We Found the Best Blue Cheese at the Grocery Store (2024)

What’s the absolute best blue cheese? Well, for me that would be stilton. It’s rich and savory and creamy with just the right amount of tang. For you, though, it might be gorgonzola with its ultra sharp, almost sour flavor paired with a creamy texture. Someone else reading this might be screaming about cambozola, a crazy-creamy blend of gorgonzola and camembert. But we’re not here to debate the best blue cheese overall, we’re here to recommend the best blue cheese brand you can buy from the grocery store—you know, when your local cheesemonger is on vacation in a cave somewhere and you simply cannot wait to get your moldy fix.

For this taste test, I scoured cheese aisles of local grocery stores for nearly 20 different kinds of blue cheese. We tasted wedges of gorgonzola and roquefort, we tasted many tubs of blue cheese crumbles, and of course we couldn’t leave out Trader Joe’s blue cheese selection. We judged these cheeses on texture, tang (blue cheese should always be at least a little tangy), funkiness, and uniqueness. Many of the blue cheeses we tried were fine—but eight were memorable.

Here’s the best blue cheese (or the best bleu cheese, if you’re fancy) that you can find at the supermarket.

Best in a Waldorf Salad

Castello Danablu Blue Cheese

Walmart

This Danish blue cheese is a rich, creamy, extremely earthy blue. It’s not quite as zingy as other blue cheeses like gorgonzola. It leans more savory and creamy. To me, it’s the best blue cheese to throw into a salad that includes fruits—like a Waldorf salad. Its mellow flavor (for a blue cheese) would be perfect with the sweetness of grapes, the crunch of celery, and the nuttiness of walnuts. My only critique about this cheese is the one we tasted was a little wet, which is a bit off putting. But if you can get over that and you want a subtler blue, you’ll love this cheese.

Credit: Merc / Walmart

Rating:

7/10

Sporks

Best Stilton

Trader Joe’s Blue Stilton

If you think blue cheese tastes like feet—and you like that—if you like that stanky, found-in-a-bog blue cheese flavor, then you will love this Trader Joe’s blue cheese. It’s earthy and funky and savory. This is a great end-of-meal blue cheese, the best blue cheese to pair with a glass of port and a dressing gown in front of a roaring fire. Or you could enjoy it with some crackers in front of the TV. Your call. It may not be the best stilton cheese you can buy in general, but it’s damn good for a cheap chunk of stilton.

Credit: Liv Averett

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

See Also

15 Cheese and Jam Pairings for Your Next Party Cheese BoardIs Blue Cheese Moldy, and Can You Eat Moldy Blue Cheese?3 Ways to Tell when Blue Cheese Is Bad - wikiHowBlue Cheese Nutrition Facts and Health Benefits

Best Roquefort

Roquefort Societe

Instacart

Here’s the thing: Technically, this is the same brand of roquefort you can buy at Trader Joe’s, but it tasted way better sold in its own packaging. It’s very strong and salty and pungent. You get a lot of tang and fruity, cheesy flavor. This is a blue cheese for true blue cheese lovers. Melt a hunk onto a steak, just out of the pan, or mix it with some milder cheeses for a supremely delicious cheese ball.

Credit: Merc / Instacart

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Gorgonzola

Litehouse Gorgonzola Cheese Center Cut

Vons

This was the best gorgonzola we tried. It’s tangy and super creamy—great for spreading on a cracker. It definitely has that deep gorgonzola flavor, but it’s balanced by the creaminess. This gorgonzola is specifically “center cut.” What does that mean? According to Litehouse, it means you’re getting the richest, most flavorful cut of cheese. I can’t verify that’s true, but I can tell you this is some of the best blue cheese at the grocery store.

Credit: Merc / Vons

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Trader Joe’s Blue

Trader Joe’s Cave Aged Blue Cheese

This raw cow’s milk blue cheese is the best Trader Joe’s blue cheese. What gives it the edge? It’s creamy with a touch of tang, like some other blue cheeses, but the nutty finish really makes it something wonderful. I got a huge wedge for just $4, too. That’s cheap for cheese. You can plonk this onto a cheese board and no one will know you didn’t visit a cheesemonger.

Credit: Merc

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Runner-Up Best Crumbles

Boar’s Head Creamy Blue Cheese Crumbles

Ralphs

There are a lot of blue cheese crumbles out there, but only two stood out above the rest. Boar’s Head makes the best blue cheese crumbles for people who prize creaminess above all else. It says it right there on the label—these are creamy blue cheese crumbles. And they really are. They’re “super-duper creamy,” as I wrote in my very professional notes, with a good, sharp tang on the end. I’d love this crumbled blue cheese in a salad with some rotisserie chicken, cherry tomatoes, and bacon bits. One note: The crumbles are all fairly small, if that sways you one way or the other.

Credit: Merc / Ralphs

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

See Also

Blue Cheese: Health Benefits And Risks - HealthifyMe

Best Crumbles

Kingston Creamery Breezy Blue Mixed Milk Blue Cheese Crumbles

Instacart

If you’re more about tang than creaminess, let me introduce you to these blue cheese crumbles. These crumbles are powerfully flavorful and each tub contains a variety of sizes—big and small. Because of the strong flavor, this is the best crumbled blue cheese for homemade blue cheese dressing. They’ll stand out even when diluted by mayo and sour cream and all the other things that go into DIY blue cheese dressing. Made with a mix of cow and goat milk, they’re complex and a real grocery store find.

Credit: Merc / Instacart

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

Point Reyes Original Blue

Instacart

Boy, do I love this cheese. Yes, it’s a bit of a splurge (a six-ounce wedge was $11 at a store near me), but it’s the best blue cheese (and definitely the best bleu cheese) you can get without going to a specialty cheese store. While some blue cheeses are in your face with their moldy tang, this one is nuanced. It walks the line between sweet and savory and smoky. And it finishes so creamy, filling your mouth with umami-rich blue cheese flavor. It is difficult to keep from eating the whole wedge. But who says you can’t just eat a whole wedge of blue cheese for dinner? You’re a grown-up or a very precocious preteen if you’re reading this. Go for it.

Credit: Merc / Instacart

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Other blue cheeses we tasted: Trader Joe’s Crumbled Blue Cheese, Primo Taglio Blue Cheese Crumbles, Mauro Gianni Blue Cheese Crumbled, Kingston Blue Cheese Crumbles, Roth Buttermilk Blue Cheese Crumbles, Litehouse Blue Cheese Center Cut, BelGioioso Crumbly Gorgonzola, Trader Joe’s Cambozola, Treasure Cave Cheese, Trader Joe’s French Roquefort Cheese