Cooking

These Days, My Protein of Choice Is Cheese

Golden paneer stir-fried with green beans, creamy burrata and cabbage salad, and Halloumi meatballs with tomato sauce.
Cheesy green beans on a platter
Photograph by Heami Lee, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Maggie DiMarco

The “Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner” commercial from the early ’90s is seared into my mind like steak on a grill. Lately, though, red meat rarely appears on my plate. My weeknight move for making satiating meals in shockingly little time is the other other white meat—cheese. It’s a rich source of protein that will keep you full, and it can be cooked in all sorts of ways.

For anyone who wants to eat more vegetarian meals, cheese is the answer. You can certainly grate a block of cheddar over your salad, but the dairy aisle offers quite a few more options these days. Grab any variety that catches your eye and what once seemed like a side can easily turn into a hearty main. Look for salty finishers like Cotija, rich orbs of buffalo mozzarella and burrata, grill-friendly Halloumi, dense planks of paneer, and crumbly feta. Each one offers something unique, and they’ll all help you get dinner on the table as fast as a catchy commercial might have you believe.

Scroll on for my favorite recipes that prove dairy is the main dish.

  • Halloumi meatballs in sauce in a bowl
    Photograph by Heami Lee, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Maggie DiMarco
    1/27

    Halloumi No-Meat Balls

    Shredded Halloumi cheese stars in these meatless meatballs, a worthy vegetarian substitution that adds savory richness of its own.

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  • Cabbage and burrata salad on a red plate
    Photograph by Heami Lee, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Maggie DiMarco
    2/27

    Cabbage and Burrata Salad With Spicy Tahini

    This dinner salad combines decadent burrata cheese with a spicy tahini dressing that clings to every crinkly leaf of Napa cabbage.

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  • Cheesy green beans on a platter
    Photograph by Heami Lee, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Maggie DiMarco
    3/27

    Paneer and Green Bean Stir-Fry

    Paneer is a creamy-firm cheese that stands in for meat in this vegetarian stir-fry featuring blistered green beans fragrant with curry powder and soy sauce.

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  • Tomatoes and Feta With Chickpeas on a sheet tray with people coming in and grabbing some
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Emma Fishman
    4/27

    Tomatoes and Feta With Chickpeas

    All of the hallmarks of a sheet-pan dinner (quick! simple! very few dishes to do!), plus big slabs of warm, melty feta.

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  • Kale and cheddar folded in the squares of cooked dough on a cutting board served with labneh and olive oil and lemon wedges.
    Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Taneka Morris, Prop Styling by Sean Dooley
    5/27

    Kale and Cheddar Gözleme

    The tastiest way to eat a pound of kale.

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  • Three cachapas on a platter alongside sliced avocado and hot sauce.
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Sean Dooley, Prop Styling by Marina Bevilacqua
    6/27

    Cachapas

    These savory-sweet Venezuelan cheesy corn pancakes are endlessly customizable, making them the ultimate kid-friendly recipe or WFH lunch.

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  • Image may contain Cutlery Spoon Vegetable Food Plant and Spinach
    Photo by Chelsie Craig, food styling by Alison Attenborough
    7/27

    Saag Paneer, But With Feta

    This riff on the classic dish swaps paneer out for salty chunks of feta (but keeps the garlicky spiced spinach sauce).

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  • Easy dinner idea A castiron skillet filled with white beans and green beans in a tomato sauce blanketed with melted cheese.
    Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Sophie Strangio
    8/27

    Cheesy Tomato Beans With Broccoli Rabe

    This weeknight skillet dinner is our version of pizza beans...plus a dose of greens.

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  • Harissa eggplant Parm in a skillet topped with fresh herbs.
    Photograph by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food Styling by Taneka Morris, Prop Styling by Christina Allen
    11/27

    Weeknight Harissa Eggplant Parm

    No coating or frying here! Toasted breadcrumbs and a blanket of melty cheese replicate the flavors and textures of eggplant parm in a fraction of the time.

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  • paneer tikka skewers on bed of greens on a white plate on pink background with flowers and a beverage around it
    Photograph by Maria Be, food styling by Thu Buser, prop styling by Marina Bevilacqua
    12/27

    Ajwaini Paneer Tikka Skewers

    Mild, squishy paneer soaks up all of a marinade’s bold flavors (garam masala, cumin, cayenne, and ajwain here), making it an ideal grillable vegetarian protein. 

