- 1 year ago
Cheese lovers, get ready — these easy, no-fuss appetizers are about to become your go-to party starters. In this video, Nicole shares five summer-ready marinated cheese recipes that are flavorful, versatile, and perfect for warm-weather entertaining. Whether you're hosting a BBQ, heading to a potluck, or just want something snackable and crowd-pleasing, these cheesy bites have you covered. Nicole kicks things off with a classic Marinated Cheese block, then levels it up with a tangy Pickle-Marinated twist. She goes bold with an herby Italian Salsa Verde Mozzarella, adds a spicy kick with Mexican-inspired marinated cheese, and finishes with a bright and briny Mediterranean-style version. Each one is easy to prep, make-ahead friendly, and guaranteed to disappear fast. Bring these to your next summer gathering — just don’t expect leftovers.
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00:00If you're not marinating your cheese, what are you doing?
00:02My mom used to make this, and I brought it back
00:05a couple years ago for a video, and it went viral.
00:07So ever since then, I've been making
00:09different flavor combinations for marinated cheese,
00:11and each one keeps getting better and better.
00:13So I'm here to show you five
00:14of the best marinated cheese recipes.
00:18This is the kind of thing that doubles
00:19as girl dinner for me at night.
00:21Mmm!
00:22And I'm gonna start with the classic,
00:24the 80s original, the OG.
00:25When my mom first did this, it kinda like,
00:28gave me mixed feelings.
00:29I was like, well, this is a little bit weird.
00:32And she's like, just trust.
00:33So for this one, I'm just simply using
00:35a sharp cheddar cheese and cream cheese.
00:38And you'll see how I line it up.
00:39It also makes for a great presentation.
00:41So you start by just taking your block of cheddar cheese,
00:44and then just make little slices.
00:46And with all these, it's really like a formula.
00:48You select whatever cheeses you like,
00:50usually like two to three different flavors,
00:53and then a marinade.
00:54And then you just put the two together.
00:56So before you cut the cream cheese,
00:59it makes it a lot easier if you freeze this
01:01for at least like 30 minutes.
01:03It just makes it easier to cut.
01:05Put it in between the cheddar cheese,
01:08and then you just keep going.
01:09And then you layer it into a shallow dish.
01:11You wanna marinate your cheese in whatever
01:14you wanna serve it into.
01:15So I like to choose something, you know, presentable.
01:17And then you're just going to start building little rows
01:21of stacked cheeses.
01:22Whatever I do on one row, like this one,
01:24I started with cream cheese in the back.
01:26So then on the next row, I'll start with cheddar first.
01:29And then you want at least like three or four rows.
01:31And now we make the marinade.
01:33Okay, so for this one, it's just like a simple vinaigrette,
01:35but it does have like some fresh components.
01:37So I'm gonna chop up some parsley and green onions,
01:40and you wanna mince these up.
01:41You want it, like everything to be really small
01:43so that you get a little bit of everything in every bite.
01:45Okay, three cloves of garlic.
01:46Garlic press so you don't get big old chunks in your mouth.
01:49And then a jar of pimentos.
01:52Okay, a teaspoon of sugar.
01:54Some salt and pepper.
01:57I'm just gonna use a pinch of Italian seasoning.
02:00And then oil and vinegar, that's it.
02:02So this is a white wine vinegar, just a neutral vinegar.
02:04You could do a red wine vinegar here,
02:06just a plain white vinegar.
02:07And a lot of vinaigrettes,
02:08you'll find that it's like three parts oil
02:10to one part vinegar.
02:11This one is like a half and half,
02:13so it's really tangy.
02:14And that's what I like with the cheese,
02:15because the cheese is really rich and creamy.
02:17You want something to kind of cut through that.
02:19You just want it to kind of soak into the cheese.
02:22So while it's delicious to eat right now, I'll prove it,
02:25but it's gonna get better with age.
02:27So that's why it's good for a party.
02:28It's a complete make-ahead.
02:30For me, it lasts like a week in the fridge.
02:32This is the perfect cracker for this cheese.
02:35Only thing missing right now is a nice cold glass of wine,
02:38but I'm gonna save that for later.
02:40See, cause you get the creamy, the crunchy.
02:44It's so good.
02:45I don't know why that works, it's just so good.
02:49For my whole life, my mom's go-to appetizer,
02:52if you go over to her house,
02:53she has out cheddar cheese with crackers and pickles.
02:58So next up, pickle marinated cheese.
03:00This one could be the best.
03:01Y'all are really just gonna have to make them all
03:02and tell me which one's the best,
03:04because I'm probably gonna say this about everyone,
03:06that they're all my favorite.
03:07I like the pickles that are like sweet and spicy for this.
03:11So this might be a regional thing,
03:13but if you can find these not sponsored,
03:16you should get them.
