Sulguni Cheese substitute

Best substitute

Low-moisture mozzarella plus feta

2 parts mozzarella to 1 part feta, used 1:1 in total

Best for khachapuri

Close match

Grate the mozzarella, crumble the feta, and toss them together. The mozzarella melts into the long strands suluguni is prized for, and the feta puts back the salt and the slight brine sourness. This is the swap that makes khachapuri work.

Other sulguni cheese substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Kashkaval or kasseri
Close match
Use the same amount
Both are stretched-curd sheep's or cow's milk cheeses from the same tradition, so the springiness and the pull are closer to suluguni than mozzarella gets.
What changes
Slightly nuttier and less sour, and a shade less salty.
Best for
khachapuri, fried cheese, grilled cheese slices, elarji and cornmeal dishes
The best single-cheese answer if you can buy it. Add a small handful of crumbled feta if you want the sour brine note as well, or a pinch of salt if not.
3Mild provolone plus feta
Close match
2 parts provolone to 1 part feta, used 1:1 in total
Provolone stretches like suluguni and has more character than mozzarella, so you need less help from the feta.
What changes
The result is a little sharper and butterier than the original, which most people read as an improvement rather than a fault.
Best for
khachapuri, cheese breads, fried cheese, baked dishes
Choose mild or dolce provolone. Aged piccante provolone is far sharper than suluguni and takes over the bread completely.
4Fresh mozzarella plus feta, drained hard
Different texture
2 parts fresh mozzarella to 1 part feta, used 1:1 in total
Works on flavour and stretch, but fresh mozzarella carries a lot of water.
What changes
Squeeze it in a clean tea towel first, or an Adjarian khachapuri boat fills with liquid, the egg yolk drowns and the base never crisps.
Best for
khachapuri if drained well, cheese fillings, quick bakes
Tear it, salt it lightly, and let it sit in a sieve for twenty minutes before you squeeze it. This is the most common cause of a soggy khachapuri.
5Halloumi plus mozzarella
Different texture
Use the same amount halloumi to mozzarella, used 1:1 in total
Halloumi has almost exactly the right salty squeak and is easy to buy, but on its own it never melts, so it sits in the bread as firm cubes.
What changes
Grated half and half with mozzarella, the mozzarella carries the melt and the halloumi carries the salt and the bite.
Best for
khachapuri, fried cheese, grilled cheese
Grate the halloumi finely on the small holes so it disappears into the melt. Chunks stay stubbornly solid.
6Monterey Jack plus feta
Different taste
2 parts Jack to 1 part feta, used 1:1 in total
The pure supermarket fallback.
What changes
The melt is excellent, smooth and generous, but Jack is flat and buttery, so without the feta the filling tastes like a cheese toastie rather than khachapuri. The feta is doing all the flavour work here.
Best for
khachapuri, cheese breads, casseroles
Least authentic of the workable options. If you only have Jack and no feta, add half a teaspoon of salt per 200g of cheese and a squeeze of lemon, and accept a milder result.

What is Sulguni Cheese?

Sulguni Cheese is Sulguni, more often transliterated suluguni, is a springy salted Georgian cheese made by kneading and stretching the curd in hot whey, which gives it a squeaky bite cold, a long stretchy pull hot, and the faint sourness that makes khachapuri taste like khachapuri.

Cooking tips

Traditional khachapuri usually uses two cheeses, not one: suluguni for the stretch and salt, and imeruli, a fresher and milder young Georgian cheese, for softness. If your recipe lists both, use low-moisture mozzarella plus feta for the suluguni, and fresh mozzarella or well-drained whole-milk ricotta for the imeruli.
Grate rather than cube. Grated cheese melts evenly into a single mass, while cubes leave pockets of pooled oil surrounded by dry bread.
Wring the water out of any fresh cheese in a clean tea towel. Wet cheese in an Adjarian khachapuri boat leaks, softens the base and stops the edges browning, and no amount of extra oven time fixes it once the dough is wet.
Do not add the salt the recipe expects until you have tasted your cheese mix. Real suluguni is salty enough to season the whole filling, and a feta-heavy blend can easily overshoot it.
For fried suluguni, use provolone, kashkaval or halloumi. Mozzarella softens too far, finds any gap in the crust and runs out into the pan.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best substitute for suluguni in khachapuri?

Two parts grated low-moisture mozzarella to one part crumbled feta, used in place of the same weight of suluguni. The mozzarella melts into the long strands you want, the feta supplies the salt and the slight sour brine note, and together they get genuinely close. If a Balkan, Greek or Turkish shop is within reach, kashkaval or kasseri are closer still and need no blending.

Can I just use mozzarella on its own?

This is the most common mistake and the reason home khachapuri often tastes disappointing. Mozzarella gives a perfect melt and almost no flavour, so the bread comes out bland and milky. Suluguni is a salty, faintly sour cheese, and the salt is not optional. Add feta, halloumi, pecorino or at minimum a decent pinch of salt to whatever mozzarella you use.

Can I leave the cheese out or use less of it?

Not really, because in khachapuri the cheese is the dish rather than a seasoning in it. You can reduce the quantity by perhaps a quarter without the bread failing, but go much below that and you get bread with a thin cheesy smear. If you are short on cheese, make a smaller khachapuri rather than a thinly filled large one.

Is suluguni the same as imeruli cheese?

No. Both are Georgian and both go into khachapuri, often together, but suluguni is stretched, springy and salty while imeruli is younger, softer, milder and more crumbly. If a recipe asks for both, substitute low-moisture mozzarella plus feta for the suluguni and fresh mozzarella or drained whole-milk ricotta for the imeruli.

Where can I buy suluguni?

Georgian, Russian and Eastern European grocers stock it, sometimes labelled sulguni or Georgian cheese, and it occasionally appears vacuum-packed in larger international supermarkets. It is genuinely hard to find in most of the United States and Western Europe, which is why the mozzarella and feta blend has become the standard home answer rather than a compromise people apologise for.

Related substitutes

More cheese substitutes

Sulguni Cheese substitute

Other sulguni cheese substitutes

2Kashkaval or kasseri

3Mild provolone plus feta

4Fresh mozzarella plus feta, drained hard

5Halloumi plus mozzarella

6Monterey Jack plus feta