7 Vegan Cheeses That Will Save Your Dairy-Free Life
Cheese pulls all day, every day.
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You can't live without cheese. You just can't. But if you're leading a dairy-free lifestyle, cheese isn't something you can eat. Luckily, we live in the modern world, and some very smart brands have developed vegan versions of cheese that are actually good.
Our top picks
Wait. What is vegan cheese?
Vegan cheese is a product meant to mimic cheese without using ingredients from animals. But what does that even mean? If you want an in-depth explanation, check out this article on the history and future of vegan cheese. In the world of vegan cheese, products are made in one of several ways. They're either made with modified food starch and/or oil, like the popular brands So Delicious and Follow Your Heart. Or they use fermentation to actually create casein and whey, like Treeline. And there are nut-based cheeses often made from cashews to mimic spreadable textures.
How we chose these products
There are a surprising amount of vegan cheeses on the market. But when it comes to eating and cooking with cheese, you need it to do a lot of different things for you. Sometimes it needs to be shredded and melted on a pizza. Other times it has to be sliced for a sandwich. And occasionally, it must emulsify with heat into a creamy and liquid-y sauce for pasta. We've got a vegan cheese that works for all of these cooking needs and more. We scoured the internet for the most raved about vegan cheese you can buy and also tapped the expertise of Delish editors to find out what vegan cheese they're using.
This North Carolina-based brand has a lot of fun flavors to mix up your cheese board, from roasted garlic to balsamic fig. "I love this vegan cheese because it's not trying to be a substitute," said Han Goldstein, our temporary social media editor. "It's good in its own right. I have lots of friends who don't like dairy cheese who like Darë for its taste and texture."
I tried this when it first came out last year and was instantly in love. As someone who doesn't limit their dairy, I'd pit this against the original any day. It still has the super creamy texture with delicious seasoning blend you know and love, while somehow having no dairy.
Finding vegan cheese that actually melts is difficult, but Miyokos has cracked the code. "My wife and I recently tried this and it was really good," said Karen Curtiss, branded video editor for Delish. "Once it was cooked, I was even able to pull it a bit."
These cheddar shreds from Violife work great when trying to make a dairy-free quesadilla or mac and cheese. It has an aroma and taste very similar to actual cheddar cheese. It doesn't have the best stretch, something most vegan cheese brands have yet to nail, but it "taste[s] so yummy and melts with ease," this reviewer said.
UPrise Foods Uprise Foods NOOCH IT! Dairy-Free Cashew Grated Cheeze
"This cashew/nutritional yeast concoction is a great swap for the Kraft parm in a tub," said Gabby Romero, editorial assistant. "They put something similar on the vegan caesar at Scarr’s Pizza, and it’s the only way I want to eat salads now." It has 2,000 five-star reviews on Amazon, with fans loving it in their pasta sauce or sprinkled on roasted veggies.
With nutty, sweet, and smoky notes, this gouda-style cheese from Daiya makes a very complex grilled cheese. Reviewers love it melted onto a burger (veggie and regular). "It has a light smoky flavor that goes well with caramelized onions," this fan wrote.
With almost 4,000 Amazon reviews and 3,300 of them being five stars, it's clear this vegan cheese is a winner. In fact, it's so popular, it's currently sold out on the site. But don't worry. Target also carries the product.
"This is the most cheese-like vegan cheese I’ve tried," this reviewer said. "I use this exclusively when I make grilled cheese now. It takes a bit longer to melt, but once it does, it’s virtually indistinguishable from white American cheese."