03:17For the cheeses, I'm doing cheddar,
03:19because that's what I grew up with,
03:20but I'm also doing just a creamy Havarti
03:22and then the cream cheese to glue them together.
03:24So I'm not gonna slice the cream cheese for this one.
03:26I'm just going to use it as a glue
03:29for the other two cheeses.
03:30Tight squeeze, perfection.
03:32Now for the marinade.
03:34Take your pickles.
03:36We're gonna chop up about two thirds of a cup.
03:39You want the pickle to be really pronounced in this.
03:40You wanna get pickle in every bite.
03:42I swear I don't know how she does it.
03:44I don't know how she just eyeballs it to perfection.
03:47This along with three tablespoons of green onion
03:49and then fresh dill, because pickles.
03:52Then I'm going in with a tablespoon of ranch seasoning,
03:54because ranch and pickles are also a natural pair.
03:59And then I'm still going for that like
04:00half and half acid to fat ratio.
04:03So I'm gonna do a quarter cup of pickle brine,
04:06and then a quarter cup of apple cider vinegar.
04:08Kind of has that sweetness that mimics those pickles.
04:11Half a cup of olive oil.
04:12I'm using just a regular olive oil instead of extra virgin.
04:15And some crushed red pepper for some kick.
04:18Sweet and spicy is the theme here.
04:20Going right over.
04:24Here goes, pickle marinated cheese.
04:26Mmm, you taste the ranch, you taste the dill.
04:32Of course you taste the pickle.
04:34This is so good.
04:35This is the one that makes me want like the cold beer.
04:37You know, this is the kind of thing
04:38that doubles as girl dinner for me at night.
04:40This is Italian salsa verde marinated cheese.
04:44Changing things up a bit with this one.
04:45And we are marinating fresh mozzarella balls.
04:47However, this recipe can work.
04:49You could do it with like provolone cheese
04:51or mozzarella and layer it.
04:53But I thought we'd twist it up a little bit.
04:55Okay, so everything just gets mixed up in a food processor.
04:58We're just gonna keep it easy.
04:59I'm going in with some fresh mint, parsley, and green onions.
05:03What I love about this one is you get all the things.
05:05You get a lot of freshness,
05:06but then you get like some brininess
05:07because we're going in with capers.
05:09Anchovies.
05:10Just a couple filets,
05:12although you can adjust this to your liking
05:14or you can leave them out altogether.
05:15And then one clove of garlic.
05:17I'm gonna give that a little rough chop too.
05:19And then all this just gets pulsed up
05:21until it's really finely chopped.
05:23Oh, it smells so good.
05:25Okay, and then I like to stir everything else in.
05:26We want about a teaspoon of lemon zest.
05:29We want about a quarter cup of the lemon juice.
05:31And then about a tablespoon of red wine vinegar.
05:34Two thirds cup extra virgin olive oil.
05:36Crushed red pepper and some salt.
05:39And pep.
05:41Look at that.
05:42You know that's gonna be good.
05:43All right, so now we can just put our cheese right in.
05:46I'm using these, the small little mozzarella balls.
05:49See, you can stop here
05:51for just the most flavorful mozzarella you've ever had.
05:53Or you can go in with some cherry tomatoes.
05:58You can even add some olives at this point.
06:00And that way if you want to just serve
06:01like a bowl of this as an appetizer,
06:03you get like more than just cheese in your bites.
06:05I'm gonna add in a few tomatoes,
06:07but this is just bonus.
06:09It kind of gives you that like caprese experience,
06:12but better, but better.
06:14Just wait till you have this.
06:15This can last for a while in the fridge.
06:18Keep it stored in a jar or a bowl.
06:20Then you can pour out as needed.
06:23Taste test.
06:24You see that caper, the crushed red pepper, all the herbs.
06:28Oh my God.
06:31Mmm.
06:32I was worried this wouldn't be exciting enough for y'all,
06:34but the burst of flavor that is happening, perfection.
06:38I told you they keep getting better and better.
06:40Breaking out the pepper jack for a little fiesta for the next one.
06:43A Mexican style, marinated cheese.
06:46You know this one's like gonna be an explosion of flavor.
06:48Break out the margarita for this one.
06:51Same process, going back to the formula.
06:54It's gonna have like all the flavors that we love
06:56in like a guacamole or a pico.
06:59I'm doing a pepper jack,
07:00and then just a sharp cheddar for color.
07:03And also that's typically what we put
07:05like on our tacos and stuff.
07:06And then the cream cheese again.
07:08So you can do it either way.
07:09You can slice it frozen and just stack it,
07:11or you can just scoop off a little like I was doing earlier,
07:14and just let it be the glue.
07:16Serving dish, you know the drill.
07:20Now for the good part.
07:22I'm going red onion for a pop of color.
07:24Finely dice your red onion so that it's like confetti.
07:28All right, and then one jalapeno.
07:31I'm gonna leave kind of the ribs in there.
