As Christmas rolls in, so does the time to break out the best holiday-ready dishes in your arsenal—the kind that will draw a crowd and have your family swooning long after the last bite. Which sounds like a job for everyone’s favorite ingredient: cheese!
There’s no better time of the year to let Arla’s naturally tasty cheeses take center stage. Here’s why they’re the perfect choice this Christmas:
Once you taste Arla yourself, you’ll be surprised by how much fresher, creamier, and more natural it tastes. And with a wide range of cheeses to choose from, from classic cheddar and mozzarella to mild-flavored havarti, you won’t be lacking in options.
Whether you’re planning a cheese board or a melty, gooey, baked dish, don’t stress—Arla has your perfect cheesy Christmas dish covered. Here are five recipes to add to your lineup:
Make your Christmas extra special with these five cheesy and holiday-ready recipes—all made better with Arla's naturally tasty cheeses.
Inspired by Nono’s famous wontons, this version takes it up a notch for Christmas with a medley of Arla cheeses. You’ll find cream cheese forming the base, mozzarella for stretch, cheddar for flavor, and havarti for added creaminess. Arla never skimps on quality—their cheeses are made with real, natural ingredients only. A truffle honey drizzle brings the wontons together with an elegant, earthy sweetness.
Fair warning: Once these wontons hit your holiday spread, they’re sure to vanish first—and fast. Keep an extra batch on standby in the fridge. They crisp up wonderfully in an air fryer, too! Makes 2–4 servings.
Make cheese filling: Add cream cheese, mozzarella, cheddar, and havarti into a mixing bowl. Using a rubber spatula, stir to combine until homogenous.
Assemble wontons: Separate wonton wrappers from each other and stack them loosely. Prepare a small dish with water.
Spoon about 1 ½ tsp of cheese filling into the center of the wonton wrapper. Resist the urge to overfill!
Dip your finger into the water, then use it to moisten the edges of the wrapper. Lift the four points of the wrapper towards the center. Pinch the seams shut with your fingers, squeezing out any air (this prevents the wontons from bursting, see Notes) while securing the cheese filling inside, until you get a diamond-shaped pouch. Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.
Fry wontons: Heat oil in a wok or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Once the oil registers 375°F, add wontons to a spider strainer and lower them into the oil. Fry wontons, moving the spider strainer up and down in the oil, until golden brown and crispy all over, about 3–4 minutes. Transfer fried wontons to a wire rack or paper towel-lined plate.
Make truffle honey: Add honey and truffle oil to a small mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
Serve: Arrange wontons on a large serving platter. Drizzle truffle honey on top and shower with crushed walnuts. Serve hot.
Try this Christmas dinner party game: Make your family guess what the four cheeses are in this lasagna.
Here's a hint—we skip the usual parmesan and ricotta for something more special. There’s gooey Mozzarella, for sure, but also buttery Emmental, some creamy Gouda, and—surprise!—Arla Cheesy Spread. These all-natural cheeses melt into a decadent cheese sauce that blankets each layer of pasta, oozing out with every slice. A hearty, all-beef meat sauce marries it all together, completing this dream lasagna. Mom would be proud! Makes one 9x13" lasagna.
Preheat oven: Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with olive oil.
Cook lasagna noodles: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add lasagna sheets and cook to package instructions or until al dente. Drain noodles and transfer to an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Drain noodles again and toss with olive oil to prevent sticking. Set aside.
Cook ground beef: Heat olive oil in a heavy-bottomed sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add ground beef and season lightly with salt. Cook, stirring to break up the meat into smaller pieces, until well browned and no longer pink, 10–15 minutes. Remove beef from pan and set aside.
Make meat sauce: Add onions and garlic to the same pan and cook until soft and onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add carrots and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook until darkened, 8–10 minutes. Stir in cooked ground beef, canned tomatoes, and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a lively simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring often, until tomatoes have broken up and sauce has thickened, about 20 minutes. Stir in basil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.
Make cheese sauce: In a separate saucepan, melt Arla Unsalted Butter over medium heat. Once butter starts to foam, add flour and cook, stirring constantly, until raw flour smell has cooked off and mixture tastes nutty, about 10–15 minutes. Still stirring, gradually pour Arla Full Cream Milk in a steady stream. Continue cooking and stirring until the sauce comes to a slow boil. Add Arla Emmental, Gouda, Cheesy Spread, and Mozzarella. Stir to melt cheeses into the sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.
