Idiazabal Cheese substitute

Best substitute

Manchego (semicurado)

Use the same amount as the idiazabal cheese you are replacing

Best for croquetas and bechamel

Close match

Semi-cured Manchego is the best substitute for Idiazabal at 1:1, because it is the same kind of firm sheep's-milk cheese with the same nutty tang; the only thing missing is smoke. If your recipe wants the smoked version, use three parts Manchego to one part smoked gouda, or add a very small pinch of smoked paprika. Young Pecorino Toscano and Ossau-Iraty also work 1:1. Check the label on your recipe's cheese first, since Idiazabal comes both smoked, marked ahumado, and unsmoked, and they taste noticeably different.

Other idiazabal cheese substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Smoked Gouda
Different taste
Use the same amount
This nails the one thing Manchego cannot, which is the smoke, and it melts beautifully into a bechamel or a cheesecake batter.
What changes
Being cow's milk, it is milder, sweeter and creamier, with none of the sheepy tang, so the dish tastes rounder and less savory. Blend it with Manchego or Pecorino if you want the sharpness back.
Best for
croquetas, Basque burnt cheesecake variants, toasted sandwiches and gratins, cheese sauces
Buy a real smoked gouda rather than a bright orange processed smoked cheese, which will taste artificial. Check whether it is naturally smoked or smoke-flavored, since the latter can be harsh.
3Ossau-Iraty
Close match
Use the same amount
The French Basque sheep's-milk cheese made on the other side of the same mountains, and in milk and texture it is the closest cheese in the world to Idiazabal.
What changes
It is sweeter, milkier and never smoked, so a plate of it reads gentler and more caramel-like where Idiazabal has a firmer, saltier bite.
Best for
cheese boards, eating with quince paste or cherry jam, slicing for pintxos, salads
The best swap if your cheese counter has it. Also sold as Petit Basque in small wheels. Not smoked, so the same caveat applies as with Manchego.
4Roncal
Close match
Use the same amount
The neighboring Navarrese sheep's-milk cheese and a near like-for-like swap: same pressed firm paste, same nutty depth.
What changes
It runs a touch drier and sharper than Idiazabal and it is unsmoked, so grated over a stew it is slightly more assertive and less buttery.
Best for
grating over stews, beans and eggs, cheese boards, croquetas, salads with walnuts
Harder to find outside Spanish specialty shops, but if you see it, buy it. Because it is drier, grate rather than cube it for melting.
5Young Pecorino (Toscano, not Romano)
Different taste
Use the same amount
Sheep's milk, firm, nutty, and easy to find, so it covers the milk character that cow's-milk cheeses miss.
What changes
It is grassier and less buttery than Idiazabal and has a more mineral finish, so a croqueta made with it tastes brighter and slightly sharper. Avoid aged Pecorino Romano, which is far saltier and will bulldoze everything else in the dish.
Best for
grating over pasta, beans and vegetables, croquetas, salads, cheese boards
Pecorino Toscano or a young sardo is what you want. If you only have Romano, use about half as much and cut the salt in the recipe.
6Provolone Dolce or Young Asiago
Different taste
Use the same amount
Cow's-milk melters for when the job is purely functional, such as making a croqueta go stringy or a gratin brown well.
What changes
Both are noticeably blander and sweeter than Idiazabal with none of the sheep-milk depth or smoke, so the dish tastes pleasant but generic and needs a little more salt.
Best for
melting in croquetas and gratins, toasted sandwiches, stuffed peppers, budget substitution
Season the dish a touch more heavily to compensate, and add a pinch of smoked paprika if the recipe called for smoked Idiazabal.

What is Idiazabal Cheese?

Idiazabal Cheese is Idiazabal is a firm pressed sheep's-milk cheese from the Basque Country and Navarre with a compact ivory paste and a nutty, buttery, gently sharp flavor, and it is traditionally lightly smoked over beech or hawthorn wood.

Cooking tips

Check whether your recipe wants smoked or unsmoked Idiazabal before you shop, because the difference is bigger than the difference between most substitutes. A label marked ahumado means it is smoked; a plain label usually means it is not.
Idiazabal melts smoothly when young but turns oily and grainy under high heat. Melt it gently, and when adding it to a bechamel for croquetas, take the pan off the heat first and stir the grated cheese in with the residual warmth.
Aged Idiazabal is a grating cheese as much as a slicing one. Shaved over a pot of beans, a piperade or a lentil stew it does the job Parmesan does in Italian cooking, and any of the firm sheep's-milk substitutes above will do that too.
If a Basque cheesecake recipe calls for Idiazabal, keep it to roughly a quarter of the total cheese with cream cheese making up the rest. Push it higher and the texture goes waxy and the cake tastes savory rather than rich.
The natural rind is edible but tough and can be gritty. Cut it off before grating or melting, and if you have a piece of rind left over, drop it into a bean or vegetable soup for the last twenty minutes the way you would a Parmesan rind.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave Idiazabal out?

In a dish where cheese is one of several elements, such as a salad or a plate of vegetables, you can skip it and lose some richness and salt. In croquetas, a cheese sauce or a cheesecake, the cheese is providing fat and protein structure as well as flavor, so leaving it out changes the physics of the dish and not just the taste. Substitute rather than omit in anything cooked.

Is Manchego really close enough to Idiazabal?

Yes, closer than most substitutions on any cheese list. Both are firm pressed sheep's-milk cheeses from northern Spain with the same nutty, buttery, mildly tangy profile and similar melting behavior. The honest gap is smoke, which many Idiazabal wheels have and Manchego never does. If your recipe emphasizes a smoky note, add smoked gouda or a pinch of smoked paprika alongside the Manchego.

What can I use if I want the smoked flavor and cannot find any smoked cheese?

Grate your unsmoked substitute and stir in a very small amount of smoked paprika, starting at about an eighth of a teaspoon per cup of grated cheese, then taste. Smoked paprika is much more assertive than the gentle wood smoke on an Idiazabal wheel, so it is easy to overdo, and once the dish tastes of pimenton rather than smoke you cannot pull it back.

Is Idiazabal a good melting cheese?

Young Idiazabal melts well and smoothly, which is why it turns up in croquetas, tortillas and toasted sandwiches. Older, harder wheels behave more like Parmesan: they will not melt into a smooth sauce and are better grated as a finishing cheese. If your recipe involves melting, choose a younger wheel or a younger substitute such as semicurado Manchego or provolone dolce.

Can I use cheddar instead of Idiazabal?

It will melt and taste good, but it will not taste like the dish you were making. Cheddar is tangy in a lactic, buttery way that reads clearly British or American, and a sharp cheddar dominates whatever else is in the pan. If cheddar is genuinely all you have, use a mild one, use a little less than the recipe says, and add a pinch of smoked paprika to nudge it toward the Basque direction.

Related substitutes

More cheese substitutes

Idiazabal Cheese substitute

Other idiazabal cheese substitutes

2Smoked Gouda

3Ossau-Iraty

4Roncal

5Young Pecorino (Toscano, not Romano)

6Provolone Dolce or Young Asiago