String cheese is a fun go-to snack that is also a strong source of calcium and vitamin C. Since string cheese is almost always mozzarella cheese, you may be wondering if it can be used on pizza.
Can you use string cheese for pizza? Yes, string cheese makes a great topping for pizza, and many people say it’s even better than regular cheese – while some say it will just do in a pinch. If you’re interested in trying string cheese on pizza, you will find it satisfying, salty, and a good substitute or even go-to alternative to regular pizza cheeses.
What Does String Cheese On Pizza Taste Like?
If you have tried string cheese before, you’ll have a good idea about how it tastes, but if not, the answer is that it’s good. It has a salty, rich, and – not surprisingly – cheesy taste that will perfectly replace whatever other cheeses you like on pizza.
It is a good substitute for mozzarella, but you may find it is more flavorful and satisfying. If you don’t have any other kind of cheese in, you definitely don’t need to worry about whether or not it will work as a substitute!
Will String Cheese Melt Properly on Pizza?
Yes, string cheese will melt on your pizza, but it may not melt properly – so you might have to help it out a bit. 140° F is the melting point, so you should be fine melting it on pizza, as you’ll be cooking your pizza at a higher temperature than this, but you might find that it doesn’t really lose its shape, and softens more than actually melts.
It also takes a bit longer to melt than some of the cheeses you may be used to, so if you going to be cooking your pizza on a low setting, you’ll need to tear it up into small strips before adding it to the pizza.
If you leave it in big lumps, it won’t melt properly, and you might find that it just goes soft instead of stringy.
It’s not hard to tear it up, though, so don’t let this put you off using it. You can quickly rip up the pieces as part of your pizza preparation, and you’ll get better distribution over the whole pizza as an added benefit.
You might also want to cook your pizza for a little longer than you would if you were using mozzarella or another soft cheese with a low melting point. This will ensure the string cheese does properly melt, giving you that satisfying, stringy texture.
How Much String Cheese Do You Need For a Good Pizza?
This will depend to some extent on how much you like cheese on your pizza, but most people find that a single serving of string cheese is perfect for a single serving pizza. That makes it pretty neat to use up, and you won’t find that you have little bits left over, or that you need to open another packet for just a bit more.
If you’re doing a pizza for two, you’ll probably want a couple of servings of string cheese. For bigger pizzas, you need to increase the quantities – but one serving per person should remain about right.
If you’re a major cheese lover, go for a bit more; string cheese keeps well and it won’t matter if you need to put a bit back in the fridge for another day.
Why Would You Use String Cheese on Pizza?
There are a few good reasons to use string cheese instead of mozzarella or any of the other cheese options. One is that string cheese keeps really well, so you can make sure you always have some around, even if you find mozzarella and the others go off.
It is also great in terms of its shape; you can easily pull it into thin little pieces, cut it into circles, or shred it with a grater, and then spread it over the pizza.
A lot of people love the texture of string cheese on pizza, and it’s also high in calcium. It can have more flavor than some of the other cheeses too, so it’s a great option if you like a salty, tangy taste.
String cheese should also brown nice and evenly in the oven, and it won’t burn too readily, so you don’t have to watch your pizza super closely while it cooks.
It also has a low amount of moisture in it, and therefore it won’t make your pizza soggy or your other ingredients wet or unpleasant. It’s a bit like a combination of cheddar and mozzarella, and it will turn into satisfying strings on the pizza, rather than the pools created by some cheeses.
How to Use String Cheese to Make a Stuffed Crust?
If you want to make a stuffed cheese crust on your pizza, nothing could be easier than doing with string cheeses. You will need enough to go around the edge of your pizza, however big it is. With a medium pizza, this may be around seven strings; make sure you have enough before you start.
Roll your pizza base out thin, and then place the whole cheese strings around the edge of the base.
Tuck them right up to the edge of the crust, and then pull the crust up around them and press the edges down very firmly.
If you leave gaps, the cheese will melt out onto the pizza – this isn’t a problem, but your crust won’t be quite as full of cheese.
You can add other toppings in the crust too, and you’ll have a delicious stuffed-crust pizza worthy of any fancy restaurant. Just make sure you cook it for long enough to melt the cheese. If in doubt, you can always pierce a section of the crust with a knife blade and check how it’s doing during the cooking process.
Final Thoughts
Yes, you can use string cheese for pizza, and many people consider this a hack for ensuring that their pizza tastes as good as possible. String cheese has more flavor than some of the standard stringy cheeses, such as mozzarella, and so it adds a nice extra depth to your pizza.
It is also high in calcium, and keeps better than many of the other soft cheeses. It’s well worth trying out if you’re looking to switch up your toppings a little and make your homemade pizzas even better.