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.

Vegan mozzarella-style cheeses

The vegan cheeses we tasted listed below in alphabetical order.

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Rachel

Rachel Clemons is an award-winning journalist who worked at CHOICE from 2004–2022. During her time at CHOICE her core focus was on food and nutrition, from reviewing breakfast cereals and fast food to dispelling myths about the benefits of detox kits and gourmet salt or translating confusing food labels – with the occasional taste test thrown in for good measure. Prior to CHOICE she lived overseas, working predominantly in hospitality when she wasn't travelling and eating her way through various cuisines. She holds a Master of Science in Nutrition from King's College London (where she also researched and wrote for CHOICE's UK sister organisation, Which?), and a Bachelor of Science, Health Sciences from the University of Adelaide. In 2017 she won the Dietitians Association of Australia's Nutrition Journalism Award and she's currently on the Steering Committee as a Parent Member of Parents' Voice.  You can find her on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Rachel Clemons is an award-winning journalist who worked at CHOICE from 2004–2022. During her time at CHOICE her core focus was on food and nutrition, from reviewing breakfast cereals and fast food to dispelling myths about the benefits of detox kits and gourmet salt or translating confusing food labels – with the occasional taste test thrown in for good measure. Prior to CHOICE she lived overseas, working predominantly in hospitality when she wasn't travelling and eating her way through various cuisines. She holds a Master of Science in Nutrition from King's College London (where she also researched and wrote for CHOICE's UK sister organisation, Which?), and a Bachelor of Science, Health Sciences from the University of Adelaide. In 2017 she won the Dietitians Association of Australia's Nutrition Journalism Award and she's currently on the Steering Committee as a Parent Member of Parents' Voice.  You can find her on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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