Vasterbotten Cheese substitute

Best substitute

Aged Gruyere + Parmesan (3:1)

Use the same amount in total, three parts Gruyere to one part Parmesan as the vasterbotten cheese you are replacing

Best for vasterbottenspaj

Close match

The best substitute for Vasterbotten cheese is aged Gruyere mixed with Parmesan, three parts to one, used measure for measure. Aged Gruyere on its own is the easiest single swap, and extra-sharp aged Cheddar gets the salt and tang right if you grate it finely and keep the oven moderate.

Other vasterbotten cheese substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Aged Gruyere
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
Nutty, complex and firm with the same faintly granular bite, and available in almost every supermarket cheese counter.
What changes
Best for
vasterbottenspaj, gratins, quiches, sauces, cheese boards
A shade sweeter and less salt-sharp than Vasterbotten, so a pie made with it tastes rounder and gentler. Add a pinch of salt and a few grinds of white pepper to the custard and it lands very close.
3Extra-Sharp Aged Cheddar (Two Years or More)
Different taste
Use the same amount by weight, grated finely
Correct salt level, correct tang, and it crumbles in the same dry, granular way when you cut it.
What changes
Best for
vasterbottenspaj, gratins, savoury pies, toppings
More buttery and lactic and less nutty, so the flavour reads British rather than alpine. Its bigger flaw is that it releases oil in a hot custard, so grate it fine, keep the oven moderate, and let the pie rest before slicing.
4Aged Comte or Beaufort
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
Firm, nutty, slightly crystalline mountain cheeses from the same family as Gruyere, with excellent melting behaviour.
What changes
Best for
savoury tarts, gratins, sauces, cheese boards
Beautiful in a pie and technically well-behaved, but sweeter and gentler than Vasterbotten, so the finished dish lacks the salty bite that makes vasterbottenspaj memorable. Salt the custard a little more heavily.
5Parmesan or Grana Padano Alone
Different texture
Use about three quarters the weight
Nails the salt, the umami and the crunchy protein crystals, which is a lot of what Vasterbotten tastes like.
What changes
Best for
toppings, gratin crusts, sauces, garnish
It will not give a pie a creamy set, because there is too little moisture and fat to melt into a custard, so the filling ends up grainy and dry. Used one for one it is also too salty. Excellent as part of a blend, weak on its own.
6Aged Gouda or Aged Manchego
Different taste
Use the same amount by weight
Both are firm, salty and studded with crunchy tyrosine crystals, which is the texture detail Vasterbotten fans notice most.
What changes
Best for
gratins, savoury pies, cheese boards, sauces
Aged Gouda has exactly the right crunch but tastes butterscotch-sweet, which is noticeably odd in a savoury pie served with crayfish. Manchego is drier and more sheepy. Blend either with a little Parmesan to pull the flavour savoury.

What is Vasterbotten Cheese?

Vasterbotten Cheese is Vasterbotten cheese, or Vasterbottensost, is a hard, long-aged Swedish cow's milk cheese with a granular, crumbly break and a salty, sharp, slightly bitter tang, made in a single dairy in northern Sweden.

Cooking tips

Grate rather than cube. Vasterbottensost is drier than most melting cheeses, and a fine grate spreads its salt evenly through a custard instead of leaving salty pockets and bland patches.
Real Vasterbotten has crunchy protein crystals running through it. If that texture matters to you, add a small amount of aged Gouda or Parmesan to whatever you substitute, because Gruyere alone is too smooth.
Vasterbottenspaj is served warm with crayfish, roe and a spoonful of creme fraiche, so keep the pie firmly salty and let the cool, rich accompaniment do the balancing. A timid pie disappears next to crayfish.
Taste the grated cheese before you salt the egg custard. Vasterbotten and its best substitutes are all salty enough that many recipes need no added salt at all.
Do not blast the oven. Hard aged cheeses split and weep oil in a hot custard, so bake at a moderate temperature and rest the pie for 15 minutes so the set firms up before you cut it.
The rind is edible but very hard, so save it and simmer it in a soup or stock the way you would a Parmesan rind. It gives up a surprising amount of savoury flavour.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best substitute for Vasterbotten cheese?

Aged Gruyere with a little Parmesan, roughly three parts to one, used measure for measure. Gruyere gives the nutty body and reliable melt, Parmesan adds the salt crystals and sharp finish. In a vasterbottenspaj the result is close enough that most guests would not spot the swap.

Is Vasterbotten cheese like Parmesan?

In some ways. Both are long-aged, salty, granular and full of crunchy crystals. But Vasterbottensost holds more moisture and fat, so it actually melts into a creamy custard, which Parmesan does not. That is why Parmesan alone makes a grainy pie and belongs in a blend rather than as a straight replacement.

Can I just leave the cheese out of vasterbottenspaj?

No, because the cheese is the pie. Vasterbottenspaj is essentially eggs, cream and a great deal of strong aged cheese in a pastry case, so removing the cheese leaves a plain savoury custard. Use aged Gruyere with Parmesan and you will have a genuinely excellent pie under a slightly different name.

Where can I buy Vasterbotten cheese?

It is made by a single dairy in northern Sweden and most of the production stays in Scandinavia. Outside Sweden, look in Swedish and Nordic delis, occasionally in IKEA food markets, and in specialist cheese shops around crayfish season in August. Labels may read Vasterbottensost or Vasterbottens cheese.

Can I use Swiss cheese or Emmental instead?

They are the weakest of the reasonable options. Emmental and generic Swiss are much milder and sweeter than Vasterbotten and melt into a soft, slightly rubbery texture rather than a granular one, so the pie tastes bland. If that is what you have, use it with a generous handful of Parmesan and extra salt and pepper.

Related substitutes

More cheese substitutes

Vasterbotten Cheese substitute

Other vasterbotten cheese substitutes

2Aged Gruyere

3Extra-Sharp Aged Cheddar (Two Years or More)

4Aged Comte or Beaufort

5Parmesan or Grana Padano Alone

6Aged Gouda or Aged Manchego