Food and Recipes Dairy Cheese 5-Ingredient Marinated Cheese That's Good On Anything 5.0 (2) 2 Reviews Easy marinated cheese begins with mozzarella and ends with an empty bowl, after every piece is snapped up by your party guests. By Mary Claire Britton Mary Claire Britton Mary Claire Britton is a classically trained chef with 25 years of industry experience. She got her start in fine dining in Manhattan and worked her way down the East coast, running bakeries and cooking on hot lines until she landed in Birmingham, Alabama, where she met and married her best friend, who also happens to be an incredibly talented chef. Together they had a whole mess of kids and opened up two restaurants. Now, Mary Claire lives on a farm in Vermont, from which she develops recipes, tends to her garden, brings baked goods and handmade items to the farmers' market, and soaks up every moment with her husband and kids. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Published on November 7, 2024 Save Rate PRINT Share Close Photo: Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Active Time: 10 mins Total Time: 40 mins Servings: 6 Jump to recipe When the holiday party season really heats up, you need a go-to appetizer or party snack you can make and never tire of. This marinated cheese is such a food. Fresh mozzarella is chilled in a mixture of olive oil, orange peel, rosemary, and red pepper flakes and easily infuses with flavor. Marinated cheese is ready in as little as 30 minutes—but it's also one of those recipes that gets better the longer it marinates. We even suggest going 24 hours or more before a party for the best flavor. Warming the oil and herbs together speeds up the process if you have less time, however. So don't worry if you window is more narrow. Another great thing about this marinated cheese recipe is how versatile it is. Instead of cubed mozzarella cheese, reach for mozzarella pearls. Swap out rosemary for basil, orange for sun-dried tomatoes, and red pepper flakes for cracked pepper. You can be endlessly creative. Cook Mode (Keep screen awake) Ingredients 1 cup olive oil 2 large sprigs fresh rosemary 4 strips of fresh orange peel 2 tsp. red pepper flakes 8 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese Directions Gather ingredients: Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Warm oil and spices: In a small saucepan over low heat, warm oil, rosemary, orange peel, and red pepper flakes 5 minutes until fragrant; do not boil. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Prepare cheese: While oil is warming, prepare cheese for marinating by cutting into cubes. Place cubes in a 16-ounce mason jar or other glass container with a lid. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox When oil is cool, pour over cubed cheese. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Cover and shake gently to coat. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Chill cheese: Place the jar in the refrigerator to marinate and cool completely, at least 30 minutes or up to 24 hours. Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox Rate It Print