# The best cheeses of Spain

The most highly rated Spanish cheeses, nearly all with Protected Designation of Origin (Spain has 26). Chosen by what appears most in guides, cheese shops and awards.

- 55 votes · 24 items
- Jul 24, 2024 · Macarena Aguilar
- https://even.best/en/l/17/the-best-cheeses-of-spain

## Top 15

1. **Manchego** (6 · ▲6 ▼0) — Manchega sheep's milk cheese from Castilla-La Mancha, with the rind marked by the esparto mould; the best known abroad.
2. **Cabrales** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — Asturian blue cheese of mixed milks, matured in caves in the Picos de Europa.
3. **Mahón-Menorca** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — Square cow's milk cheese from Menorca, its rind rubbed with oil and paprika.
4. **Zamorano** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — Churra and Castellana sheep's cheese from Zamora, firm and long aged.
5. **Picón Bejes-Tresviso** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — Cave-aged Cantabrian blue from Liébana, a relative of Cabrales.
6. **Ibores** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — Goat's cheese from Extremadura with the rind rubbed in paprika and oil.
7. **Torta del Casar** (2 · ▲3 ▼1) — Creamy sheep's cheese from Cáceres set with thistle rennet; you cut off the top and eat it with a spoon.
8. **Tetilla** (2 · ▲3 ▼1) — Mild, creamy Galician cow's milk cheese with its typical cone shape.
9. **Queso de La Serena** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Merino sheep's cheese from Badajoz set with thistle, with an oozy paste.
10. **Afuega'l Pitu** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Asturian cow's cheese shaped like a pumpkin, white or red with paprika.
11. **Cream Cheese from Cantabria** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Friesian cow cheese with PDO, soft paste and mild butter flavor.
12. **Arzúa-Ulloa** (1 · ▲2 ▼1) — Soft, buttery Galician cow's milk cheese from the Arzúa area.
13. **Roncal** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Sheep's cheese from the Roncal Valley (Navarre), Spain's first cheese DO (1981).
14. **Murcia cheese with wine** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Murcian goat cheese with PDO, with the rind bathed in red wine from Jumilla or Yecla.
15. **Idiazábal** (0 · ▲2 ▼2) — Cheese from Latxa and Carranzana sheep of the Basque Country and Navarre, often smoked.
16. **Majorero** (0 · ▲1 ▼1) — Majorera goat's cheese from Fuerteventura, the rind sometimes rubbed with paprika or gofio.
17. **San Simón da Costa** (0 · ▲1 ▼1) — Galician cow's cheese smoked over birch wood, shaped like a bullet.
18. **Casin** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — One of the oldest cheeses in Asturias, with PDO, intense flavor and hand-kneaded texture.
19. **Palmero Cheese** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — La Palma goat cheese with PDO, which is usually smoked with almond shells or Canary pine.
20. **Valdeon** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Blue cheese from León with PGI, from cow and goat, traditionally wrapped in banana leaves.
21. **Liébana cheeses** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Small cheeses from Cantabria with PDO, from cows, sheep and goats, sometimes smoked.
22. **Guia Flor Cheese** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Gran Canaria cheese with PDO, curdled with thistle flower, with a soft and unctuous paste.
23. **Camerano cheese** (-1 · ▲0 ▼1) — Goat cheese from La Rioja with PDO, one of the oldest documented in Spain.
24. **Gamonéu** (-2 · ▲0 ▼2) — Smoked Asturian mixed-milk cheese with light blue veining, from the Picos de Europa.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.