The number one thing you’ll hear from people who think they can’t go vegan is, “But I could never give up cheese!” However, when you’ve got access to the best vegan cheese brands, it’s easier than ever before.
Finally, You can have your cheese and eat vegan, too! Here are some 15 of the best vegan cheese brands for you to try…
Don’t have time to read? Here’s a quick summary of the products we recommend.
| Product Name | Grade |
| Follow Your Heart | B |
| Annie’s Creamy Mac n Cheese | A |
| Go Veggie! | A |
| Tofutti | B+ |
| Chao by Field Roast | A |
Vegan Cheese Brands
Follow Your Heart
What It’s Made From
Depending on which product you get, the cheeses from Follow Your Heart have bases made from coconut oil, organic palm fruit oil, or soy. These variations create different flavors and textures, allowing the brand to offer a wide variety including shredded, powdered, and sliced cheese.
Product Line
Follow Your Heart has been in business since 1970, giving them over forty years to build their product line, and it is quite impressive. They are one of the biggest vegan cheese brands around, and they have a wide variety of products.
- Sandwhich slices in smoked gouda, pepper jack, American, mozzarella, garden herb, and provolone flavors
- Parmesan in both shredded and grated varieties
- Shredded varieties in cheddar and mozzarella as well as pizza and fiesta blends
- Block cheese in nacho, cheddar, mozzarella, and monterey jack
If you’re going to place an order with them, be sure to check out their other products including salad dressings, dips, and even egg substitutes.
Why People Love It
In addition to the wide variety, Follow Your Heart gets rave reviews for its ability to mimic the real thing when it comes to texture and taste. The sliced cheeses, in particular, have great melt-ability for some killer grilled cheese sandwiches. The taste of the Parmesan is also definitely worth a try.
On top of all that, this major brand is pretty well known and is likely available at most local grocery stores.
Be sure to also download our vegan shopping list only at ThriveCuisine.
Annie’s is a well-established brand for its organic and GMO-free stance, and its vegan offerings are growing as well. In addition to the mac and cheese variety, they also offer a range of vegan dressings and condiments.
What It’s Made From
Their ingredients vary by product, but most of the vegan cheese are made of some combination of potato, rice, pea protein, and canola oil. Be sure to check the labels on this brand.
Product Line
Go Veggie has a wide variety
- Sliced singles in cheddar, American, pepperjack, and mozzarella
- Shredded cheese in mozzarella, cheddar, and Mexican
- Snack bars in white American and “bacon” cheddar
- Grated parmesan in a shaker
- Chive and garlic spread and dip
- Cream cheese in chive and garlic, strawberry, and plain
Why People Love It
Their products are designed to be used in real kitchen to create everyday meals, and their website and social media feeds are full of recipes that put their products to the test.
Tofutti
What It’s Made From
Tofutti uses blends of corn, soy, and palm oil to create a variety of cheese options in slices and spreads. It’s not actually made of tofu in it’s pure form.
Product Line
The product line
Violife Cheese
What It’s Made From
Violife uses coconut oil and potato starch for the base of most of their cheeses. This combination is then tweaked for different flavors and textures to offer a wide variety.
Product Line
Violife is based in Greece and offers quite a few flavor and texture varieties to help you create wonderful recipes.
- Slices in smoked provolone, aged cheddar, provolone with hot peppers, and gouda
- Blocks in smoked provolone, aged cheddar, provolone with hote peppers, Mediterannean, feta, and mozzarella
- Cream cheeses in original, chili pepper, herb, and gorgonzola
Why People Love It
Dr-Cow
What It’s Made From
Dr-Cow uses cashew nuts as the base for its vegan cheeses, and that ingredient provides a rich, satisfying quality that makes this a decadent treat.
Product Line
The brand has a pretty simple product line with only nine varieties.
- Firm block cheese (that are still creamy in texture) in smoked, truffle, cajun, and reishi mushroom flavors
- A block of spreadable creamy aged cashew cheese in a plain flavor
- An individually-sized aged macadamia nut cheese
- Tubs of spreadable cream cheese in tomato-turmeric-garlic, chive, and plain flavors
Why People Love It
Heidi Ho!
A little bit of everything! Their product line includes a hazelnut-based cheeses as well as soy-based products.
Product Line
Founded in 2011, this relatively new brand was featured on the competitive business show Shark Tank and gained some attention through their television appearance. They’ve used that fame to grow their product line offerings.
- Chia seed-based cheeses in creamy, spicy, and smoky varieties
- “Ne Chevre” (meaning “No Goat”) goat cheese in plain and black lava (a salty variety)
Why People Love It
Their Facebook page is full of rave reviews of people commenting on the smokiness and burst of flavor from their products. On top of that, each package is printed with suggested recipe uses on the front, so you don’t have to guess about what to do with the cheese once you get it.
Punk Rawk Labs uses a process of fermentation that is similar to how dairy cheese is made. Instead of using milk, though, they use cashew milk.
