Have Your Cheese and Eat It, Too: 6 Fantastic Dairy-Free Cheeses
I can remember the days when vegan cheese options in my area were few and far between (and some of them still had casein in them–so not vegan anyway!).
The availability we have nowadays is awe-inspiring. Not only has the quality gone up but accessibility as well, with stores like Aldi, Walmart and ShopRite carrying store-brand plant-based cheeses.
In fact, the numerous options available can actually be overwhelming. Do I go for the inexpensive one, or the one with better texture? And which brand is the best of both worlds?
In this post, I’ll do my best to lay out what I think the best options are in several categories. You’ll be all set to dress your next pizza, pack the best snacking cheese, and even scope out the best cream cheese.
So sit back and brie-lax, and read on to discover some great vegan cheese options:
Best snacking cheese: Babybel Plant-Based
Growing up, I used to enjoy the classic Babybel cheese snacks. So you can imagine how overjoyed I was when I heard they came out with a plant-based version!
I enjoy the creaminess of this plant-based cheese but also the portability. It’s great for packing in a lunchbox or taking on-the-go.
The approximate price at the time of this writing is around $4 for 6 cheese snacks, which rings in cheaper than Daiya’s Cheeze Sticks at approximately $7 for 6 cheeze sticks.
Best pizza cheese: Miyoko’s Pourable Plant Milk Mozzerella
One of the neat tricks with this vegan cheese is its meltability: oftentimes with the shreds, they don’t achieve the smooth melty layer you’d want on, say, a pizza.
That’s why Miyoko’s Pourable Mozzarella is perfect for the job. It doesn’t include ingredients typically in shreds that make them harder to melt, meaning you get the bubbly and melty pizza you desire.
While it can be a tad pricey, I would say it’s worth it for the occasional pizza splurge.
Best cheese sauce: Daiya Cheddar Style Deluxe Cheeze Sauce
This is one of my favorite vegan cheeses ever. Not only is it incredibly versatile, I find the sharp flavor to be just delicious (although some may disagree). I’ve used this cheese sauce on nachos, mac & cheese, steamed broccoli, and more.
It comes in packs of three pouches and can be found online as well as in stores. They have other flavors as well, such as Alfredo and Zesty Cheddar.
Best cream cheese: Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
I’m sure some would disagree with me on this, and that’s okay. But Tofutti has been my standby as far as vegan cream cheese goes, whether I’m using it for dips, sauces or just to spread on a bagel.
Tofutti is creamy and silky enough to satisfy my taste buds, and also happens to be the least expensive on the market that I’ve seen. Daiya also is a great alternative if you want a larger selection of flavors.
Best slices: Violife brand
There are a lot of vegan cheese slices out there. In my opinion (i.e., the opinion of someone who doesn’t exactly remember what dairy cheese tastes like anyway), Violife’s slices are the closest to the real thing.
They have a nice creamy flavor that goes great on cold deli sandwiches, and they also melt really well, meaning they’re just perfect for your next grilled cheese.
They have several tantalizing flavors such as American, smoked provolone, and mature cheddar slices.
Best store brand: Aldi’s Earth Grown Shreds
I’ve been buying Aldi’s cheese products for years now. My favorite thing about them is that they are consistently available at every Aldi’s location I’ve been to, the same of which I cannot necessarily say of other store brand cheeses.
I enjoy the flavor. The price is also much cheaper than some of the name brands, coming in at around $3.75 at the time of this writing.
I can also recommend Great Value’s plant-based shreds, though it hasn’t been the longstanding favorite for me Aldi’s Earth Grown has.
And there you have it! Going vegan doesn’t have to mean giving up cheese.
As demonstrated in this post, the wonderful world of vegan cheeses has come a very long way in a short time.
Hopefully this list helps you the next time you’re cheese-hunting in the grocery store!
Until next time, peace 😉