Akkawi Cheese substitute
Low-moisture mozzarella (block, not fresh)
Use the same amount by weight, plus ¼ teaspoon salt per cup shredded as the akkawi cheese you are replacing
Low-moisture block mozzarella is the standard swap and works at one for one, shredded, with about a quarter teaspoon of salt added per cup because it is much blander than akkawi. Fresh mozzarella, squeezed dry and torn, is closer in texture and softness if you take the time to press the water out. For knafeh specifically, the mix most Arab-American bakeries actually use is low-moisture mozzarella with a couple of spoonfuls of whole-milk ricotta stirred in, which restores the creaminess that mozzarella alone lacks. What akkawi contributes is mild milky saltiness and a clean stretchy melt that does not turn greasy or split, so any substitute has to hold together under heat, not just taste right cold.
Other akkawi cheese substitutes
Ranked, with the exact amount to use
Substitutes for Akkawi Cheese with ratios
2Fresh mozzarella, drained and pressed
Close matchWhat changes
- Best for
- knafeh, manakish, when you want a softer, creamier melt, matching akkawi's moisture
Closer to akkawi than the block kind in every way except salt: same soft moist crumb, same gentle milky flavor, same tendency to squeak slightly when raw. The one thing you must not skip is pressing it dry, because fresh mozzarella carries a lot of water and it will flood a knafeh and turn the pastry soggy. Tear it, spread it on a towel, weigh it down for twenty minutes, then salt it lightly. It melts into pools rather than a uniform sheet, which most people prefer.
3Nabulsi cheese
Taste and texture differWhat changes
- Best for
- traditional Palestinian knafeh, frying, sweet-savory desserts, when authenticity matters more than the stretch
The other traditional cheese for the same dishes, so it is a culturally correct swap rather than a compromise. It is saltier, firmer and noticeably more sheepy and tangy, and it softens rather than fully melting, so knafeh comes out chewier with a pull instead of a long stretch. Soak it in cold water for a couple of hours first, changing the water, or the finished dessert will be too salty. Pick off the nigella seeds if you want a clean milky flavor.
4Whole-milk ricotta blended with low-moisture mozzarella
Taste and texture differWhat changes
- Best for
- knafeh and kunafa, atayef and pastry fillings, a creamier, softer filling, supermarket-only shopping
The best-tasting knafeh most people can make from a normal grocery store. The mozzarella supplies the pull and the ricotta supplies the creamy milkiness that mozzarella on its own is missing. What changes: the filling is looser and softer than akkawi's, with a faint sweet Italian dairy note, and it does not stretch as dramatically, so it will not give you the long cheese pull in a photograph. Drain the ricotta in a sieve for half an hour or it will make the pastry wet.
5Queso fresco, queso blanco or paneer
Different textureWhat changes
- Best for
- fillings that only need to soften, frying, eating with bread, olives and za'atar, sweets where the cheese should hold its shape
The mildness and squeaky fresh crumb are right, and queso fresco in particular tastes remarkably like unsalted akkawi. The problem is behavior under heat: these cheeses hold their shape stubbornly, so a knafeh made with them alone has soft cheese cubes in it rather than a molten layer. Blend them half and half with mozzarella to get both the flavor and the melt. Salt them, since queso fresco is mild and paneer is unsalted altogether.
6Halloumi, soaked
Taste and texture differWhat changes
- Best for
- frying and grilling, savory pastries, breakfast with bread and tomato, when squeak and salt are the goal
Right on salt and squeak, wrong on melt, and the distinction matters. Halloumi is designed not to melt, so it browns and holds its shape rather than flowing, which makes it excellent fried and a genuinely poor choice for knafeh where a molten layer is the whole point. It is also considerably saltier than akkawi, so a soak in cold water for an hour is necessary. Use it for anything fried and skip it for anything that needs to stretch.
What is Akkawi Cheese?
Akkawi Cheese is a soft white cow's milk cheese from the Levantine city of Akka, also spelled ackawi or akawi, sold packed in salty brine, mild and slightly squeaky when raw, and used wherever a dish needs gentle milky saltiness and a clean stretchy melt, above all in knafeh and cheese manakish.
Cooking tips
- Soak real akkawi before you use it, and taste it before you commit. It is sold in heavy brine, and unsoaked akkawi will ruin a syrup-soaked dessert. Two to eight hours in cold water in the fridge, changing the water two or three times, then taste a piece: it should be gently salty, not sharp.
- Salt is the most common mistake with a mozzarella substitute. Knafeh works because slightly salty cheese plays against sweet syrup, and unsalted mozzarella collapses that contrast. A quarter teaspoon of fine salt per cup of shredded cheese is about right, mixed in before assembling.
- Squeeze out water from any fresh or brined cheese before it goes into pastry. Water turns the base of a knafeh from crisp to soggy in the oven, and no amount of extra baking recovers it.
- Serve any cheese-filled Levantine pastry warm. Every substitute on this list firms up as it cools, and mozzarella in particular goes rubbery, so knafeh made with substitute cheese has a much shorter window than one made with akkawi.
- Grate a block rather than buying pre-shredded cheese. The anti-caking starch on bagged shreds does not dissolve and leaves a slightly floury, grainy texture in a melted filling, which is very noticeable in a delicate dessert.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use mozzarella for knafeh instead of akkawi?
Do I really have to soak the cheese?
Can I leave the cheese out of knafeh?
Is akkawi the same as nabulsi?
Where do I buy akkawi, and does the vacuum-packed kind work?
Related substitutes
More cheese substitutes