Assemble lasagna: Spread about ¼ cup meat sauce across the bottom of the baking dish. Use a rubber spatula (or your hands!) to coat evenly. Spread ¼ cup cheese sauce on top of the meat sauce layer. Add enough lasagna noodles to cover the entire bottom of the baking dish, overlapping if necessary. Spread about ⅓ cup meat sauce over the noodles, followed by ⅓ cup cheese sauce. Cover with lasagna sheets. Continue layering meat sauce, cheese sauce, and lasagna sheets until baking dish is filled to the top, ending with a layer of pasta.
Cover one half of the baking dish with meat sauce. Cover the second half with cheese sauce, forming a straight line separating the two sauces.
Sprinkle Arla Mozzarella Shreds over the cheese layer. Alternatively, use Arla Mozzarella Cheese Slices for a neat carpet of cheese over the sauce.
Bake: Bake lasagna in preheated oven until mozzarella topping has melted and browned slightly, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving.
Dress up your Salisbury steaks for the holidays by stuffing the centers with melty mozzarella cheese, and finishing them with a cream cheese-spiked gravy. It’s rich, decadent, and joyfully over the top—a Christmas-worthy centerpiece that’s sure to make your family feel extra special.
Arla’s quality cheeses make this dish a little celebration of its own. Their all-natural Mozzarella conveniently packed in shreds, forms the cheesy centers of these Salisbury steaks. You’re sure to get that gooey, stretchy reveal when you slice into them—just make sure to serve them fresh and hot!
And the gravy’s little secret? Arla’s Herbs & Spices Cream Cheese. A little goes a long way into giving any sauce a creamy, tangy boost. Makes 3–4 servings.
Make steak mix: Add ground beef, grated white onion, panko breadcrumbs, egg, and Dijon mustard to a large mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. With clean hands, mix everything together until homogenous.
Form patties: Divide meat mixture into ½ cup portions. Gently roll each portion into balls, and flatten them by slapping each portion between your hands until ¼-inch thick. Fill the center of each patty with at least 2 tbsp of Arla Mozzarella Shreds. Seal the patty tightly by bringing the edges over the cheese, making sure to keep the mozzarella in the center as you do this. Roll and reform each portion into a 1-inch thick, cheese-filled patty.
Sear steaks: Heat neutral oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add burger patties to the pan and sear until golden brown, about 2–3 minutes per side. Transfer steaks to a plate and set aside.
Cook mushrooms: In the same skillet, add sliced mushrooms and season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally until well browned, about 8–10 minutes. Add more oil if the pan looks dry. Transfer mushrooms to a plate and set aside.
Make gravy: Add butter to the same skillet. Once butter is melted, add onions and garlic. Cook until fragrant and onions are translucent. Add flour and stir until you no longer see streaks of white, cooking until the raw flour taste cooks out, about 3 minutes. Add beef stock and cook, stirring to dissolve the flour mixture, and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Add Arla Cream Cheese Herbs & Spices, soy sauce, Dijon mustard, and black pepper. Stir to combine and season to taste as needed.
Finish steaks: Add Salisbury steaks to the sauce. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover pan, and simmer steaks in the gravy until cooked through, about 6 minutes.
Serve: Transfer Salisbury steaks to a serving platter or individual plates with steamed rice and/or mashed potatoes. Pour gravy on top of the steaks and top with browned mushrooms. Serve immediately while hot and cheese center is gooey.
Nothing says Merry Christmas like chocolate crinkles, from their fudgy, brownie-like texture to the snow-covered crackled exteriors made with powdered sugar. And with a few drops of red food coloring, they turn into extra-festive red velvet crinkles.
But you know what makes these cookies so special? That thick layer of cheese frosting in between, the perfect counterpoint to the crackly chocolate cookie. Using Arla makes all the difference—their naturally made cream cheese ensures a luscious, tangy filling that spreads smoothly. You’re sure to come back for a second piece, so aim for bite-sized cookies for the perfect snack-sized treat. Makes about 24 sandwich cookies.
When moisture forms on your cookies, it can dissolve the powdered sugar and ruin that classic crinkle look. There are two ways to prevent this. First, make sure you get a thick, generous powdered sugar coat around your cookies before baking.
The second way: Start your cookie dough with a coat of granulated white sugar.
As your cookies bake, white sugar helps draw out and absorb excess moisture from the surface. This keeps the powdered sugar—and the cracked crinkle design—bright and intact. You’ll also get a gentle crunch out of your crinkles!
Use room temperature cream cheese and butter. This is important, especially if you’re making frosting by hand! Make sure to bring your Arla Cream Cheese and Unsalted Butter to room temperature before using—you want them soft and pliable. This makes the two ingredients easier to mix to a smooth, lump-free consistency. If any of the two are cold, you risk forming lumps that are hard to smooth out of the frosting.
Sift powdered sugar. Watch out for clumps in your powdered sugar, which can also cause lumpy frosting. (The older your powdered sugar, the more likely it is to clump together.) Give it a sift before use.
