An important culinary corollary to the decades-old mainstreaming of Mexican cuisine has been the steady crossover of its defining elements. Salsa and the varietal chiles from which it may be made, like jalapeño and habanero, have found a permanent place in the pantries of restaurants across this country. Less heralded, but equally noteworthy, perhaps, is the most recent wave of authentic ingredients to be embraced by the mass market: Mexican cheeses.

 Cotija cheese. Photo: snyferok/iStock/Thinkstock

Cotija, named for the city from which it hails, is a cow’s milk cheese that, when aged, has a texture similar to Parmesan. Like the latter, Cotija is often grated or crumbled and used to finish dishes. Carpinteria, Calif.-based quick-service chain Green Burrito recently revamped its bill of fare to enhance its menu flavor and bona fides. Among the items added were cilantro-lime rice, whole pinto beans and Cotija, which appears in entrées like the signature Chicken Green Burrito

and Beef Taco Salad. Chopt Creative Salad Company, based in New York City, puts it in Spicy Vegetarian Chili, and it’s in both Grilled Fish and Grass-Fed Steak Tacos at True Food Kitchen, based in Phoenix. Last summer, Cotija-cheese spread made a splash in Mendocino Farms’ Summer Street Corn and Jidori Chicken Sandwich, where it offset the burn of the grilled poblano peppers and candied Fresno chiles, and this winter it popped up in Houlihan’s new Grilled Chicken Wings along with Cuban mojo.

Chopt’s Spicy Vegetarian Chili with Cotija cheese. Photo: Chopt

Independent restaurants have embraced Cotija, too. Trendy Glass and Vine, in Coconut Grove, Fla., adds it to Watermelon Salad, together with lime crema and cilantro, while Lo Spiedo in Philadelphia uses it on Mexican Street Corn, along with Aleppo-lime mayonnaise. Alden & Harlow, in Cambridge, Mass., is known for pushing the flavor envelope, which it accomplished with the Raw Pumpkin Salad with jalapeño, pepitas, lime, basil and Cotija. Atoboy, a Korean operation in New York City, delivered an unexpected menu mashup with Fried Avocado topped with Cotija, horseradish and trout roe.

Noncommercial operators are also on board, as with the Brazilian Feijoada on offer at Manna, the restaurant at Castle Rock Adventist Hospital in Castle Rock, Colo. It boasts beef tips served over masa cakes and crowned with Cotija.

It goes without saying that Mexican specialists like this cheese. Gracia in Seattle tops its unconventional Ensalada César, or Caesar Salad, with Cotija, pickled beets, tomatoes and anchovy dressing.

Other Mexican cheeses are also making inroads. Chihuahua cheese, named for its state of origin, is a versatile, soft, white cheese made from cow’s milk. Cheesie’s Pub and Grub in Chicago lives up to its name with an appropriately cheese-centric menu that includes sandwiches like The Tradicion, made with Chihuahua, chorizo and jalapeños; El Jefe, which comprises ground beef, Fritos and Chihuahua; and The Melt, which combines Chihuahua cheese with American cheese, chicken, bacon and Thousand Island dressing. All are served on Texas toast.

Dallas-based chain Snuffer’s Restaurant & Bar stuffed a beef patty with Chihuahua cheese and diced Hatch green chiles to make the promotional Hatch Chile Cheeseburger.

Taco Bell’s green-chile queso is available as a side dish or as an accompaniment with chips. Photo: Taco Bell

Fresh cheeses from Mexico are having a moment, too. Bella Nashville, a Neapolitan pizzeria in that city, creates its Hot Chicken Pizza with honey-habanero chicken and creamy queso fresco. Its first cousin, queso blanco, appeared on The Alamo Burger at S&B’s Burger Joint, a small chain based in Oklahoma City, which paired homemade avocado queso blanco with fresh avocado on a Tex Mex-style patty.

Not to confuse the issue, just plain “queso” has been cropping up on menus as well, and it usually refers to the liquid cheese dip or topping served with nachos. A good example is the green-chile queso at Taco Bell, which can be requested as a side dish or as an accompaniment with chips. The culinary team at Wendy’s has reportedly cooked up a poblano-based queso that may go on top of a Bacon Queso Burger as part of a limited-time offer, and the chain has also tested a Green Chile Queso Burger. Last fall, Qdoba introduced three-cheese Buffalo Bacon Queso and Queso Verde with tomatillos, cilantro and lime juice; both were offered free to add to any entrée. The chain followed up in January with a heartier Bacon Cheeseburger Queso appropriate to the winter season.

Nancy Kruse, president of the Kruse Company, is a menu trends analyst based in Atlanta. As one of LinkedIn’s Top 100 Influencers in the US, she blogs regularly on food-related subjects on the LinkedIn website.