Everything You Need to Know About Minnesota's Cheese Scene
Everything You Need to Know About Minnesota's Cheese Scene
By Stacy Brooks
Much like our next-door neighbor Wisconsin, Minnesota is home to a thriving cheese scene full of factory-scale producers and farm-based creameries. There’s a Minnesota cheese for every palate, too, including squeaky fresh curds, crowd-pleasing cheddars, and funky blues.
Miller's Flavored Cheese Curds at the Minnesota State Fair / Credit: Andrew Parks
Visitors can also find Minnesota-made cheeses at farmers markets, grocery stores, and specialty shops throughout the state, along with local charcuterie, jams, and other accompaniments for building the perfect board.
Deep-fried cheese curds are a Minnesota State Fair staple and available at bars and restaurants year-round, but that’s only the start of the cheese dishes on offer. Minnesota’s chefs have a way with dairy; expect gourmet grilled cheeses, creative takes on mac and cheese, and inspired pairings with local wine and beer.
From touring a working dairy farm to digging into an epic cheese board, here’s a guide to the greats within Minnesota’s cheese scene.
CREAMERIES
The cheese cave at CannonBelles
CannonBelles
Cannon Falls
Founded by home cheesemakers who transformed their hobby into a business, CannonBelles is known for award-winning, uniquely flavored cheeses. Many cheeses incorporate herbs, peppers, and other bold ingredients, like Bacon Colby and the Southwest-inspired Painted Desert Cheddar. Heat lovers should brave the Grim Reaper Cheddar, and there are also milder options including a Spanish-style queso fresco and Colby.
The creamery isn’t open to the public, but CannonBelles operates a coffee and ice cream shop in downtown Cannon Falls that serves grilled cheese sandwiches and sells their full line of cheeses.
Credit: Caves of Faribault
Caves of Faribault
Faribault
Felix Fredericksen began aging blue cheese in Faribault’s man-made sandstone caves back in 1936, making him an edible mold pioneer. Caves of Faribault carries on Fredericksen’s legacy, producing AmaBlue, AmaGorg, and St. Pete’s Select blue cheeses that are aged in the original sandstone caves for at least 75 days. There’s also a seasonal line of blue cheeses flavored with Minnesota-made beer from Summit Brewery.
Although the caves aren’t open to the public, Caves of Faribault cheeses are available at grocery and specialty stores nationwide, as well as at the annual Taste of Faribault event (typically held in September).
Credit: Redhead Creamery
Redhead Creamery
Brooten
Alise Sjostrom wanted to join her parents in the dairy business, so she founded Redhead Creamery on the family farm. The creamery makes a dozen different cheeses, including award-winning Lucky Linda Clothbound Cheddar, Little Lucy Brie, and North Fork Whiskey Washed Munster.
Take one of the creamery’s dairy farm tours to see the whole process from crop to curd and sample the finished product, or stop by the tasting room and cheese shop for a panini or a cheese and spirits tasting flight. (In addition to making cheese, Redhead Creamery distills whey left over from cheesemaking into alcohol and offers distillery tours.)
Save the date for its annual CurdFest (typically held in June), which features local food, live music, and plenty of cheese curds.
Various cheeses from Sherpherd's Way Farms
Shepherd’s Way Farms
Nerstrand
Shepherd’s Way Farms has garnered national acclaim for hand-crafted cheeses made with milk from a flock of 225 sheep. Options include the mild, fresh Shepherd’s Hope and Burr Oak, an extra-aged cheese with a rich brown butter flavor.
Award-winning cheesemaker Jodi Ohlsen Read occasionally offers artisan cheesemaking classes with a behind-the-scenes peek at the cheesemaking facilities. Find Shepherd’s Way cheese year-round at Minnesota co-ops, grocery stores, specialty shops, and the Mill City and St. Paul Farmers Markets.
CHEESE SHOPS
Bongards Cheese / Credit: Bongards Cheese
Bongards Retail Store
Bongards
Family farmer-owned Bongards Cooperative has been producing cheese for decades, and customers buy it straight from the source in the co-op’s hometown. The store is stocked with the full line of Bongards dairy products, including blocks of pepperjack, provolone slices, shredded mozzarella, over a dozen flavors of cheese curds, and snackable marble cheese sticks. It also offers hot made-to-order cheese sandwiches.
Don’t miss a photo opp with Bonnie, the co-op’s 20-foot-tall cow mascot. Another Bongards shop can also be found in downtown Perham, which recently went through a bit of a makeover.
Burnett Dairy's cheese store in Duluth
Burnett Dairy Cheese Store
Duluth
Burnett Dairy’s Duluth location is stocked with an extensive selection of the Wisconsin-based creamery’s products, including truffle gouda, cheddar, cheese spreads, and string cheese. The on-site cafe serves cheese-loaded artisan pizzas and plain, garlic, dill, and deep-fried sriracha cheese curds.
France 44 Cheese Shop
France 44 Cheese Shop
Minneapolis
France 44 is a cut-to-order cheese shop with a superb selection of local and imported cheese, plus pairings like charcuterie, crackers, and preserves. Be sure to swing by the deli for a grilled cheese sandwich served with a shot of tomato soup or an individually sized cheese board.
The shop is also a destination for cheese education, with regularly scheduled mozzarella making classes and wine and cheese tastings.
Credit: Surdyk's Cheese Shop
Surdyk’s Cheese Shop
Minneapolis
With over 150 different cheeses to choose from, Surdyk’s is a must for cheese lovers. Selections include cheeses from Minnesota, and various parts of the U.S. and world. Peruse the selection of freshly baked breads, artisan crackers, jams, chocolate, olives, and charcuterie to build the perfect cheese board. The shop’s deli menu features cheesy breakfast sandwiches and paninis.
FROMAGE-FRIENDLY MENUS
Credit: 7 Vines Vineyard
7 Vines Vineyard
Dellwood
Wine and cheese are a natural pairing, and 7 Vines Vineyard’s wine bar features plenty of cheesy dishes. Each menu item has a recommended pairing with one of the vineyard’s wines, which are made from Minnesota-grown cold-hardy grapes.
Try fresh burrata cheese with the True North Blanc or a cheesy mushroom flatbread with State of Hockey Red. There are also picture-perfect cheese and charcuterie boards.
Apple brie grilled cheese at All Square
All Square
Minneapolis
Whether it’s mozzarella with jerk chicken, brie with apple, or chicken and bacon with pepper jack, the menu at All Square revolves around grilled cheese sandwiches. Go with a classic four cheese and a cup of tomato soup or try a jalapeno-spiked grilled cheese with a pile of cheesy loaded fries.
Even better than the cheese-heavy cuisine is the restaurant’s mission; All Square is a non-profit that gives formerly incarcerated folks employment opportunities and the resources they need to succeed.
Credit: Forager Brewery
Forager Brewery
Rochester
Forager Brewery’s taproom serves an array of cheese-focused options that pair perfectly with the brewery’s craft beers, which are brewed with locally foraged ingredients and wild hop varieties. Start with the handmade, house-pulled mozzarella. Next, try the Forager Burger, loaded with blue cheese and bacon, or the cast iron mac and cheese topped with panko and flavored with kimchi for an extra umami kick.
The menu also features over a dozen specialty pizzas; the Big Cheese features smoked gouda, fresh mozzarella, and Parmesan.
Find more food & drink picks in Minnesota.
Stacy Brooks is a lifelong Minnesotan and Minneapolis-based freelance journalist who covers the Twin Cities dining scene for local and national publications. She loves walking around Lake Harriet, running through the woods, and hanging out at coffee shops with her knitting and a good book.