This garlic cheese spread recipe is one of the easy appetizers perfect for family celebrations or potluck dishes. Ready in a breeze, can be made ahead, and tastes fantastic!
The base of this spread consists of finely grated cheese and freshly pressed garlic. Combine the cheese and garlic with mayonnaise, lightened with sour cream. Add one clove of garlic for a mild flavor or two-three for a more pronounced sharpness.
The recipe comes from the Czech Republic, where it counts among the popular cheese spreads that should not be missed at any feast. Czechs call this garlic cheese spread “česneková pomazánka”.
MY TIP: Try out this light and fluffy ham spread (it tastes fantastic!)
➜ Ingredients
For Czech-style garlic cheese spread, you will need:
- Semi-hard cheese; my tip is Edam / Edamer with a fat content of around 30%, which does not have an extreme taste and is not so fatty. If you are based in the USA, the appropriate type of cheese for this spread is Monterey Jack, Swiss or Italian Provolone cheese. Cheddar cheese is also a good sub. If you buy the cheese whole, you have to grate it on a handheld box grater. Another option is to get the cheese already shredded in the grocery store.
- Garlic cloves; crushed or finely pressed with a garlic press. Finely crushed cloves will give the spread the right garlic flavor. Do not use garlic powder, but use fresh garlic.
- Mayonnaise; plain. I have good experience with Hellmann's mayo.
- Sour cream; or full-fat Greek yogurt
- Salt; the amount depends on how salty the cheese or mayonnaise is
- Black pepper; freshly ground
- Fresh herbs; optional to garnish the spread. Green leaves of parsley or chives are suitable.
✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.
➜ Instructions
- Finely shred the cheese on a hand grater.
- Peel and crush the garlic cloves.
- Put the cheese, garlic, mayonnaise, and sour cream in a bowl—season with pepper and salt.
- Stir until combined. Let the garlic cheese spread rest for about 15 minutes at room temperature before serving.
➜ Best ways to serve garlic cheese spread
Garlic spread pairs excellent with a white bread roll (Czech rohlík). Slice the roll and top each piece with the spread. Sprinkle the spread surface with chopped greens, such as fresh chives or parsley, for a better look.
Arrange appetizers on a platter and serve. Each guest takes individual pieces of the snack on their plate. Insert a party stick into each bread roll for easier handling.
MY TIP: The spread goes wonderfully with a french baguette or other types of white bread. Add it to your sandwich as a welcome change from the ordinary. Or stir in two tablespoons of milk, put it in a small bowl, and enjoy it as a garlic cheese dip for breadsticks or crackers.
➜ Storage
Place the garlic cheese spread in an airtight container or a bowl covered with plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator, where the spread will keep for about 3-5 days.
➜ Useful Tips
- I use a simple hand grater to shred the cheese. If you want to make your job easier, buy cheese in the store that is already grated.
- I added less than ¼ teaspoon of salt. It may seem nothing, but the cheese itself is quite salty. It's better to add the salt later than to oversalt the spread initially.
- The traditional Czech recipe for garlic cheese spread uses only mayonnaise. However, I highly recommend lightening the mayonnaise with sour cream or full-fat Greek yogurt. This step will save calories and make the spread healthier.
More tasty recipes:
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Garlic Cheese Spread Recipe – Czech Česneková pomazánka
Ingredients
- 6 oz semi-hard cheese (170 g) e. g., Edam, Edamer, Monterey Jack, Swiss
- 5 Tablespoons mayonnaise plain, e. g., Hellman’s
- 2 Tablespoons sour cream fat content about 15 %
- 3 cloves garlic fresh
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 pinch of black pepper ground
Instructions
- Finely shred the cheese on a hand grater. Peel and crush the garlic.
- Put the cheese, garlic, mayonnaise, and sour cream in a bowl—season with pepper and salt.
- Stir until combined.
- Let the garlic cheese spread rest for about 15 minutes at room temperature before serving.
Notes
- Makes about 1 cup.
- SERVING: Garlic spread pairs excellent with a white bread roll (Czech rohlík). Slice the roll and top each piece with the spread. Sprinkle the spread with chopped greens, such as parsley or chives, for a better look. Arrange on a platter and serve.
- STORAGE: Place the garlic-cheese spread in an airtight container or a bowl covered with plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator, where the spread will keep for about 3-5 days.
- I added less than ¼ teaspoon of salt. It may seem nothing, but the cheese itself is quite salty. It's better to add the salt later than to oversalt the spread initially.
DISCLAIMER: Because I come from Central Europe, my recipes are based on metric units such as grams or milliliters. Check out how I convert metric units to the U.S. system:
Conversion chart
Irena Cafasso
I absolutely loved this recipe! I was born in Prague and have lived in the U.S. for almost 30 years. This is my first time making it.. always thought I needed to make it with tvaroch. The combination of sour cream and cream cheese (I used whipped cream cheese) was so delicious! By the way, I am looking for Budapestska pomazanka recipe. I only found recipes with tvaroch. How do you substitute it since we can’t find it here? Maybe farme’s cheese?
Thank you so much!
Petra
Ahoj Irena, thank you for your lovely comment! 🙂 I’m happy you liked the garlic spread. About tvaroh: you are right, Budapešťská pomazánka calls for tvaroh, there is a relatively simple method how to make tvaroh at home with milk and lemon juice. I’m going to post tvaroh recipe here, too. And I want to point out another Czech pomazánka made from tvaroh, called rozhuda! (tvaroh + butter + salt + milk or cream, mixed and spread on fresh bread, sprinkled with chopped chives - soo delicious 🙂 Greetings from the Czech Republic, Petra
William Milan Uhlarik
Veľmi pekne ďakujeme za zdieľanie tohto chutného receptu na cesnakovo syrovú nátierku.
Petra Kupská
Já moc děkuji za krásnou zpětnou vazbu a přeji krásné Velikonoce! Petra