Bring out the electric mixer (if you have one). You can definitely make cream cheese frosting by hand—just expect it to double as a workout, too. An electric hand or stand mixer will get your frosting smooth and fluffy in a quick 3–5 minutes.
Prepare for baking: Preheat oven to 350°F with the rack at the middle. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
Make dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder.
In a separate mixing bowl, add Arla unsalted butter, light brown sugar, white sugar, and salt. Cream ingredients together until pale and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple of times with a rubber spatula, about 3–5 minutes. Add one egg and beat until combined, then add the second egg and beat again until mixture is pale and thick. Stir in vanilla extract and red food coloring.
Add half of the flour mixture. Mix slowly, then add the remaining flour mixture. Mix until the dough comes together, just until no dry streaks of flour remain.
Coat in sugar: Add white sugar to a small bowl. Sift powdered sugar into a separate small bowl.
For each cookie, spoon out a tablespoon of dough and drop it into the white sugar. (The dough will be too sticky to roll in your hands. If it's too messy to handle, you can refrigerate the dough until firm enough to roll.) Dredge ball in white sugar while rolling it into a ball until coated evenly.
Transfer sugar-coated ball into the powdered sugar. Swirl to coat generously. Arrange dough balls 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake: Bake cookies for 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through. The cookies will have puffed up and formed cracks on the surface, with set edges and a soft, underbaked center. Let cookies cool on the sheet for about 3 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Beat cream cheese and butter: Add Arla Cream Cheese, unsalted butter, and salt to a mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer on medium-low speed, beat ingredients together until smooth and no lumps remain. You can do this step by hand with a whisk and some elbow grease.
Add powdered sugar: Add half of the powdered sugar into the bowl. Mix on low speed until incorporated, then add the remaining powdered sugar. Once powdered sugar is fully mixed in, increase speed to medium and beat frosting until light and fluffy. Scrape down sides of the bowl, add vanilla extract, and beat until well combined.
Taste frosting and season with salt if it tastes too sweet, or add more powdered sugar if it lacks sweetness and thickness. You should end up with about 2 cups of frosting.
Assemble: Spread cream cheese frosting onto the bottom of a cookie. Set a second cookie on top, bottom side down, to form a sandwich. Gently press down on the top cookie so the cream cheese frosting comes just to the edges. Repeat with remaining cookies and cream cheese frosting. Store airtight at room temperature for 1 week.
Three words: cheesecake leche flan. By adding Arla Cream Cheese into the custard, your leche flan transforms into its creamier and more decadent self. You get that classic glossy caramel top, now paired with a tangy cheesecake richness that makes each slice feel a little extra special. How’s that for a Christmas dessert?
Made with only four natural ingredients and zero preservatives, Arla Natural Cream Cheese brings unmistakably fresh and tasty flavor to this leche flan upgrade. Makes one 9-inch flan.
Make custard: Add cream cheese to a large mixing bowl. Using a whisk or hand mixer, whip cream cheese on low speed until smooth. Add egg yolks one at a time, whisking after each addition until well combined. Add evaporated milk, condensed milk, calamansi juice, and vanilla extract. Stir to combine.
Alternatively, combine cream cheese, egg yolks, evaporated milk, and condensed milk in a blender and process until smooth.
Set a fine-mesh strainer over a mixing bowl. Strain custard to remove any air bubbles and ensure a smooth consistency.
Make caramel: Add sugar to a 9-inch round aluminum cake pan or llanera. Using tongs, hold cake pan over an open flame to melt the sugar. Rotate pan once sugar caramelizes into a thick liquid, coating the bottom evenly.
Assemble flan: Pour custard over the caramel. (For an extra-silky finish, you can set a fine-mesh strainer over the pan to strain the custard.) Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil.
Steam flan: Fill a wide pot with enough water to create steam, but not so much that it touches the bottom of the steamer rack. Bring water to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low to maintain a simmer.
Set flan on the steamer rack and set it over the pot. Cover and steam for 45 minutes to 1 hour. At the 45-minute mark, check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the flan—it should come out clean. When you tap the pan, the custard should be mostly set with a slight wobble in the middle. If it’s just close to done, continue steaming and checking every 5–10 minutes. Overcooking can lead to a rubbery texture.
Chill flan: Remove flan from steamer. Uncover pan and run a knife along the edges to loosen the flan. Let cool to room temperature before refrigerating it for 4 hours up to overnight.
Serve flan: Set a large rimmed plate over the pan. Hold the plate and pan together, then quickly flip both over. Give the pan a gentle shake to help release the flan. Slice into individual portions and serve.