07:33I'm okay with a little heat.
07:34Cilantro for my herb, obviously.
07:37I should have done a drink pairing with each one of these.
07:39Ranch water with this one would be so good.
07:42Lime juice, two tablespoons of red wine vinegar,
07:46and about half a cup of extra virgin olive oil.
07:49Salt, and for this, chili powder.
07:54This is also going to be delicious,
07:56like drizzled over fish tacos, or to marinate chicken,
08:00or to serve over grilled chicken.
08:02You are, you're really getting like a two-for-one special
08:04with these recipes.
08:05Over the cheese we go.
08:07This one looks gonna be good.
08:09These are my cracker choices with this one.
08:11Baby tortilla round chips.
08:13I didn't have the round ones, so let's see.
08:15Perfect bite.
08:16Cheers.
08:19It's like marinated cheese as a nacho.
08:21Gosh, that is good.
08:22Y'all gotta make these.
08:23Please tell me you're gonna be making these.
08:24I cannot keep this to myself.
08:2610 out of 10.
08:27I just can't not do it for this recipe.
08:29Ranch water.
08:30It's like a lightened margarita, you know?
08:33See how this is gonna go so well with that cheese?
08:35I mean, it's for research purposes.
08:37Cheers.
08:41Yep, I was right.
08:42In case you were wondering, make this with that.
08:45And thank me later.
08:46For my final trick, a little trip to the Mediterranean.
08:50This is my Mediterranean-style marinated cheese.
08:54Just when you thought it couldn't get any better,
08:56maybe it will.
08:57For this one, I'm using a dill Havarti.
09:00Dill is a very popular herb across a lot
09:03of Mediterranean cooking.
09:04And then I have written the recipe with cream cheese
09:07to glue just dill Havarti together.
09:10However, today I'm just feeling a little feisty.
09:13Since we have leftover a creamy block of feta cheese,
09:16I'm gonna use this instead of the cream cheese.
09:19This one's kind of like reminds you of like
09:21the ultimate Greek salad minus the lettuce.
09:23Serve that on a cracker or a crostini or a pita chip.
09:28Again, you may can add more or less cheese,
09:30depending on what size casserole dish you have.
09:32The better the feta, the creamier it's gonna be.
09:34And it will still act as a glue.
09:37It's okay if it gets crumbled up in there,
09:39because when you go to eat this,
09:40you just want a little bit of everything.
09:42All right, all snug.
09:44For the marinade, I'm chopping up some Kalamata olives.
09:47You could just do black olives or green,
09:50whatever you like.
09:51And then some chopped, sun-dried tomatoes
09:53that are in the marinade.
09:55And then some green onions to the bowl.
09:58All right, one clove of garlic.
10:00I'm using red and white wine vinegar.
10:02You can do one or the other, or both.
10:05Like I said, it's like a Greek salad.
10:06This is like similar to how you would make
10:08a Greek salad dressing.
10:09EVOO.
10:11And then I like a little lemon pepper in here.
10:14Lemon and Greek flavors like go so well together,
10:17especially with feta.
10:18So I love that in here.
10:20And then a little dried oregano.
10:22Crushed red pepper.
10:23A little bit of sugar to balance this out in a teaspoon.
10:27And then parsley.
10:29Oh my gosh, it smells so good.
10:31This is so much better than a cheese board.
10:34It's really easier than like putting on a charcuterie,
10:36because it's like one thing you can make in advance.
10:39Just perfect for entertaining.
10:41All right, steer it up.
10:46Now I know you can taste that.
10:48That is gorgeous.
10:50Perfect bite, time.
10:52Oh yeah.
10:52A little feta, a little dill havarti,
10:54and all that Greek salad goodness.
10:56Why'd I save the best for last?
10:57Who knows?
11:00I'm in heaven, literal heaven right here.
11:02Quite possibly in the top five perfect bites of all time.
11:07It is so, like I could eat that every single day.
11:10The only thing I'm missing is the cold glass of wine.
11:12This is a lot too.
11:14This will last a long time and will feed a lot of people.
11:17Unless you're at my house.
11:19Might only feed me.
11:20Get the brightness from the herbs
11:22and the fresh green onion and stuff.
11:24And then you get that brininess from the olives.
11:26The vinegar kind of cuts through the richness.
11:28Also the salty briny feta.
11:31Mediterranean's just do it right.
11:34You gotta make this one.
11:37If this doesn't look like a party,
11:39I don't know what does.
11:40Best thing is, you don't need a bunch of platters
11:42or a bunch of different appetizers
11:43to get the satisfaction that is in one of these dishes.
11:46I brought it back from the 80s.
11:48Forget the old cheese board.
11:49Marinated cheese is the appetizer of the year.
11:53Trust me.
11:54You'd think I'd be tired of it by now.
11:56But I'm not.
12:00Mm-hmm.
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