Sampling of five different dairy-free cheese alternatives.
If you are one of thousands of Americans who either can't eat dairy or choose not to eat dairy, then you are happy about all of the dairy-free cheese alternatives. But like me, you might also be overwhelmed. It's hard enough to figure out what to buy in the grocery store among the thousands of different foods let alone chose from endless brands of the same product.
To help cut through all of the noise, I did the sampling for you. Hopefully this will help guide your decision the next time you are in the grocery store. I chose five dairy-free cheese alternatives available at Whole Foods: Treeline artisanal treenut cheese, Kite Hill soft fresh truffle, dill & chive, Daiya medium cheddar, Lisanatti Foods mozzarella, and Follow Your Heart cheddar. I chose these five brands because they were the only ones available at this particular Whole Foods in Virginia.
I sampled each cheese as is out of the package and then microwaved them with a small piece of plain tortilla bread to determine how well they melted.
Who was the winner?
Hands down my favorite cheese alternative in terms of taste, texture, and meltability is Lisanatti Foods' almond-based mozzarella style. I've made Vegan mac and cheese using their product before and it truly melts, shreds, and tastes the best. It's creamy, packed with flavor, and low-fat. It's also the cheapest of all five alternative cheeses. They also offer flavors in Cheddar, Jalapeno Jack, and Garlic-Herb. However, it is not entirely vegan because it contains casein, a milk protein.
Runner up?
If you absolutely can not tolerate any milk protein, try Daiya. It is delicious, melts well, and I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
Who was the loser?
Kite Hill's soft fresh truffle, dill, & chive almond cheese tasted nothing more than dill. And it didn't melt at all. Sure cheese is delicious on crackers or just plain, but it's also great to have a product that is versatile for your various cooking needs. Maybe you just want a gooey grilled cheese, quesadilla, or mac and cheese. This is not the product for that.
Daiya medium cheddar style farmhouse block (made from tapioca starch and pea protein)
$4.99
Serving size 1" cube
Calories: 80
Total fat: 6 g
Protein: 1 g
Taste: creamy, mild to medium cheddar taste.
Texture: hard block, firm, like a real block of dairy cheddar cheese.
Meltability: excellent, however it hardened after being heated
Kite Hill Artisan Almond Milk Product, soft fresh truffle, dill & chive (made from almonds)
$9.99
Serving size 1 oz.
Calories: 80
Total fat: 7 g
Protein: 3 g
Taste: somewhat bitter/sour, overpowering dill flavor.
Texture: slightly rubbery, like a firm tofu. Definitely not a smooth and creamy soft dairy cheese like a brie or goat cheese.
Meltability: sadly none.
Treeline Treenut Cheese Aged Artisanal Nut Cheese (made from cashews)
$7.49
Serving size 1 oz
Calories: 140
Total fat: 11 g
Protein: 5 g
Taste: not an overwhelming flavor, mild. (My husband said it tastes like spackling paste)
Texture: it's a little oily to touch, looks and has the consistency of clay.
Meltability: sadly none.
Follow Your Heart Cheddar (made from soy)
$4.99
Serving size 1 oz
Calories: 70
Total fat: 7 g
Protein: 1 g
Taste: creamy, mild cheddar taste.
Texture: it's a little slimy. It slices like an extra firm tofu block.
Meltability: excellent melt
Lisanatti Foods Almond Mozzarella Style (made from almonds)
$3.19
Serving size 1 oz
Calories: 50
Total fat: 4 g
Protein: 6 g
Taste: creamy, fairly authentic mozzarella taste
Texture: best consistency of all cheese alternatives sampled. Soft and easy to cut, but not too soft and slimy.
Meltability: excellent gooey melt
To help cut through all of the noise, I did the sampling for you. Hopefully this will help guide your decision the next time you are in the grocery store. I chose five dairy-free cheese alternatives available at Whole Foods: Treeline artisanal treenut cheese, Kite Hill soft fresh truffle, dill & chive, Daiya medium cheddar, Lisanatti Foods mozzarella, and Follow Your Heart cheddar. I chose these five brands because they were the only ones available at this particular Whole Foods in Virginia.
I sampled each cheese as is out of the package and then microwaved them with a small piece of plain tortilla bread to determine how well they melted.
Who was the winner?
Hands down my favorite cheese alternative in terms of taste, texture, and meltability is Lisanatti Foods' almond-based mozzarella style. I've made Vegan mac and cheese using their product before and it truly melts, shreds, and tastes the best. It's creamy, packed with flavor, and low-fat. It's also the cheapest of all five alternative cheeses. They also offer flavors in Cheddar, Jalapeno Jack, and Garlic-Herb. However, it is not entirely vegan because it contains casein, a milk protein.
Runner up?
If you absolutely can not tolerate any milk protein, try Daiya. It is delicious, melts well, and I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
Who was the loser?
Kite Hill's soft fresh truffle, dill, & chive almond cheese tasted nothing more than dill. And it didn't melt at all. Sure cheese is delicious on crackers or just plain, but it's also great to have a product that is versatile for your various cooking needs. Maybe you just want a gooey grilled cheese, quesadilla, or mac and cheese. This is not the product for that.
Daiya medium cheddar style farmhouse block (made from tapioca starch and pea protein)
$4.99
Serving size 1" cube
Calories: 80
Total fat: 6 g
Protein: 1 g
Taste: creamy, mild to medium cheddar taste.
Texture: hard block, firm, like a real block of dairy cheddar cheese.
Meltability: excellent, however it hardened after being heated
Kite Hill Artisan Almond Milk Product, soft fresh truffle, dill & chive (made from almonds)
$9.99
Serving size 1 oz.
Calories: 80
Total fat: 7 g
Protein: 3 g
Taste: somewhat bitter/sour, overpowering dill flavor.
Texture: slightly rubbery, like a firm tofu. Definitely not a smooth and creamy soft dairy cheese like a brie or goat cheese.
Meltability: sadly none.
Treeline Treenut Cheese Aged Artisanal Nut Cheese (made from cashews)
$7.49
Serving size 1 oz
Calories: 140
Total fat: 11 g
Protein: 5 g
Taste: not an overwhelming flavor, mild. (My husband said it tastes like spackling paste)
Texture: it's a little oily to touch, looks and has the consistency of clay.
Meltability: sadly none.
Follow Your Heart Cheddar (made from soy)
$4.99
Serving size 1 oz
Calories: 70
Total fat: 7 g
Protein: 1 g
Taste: creamy, mild cheddar taste.
Texture: it's a little slimy. It slices like an extra firm tofu block.
Meltability: excellent melt
Lisanatti Foods Almond Mozzarella Style (made from almonds)
$3.19
Serving size 1 oz
Calories: 50
Total fat: 4 g
Protein: 6 g
Taste: creamy, fairly authentic mozzarella taste
Texture: best consistency of all cheese alternatives sampled. Soft and easy to cut, but not too soft and slimy.
Meltability: excellent gooey melt
