15 of the Cheesiest Ideas We Had in 2022

People love cheese. So much so that they get kind of weird about it. I know vegans are tired of hearing “I could probably give up meat but I could never give up cheese,” but it’s true. I really never could give up cheese. I need it.

It works out well, then, that I am paid to think and write about food, and one of those foods is cheese. It gives me a creative outlet, and a good excuse to eat as much cheese as I want. Here are a few of my favorite cheesy things we published this year, in no particular order.

Grilled cheese sandwiches are an excellent party food, but making a bunch of normal sized sandwiches is tedious and time consuming. Ditch the skillet and make a giant grilled cheese through the clever use of sheet pans instead.

Tofu puffs are my favorite form of tofu. They crisp up beautifully, absorb sauce like a dream, and are fairly hollow inside, making them the perfect candidate for the super cheesy pizza-roll treatment.

I love the combination of tangy, acidic pickles and fatty, salty cheese, which makes these pickle-studded cheese crisps an ideal snack.

A tub of port wine cheese spread is all you need to transform a pot of potatoes into a cheesy, tangy, ever-so-slightly sweet mash. Top with crunchy stuff and scallions to give it a cheeseball vibe.

Real cheeseheads should learn to make pommes aligot, a rib-sticking mixture of nearly equal parts potatoes and cheese. These aren’t mere cheesy potatoes, they’re practically potato-y cheese. Even better, they’re impossible to overwork—you want to mash and stir the potatoes until they stretch like mozzarella.

Something magical happens when you put halloumi in an air fryer. The whipping, high-temp winds dry the exterior of the cheese, creating a thin, almost crackly exterior with a warm, tender, cheesy inside. It’s a cheese nugget, perfect for dipping in your favorite sauce.

Anything can be a crouton if you want it hard enough, provided you aren’t some kind of salad nerd. Halloumi, frico, and store-bought cheese crisps all make excellent croutons, so pick your favorite, or try all three at once (unless you’re a salad coward, of course).

The combination of cream cheese and sun-dried tomatoes makes a decidedly ‘90s but incredibly creamy and cheesy pasta sauce. It’s also very easy to execute. Besides the two just-mentioned ingredients, all you’ll need is your favorite pasta and a bit of reserved pasta water.

Horseradish is a flavor that is very steakhouse in vibe. It’s good on a steak and great in a shrimp cocktail, but surprisingly underutilized in a wedge salad. Remedy this by mixing it into your wedge-bound blue cheese dressing. The sinus-clearing heat will cut through the cheesy richness, allowing you to douse your iceberg in even more dressing.

This sweet and indulgent mixture of cream cheese and maple syrup tastes like a very refined frosting. It’s got just enough salt (thanks to the cheese), with a hint of minerality from real deal maple syrup. Whip some up and put it on all of your breakfast carbs, then dip some fruit in there. Repeat until you are out of carbs and fruit.

Earlier this year, I read an article that claimed brie was the “best” burger cheese. (It’s not.) “Best” is a relative term, and the “best” cheese for a thick, medium-rare steak burger is probably not the “best” cheese for a smash burger. Luckily, we can help you choose the cheese for the burger you’re eating, so you may have the best possible burger-eating experience.

I love these little things. They’re sweet, salty, and nutty—like a cheese plate in a single bite. Serve them with cocktails or as an amuse bouche, or dot a little honey on top if you want a dessert vibe.

We love our cheeseballs here at Lifehacker, but sometimes one does not feel like rolling and molding. In these times, it’s perfectly acceptable to make a deconstructed cheeseball, which takes half the effort, but still has all of the flavor.

Giving something the “cacio e pepe treatment” has been done to death, but that’s because the combination of salty cheese and pungent pepper is just that good. It makes a pile of potato chips look fancy and intentional, but it also makes you want to inhale them. Grate on a big fluffy pile of parm or pecorino, then grate some fresh pepper on top and go to town.

Cheese crumbles are an important part of the salad eating experience, but some softer cheeses, like chèvre or certain blues, love to smear during the crumbling process. Chill the cheese in the freezer to firm it up, then get ready to crumble (mess-free).