The Best Cheeses For Pizza, Ranked

There are plenty of reasons to eat Gouda, one of the most popular Dutch cheeses worldwide, but you may be raising an eyebrow or two over the idea of adding it to your pizza. We hear you, but we beg you to give it a try. Wisconsin Cheese describes Gouda's flavor profile as similar to the familiar nutty notes of parm cheeses with a hint of buttery caramel reminiscent of butterscotch, so consider it a slightly sweeter take on Parmesan and you may come to understand why it's worth considering for your next pizza.

Speaking from personal experience, Redditor 457undead claims that adding some quality smoked Gouda to your pie is an easy glow-up for even the cheapest premade pizzas, and other Redditors have enjoyed adding Gouda to their homemade pizzas, too. Redditor LuluTopSionMid posted a tempting photo of melted Gouda with pickled vegetables on a homemade pizza, but Redditor bigwigmike recommends shredding aged Gouda as a finish for homemade pizza. In other words, he argues that it's better as a seasoning than a topping, like parm cheese, and we agree. Because of its more limited utility and potentially alienating flavor profile, it ranks last on our list of the best cheeses for pizza, but it's still on the list, so don't sleep on it.

Parmigiano-Reggiano and Parmesan are absolutely not the same product but they are, essentially, the same cheese. As Garlic Delight describes, the difference here is nearly the same as the difference between Champagne and sparkling wine. That is to say, Parmigiano-Reggiano must come from a designated region in Italy. There are a couple of other nuances necessary for Parmigiano-Reggiano, but Parmesan doesn't need to meet any of these requirements, making it cheaper and more ubiquitous. For the purposes of this list, they are about the same on a pizza so we'll address them together and refer to them collectively as parm. While sprinkling parm all over every dish is one of the common mistakes everyone makes at Italian restaurants, it's not necessarily a problem for pizza.

As Piaci Pizza notes, you won't find Italians in Italy sprinkling pre-grated parm all over their pizzas because they only use freshly grated cheese and rarely on pizza at all. Still, it's common in the United States and, as Quora user Ulysses Elias describes, it has a very strong flavor and a distinctly granular texture that likely contribute to its wide fan base. Be warned, though: It shouldn't be used as a substitute for mozzarella because the flavor would be overwhelming at such volumes and it wouldn't melt evenly, as explained by Cooks Dream. Instead, they suggest mixing some grated parm with mozzarella to cover your pie or simply using some after baking on a finished pizza.

Switching gears entirely, The Sauce describes goat cheese as tart and tangy and highly recommends it as one of the best cheeses for pizza. They do caution, however, that it doesn't pair well with some of the more common pizza toppings like pepperoni, but there are plenty of other ingredients that complement goat cheese beautifully. While The Sauce references feta as an easily accessible goat cheese, we'd like to point out that not all feta is actually goat cheese, as Président says, so shop carefully if feta is your preference.

Redditor LeanSalinas is proof that not everyone loves goat cheese on pizza, but concedes that there's nothing to dislike about it, either. Sure, this isn't the highest possible praise, but take note that goat cheese only ranks toward the middle of our list of the best cheeses for pizza, and that's partly due to the lukewarm reception it may receive from some. Personally, we side with Redditor waynedewho, who replies that goat cheese is exceptional with caramelized onions and balsamic glaze on a pizza, reminding us all that goat cheese truly does require the proper partner ingredients in order to shine on a pie. But we're big fans of teamwork, so we don't find any fault with goat cheese here.

Prepare to read this a few more times before our ranking of the best cheeses for pizza is complete: This cheese doesn't have the stringy texture mozzarella offers, which means it's not an ideal substitute for your pizza but makes a great partner in combination with mozzarella, as confirmed by Countertop Pizza Oven. Lest you think that would indicate that provolone isn't worth your time on pizza night, consider that popular pizza delivery company Domino's uses provolone on every one of its specialty pizza varieties, so you may already be accustomed to it. If you're a Domino's fan, you may find yourself seriously disappointed if you fail to use provolone during your homemade pizza night, and now you know why.

Of course, your tastes may vary from ours. Though we wouldn't recommend it ourselves, Redditor pplforfun finds provolone to be superior to mozzarella and implies that it's a worthy substitution altogether. In response to this claim, Redditor JohnKellyDraws notes Midwest pizza chain Pizza King includes provolone in its pies, but he takes a more centrist approach by suggesting a blend rather than total substitution. You know where we stand in this debate, but if you're going to try the pure provolone method, we recommend using a few whole, thin slices of the cheese strategically placed around the pie rather than trying to tear it into awkward pieces.

We know we're close to losing a few of you on this one — we're looking at you, blue cheese haters — but stick with us. Gorgonzola is scrumptious on pizza. Per Wisconsin Cheese, Gorgonzola is a type of blue cheese that is specifically made from cow milk, which is not necessarily true of all blue cheeses, and Spizzico Italian Kitchen confirms it's milder than most blue cheeses, making it a bit more approachable to the category's naysayers.

Thanks to the milder flavor, Pizza Today hails Gorgonzola as one of the most adaptable and versatile of the blue cheeses and recommends looking for a Gorgonzola naturale to pair with classic pizza ingredients like dough and tomato instead of a sweeter Gorgonzola dolce, which might not stand up to your other ingredients. If you do prefer to go the sweeter route, stick to the theme and opt for a sweeter pizza, like one with caramelized onions or pear, rather than a heartier pizza or even a classic tomato pie. Despite its milder profile, you still won't need much Gorgonzola to pick up on its fabulous flavor, so this is a good candidate for blending with other cheeses or using as a finisher after baking, as you might use dried oregano. If this sounds as fabulous to you as it does to us, there are a few other underrated cheeses you should know about to add similar funk to your pizza.

Yes, we're here to explore some fun alternatives, but it would be absolutely absurd of us to pretend that any cheese other than mozzarella is the number one cheese for pizza. As Milky Mist exclaims, mozzarella isn't just the best cheese for pizza, it's the Queen of Mediterranean cuisine thanks to its mild flavor, middle-of-the-road firmness, and adaptable texture. The entirety of Mediterranean cuisine aside, let's focus on exactly why it's so ideal for pizza.

Milky Mist reports that mozzarella's flavor profile is particularly amenable to blending with classic tomato pizza's other main ingredients and that the melty pull of cooked mozzarella is especially appealing to the eye, but it's the baking performance that really sets it apart. Mozzarella bakes to a gooey, bubbly, golden finish in the same time that it takes pizza to bake, and we all love that combination of convenience and quality. Still, be careful to seek out the right mozzarella for homemade pizza baking, which The Pizza Heaven says is low-moisture mozzarella that will perform best in American home ovens. It shreds more easily and prevents soggy dough, making the homemade prep process painless even if you overdo it with your cheese proportions. Bonus: It's cheaper than fresh mozzarella, too.