Cashel Blue

Name: Cashel Blue and Leek Tart
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 4-6
Cuisine: Ireland
Ingredients: 250 g (8¾ oz) all-butter puff pastry; 30 g (2 tbsp) Irish butter; 450 g (1 lb) leeks; 2 cloves garlic; 150 ml (5 fl oz) double cream; 120 ml (4 fl oz) whole milk; 2 large eggs; 0.5 tsp fine sea salt; 0.25 tsp freshly ground black pepper; 0.25 tsp freshly grated nutmeg; 1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves; 150 g (5¼ oz) Cashel Blue cheese

Also known as Cashel Blue, Cashel Blue Cheese, Cashel Farmhouse Cheese, Cashel Blue Cheddar-style Blue, Irish Cashel

📍 Tipperary, Ireland (Beechmount Farm, Fethard, Cashel, Emly, Holycross) ★ 4.3

Last updated Aug 13, 2026 · Reviewed by the WhatWhereVacay editorial team

Ireland's first farmhouse blue cheese from Beechmount Farm in Tipperary, creamy and mild with delicate blue veining.

About Cashel Blue

Cashel Blue is the first farmhouse blue cheese made in Ireland, produced on Beechmount Farm near Fethard in County Tipperary by the Grubb family since 1984. It is made from pasteurized cow's milk — primarily Friesian milk from the family's own herd — and uses a vegetarian rennet and Penicillium roqueforti cultures to create its delicate blue veining.

The cheese is manufactured in small batches, hand-ladled into molds, and aged in a temperature-controlled cellar for about three months. Cashel Blue is notable among European blues for its relatively mild, creamy, and buttery flavor profile — closer to a French Bleu des Causses or a Dolcelatte than to a sharp Roquefort — and for its chalky-white interior streaked with sky-blue veins. The texture is dense and sliceable, the paste smooth and moist.

Eat Cashel Blue at the breakfast and lunch tables of Ireland's country house hotels: it appears on cheese boards at Ballymaloe House (East Cork), Marlfield House (Gorey), and Parknasilla (Kerry). Stock up at Sheridans Cheesemongers in Dublin and Galway, at the English Market in Cork, and at Avoca's deli counters. In the UK, Neal's Yard Dairy and Paxton & Whitfield carry it; in the US, Murray's Cheese in New York, Cowgirl Creamery in Point Reyes, and Whole Foods stock it. Pair with a glass of port, Sauternes, or a stout-style Irish beer.

🏛️ History & Culture

Cashel Blue was created in 1984 by the Grubb family at Beechmount Farm near Fethard in County Tipperary, making it the first farmhouse blue cheese produced in Ireland. Made from pasteurized Friesian cow's milk, it emerged during a period when Irish farmhouse cheesemaking was being revitalized, and its history is well-documented rather than disputed.

The cheese is produced at a single location and does not have significant regional variations, but it has become a celebrated symbol of modern Irish artisan food. It is widely used in Irish cooking and cheese boards, and its success helped pave the way for other small-scale Irish producers to experiment with blue-veined cheeses.

🍳 How to make Cashel Blue

AI-assisted, not kitchen-tested

Cashel Blue and Leek Tart

Cashel Blue is Ireland's flagship farmhouse blue, mild and creamy rather than sharp. It melts beautifully into a simple leek tart in the style served at Irish country house hotels.

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 45 min
Total: 70 min
Serves: 4-6
Difficulty: Easy

Recipe ingredients

250 g (8¾ oz) all-butter puff pastry, homemade or all-butter shop-bought; gluten-free pastry works
30 g (2 tbsp) Irish butter, plus extra for the dish
450 g (1 lb) leeks, trimmed, washed, thinly sliced (whites and pale greens)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped, or null
150 ml (5 fl oz) double cream, or whipping cream
120 ml (4 fl oz) whole milk, or null
2 large eggs, plus 1 yolk, lightly beaten
0.5 tsp fine sea salt, or to taste
0.25 tsp freshly ground black pepper, or null
0.25 tsp freshly grated nutmeg, optional
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, or chervil, or null
150 g (5¼ oz) Cashel Blue cheese, rind trimmed, crumbled into small pieces; Cambozola is the nearest substitute

Steps

1 Roll the pastry out on parchment to a 30 cm (12 in) round about 3 mm (⅛ in) thick. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and prick the base all over with a fork. Chill for 15 minutes.
2 Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F (fan 180°C / 360°F).
3 Melt the 30 g butter in a heavy pan over medium-low heat. Add the leeks and a pinch of salt and sweat gently for 8-10 minutes until very soft but not coloured. Stir in the garlic for the final minute, then spread the leeks evenly over the pastry, leaving a 2 cm (¾ in) border.
4 Scatter the crumbled Cashel Blue over the leeks and sprinkle with the thyme.
5 In a jug, whisk together the cream, milk, eggs, salt, pepper and nutmeg (if using). Pour the custard carefully over the leeks and cheese — it should come just below the pastry border.
6 Fold the pastry border inward to form a rustic rim, lightly pleating as you go. Brush the rim with a little extra cream or melted butter.
7 Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the pastry is deep golden and the custard is just set with a faint wobble in the very centre. Internal temperature of the custard should reach 70°C / 160°F on an instant-read probe.
8 Rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Serve warm, with a peppery green salad dressed with walnut oil, or as part of an Irish cheese board alongside soda bread and fig chutney.

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🧺 Key ingredients

Pasteurized cow's milk (Friesian herd)
Vegetarian rennet
Starter cultures
Penicillium roqueforti
Salt

🍴 Where to eat it

Cashel Blue is widely available across Ireland and exported globally. In Tipperary itself, visit Beechmount Farm near Fethard — the family hosts farm tours and a small shop during the warmer months. In Dublin, Sheridans Cheesemongers (Sussex Terrace and at the Temple Bar Food Market on Saturdays), the Green Door Market in Bluebell, and Fallon & Byrne stock it. In Cork, the English Market and L. McNaughton's sell Cashel Blue wheels. In Galway, Sheridans at the Galway Market and Food for Thought (Spanish Parade). In the UK, Neal's Yard Dairy (London) and Paxton & Whitfield. In the US, Murray's Cheese (NYC), Cowgirl Creamery (Point Reyes), and Whole Foods cheese counters. Eat it on soda bread with fig chutney, or melted into a steak sauce, or crumbled over a winter pear salad.

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