While the products are a little on the pricier side, reviewers rave about the flavor. They are especially impressed by the nacho cheese, which is an excellent treat on tortilla chips.
Miyoko’s Creamery
Miyoko’s uses cashews and nutritional yeast to create cheese in the European style, providing flavorful, elegant options that are sophisticated.
So Delicious
Check out this vegan starter kit
What It’s Made From
Daiya cheeses are made with tapioca starch and coconut oil for a rich, delicious flavor, and their line offers a lot of variety in both taste combinations and textures.
Daiya is perhaps the leading brand for variety. They offer not only shredded, block, and cream cheese but also cheesecake and mac and cheese for a full-flavored spread of cheesy goodness.
- Shredded cheese available in classic, mozzarella, pepperjack, and cheddar as well as a more artisan “Cutting Board” version of their cheddar, mozzarella, and pepperjack.
- Slices come in gouda, mozzarella, American, cheddar, swiss, and provolone.
- Blocks come in jalapeno havarti, medium cheddar, monterey jack, and smoked gouda.
- Cream cheese comes in plain, strawberry, chive and onion, and garden vegetable.
- Their “cheezecake” is available in classic New York, key lime, chocolate, and strawberry.
- The mac and cheese comes in cheddar, alfredo, white cheddar, bac’n cheddar, and four cheese with herbs.
In addition to their impressive cheese offerings, they also have dressings, sauces, and dessert bars.
While many brands have focused on more artisan and gourmet experiences, Daiya is providing the basics people need to get cooking on a daily basis.
They provide just about any flavor and texture combo necessary to adapt a recipe and make it delicious.
Kite Hill Cream Cheese
These rich, soy-free options provide a non-dairy alternative for those who have soy allergies. In addition, their attention the process creates a truly authentic alternative that’s great for creating rich dishes.
Sprout and Kernel pride themselves on using high quality cashews as the primary ingredient in their cheese products.
A relatively new brand (founded in 2014), Sprout and Kernel
The brand has an elevated and sophisticated feel to it with rich and decadent flavor choices.
What is Vegan Cheese Made From?
Vegan cheese is typically made from a fat in the form of nuts, seeds or oils, just like regular cheese is made with milk-fat.
Higher-end vegan cheeses use nuts while the mainstream brands like Daiya use products like coconut oil.
Along with the fat-portion – vegan cheese is then seasoned with things like yeasts, spices or even fermented for a deep cheese flavor.
Is Annie’s Mac and Cheese Vegan?
Annie’s Mac and Cheese is not all vegan, but they do have a dairy-free vegan mac n cheese that’s just as good as the regular one!
Is Kraft Mac and Cheese Vegan?
No, Kraft Mac n Cheese is NOT vegan and they do not seem to have a vegan-version at the time of writing this.
See Also:
Is Vegan Cheese Healthier Than Regular Cheese?
The short answer is yes, but that doesn’t mean that vegan cheese isn’t bad for you.
When trying to determine which foods are healthy and which aren’t, ask yourself the following question: is it a whole plant food?
If the answer is no, and the vegan cheese is mostly refined oils, then that means it’s not great for you.
As you get into vegan cheese that have whole nuts that are fermented, it becomes a different story.
Either way, vegan cheeses don’t contain things like IGF-1 which have been linked to things like cancer
If you’re health conscious, it’s best to enjoy vegan cheese on special occasions or as a small part of your diet.
Is Daiya Vegan Cheese Healthy?
Daiya vegan cheese isn’t really healthy since it’s mostly made of refined oils and not whole foods.
Again, it’s fine to enjoy in moderation and the taste and texture are getting super realistic.
Is Goat Cheese Vegan?
No, goat cheese is not vegan.
Is Cottage Cheese Vegan?
Cottage cheese is not vegan.
Is Tofutti Cream Cheese Vegan?
Yes!
Is Lactose Free Cheese Vegan?
It depends.
Is American Cheese Vegan?
No, American Cheese is typically made from cow’s milk which means that it is not vegan.
Is Parmesan Cheese Vegan?
No, parmesan cheese is made from cows and/or sheep’s milk which means that it is not vegan.
Is Feta Cheese Vegan?
No, feta cheese is made from sheep’s, cow or goats milk which means that it is not vegan. this recipe!
Is Mozzarella Cheese Vegan?
No, mozzarella cheese is usually made from cow’s milk or buffalo milk.
Is Ricotta Cheese Vegan?
No, ricotta cheese is typically made from cow’s milk, sheep milks or another mammal which means that it is not vegan.
Is Vegan Cheese Good?
Absolutely!
A common brand that’s top notch is Chao Cheese.
Give them a try!
Hey, I’m Joey. I’ve been cooking since I was a little kid and love everything about it. You can find my writing about food, kitchen appliances (such as blenders) and much more. Thanks for stopping by!
Want to take all of the guess-work around going vegan?
Click here to check out the Vegan Starter Kit.
