Vegan Cheese is a funny beast. On the one hand, we expect a LOT from it. Given that it doesn’t actually contain any milk, perhaps it’s unrealistic to expect it to replicate halloumi or the melt factor of cheddar.
However, there are A LOT of dairy-free vegan cheeses on the market; offering everything from the perfect cream cheese spread to cheeseboards selections. Which ones are great? Which vegan cheeses just about do the job and, finally, which vegan cheeses are just not worth buying. Here’s my honest ranking…
The Great…
1. Nush Almond M*lk Cheese and Chive Spread
This is by far my favourite vegan cream cheese; it tastes really great with smoked salmon and a gluten-free bagel. I like that it’s almond based and doesn’t have caragenan in like most supermarket ones. There’s no synthetic texture that you get with Tesco’s vegan cream cheese. My second choice for a cream cheese would probably be Violife but I still think Nush’s is far superior.
2. Applewood Smoky Vegan Cheese
I haven’t even purchased this but I tried it on One Planet Pizza (pictured above-pizza was gifted to me) and this cheese is really good. It melts perfectly unlike some vegan cheeses which only melt partially which means the toppings can sometimes slide off the pizza. It really does taste exactly like regular cheese and I’m definitely going to buy it next..
3. Violife Epic Mature
Violife are obviously one of the most popular brands of vegan cheese and I do really rate some of their styles. This new epic mature block is lovely and has a bit more depth and flavour than it’s regular kind. All of Violife’s cheese melt well and I like that they usually don’t use carageenan and other preservatives. I don’t think I’d have this on a cheese board but it comes into it’s own when melted on anything.
The good…
4. Plantasy Food Cheez
This is easy to grab for a parmesan equivalent that lasts for ages. It doesn’t quite taste like parmesan but it does liven up things like pasta. They also do a gluten-free, vegan Mac n Cheese. Personally, I think it’s just not cheesy enough but it’s still much better than the Tesco one which managed to score my most regrettable purchase.
5. Violife Mediterranean Style Vegan Cheese Block
I think this cheese doesn’t always get great reviews but it works really well on a barbeque. It forms a gooey block which admittedly doesn’t really taste of halloumi but it does still taste really nice. Outside the barbeque, I wouldn’t really use it though as it really needs to be cooked well to taste of much.
6. Tyne Cheese
I don’t buy these often because they’re quite pricey but if you’re looking for a healthy version of vegan cheese without the preservatives, try Tyne Cheese. They’re nut-based, organic, and really healthy; the cashew pots are really lovely but I find the blocks don’t really melt that well. These kind are quite nice for a cheeseboard because they really look like proper cheese rather than plastic strips.
The terrible…
7. Green Vie Vegan Mozeralla Flavour Slices
I bought these from Tesco this week and I just find them really bland. They melt quickly, almost too quickly that they almost descend into the nothingness of a thin cheese sauce. Then they just kind of sit there and really do taste of nothing.
8.MozzaRisella
There’s some really good points about this cheese: it’s a lot healthier than most as it’s made from fermented rice. I believe Zizzi uses
this on their pizzas too and when I order a Zizzi’s pizza it tastes good! My issue is just the taste isn’t great when I try to use it at home-especially without melting. When I do melt it, it’s really thin. You need to use a lot of cheese to get any kind of flavour.
9. Supermarket own cheese
Finally, I avoid all the basic supermarket vegan cheeses and when I asked on Instagram, lots of you agreed. The only exception I’ve found is at Christmas when Asda does a great cranberry Wensleydale option which is lovely and has really great cranberry chunks. Otherwise, none of them are as good as independent vegan cheese brands.