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  • Romesco Chickpeas on a white plate and red background
    Photograph by Travis Rainey, Prop Styling by Alexandra Massillon, Food Styling by Luciana Lamboy
    13/27

    Sheet-Pan Peppers and Chickpeas With Ricotta

    Sweet-sour peppers meet crispy chickpeas, torn croutons, and a creamy swoosh.

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  • Ricotta Gnocchi plated in a orange bowl placed on a green surface
    Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Kat Boytsova, prop styling by Gerri Williams
    14/27

    Creamy Ricotta Gnocchi

    This foolproof recipe for ricotta gnocchi turns out pillowy dumplings with a delicate chew. The lemon-cream butter sauce is just right for any occasion.

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  • Two whole cheese pizze topped with red pepper flakes olive oil and basil leaves on a wooden cutting board.
    Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Jesse Szewczyk, Prop Styling by Christina Allen
    15/27

    Incredibly Good Homemade Pizza

    You don’t need a pizza oven (or even a baking stone) for our test kitchen’s ultimate recipe.

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  • Paneer With Burst Cherry Tomato Sauce recipe
    Photo and Food Styling by Sohla El-Waylly 
    16/27

    Paneer With Burst Cherry Tomato Sauce

    This dish of saucy, seared paneer channels the flavors traditionally found in matar paneer—coriander, cumin, chile, and ginger—into a quick-cooking cherry tomato sauce that's packed with bright spring-y sugar snap peas. If you can’t find paneer, give this a try with another sturdy non-melty cheese like Halloumi or queso fresco. Or think of it as a simple sauce you can serve over any protein, like a crispy-skinned salmon fillet, seared shell-on shrimp, sliced feta, or even just a bed of salted yogurt. 

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  • Pumpkin and Cheddar Strata in a casserole dish
    Photograph by Chris Simpson, Food Styling by Taneka Morris, Prop Styling by Gözde Eker
    17/27

    Pumpkin and Cheddar Strata

    A make-ahead casserole, like this pumpkin-infused strata with all the cheese, is just what your busy holiday schedule needs.

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  • Seared Halloumi Cheese and Nectarine Salad on Plate
    Photograph by Heami Lee, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by JoJo Li
    18/27

    Seared Halloumi Cheese and Nectarine Salad

    It’s all about the flavor and textural contrast between the salty, seared Halloumi cheese and sweet, juicy nectarines in this peak summer side.

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  • Paneer and charred green beans recipe
    Photograph by Yudi Ela, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Aneta Florczyk
    19/27

    Cheesy Charred Green Beans

    Grilled cheese? Yes, please. But not that kind. We’re talking creamy-charred paneer with grilled green beans—a perfect vegetarian side for your next cookout.

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  • Image may contain Food Dish Meal Plant and Platter
    Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott
    20/27

    Radicchio and Citrus Salad with Burrata

    We’re over having to carefully cut the peels off citrus before slicing them; simply peeling them first keeps their natural shape intact and saves time.

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  • Photograph by Peden + Munk, Food Styling by Adriana Paschen, Prop Styling by Ceci Garcia
    23/27

    Paneer Kathi Rolls

    We swapped hard-to-find parathas for flour tortillas in this riff on paneer kathi rolls. With a tangy yogurt sauce and filling veg, it’s the ideal to-go lunch.

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  • Grilled halloumi with greens and pomegranate
    Photograph by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Sophie Strangio
    24/27

    Halloumi Saganaki

    Did somebody say fried cheese? Halloumi drizzled with honey and aromatic thyme makes for an ideal sweet-salty-crunchy appetizer.

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  • Seared Squash and Halloumi Burger Recipe
    Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Micah Morton, prop styling by Elizabeth Jaime
    25/27

    Seared Squash and Halloumi Burgers

    This vegetarian recipe makes a strong case for replacing a veggie burger with a slab of melty, salty cheese.

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  • Palak paneer on a platter with roti on the side.
    Photograph by Doan Ly, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Christina Allen
    26/27

    Palak Paneer

    This classic palak paneer recipe keeps things simple with minimal ingredients but fries the paneer for a crispy texture to pair with the creamy spinach purée.

    View Recipe
Chris Morocco is the food director of Bon Appétit and Epicurious, overseeing the Test Kitchen team and the recipes they develop. With a career that spans nearly 20 years in publishing, Chris has worked for brands such as Vogue, Real Simple, Food & Wine, and most notably BA, where he ... Read More
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