Best dairy free mozzarella cheese
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. The science of replicating the texture, taste, and melting characteristics of cheese is the best dairy free mozzarella cheese difficult part of manufacturing a good vegan cheese. We have very distinct memories of trying Go Veggie for the first time and being incredibly unimpressed by the flavor and quality of this dairy-free cheese. But to give the brand a second chance, we sampled its cheddar-style shreds made with modified potato starch as its primary ingredient.
We found that this cheese was the most plastic-like of all the dairy-free cheeses we sampled. It lacked any recognition of cheese flavor and stayed in tiny shreds when we tried to melt it in the microwave. 29 at the time of publication, we would have liked to have a vegan cheese with some resemblance to our beloved cheddar. Go Veggie also offers other products like slices and cream cheeses, but we think we’re going to leave this brand on the shelf for now. Tofutti is likely most recognizable for its vegan cream cheese, but we decided to switch it up and sample its dairy-free American cheese slices.
Therefore, these slices are not suitable for folks with soy allergies. We ran into several issues with this Tofutti product — the foremost being it not melting. Instead of melting, we found that this cheese liquefies into a tiny oily puddle. And if your next reaction is to eat the slice unmelted, we would caution against that too. There was very little flavor in the cheese that resembled the classic American grilled-cheese-quality slices of our childhood. Daiya is a major brand in the dairy-free cheese scene. Besides its selection of shreds, slices, sticks, and “cream cheeze,” you’ll find many of its products in the frozen section of the grocery store such as its cheezecake, vegetable crust pizza, and frozen burritos.
The first thing we noticed about these shreds was the texture. Eating out of the bag was plasticky, brittle, grainy, and unpleasant. The Daiya cheese was very globby when it was melted down and didn’t spread evenly over the vegan nachos we tried to make. Yes, it’s the same Babybel that manufactures the snacking cheeses in the little red wax discs — just vegan. The brand released its plant-based snacking cheese in early 2022. These small snacks, which come in bags of six, are made with modified food starch, coconut oil, and calcium citrate.
Babybel snacking cheeses are limited in scope because the lineup only contains one product. And unlike other dairy-free cheeses, it’s made for snacking rather than for melting. Peeling these tiny cheeses is like a little bit of euphoria from our childhood, and the inside of the cheese resembled almost the exact flavor of cream cheese. There was a subtle tangy aftertaste on the cheese that made it feel like we were eating a ball of mozzarella.
The Laughing Cow carries a few plant-based products including its spreadable cheese alternative in original and garlic and herb flavor. Each cheese circle includes eight foil-packaged wedges for easy snacking and food on the go. We were more impressed with the garlic and herb version of the Laughing Cow. The original lacked flavor and tasted a bit more gelatinous than the garlic and herb flavor, which had an undercurrent of spice that made the texture of the cheese a little less distracting. While we wouldn’t eat this cheese regularly because of its texture, it might be a feasible option for someone building a dairy-free charcuterie board. CHAO creamery is an offshoot of Field Roast — which makes some of the most delicious vegan sausages we’ve ever had.
So naturally, our expectations for CHAO’s creamy original slices were very high. CHAO uses coconut oil, fermented tofu, and vegetable starches to craft its cheese. The texture of the slices was easy to handle and peel apart — which is important since CHAO does not individually wrap its slices. When melted, we found that the cheese resembles its sliced shape, but has some give to it as a dairy-based cheese slice would.
