Substitute For Paneer: Options with Pros and Cons

So, you are looking for a substitute for paneer in a recipe or meal?

I have got you covered with a list of the best and worst options compared, with pros and cons.

Jump to:

• 📕 What is Indian Paneer Cheese, and how is it used?
• 🧀 Why would you want to replace Paneer?
• 🟢 Homemade Paneer
• 🟩 Tofu
• 🟡 Halloumi Cheese
• 🟨 Queso Para Freir
• 🔵 Tempeh
• 🟦 Queso Panela
• 🟣 Vegan Cheese
• 🟪 Soy Chunks or Curls
• 🟤 Feta & Cow Milk Firm Cottage Cheese
• 🟫 Italian Mozzarella
• 🟠 Mexican Oaxaca Cheese
• 🟧 Mexican Queso Blanco
• 🔴 Drained Ricotta Cheese
• 🟥 Other UNSUITABLE Paneer Cheese substitutions
• 💭 Summarized FAQs
• 🍲 Indian Curries with Paneer or Tofu
• 💬 Comments

📕 What is Indian Paneer Cheese, and how is it used?

Paneer is an Indian cottage cheese. It's firm and white, a bit squeaky, and it doesn't melt.

Paneer is prepared by adding vinegar or lemon juice to whole fat milk (farmer's milk) so that the milk curdles while it's heated (but not boiled).

The curds, that separated from the whey, are then strained with a cheese cloth until no liquids are left, and the paneer pieces are then placed into something like a tofu-press to shape into a rectangle.

At last the white cheese is cut into cubes and used in Indian cuisine.

🧀 Why would you want to replace Paneer?

I know it can be difficult to get paneer cheese outside of India. We have had moments where we hunted down this precious ingredient in supermarkets in the West.

Whenever I couldn't find paneer, I would come up with a substitution.

I have also known that store-bought paneer isn't always “clean”. With that, I mean, you can easily get loose-motions with paneer, especially if you are in India.

This is due to the heat, how it has been stored, preparation method, a lack of cleanliness, milk age and general paneer age.

So, for a very long, I would opt to buy an alternative when in India, until they started to actually sell decent Paneer in Goa.

Vegan and lactose intolerant folks might also want to switch paneer with something else.

Here I'm sharing my knowledge about the best paneer substitute, as well as the ones that you should perhaps avoid. I point out the pros and cons of each and while some options might sound like a good idea, they are not. I have added that info as well.

The best substitutions are at the top and the worst, which I don't recommend, are at the end. In this list, you will find types of cheese and non-diary options.

The FAQs section addresses question to uses in various Indian dishes.

🟢 Homemade Paneer

This was our most obvious solution. Nothing beats homemade freshly prepared paneer!

We tried it and came to the following conclusion:

Pros: It tastes better than store-bought paneer, and you can't possibly get sick eating it if you prepare, refrigerate and use it the same day.

Cons: It's time-consuming to make Indian paneer cheese, and you will need whole fat milk from your farmer. Some countries or states, such as Canada and the US, don't sell whole fat milk (some places even outlaw it!). One quart/liter of whole fat milk results in only 2 cup or 250 gram homemade Paneer.

🟩 Tofu

There are different types of tofu varieties out there, but the one to look out for is the firm or even extra-firm tofu when using as a direct replacement for paneer.

Don't use silken or soft tofu as a replacement, except if a modern recipe calls for mashing the paneer. What you want typically is a firm tofu to hold the shape.

Most Tofu is prepared with soy beans, but nowadays, you get chickpea tofu as well, so you might want to look out for that too.

Pro: The texture of very firm tofu is almost the same as paneer. This is your best substitution if you are looking for the same texture experience and tofu soaks in curry flavors.

Cons: Taste-wise it doesn't compare because paneer still has a pleasant soft neutral cheese aroma, but Vegans won't need to care about this point and will regard it as a plus point.

🟡 Halloumi Cheese

Halloumi is a firm squeaky cheese from the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea.

This cheese is made with a mixture of diaries such as sheep milk, goat milk and cows milk.

Halloumi is usually used as a grilling cheese because it holds its shape well.

Pros: One of the best substitutions for paneer is halloumi. It holds its shape, it has a similar squeaky texture, it tastes milky and lightly tangy, just like paneer.

Cons: Not always everywhere available and can be expensive.

🟨 Queso Para Freir

Queso para freir is a variation of queso blanco and this one can actually be used as a substitute for paneer.

The name literally means “cheese to fry”, which is already a good indication that this cheese will hold its shape and not just melt away.

Look out for “queso blanco para freir” in stores or Mexican white cheese to fry.

Pro: High melting point, ideal substitute for paneer. The flavor is mild and neutral, just like paneer.

Cons: A bit crumbly and not always everywhere available.

🔵 Tempeh

Tempeh is another soy bean product, but this one is fermented, and it's from Indonesia.

The fermentation process binds the soy into a firm mass. It's then sold in a cake form or in slices. You just need to cut them into cubes to make them look like paneer cubes.

Pro: It holds very well as a firm substitute to paneer. Easy to cut into cubes.

Cons: Tempeh has a strong mushroom-nutty flavor. It's not everyone's cup of coffee. People who like the flavor of meat, might enjoy tempeh too in a curry because it's full of umami.

🟦 Queso Panela

Panela cheese is also known as Queso canasta, and you guessed right, it's a Mexican cheese. It's also known as a basket cheese because of its small round basket shape (hence why canasta).

This whole cow milk cheese is white, and it tastes a bit plain, a bit like Italian Ricotta. When heated, it won't melt, but it will get soft, just like Italian mozzarella cheese but it will hold better than that under high heat.

You can cut firm panela cheese into cubes and use it as a substitution, as long as you add the panela cheese at the end of your curry cooking cycle, just before serving time.

