Read This Before You Buy Vegan Cheese Again
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I have thrown away more vegan cheese than I care to admit. Half a block goes in the bin, I tell myself the next brand will be better, and around we go.
It’s the single hardest swap on a plant-based diet and the one that makes people give up. Here are six things I wish I’d known before spending a small fortune finding out.
🧀 1. Not All Vegan Cheese Is Actually Healthy
Dairy-free and healthy are not the same sentence. Turn most blocks over and the first two ingredients are coconut oil and starch, with a bit of gum to hold it together. There’s almost no protein and barely any actual food in there.
My rule now is simple. If a nut or a bean isn’t in the first three ingredients, it’s a treat, not a staple.
🥜 2. Cashew-Based Is Usually Your Best Bet
After working through most of what my shop stocks, cashew based cheeses win almost every time. They’re creamier, they have actual tang, and they don’t leave that waxy coating on the roof of your mouth.
These are the ones I put out when people come over, because they’re the only ones that hold up on a board without explanation. A cashew parmesan is also the easiest swap to make, since nobody expects grated parmesan to behave like a block anyway.
🔥 3. Melting Can Be Hit Or Miss
If you want the stretchy pizza pull, lower your expectations slightly. Some vegan cheeses melt properly and others just slump into an oily puddle and sit there looking at you. There’s no way to tell from the packet.
🚩 4. Some Contain Allergens Or Hidden Animal Ingredients
This one genuinely caught me out. Some cheeses labelled plant-based still contain casein, a milk protein used to get the stretch right. Legally fine, not vegan. Look for a certified vegan logo rather than the words plant-based, and check for coconut, soy and almond if allergies are a factor.
🧀 5. Homemade Vegan Cheese Is Way Easier Than You Think
Once I worked out the cashew sauce, I stopped buying tubs altogether. Five things: cashews, lemon juice, garlic, salt and nutritional yeast. Soak the cashews in boiling water for fifteen minutes first, then blend until there is no grit left at all. A high speed blender makes this properly smooth, and that smoothness is the entire difference between sauce and grainy disappointment.
💰 6. Price Doesn’t Always Equal Quality
The most expensive block I ever bought was the worst one. A cheap garlic and herb spread from the corner shop is the one I actually restock. Buy the smallest size of anything new and treat the first block as a test.
✅ Final Thoughts
Vegan cheese has improved a lot and it still isn’t cheese. Once I stopped expecting it to be, I started enjoying it. Judge it as its own thing and it does fine.
Buy cashew based, read the label for casein, make your own sauce for pasta and nachos, and keep the shop bought stuff for the times you want a slice in a sandwich. That combination finally worked for me after about two years of bin-based research.
🛒 The Cheese Situation, Solved
Two years of bin-based research got me to this short list.
- Raw cashews: soaked in boiling water for fifteen minutes, then blended. This replaced every tub I used to buy.
- Nutritional yeast: the savoury note. Without it the sauce tastes like warm nuts.
- Cashew parmesan: the easiest swap of all, since nobody expects grated parmesan to behave like a block.
- A high speed blender: the difference between sauce and grainy disappointment is entirely about how smooth you get it.
- Vegan cheese for sandwiches: keep the shop-bought stuff for slices, make your own for sauce.
