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It's easy to get answers about health and nutrition! Just send your question by email to [email protected] and Dr. Harlan will respond to selected questions of general interest. Answers will be posted in the Ask Dr. Gourmet newsletter (sign up now!) and archived in the Ask Dr. Gourmet section of the website.

Please note that the Ask Dr. Gourmet feature is restricted to questions regarding food and nutrition. Due to the many questions we receive, not all questions may be answered. For more specific questions about your individual health, please contact your doctor. About Timothy S. Harlan, MD, FACP, CCMS | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy


 

Ask Dr. Gourmet

What can I use in place of gorgonzola cheese?

What can I substitute for gorgonzola cheese in a pasta salad?

Dr. Gourmet Says...

a pasta salad with rotini pasta, black olives, tomatoes, and blue cheese

Gorgonzola is a blue cheese, so it has a strong flavor that some folks don't like very much.

There are a lot of great alternatives and those will depend on your preference. A simple goat cheese would be a good choice, as it's not too strong but will offer the same sort of creaminess of the gorgonzola.

If you want a very mild cheese, choose fresh mozzarella and cut it into a small dice.

The other great alternative would be feta cheese. While feta is too strong for some folks, and it is higher in sodium, a little bit goes a very long way.

I like to use creamy cheeses like blue cheese, mozzarella, goat cheese, and feta in salads because they add so much flavor and can help reduce the amount of dressing you need (helping reduce the overall number of calories in the salad).

Thanks for writing,

Timothy S. Harlan, MD, FACP, CCMS
Dr. Gourmet