamy when heated but will not melt!
Madhur Jaffrey tells us in World Vegetarian that the only difference is that to make Queso Blanco, the milk is not allowed to come to a boil.
We added it to a vegetable korma, and it tasted much better than the Goodyear Tyre paneer one gets from the Indian store.
In our order of preference:
Homemade Paneer
Queso Blanco
Storebought Paneer
For recipes that need grated paneer, we prefer Queso Blanco to paneer. It is firmer, creamier, and easier to grate.
It tastes like mozzarella, but can be deep-fried without melting away.
Like paneer, it is make from unpasteurised milk (if it is made in Mexico). There is a ‘skim milk’ option.
It’s available in most American and Hispanic grocery stores.
Queso Blanco is sometimes labelled as
Queso Fresco (Fresh Cheese),
Panela (Basket Cheese) or
Queso Para Freir (cheese for frying).
Panela cheese (Picture from The Cook’s Thesaurus)
Queso Panela or ‘basket cheese’ is thus called because it is set in a basket.
The milky and mild cheese has a texture similar to high-moisture mozzarella; softens with heat but does not melt; use in cooked dishes such as enchiladas or crumble over tacos or chili; can be sliced and fried. It is also served as a snack (botana). Panela is a actually adapted from a Greek basket cheese. (from Gourmetsleuth.com)
Though technically there are slight differences between these varieties, Queso Blanco, Panela, Queso Parar Frier and Queso Fresco can all be used in lieu of Paneer.
Filed Under: Dairy/Cheese, fresh-cheese, indian-cottage-cheese, Mexican-farmers-cheese, Paneer-(Indian-Cottage-Cheese), Panela-cheese, Queso-Blanco, Queso-Fresco, Queso-Para-Frier, vegetarian recipes
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34 Comments
Sounds perfect for me! I am not a huge fan of paneer (crazy right, I know
), so am always looking for paneer alternatives for recipes that call for it!!
i’m not a huge paneer fan either. j loves it. – b.
Bee & Jai, I tried your white-sauce for pizza today. It was oh-so-good and creamy. Thanks for the recipe – it’s a keeper.
Must look for this cheese – I am very lazy to make paneer at home and usually use tofu in its place (although they are nowhere close in taste).
glad you liked it, mamatha. – b.
Hello
Please tell me where can i get tofu in India?
What is it called in hindi?
I guess it is not paneer
:yes: interesting bit of info – haha goodyear tyre is right-some varieties are just like that! But I didn’t quite understand how queso blanco is different from paneer, the first technique seems the same!
i think they’re the same thing. it’s just that the store-bought packaged paneer tastes horrid, and queso blanco doesn’t. – b.
It looks just like our Indian cheese.
Good you have found a substitute for paneer. :yes: :bow: 
:horn: :tongue:
Yippeeeeeeeee! I agree with you guys! It is creamier
. and :rofl: for the “Goodyear Tyre Paneer”.
The korma is HOT!
GReat info Bee and the photos are awesome. Viji
very informative…still nothing to beat our homemade paneer… :nono:
:love:
Srivalli
http://www.cooking4allseasons.blogspot.com
Thanks for the info, Nice pics too!!
And the label “Goodyear Tyre Paneer” is amusing
if I ever relocate
I’ll keep this in mind 
But the similarity is so striking.
hey thats new information to me, will definitely try if i ever travel to the US… this cheese looks just like paneer, wud be great to have a quick paneer option when wanting to satisfy the paneer craving, and I am a huge fan of paneer anyway… thanks u so much for the info!!
Restaurant paneer is always Good year tyre!! Thanks for the info!
