Can You Eat Blue Cheese While Pregnant?
Avoid blue cheese unless it's cooked until steaming — soft blue cheeses can carry listeria.
The full answer
Blue cheeses such as gorgonzola, roquefort, Danish blue, and stilton are usually soft or semi-soft and less acidic, which can let listeria grow — and listeria infection is rare but serious in pregnancy because it can cross the placenta. So uncooked blue cheese is on the avoid list, even when it's pasteurised. The reassuring part is that heat fixes it: blue cheese cooked until steaming hot — melted into a sauce, baked on a tart, or stirred through a hot dish — is safe, because cooking kills listeria. If you're out and a salad arrives topped with cold blue-cheese crumbles or dressing, it's best to leave them or ask for the dish without.
How to eat blue cheese safely
- Cooked until steaming (sauces, melts, bakes): safe
- Skip cold/uncooked blue-cheese crumbles and dressings
- Cooking matters more than pasteurisation here — heat it through
When to avoid: Avoid uncooked blue cheese of any kind; only have it cooked until steaming hot.
Pregnancy food-safety basics
Most “can I have this?” questions in pregnancy come down to four things. Listeria — a bacterium that survives the fridge — is why chilled ready-to-eat meats, pâté, and mould-ripened soft cheeses are heated or avoided. Mercury is why certain fish are limited. Caffeine is capped at about 200 mg a day. And alcohol is best avoided entirely, as no safe amount is known. Cooking food until it’s steaming hot kills listeria and most other bugs, which is why “heat until steaming” solves so many of these questions.
For the full picture, see our pregnancy safety guide, and track your pregnancy with the How Far Along Am I? calculator and the week-by-week guide.
Frequently asked questions
- Can you eat blue cheese while pregnant?
- Avoid blue cheese unless it's cooked until steaming — soft blue cheeses can carry listeria. Blue cheeses such as gorgonzola, roquefort, Danish blue, and stilton are usually soft or semi-soft and less acidic, which can let listeria grow — and listeria infection is rare but serious in pregnancy because it can cross the placenta. So uncooked blue cheese is on the avoid list, even when it's pasteurised. The reassuring part is that heat fixes it: blue cheese cooked until steaming hot — melted into a sauce, baked on a tart, or stirred through a hot dish — is safe, because cooking kills listeria. If you're out and a salad arrives topped with cold blue-cheese crumbles or dressing, it's best to leave them or ask for the dish without.
- Why is blue cheese something to be careful with in pregnancy?
- Blue cheeses such as gorgonzola, roquefort, Danish blue, and stilton are usually soft or semi-soft and less acidic, which can let listeria grow — and listeria infection is rare but serious in pregnancy because it can cross the placenta. So uncooked blue cheese is on the avoid list, even when it's pasteurised. The reassuring part is that heat fixes it: blue cheese cooked until steaming hot — melted into a sauce, baked on a tart, or stirred through a hot dish — is safe, because cooking kills listeria. If you're out and a salad arrives topped with cold blue-cheese crumbles or dressing, it's best to leave them or ask for the dish without.
- When should I avoid blue cheese during pregnancy?
- Avoid uncooked blue cheese of any kind; only have it cooked until steaming hot.