Baked Panela Cheese That Will Knock Your Socks Off

Light and creamy Mexican panela cheese is marinated with lots of herbs and spices to created this fabulous appetizer, you’ll never want to taste another! It’s perfect for a party or to indulge with a glass of red wine.

Baked Panela Cheese with Herbs and Pepper Flakes | #mexican #appetiser #glutenfree

(recipe updated 10 October 2017)

Have you ever cooked something that just surprised you with how utterly scrumptious it was? This was the case when I prepared this cheese.

I love cheese so much, and as pleasant as it is to sit down to eat a serving French style (as in un plateau de fromages) I love eating it all sorts of ways. Baked cheese can be such a fun and delicious experience, wouldn’t you agree?

Baked Panela Cheese with Herbs and Pepper Flakes | #mexican #appetiser #glutenfree

Panela cheese is a Mexican firm, fresh cheese that is fantastic for baking, grilling, and frying. You can find it in the Latin food section of most grocery stores. If not you can look for queso blanco, queso fresco, or in a pinch even use feta — really any fresh cheese that doesn’t melt but only softens when heated. The first time I came across a recipe for baked panela cheese was in one of my favourite fiction novels “The Secret Book of Frida Kahlo by F. G. Haghenbeck. The recipe is an actual one written and cooked by Frida Khalo — isn’t that cool! It was absolutely delicious, but I started playing with the recipe and it evolved into the herby and spiced version I am sharing with you today.

Baked Panela Cheese with Herbs and Pepper Flakes| #mexican #appetiser #glutenfree


The first time I prepared this baked cheese for my husband he declared it to be “one of the very BEST foods I have ever cooked!” And still to this day he repeats the same thing. I love him! I will also have to agree on how amazingly delectable this baked cheese is. If it wasn’t such an indulgent dish I would prepare it more often, that’s okay because it’s a great treat for us when we do eat it. It’s great to enjoy alongside some wine, as an appetiser, and it would be excellent at your Christmas and New Years parties.

Baked Panela Cheese with Herbs and Pepper Flakes | #mexican #appetiser #glutenfree

Baked Panela Cheese That Will Knock Your Socks Off

Nancy Lopez & MexicanMadeMeatless.com
Light and creamy Mexican panela cheese is marinated with lots of herbs and spices to created this fabulous appetizer, you’ll never want to taste another!
5 from 10 votes
Save Recipe Pin Recipe Leave a Review
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine fusion, Mexica
Servings 4 servings
Calories

Ingredients
  

  • 200 g or 7oz panela cheese
  • 1 tbsp. minced garlic*
  • 3 tbsp. finely chopped white onion*
  • 1 tsp. red chile flakes
  • 2 tsp. dried parsley
  • 1/2 tsp. to 1 tsp. thyme
  • 1/2 tsp. to 1 tsp. Mexican oregano
  • 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
  • 1/2 tsp. ground red chile or sweet paprika
  • 2 tbsp. olive or avocado oil

Tools:

  • bowl spoon and plastic wrap
  • ovensafe baking dish I used small tapas cazuela likethese

Instructions
 

  • Drain the cheese and set aside. In a bowl combine the oil and all of the herbs and spices. Poke little holes all around the cheese to help the seasoning absorb better. Place the cheese in with the oil and spices mixture and coat the cheese, cover with plastic wrap and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least one hour or overnight if desired.
  • Preheat the oven to 190℃ or 375°F for 10 minutes. Place the cheese in the oven-safe dish and bake in the center of the oven for 20 minutes. The cheese will become soft and gooey but not melt completely. Allow to cool slightly and serve with either corn chips or country bread or any rustic bread. As the cheese cools it will firm up again, so try to keep warm when enjoying.

Video

Notes

* If you’d like you can use dry,granulated garlic and dried onion instead of fresh. The taste is still delicious and when I have both I use them.
** If you’re not huge on herbs go with the lower measurements or adjust amounts to your taste.
Tried this recipe?Leave me a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review and tag me on social media @MexicanMadeMeatless or tag #mexicanmademeatless!
Baked Panela Cheese with Herbs and Pepper Flakes | #mexican #appetiser #glutenfree

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34 Comments

  1. I’ve always thought that panela cheese gets a bad rap. Rather than bland, I like to think of it as a bland palette that I can dress up any number of ways. This recipe is a great way to use this versatile and low-fat cheese. I use it as a substitute for haloumi (a Cypriot cheese that I absolutely adore), as I can’t buy haloumi where I live. I like to grill it and add to salads! Spiced up, of course! Thanks, Nancy. Am so enjoying your about.com articles–you are doing a terrific job.

    1. I couldn’t agree with you more about panela, Victoria. Yes, it’s a great substitute for haloumi. I thought I saw haloumi at comercial mexicana once…

      Thanks so much for the great feedback. It’s been so much fun writing those articles too. Cuidate mucho!

  2. Hello

    I can’t open any links or even when i am in the recipie section in the archives ,I am unable to access the baked panela cheese recipie . Please could you email the recipie to me

      1. Hi,
        I am trying to find the baked panela recipe. Every where I go I will not come up. Could you please tell me how to access it.

  3. HI, I can’t find the baked Panela recipie, the link may be broken. Can you share it with me please. It looks delicious.

    1. Hi Louisa,

      Please check the email you used for this comment, I’ve sent you the recipe. It will coming from my email address spiciefoodie @ gmail, Thank you!

      ~Nancy

  4. The Baked Panela Cheese looks delicious. Could you please send me a direct link to the recipe? I am unable to locate it by clicking on the link above.

  5. You mentioned using a “small” cazuela dish for this. What would be the exact diameter? I see that there are 4.5 inch and 6.5 inch available. Thank you!

    1. Hi Joy!

      The exact cazuela size really depends on the diameter of the panela cheese that you can get locally. My small cazuela is nearly 5 inches. So my advice would be to measure the cheese first then purchase your cazuela. Thanks!

  6. 5 stars
    I am a small time hobby blogger and decided to write a blog on the variety of Mexican Cheese after a friend explain the varieties which to use for what. I made your recipe a couple of times and LOVE LOVE LOVE It… I hope you don’t mind I linked you to my blog so my friends could try it…I am new to this so not sure why it isn’t accepting my actual blogs main page…

    Thanks…
    Catalina the Depressed Divorcee Starting Over After 50

  7. 5 stars
    This was disappointing. The cheese never softened, no matter how long I baked it. In the video, I see some melty stringiness, that I couldn’t reproduce.

    1. Hi Clint,
      The recipe does state that this type of cheese is not a melting one. Different brands of panela cheese will give different levels of “stringiness”, mine may have had more liquid and fat than the brand you used. I’ve bought brands that were even more stringy than the one in the videos and others that hardly changed in consistency. Thank you!

  8. yall think I can use my small crockpot on low setting so its ready for after our Sunday service morning luncheon?

    1. Hi Ms Mercedes! I’ve never used a crockpot so I wouldn’t be able to tell you how well it would work. But you never know until you try it. Good luck and enjoy!

  9. Thank you so much it is absolutely delicious!
    This mixture of spices is flavorful without being overwhelming. Second time I sliced the marinated cheese and layered it on top of a casserole. Fantastic!

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