Caciocavallo substitute

Best substitute

Provolone (dolce for young, piccante for aged)

Use the same amount as the caciocavallo you are replacing

Best for baked pasta

Close match

Use provolone as a straight 1:1 swap for caciocavallo, provolone dolce for young caciocavallo and provolone piccante for aged. Scamorza is the next best for melting, and if you only have supermarket cheese, three parts low-moisture mozzarella to one part grated pecorino romano gets you the stretch plus the salty bite. In a dish, caciocavallo is doing three jobs at once: fat, salt, and a stringy melt that holds together instead of turning to liquid.

Other caciocavallo substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Scamorza
Different taste
Use the same amount
Another pasta filata cheese, drier than fresh mozzarella, that melts into long strands without releasing much water.
What changes
Noticeably milder and less salty than caciocavallo, so a baked pasta made with it tastes creamy but a bit flat; stir in a tablespoon of grated pecorino per cup of scamorza to close the gap.
Best for
baked pasta and lasagna, melting, pizza, frying in slices
Smoked scamorza is a good stand-in for smoked caciocavallo (caciocavallo affumicato) but will overwhelm a delicate dish. Pat it dry before it goes in the oven.
3Low-moisture mozzarella plus pecorino romano
Different taste
3 parts mozzarella to 1 part pecorino by weight, used 1:1 for the caciocavallo
The mozzarella does the stretch and the pecorino supplies the salt and the sheepy, savoury edge that makes aged caciocavallo taste like more than melted cheese.
What changes
The result is saltier and less rounded than the real thing and it browns faster, but in a baked dish most people would not question it.
Best for
baked pasta, pizza, gratins, when you can only shop at a regular supermarket
Grate the pecorino finely and toss it through the shredded mozzarella so it does not clump. Cut back on the salt elsewhere in the recipe.
4Fontina Val d'Aosta
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount
One of the best melting cheeses there is, so the texture is silky rather than stringy.
What changes
Earthier and faintly mushroomy where caciocavallo is clean and lactic, which pushes a dish in an alpine direction rather than a southern Italian one. Excellent in gratins and toasted sandwiches.
Best for
gratins, grilled sandwiches, fondue-style sauces, baked vegetables
Buy real Fontina Val d'Aosta if you can; the Danish and American versions labelled fontina are rubbery and much milder.
5Asiago mezzano or a young pecorino
Different texture
Use the same amount for grating, 1:1 by weight for melting
The right choice when the caciocavallo is being grated over pasta rather than melted, because it has the same salty, nutty, faintly piquant register as an aged wheel.
What changes
It does not stretch, so it will not give you the pull-apart strands in a baked dish; expect a grainier melt that can go slightly oily.
Best for
grating over pasta, shaving onto salads, cheese boards, stuffings and fillings
Taste before you commit. Some Asiago is very mild and some pecorino is aggressively salty, and the range matters more than the label.
6Gruyere
Different taste
Use the same amount
Melts beautifully and browns well, which makes it a reliable rescue for a baked dish.
What changes
It is distinctly nuttier and sweeter, with a cooked-milk flavour that reads Swiss rather than Italian, so a caciocavallo panino made with it is delicious but tastes like a different sandwich.
Best for
baked pasta, grilled sandwiches, gratins, when nothing Italian is available
The least authentic option here, but a genuinely good melter. Avoid it if the recipe leans on tomato, where the sweetness clashes.

What is Caciocavallo?

Caciocavallo is Caciocavallo is a southern Italian stretched-curd (pasta filata) cow's milk cheese, shaped like a gourd and hung in pairs to age, that melts into strands and tastes mild and milky when young and sharp and nutty when aged.

Cooking tips

Cube caciocavallo rather than shredding it when it goes into baked pasta. The chunks stay distinct and melt into pockets, which is the texture southern Italian baked pasta is aiming for; shredded cheese just disappears into the sauce.
Aged caciocavallo is salty enough to season a dish on its own. Add it, taste, and only then decide whether the pasta or filling needs more salt.
For grilled caciocavallo in slices, use provolone or scamorza rather than mozzarella. Caciocavallo is semi-hard enough to hold its shape and get a crust in a hot dry pan; fresh mozzarella collapses and floods the pan with water.
Trim the waxy rind off before melting. It softens but never melts, and you will find rubbery threads in the finished dish.
The cheese comes in a wide age range under one name. If a recipe just says caciocavallo and does not specify, a young or medium wheel of about three to six months is what most southern Italian home recipes assume.

Frequently asked questions

Is caciocavallo the same as provolone?

They are close cousins, not the same cheese. Both are pasta filata cow's milk cheeses from southern Italy, made by stretching hot curd, and both melt in strands. Caciocavallo is traditionally shaped like a teardrop or gourd and tied in pairs to hang over a pole, which is where the name comes from; provolone is usually larger, often smoked or aged longer, and much more widely sold. If a recipe calls for caciocavallo, provolone is the substitute an Italian cook would reach for.

Can I use mozzarella instead of caciocavallo?

For melting, yes, with a caveat. Low-moisture mozzarella gives you the same stretch but almost none of the salt or savoury depth, so the dish tastes noticeably blander. Add about a quarter of the weight in grated pecorino romano or parmesan to make up for it. Fresh mozzarella in water is a poor swap for baking because it releases liquid and can make a baked pasta soupy.

Can I just leave caciocavallo out?

Not if it is a named component, like grilled caciocavallo or a baked pasta built around it, because the cheese is most of the dish. If it is one of several cheeses in a filling or a topping, you can drop it and increase the others, but expect less pull and less salt. It is far better to swap in any decent melting cheese than to omit it.

What is caciocavallo silano?

Caciocavallo silano is the DOP-protected version made in the Sila highlands and surrounding regions of Calabria, Basilicata, Campania, Molise and Puglia. It is what most people mean by plain caciocavallo. Other named types exist, including caciocavallo podolico from a rare local cattle breed, which is much more expensive and more intensely flavoured.

Is caciocavallo vegetarian?

Usually not. Traditional caciocavallo is made with animal rennet, and DOP rules do not require a vegetarian version. If that matters, check the label or ask, and choose a mozzarella or a specifically labelled vegetarian provolone instead.

Related substitutes

More cheese substitutes

Caciocavallo substitute

Other caciocavallo substitutes

2Scamorza

3Low-moisture mozzarella plus pecorino romano

4Fontina Val d'Aosta

5Asiago mezzano or a young pecorino

6Gruyere