What Is Colby cheese and How Can I Use It?
Colby cheese is easier to cook with than it looks. Here's how to choose, use, and store it, what to substitute, and 26 recipes to get you started.
Key Points
- Mild semi-hard Wisconsin cheese that looks like young cheddar but softer and moister.
- The washed-curd process rinses out acidity, giving a sweet, mellow taste and open texture.
- Melts smoothly for casseroles, quesadillas, and mac and cheese; often sold as Colby-Jack.
- Holds lots of moisture, so high heat turns it oily; melt it low and pull it when glossy.
- Mild or medium cheddar is the closest one-to-one swap, with a bit more tang.
What is colby cheese?
Colby is a mild, semi-hard American cheese, named for the town of Colby, Wisconsin, where it was first made in the 1880s. It looks like a young orange cheddar, but it is softer and moister, with a gentler flavor.
The difference comes from how it is made. Colby uses a washed-curd process: the curds are rinsed with cool water, which washes out some of the acidity and leaves more moisture behind. That gives it an open, springy texture and a sweet, mild taste without cheddar's sharp tang.
Because it is not aged for long, Colby stays mellow. It is a friendly, everyday cheese rather than a sharp, complex one.
How to use it
Colby is a great melting and snacking cheese. The extra moisture helps it melt smoothly and evenly, which makes it a natural for casseroles, quesadillas, grilled cheese, and a creamy 4 Cheese Bacon Macaroni & Cheese.
It shreds cleanly over baked dishes too, sinking into a Santa Fe Chicken Tortellini Casserole or topping stuffed vegetables. Its mildness lets other flavors lead, so it carries spice and smoke without competing.
You will often meet it as Colby-Jack, marbled with Monterey Jack for an even softer melt. Either one slices well for sandwiches and cold platters.
Cooking and pairing
Colby's mild, milky flavor plays well with bold partners: salsa and peppers, smoky bacon, sweet onion, crisp apple, and pickled jalapeno. It is at home in Tex-Mex and comfort cooking where you want melt and richness more than sharp cheese flavor.
The main thing to watch is heat. Because Colby holds a lot of moisture and fat, it can turn oily or rubbery if you blast it under high heat, so melt it low and pull it as soon as it goes glossy.
Grate from a block rather than buying pre-shredded; the anti-caking starch on bagged shreds keeps it from melting as smoothly as it should.
Substitutes
Mild or medium cheddar is the closest swap, used one-to-one, with a bit more tang and a slightly firmer melt. Monterey Jack is even milder and melts a touch softer, a good match when you want Colby's gentleness.
A young Gouda or a mild Havarti also stands in for melting and snacking. None copy Colby exactly, but any mild semi-hard cheese covers its role.
Buying and storing
Choose a block with a smooth, even color and no dry or cracked edges. Colby is sold young, so it should feel supple, not hard.
Wrap it in cheese paper or parchment and then loosely in foil, and keep it in the warmest part of the fridge. Because it is moister than aged cheese, Colby keeps a little less long, around two to three weeks after opening.
It freezes for cooking and comes out more crumbly, so grate it first if you plan to melt it later. If a spot of surface mold appears on the block, cut an inch around and below it and the rest is fine to use.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 cup, diced (132g)Quick facts
Where to find colby cheese: Colby cheese is usually found in the cheeses section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.
Food group: Colby cheese is a member of the Dairy and Egg Products US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.
- In Chinese
- 科尔比奶酪
- British (UK) term
- Colby cheese
- en français
- Colby
- en español
- queso colby
How much does colby cheese weigh?
| Amount | Weight |
|---|---|
| 1 cup, diced | 132 grams |
| 1 cup, shredded | 113 grams |
| 1 ounce | 28 grams |
| 1 cubic inch | 17 grams |
| 1 slice (1 oz) | 28 grams |
Related
Dairy and Egg Products
Recipes using colby cheese
There are 26 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Santa Fe Chicken Tortellini Casserole
Instead of tortellini soup, turn that tortellini into a filling chicken tortellini casserole. A baked tortellini al forno!
Festival Eggs
Festival eggs are a Mexican-style migas breakfast with crispy tortilla strips, tomatoes, jalapeno, and cilantro scrambled with eggs and topped with melted Colby cheese.