Pro: Available in stores. High heat point and doesn't melt.

Cons: It's missing the squeaky paneer texture, and panela cheese has a mild salty taste, compared to paneer.

🟣 Vegan Cheese

Vegan cheese is more commonly available in big supermarkets across the world these days. Variations exist and usually include cashews or coconut as a base ingredient.

So, while this might not be on your radar when looking for a paneer substitution, it actually can work really well as a solution.

You see, vegan cheese, doesn't melt and paneer neither. The problem with most cheese out there they melt but when preparing am Indian meal with paneer, you don't want it to melt and mix into your dish. You want firm square squeaky chunks coated with curry goodness!

Pros: Doesn't melt and tastes neutral.

Cons: Not all are that easily sliceable and not every vegan cheese is suitable. It's trial and error. Get a store-bought vegan cheese that is plainly flavored, firm and with an indication that it can be sliced. No soft squeaky texture!

🟪 Soy Chunks or Curls

Soy chunks or curls are made with soy bean too, but the preparation method for tofu is entirely unique.

They are hard dried and need to be soaked in water. That way the chunks or curls will gain in size, you just have to press out the water, and you can throw them into your dish and pretend that it's paneer.

Pro: Easy to use and a very budget-friendly ingredient. A small quantity will last you forever. It takes in the flavor of curries, which is a nice side effect.

Cons: It has a texture that resembles chicken meat and not paneer. You can't always get soy chunks or curls in stores, so you will have to get soy chunks online.

🟤 Feta & Cow Milk Firm Cottage Cheese

Feta is a fresh cottage cheese from Greece prepared with sheep and goat milk from specific regions, and it's produced in a certain way.

Any other cottage cheese that is made with cow or buffalo milk isn't feta cheese. As per PDO (Protection designation of origin), only feta cheese produced in Greece can be called feta cheese, everything else is just firm cottage cheese.

Both feta and firm cottage cheese can be used as a substitution for paneer, but it's not my favorite option because the texture is not the same and nor is the flavor.

Feta crumbles, paneer doesn't. Feta melts, paneer doesn't.

Pro: Easy to get in stores and sometimes already cut into cubes.

Cons: Not the best substitution option because feta and cottage cheese will melt or crumble in your curry.

🟫 Italian Mozzarella

Mozzarella is an Italian fresh firm curd cheese formed into a ball. The original mozzarella is a fist-sized ball prepared with buffalo milk. Most Mozzarella in stores is cow milk these days.

Small cherry-sized mozzarella balls are called Bocconcini and you could use them as a replacement for paneer because the soft cheese texture is similar, and the mild flavor can be compared to paneer.

BUT, mozzarella melts and this is where you will have to be careful when you try to use it in hot curry.

You'd have to cook your curry, wait for it to cool and add your Bocconcini or Mozzarella slices and hope that they don't melt, or you just get used to eating cold curries.

It's not a suitable option.

Pro: Easy to get and budget-friendly.

Cons: It melts, so you will have to eat cold curries. 🙂 Mozzarella is not a good paneer replacement and can only be used in cold dishes, such as in a salad, sandwich, or some modern Indian cold soups (as in mozzarella orange tomato cold soup).

🟠 Mexican Oaxaca Cheese

Mexican Oaxaca cheese resembles Italian mozzarella, so it has the same characteristics as mozzarella cheese.

Therefore, it's not suitable as a replacement for paneer. The taste, texture and melting point are almost the same.

Pro and Cons: Same as mozzarella.

🟧 Mexican Queso Blanco

Mexican queso blanco (white cheese), aka queso fresco (which means fresh cheese) is a white crumbly cheese made of cow's milk.

Its use in velvety smooth queso dips, has given it a reputation for fast and good melting cheese.

So, while it resembles feta or cottage cheese in its crumbly texture, it is on the other side of the spectrum compared to paneer cottage cheese

Therefore, I can't recommend regular queso Blanco as a paneer substitute. BUT there is a variation of this cheese, which is suitable (see title further on top, queso para freir).

Pros: non

Cons: Not suitable as it melts easily.

🔴 Drained Ricotta Cheese

Ricotta is an Italian cheese. It's basically fresh cottage cheese but the Italian way. Variations exist, but most ricotta on the international market is fresh ricotta, fermented ages variations are not that common.

Originally ricotta consisted of either cow, buffalo, sheep, or goat milk leftovers. The preparation is similar to paneer, but the result is very different.

Commonly, available ricotta isn't firm and squeaky like paneer. I don't recommend drained ricotta as a substitute for paneer.

Pro and Cons: It doesn't work as a substitute.

🟥 Other UNSUITABLE Paneer Cheese substitutions

For those of you who wonder, and who might have heard that you could substitute these cheese for paneer. I'm debunking it. 🙂

The cheese listed below are NOT SUITABLE as a replacement for paneer!

• Kefalotyri Cheese – A salty hard sheep cheese from Cyprus and Greece that resembles hard Swiss Gruyère cheese and not soft firm Indian paneer.
• Manouri Cheese – Macedonian/Greek creamy cheese that melts well.
• Brie Cheese – A French flavor-rich cheese that melts really well. The proof is my hot brie dip with fig jam.
• Camembert – French stinky cheese that melts at room temperature.
• Cream Cheese – Super soft, velvety creamy. Absolutely not suitable.

💭 Summarized FAQs

My verdict with paneer substitution use cases.

🍲 Indian Curries with Paneer or Tofu

Paneer and tofu can be used interchangeably in Indian curries.

• Paneer Korma Curry
• Mutter Paneer (Green Peas)
• Palak Paneer (Spinach)
• Tofu Tikka Masala with Cashew Tikka Curry Paste
• Paneer Butter Masala