Liptauer is a delicious cheese spread made by mixing soft cheese with paprika, onions, capers, and chives. It is a unique take on a party dip, and is best served with crackers, rye bread, or vegetables.
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Liptauer is an Austrian Cheese Spread Recipe made by combining a soft cheese (usually quark, but in our case, cream cheese) with some spices and mix-ins. It reminds me quite a bit of Obatzda from Germany, a similar recipe but with a few key ingredients changed. It is also a common dish in Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, Albania, and Romania.
Whether you’re preparing for a party, looking for a way to spice up some sandwiches, or just wanting a good snack, you’re going to love this Liptauer recipe.
Why Make this Recipe
- “Visit” Austria: If you want to taste some of the flavors of Austria, making this Liptauer Cheese at home is a great way to do so (and so is this Strawberry Swiss Roll!). It’s also a great way to try the flavors of many countries, as it’s a popular recipe across Europe!
- 10 Minutes: You shouldn’t need more than 10 minutes from start to finish to throw this recipe together, just like with this other delicious cheese recipe, Grilled Halloumi!
- Customizable: There are so many ways you can customize this recipe! Keep reading the article for suggestions.
What Do I Need to Make this Recipe?
Ingredients
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
- Cheese: Quark cheese is the common choice in Austria. If you can find it, use that. If not, cream cheese is a great and easily-locatable substitute. I can sometimes find quark at Whole Foods. If you use quark cheese, the texture may appear a little thinner.
- Butter: Unsalted butter.
- Green Onions: Chop both the green and white parts.
- Paprika: Some people like a spicy dip and use hot paprika. I use sweet paprika. The higher quality the paprika, the more you’ll be able to taste it in this recipe.
Tools
- Mixing Bowl
- Electric Hand Mixer: You can also use a stand mixer or you can mix by hand if necessary.
How to Make this Recipe
Use an electric mixer to beat softened butter and cream cheese together.
Use a rubber spatula to mix in the rest of the ingredients.
Enjoy with pretzels, vegetables, bread, or crackers!
What Else Can I Add to this Recipe?
There are so many ways you can customize your Cheese Spread Recipe! Here are some other ingredients you can add:
- Anchovy Paste/Chopped Anchovies
- Pickles
- Pickled Beets
- Beer
- Parsley
- Cottage Cheese
- Sour Cream
- Worcestershire Sauce
Expert Tips
- The raw onions in this recipe can be kind of strong. If you are sensitive to raw onions, you can omit the white onion. If you like a lot of onions, you can add more!
- Use spicy paprika if you want a spicy dip or sweet paprika if you want a sweeter spread. Both are used in Austria.
- This dip pairs well with white or red wine.
- Add a little dip to the Khachapuri flatbread for a fun twist on the flavor!
Recipe FAQs
There are so many options of possible dippers for Liptauer! Some good ones are crackers, bread, and vegetables like carrots, peppers, and cucumbers. My highest recommendation goes to warm soft pretzels, which make for the perfect combo with this Liptauer Cheese.
You can also serve it as a spread for sandwiches (especially on rye bread!) or bagels, or as a filling for vegetables.
Keep any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. Keep in mind that the longer the Liptauer dip is stored, the more potent the taste of the raw onions will become.
You could freeze the Liptauer, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Frozen cream cheese takes on a different, grainy texture and gets kind of crumbly. I would recommend keeping this recipe in the fridge instead of the freezer.
Did you like this Liptauer Cheese Spread Recipe? If so, make sure to check out these other recipes that I picked out just for you:
Liptauer Cheese Spread Recipe
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl(s)
- Electric Hand Mixer
- Rubber Spatula
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese, quark cheese if you can find it, softened to room temperature
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ½ tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp capers
- 1 tsp Caraway seeds
- 2 tbsp white onion, minced
- 2 stalks green onions, chopped
- ½ tbsp paprika
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Use an electric mixer to beat 8 oz cream cheese and 4 tbsp softened butter together until creamy.
- Use a rubber spatula to mix in the rest of the ingredients.
- Enjoy with pretzels, vegetables, rye bread, or crackers!
Notes
- Cheese: Quark cheese is the common choice in Austria. If you can find it, use that. If not, cream cheese is a great and easily-locatable substitute. I can sometimes find quark at Whole Foods. If you use quark cheese, the texture may appear a little thinner.
- Butter: Unsalted butter.
- Green Onions: Chop both the green and white parts.
- Paprika: Some people like a spicy dip and use hot paprika. I use sweet paprika. The higher quality the paprika, the more you’ll be able to taste it in this recipe.
- The raw onions in this recipe can be kind of strong. If you are sensitive to raw onions, you can omit the white onion. If you like a lot of onions, you can add more!
- Use spicy paprika if you want a spicy dip or sweet paprika if you want a sweeter spread. Both are used in Austria.
- This dip pairs well with white or red wine.
Anne says
Perfect. Found your recipe after trying a different one that was disappointing. This will be my go to. Love the texture!
Alexandria Drzazgowski says
I’m so glad you liked it Anne! Thank you very much for letting me know 🙂
Elizabeth England says
The Trapp Family Singers cookbook calls for Cottage Cheese. Anchovies, chives, onion, caraway seed and paprika in the mix.
Alexandria Drzazgowski says
Sounds great!
betsy says
Each element is essential to this recipe. After mixing it, something felt off. Then I realized I had forgotten to add the dijon mustard. Then, voila! Perfect.
Alexandria Drzazgowski says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Betsy! Thank you for the review 🙂