Vegan cheese taste test

‘Vegan’ is hot right now in Australia. There’s been a boom in the number of vegan food launches over the past few years, according to market research group Mintel. Vegan options are increasingly being offered on cafe and restaurant menus. And the vegan range in major supermarkets continues to expand, vegan cheese being a more recent addition for Coles and Woolworths.

“Vegan cheese is one of our biggest growth categories of vegan food products in both range and volume,” says Jess Bailey, director of The Cruelty Free Shop, a vegan retailer with outlets in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Brisbane. 

You can now buy vegan cheddar and feta, vegan mozzarella and parmesan. There’s even an Australian-produced blue vein cheese made from cashews that’s a dead ringer for the real thing (at least in appearance).

But which vegan cheeses taste best?

How we tested

• Nine CHOICE staffers – three vegans, two vegetarians and four omnivores – participated in a blind tasting of 15 vegan cheese products. 
• We focused on mozzarella-style and cheddar-style cheeses, as these appear to be the most widely available styles (and to keep the sample size manageable).
• Our tasters sampled them in a random order and commented on their attributes before giving each cheese an overall thumbs up or down. 
• Both styles were served as sold (packaging removed), but we also served the mozzarella-style samples melted on plain white bread.

Best-tasting vegan cheeses

The most popular mozzarella style product (getting a thumbs up from eight of our nine tasters) was Bio Cheese Pizza Shred. Tasters described it as having a soft, sticky consistency when melted, but with an appealing ‘cheesy’ appearance and pleasant, mild flavour.

“I’m surprised how good this tastes,” said one of our omnivores. “Melts really well and tastes delicious,” said a vegetarian. “I’d consider buying this one because it’s flavoursome without reminding me of dairy products,” said one of our vegans.

The most popular cheddar style product (thumbs up from six tasters) was Bio Cheese Cheddar Flavour, described as having a smooth, buttery appearance and texture.

“Cuts smoothly, smooth texture, appealing taste, close to mainstream dairy ‘feel’,” said one omnivore. “Pleasant, like processed cheddar,” said another. One of our vegans commented, “I wouldn’t buy it as I don’t like the distinctly dairy-like cheese flavour, but it’s an excellent ‘cheese’. If I liked cheese I’d buy this one.”

Price and provenance

Vegan cheeses tend to be more expensive than their dairy counterparts – due in part to economies of scale, as well as the food miles many of them have travelled. Those we tasted ranged in price from $2.60 per 100g (Green Vie with Mozzarella Flavour) up to $6.98 per 100g (Daiya Mozzarella Style Shreds) – all more than what you pay for leading brand Perfect Italiano’s shredded mozzarella ($1.92 per 100g) or leading brand Mainland’s vintage cheddar ($2.40 per 100g).

In terms of provenance, just three of the products we bought identified themselves as ‘made in Australia’ – Dairy-Free Down Under Mozzarella Style Slices, Damona American Cheddar and Damona Smoked Mozzarella, and Notzarella – with the rest coming from Greece, Canada, USA, Scotland and elsewhere in the UK.

“Until more recently all the vegan cheeses we stocked were from overseas,” says Bailey. “But options are increasing, and vegan cheese makers are now popping up all over Australia.”

Nutrition notes

Many vegan cheeses (including both Bio Cheese products in our tasting) are based on coconut oil, either on its own or in combination with soy. Much like dairy cheese, they tend to be high in saturated fat and sodium. But unlike dairy-based cheese, they’re low in protein and contain negligible – if any – calcium.

From a culinary and taste perspective these products can offer a great alternative to dairy. But nut-based vegan cheeses are a more nutritious option, providing protein, calcium and heart-healthy monounsaturated fats.

Check out our vegan cheddar and vegan mozzarella tables below for ingredient, nutrition and price details for the 15 products we tasted.

Vegan cheddar-style cheeses

The vegan cheeses we tasted listed below in alphabetical order.

Bio Cheese Cheddar Flavour ($7.50 per 200g block) Price per 100g Energy per 100g Protein per 100g Sat fat per 100g Sodium per 100g $3.75 1190kJ 0g 21g 920mg Ingredients: Water, coconut oil (non-hydrogenated) 23%, modified starch (E1404, E1450), starch, sea salt, cheddar vegan flavours, olive extract, colour (B-carotene). Cheezly Mature White Cheddar Style ($8.99 per 250g block) Price per 100g Energy per 100g Protein per 100g Sat fat per 100g Sodium per 100g $3.60 291kJ 3.5g 19.37g 549mg Ingredients: Water, coconut oil, potato starch, soya protein, thickeners (carrageenan, locust bean gum, xanthan gum), yeast extract, salt, natural flavouring, calcium phosphate, natural colour (carotene). Damona American Cheddar ($12.75 per 250g block) Price per 100g Energy per 100g Protein per 100g Sat fat per 100g Sodium per 100g $5.10 1330kJ 2.4g 25.5g 102mg Ingredients: Soy milk, coconut oil, modified starch (E1404), tapioca starch, miso, nutritional yeast, sea salt, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, annatto (colour). Green Vie with Cheddar Flavour ($5.80 per 180g pack, slices) Price per 100g Energy per 100g Protein per 100g Sat fat per 100g Sodium per 100g $3.22 1265kJ 0.3g 21.3g 480mg Ingredients: Water, coconut oil 24%, modified starch (E1422), sea salt, vegan flavourings, coconut sugar, colour (natural B-carotene and paprika extract), preservative (sorbic acid E200). Oliana Foods Cheddar ($8.99 per 200g block) Price per 100g Energy per 100g Protein per 100g Sat fat per 100g Sodium per 100g $4.50 1200kJ 0g 19.7g 880mg Ingredients: Water, refined coconut oil 22.5%, modified potato starch, modified tapioca starch, starch, sea salt, vegan flavour, trisodium citrate (emulsifier), potassium sorbate (preservative), citric acid (acidity regulator), annato extract (colour). Sheese Mature Cheddar Style ($6.00 per 200g block) Price per 100g Energy per 100g Protein per 100g Sat fat per 100g Sodium per 100g $3.00 1260kJ 0.7g 19g 720mg Ingredients: Water, coconut oil 21%, modified potato starch, maize starch, oat fibre, modified maize starch, thickeners (carrageenan, guar gum), salt, natural flavourings, yeast extract, acidity regulators (lactic acid, sodium lactate), colour (mixed carotenes).