:bow: Yes yes yes!! I am all for substituting Queso Fresco/Blanco for paneer. The Trader Joe’s paneer I used to get for a short while around here was almost identical in texture to queso blanco…both worked well, were much better and much cheaper than the Goodyear stuff (I reckon it spent a good year in the freezer before they sold it to us
..heehee)
was Haloumi cheese…was a tad salty, but worked well if I adjusted the salt in the gravy accordingly. That korma looks yummy…
Another one I tried
haloumi is top notch. it would make a great addition to indian dishes. thanks for pointing that out. – b.
Interesting and useful info, will look for this cheese.
You know Bee,you are a tad late girl!:D
I ALWAYS make a small amount of Paneer at home to cook but yesterday I was running around town(again!) for Lychees this time and bought Paneer at the Indian store for the first time in my life.Now you tell me about “goodyear tyre”!:P I am scared to open it now.
Anyway, I do get plenty of Queso Blanco at the regular grocery,lot easier than Paneer,will buy some and see.Thank you!:)
i don’t remember seeing this cheese in the store
will look for it
that is a nice info. hope it does not taste like tofu
I was told tofu is great substitute of paneer, when I cooked it :rolleyes: I hated the smell and taste. I would like to experiment on Queso blanco too!!
sharmi, tofu is made of soy, so it tastes entirely different. this one tastes almost exactly like paneer. – b.
Try the brand Nanak’s for store bough paneer…really good
will give it a shot. thanks.
I think I had it once in some mexican dish. Did not know about this at that time. Have to try it once and test it. I like paneer but I failed to find a low fat version in indian stores and I am too lazy to make it at home. If I can find a low fat version of this to replace paneer then great. Thanks for sharing the information.
This is does sound like a great substitute. I must go hunting for this now
btw, The bowl in which you have put the queso blanco cubes is similar to the one i have … :dance:
I have eaten queso freco, but never cooked with it. Does tofu figure anywhere on your list of substitutes?
I have been very tempted to make curries with Tofu but I am not sure I’d like it! :embarrass :nono:
i like tofu, but in chinese or thai food. i’m not crazy about paneer. however, i don’t think tofu is a good substitute for paneer in indian cooking. – b.
Hi there… just a quick question.
Does the queso freco have vegetal rennet or animal?
by the way, nice blog.
it differs from brand to brand. – b.
Very cool. I don’t think I have bought or even eaten this. Will keep an eye out!
Wat!!! R u sure!!! :huh: and I would always get awed by the name of this cheese in the supermarket asile and just pass by it!
wow! very interesting. i am a die-hard paneer fan :angel:
Bee, I do use quesa fresco top mexican rice and I love the taste of it
YES! Being Mexican does have its perks, the cheese being one really good one.
We have a market here that sells queso fresco but they call it El Salvadorean style. It’s slightly different in taste from the standard Mexican cheese, but it’s yum. I can’t even go to that area because I end up buying too much cheese.
Also, there is a crema that is amazing in curries that require heavy cream or as a good substitute for yogurt because it doesn’t curdle.
[...] we substituted the turkey with Queso Blanco (a Mexican cheese that is almost identical to paneer), and used readymade veggie bouillon, it cut [...]
[...] Please don’t buy that hormone-laden rubbery crap from the store. Or get the Mexican cheese Queso Blanco – preferably organic – also sold as Queso Fresco or Panela. Do not try to shallow fry or broil [...]
here i cant find cottage cheese and even this cheese, can i use feta cheese..?? bcoz thts easily available.
you can try, but try a firmer variety or try ricotta salata.
I would definitely never use feta to substitute for paneer. Feta has a very strong, pungent flavor and would not work in Indian dishes. If you decide to try it, I would like to hear how this waaay too fusion dish tasted.
I tried making paneer myself and it did not have much flavor. Maybe it needed spices/herbs or salt.
I just made palak paneer using “yanni” brand grilling cheese. it was really good! I’m not sure what the difference is between this cheese and actual paneer, but this cheese was as good as the real stuff, if not better.
thanks. i checked the product – seems like it is very similar to the queso blanco listed in the post as they also use rennet as a coagulant.
-jai