Homemade American Cheese
Just spotted this the other day on America's test kitchen. Stop buying those tasteless cheese slices and make your own and you can add any other flavoring your heart desires! It has been modified for my own tastes.
Spicy Sausage Sandwiches
Spicy sausage sandwiches on English muffins with homemade pepper-corn salsa, jalapenos, banana peppers, and melted Colby cheese. A fiery breakfast or lunch sandwich.
Cheese Chiles
Cheese chiles are bite-sized appetizers made from cheddar and Colby cheese blended with ground red chili, shaped like tiny chile peppers with cilantro stems and a paprika dusting.
Chicken& Stuffing Pie
Savory chicken pie with a buttery herb stuffing crust, a thick mushroom-and-gravy filling with peas and celery, and a lattice of melted Colby cheese on top. Ready in one hour.
Chili-Cheese Stuffed Chicken with Rice
Chicken thighs wrapped around cheese-stuffed green chilis, baked on a bed of toasted salsa rice with cumin and cilantro. A complete Southwestern one-dish dinner that's worth every minute.
Sloppy Joe Pizza
Sloppy Joe pizza with seasoned ground beef, barbecue sauce, corn, and green onions on a bread shell topped with melted Colby cheese. A quick family dinner mashup.
Southwest Pizza
Southwest pizza swaps mozzarella for Colby cheese and tops a chili-powder-spiked tomato sauce with green chiles, bell peppers, and fresh cilantro. A Tex-Mex twist on weeknight pizza night ready in 25 minutes.
Fiesta Rib Eye Steaks
Grilled rib eye steaks with a quick lime marinade, melty Colby and Monterey Jack, warm flour tortillas, and salsa on the side. Tex-Mex steakhouse vibes from your backyard grill.
My Skyline Chili
Skyline-style Cincinnati chili: simmered ground beef in a thin tomato-spiced sauce with cinnamon, allspice, and a hint of vinegar. Served over spaghetti with shredded cheese in the classic Ohio diner style.
Mexican Cheese Torta
Mexican cheese torta: a no-cook chilled cheese ball-style mold of cream cheese, Colby, Monterey Jack, red pepper, scallions, and jalapeño. A make-ahead party centerpiece served with tortilla chips.
Crab Avocado Melt
Open-faced crab avocado melt on pumpernickel with creamy crab salad, sliced avocado, and melted Colby cheese. A 15-minute lunch that feels way fancier than the effort involved.
Chicken with Angel Hair Pasta
Crispy breaded chicken breasts served on angel hair pasta nests with marinara sauce and a three-cheese melt of mozzarella, cheddar, and Colby. A chicken parm-style dinner ready in 40 minutes.
Kohl's Mexican Dump Cornbread
Mexican dump cornbread with three cheeses, green chili peppers, and honey. A quick sheet pan cornbread where everything gets dumped into one bowl, stirred, and baked golden.
Nathan's Mac-n-Cheez
Baked mac and cheese the custard way: elbow macaroni folded into an egg-rich blend of evaporated milk, half-and-half, and sour cream with four cheeses, then baked until the top browns. No roux, all creamy.
4 Cheese Bacon Macaroni & Cheese
Serious comfort food that makes great heat and serve leftovers. Bacon Mac n' Cheese.
Varenyky (Ukrainian Filled Dumplings)
Authentic Ukrainian varenyky with tender egg yolk dough and two classic fillings: creamy potato-cheese and tangy sauerkraut-bacon. A from-scratch dumpling recipe worth every fold.
Easy Baked Macaroni & Cheese
Easy baked mac and cheese with Monterey Jack and Colby cheese, evaporated milk, and beaten egg for a custardy set. No flour roux required for old-fashioned Southern-style baked macaroni.
Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole
Cheesy hash brown casserole with frozen hash browns, cream of chicken soup, Colby cheese, and onion. The classic potluck and church-supper side dish, oven-ready in 10 minutes.
Cracker Barrel Hash Brown Casserole
A creamy, cheesy hash brown casserole inspired by Cracker Barrel, perfect as a comforting side dish for breakfast or dinner. Easy to prepare with simple ingredients.
Impossible Cauliflower Quiche
Impossible cauliflower quiche made with Bisquick, eggs, and milk that bake into a self-forming crust around tender cauliflower, peppers, onion, and Colby cheese. Crustless and crowd-friendly.