Vegan mozzarella-style cheeses

The vegan cheeses we tasted listed below in alphabetical order.

Bio Cheese Pizza Shred ($8.00 per 200g pack) Price per 100g Energy per 100g Protein per 100g Sat fat per 100g Sodium per 100g $4.00 1130kJ 0g 18.8g 673mg Ingredients: Water, coconut oil (non-hydrogenated) 21%, starch, modified starch (E1404, E1450), sea salt, anti-caking agent (tapioca starch), vegan mozzarella flavour, olive extract, colour (B-carotene). Cheezly Mozzarella Style ($8.50 per 250g block) Price per 100g Energy per 100g Protein per 100g Sat fat per 100g Sodium per 100g $3.40 307kJ 5.3g 24.3g 641mg Ingredients: Water, coconut oil, tofu, soya protein, potato starch, thickeners (carrangeenan, xanthan gum, locust bean gum), salt, natural flavouring, dried yeast, calcium phosphate, sugar, yeast extract. Dairy-Free Down Under Mozzarella Style Slices ($8.50 per 200g pack, slices) Price per 100g Energy per 100g Protein per 100g Sat fat per 100g Sodium per 100g $4.25 993kJ 1.7g 3g 767mg Ingredients: Water, soy milk (filtered water, organic whole soya beans, organic sunflower oil, sea salt), canola oil, tapioca starch, thickener (agar agar), vegan flavours, sea salt, yeast flakes, emulsifier (soy lecithin), preservative (sorbic acid), antioxidant (citric acid). Daiya Mozzarella Style Shreds ($13.95 per 200g pack) Price per 100g Energy per 100g Protein per 100g Sat fat per 100g Sodium per 100g $6.98 1195kJ 3.6g 8.9g 786mg Ingredients: Filtered water, tapioca starch, coconut oil, non-GMO expeller pressed canola and/or safflower oil, potato protein isolate, vegan natural flavours, sea salt, tricalcium phosphate, lactic acid (vegan), whole algal flour, konjac gum, xanthan gum, yeast extract. Damona Smoked Mozzarella ($12.75 per 250g block) Price per 100g Energy per 100g Protein per 100g Sat fat per 100g Sodium per 100g $5.10 1110kJ 3.5g 22.2g 100mg Ingredients: Soy milk, coconut oil, tapioca flour, carrageenan, sea salt, white wine vinegar, lemon juice, natural preservative E235. Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet Shreds ($10.15 per 227g pack) Price per 100g Energy per 100g Protein per 100g Sat fat per 100g Sodium per 100g $4.47 1215kJ <1g 12.8g 999mg Ingredients: Filtered water, organic palm fruit oil 22%, modified corn and potato starches, natural flavourings, bamboo fibre, emulsifiers (organic vegetable gylcerin, sunflower lecithin), anticaking agent (cellulose), acidity regulators (calcium phosphate, calcium sulphate, citric acid, disodium phosphate, rice flour, sea salt, pea fibe, pea starch, stabilisers (carrageenan, xantham gum), preservative (sodium citrate). Green Vie with Mozzarella Flavour ($6.50 per 250g block) Price per 100g Energy per 100g Protein per 100g Sat fat per 100g Sodium per 100g $2.60 1265kJ 0.3g 21.3g 480mg Ingredients: Water, coconut oil 24%, modified starch (E1422), sea salt, vegan flavourings, colour (natural B-carotene), preservative (sorbic acid E200), vitamin B12. Notzarella ($7.99 per 240g block) Price per 100g Energy per 100g Protein per 100g Sat fat per 100g Sodium per 100g $3.33 977kJ 2g 21.2g 771mg Ingredients: Water, organic non-GM soybeans, refined coconut oil (non-hydrogenated), agar agar, guar gum, xantham gum, sea salt, citric acid, E171, safflower yellow, invert sugar. Sheese Vegan Mozzarella Style ($8.00 per 200g pack, shredded) Price per 100g Energy per 100g Protein per 100g Sat fat per 100g Sodium per 100g $4.00 1293kJ <0.1g 21.6g 640mg Ingredients: Water, coconut oil 25%, modified potato starch, oat fibre, maize starch, salt, natural flavourings, modified maize starch, calcium citrate, thickeners (carrageenan, guar gum), acidity regulators (lactic acid, sodium lactate), colour (mixed carotenes).