What are some good vegan substitutes for cheese?
I've been slowly transitioning my diet away from meat and dairy products. Cutting meat out has not really been an issue for me, and most dairy has been easy (I find the idea of milk gross anyway, never liked sour cream much, and butter substitutes are plentiful), but so far the idea of cutting out cheese seems like it will be my biggest hurdle. It's a central ingredient in many things I enjoy (mac and cheese, pizza, grilled cheese, sprinkling it on pasta, queso with chips and salsa, cottage cheese with jam, pretty much any Mexican dish). One of my sons is allergic to dairy so I've had plenty opportunities to try some of the small selection of vegan cheeses (mostly wheat based, I believe) we can get around here and they just don't do it for me at all--I find the texture and taste of every one I've tried actively repulsive (Daiya and Violife are the two that spring to mind).
Has anyone had better luck with vegan cheese--maybe brands or styles that I'm unaware of that come closer to replacing the real thing? Any tips on how to make cheeseless pizza that doesn't taste like sadness and despair? Or will there be a cheese-shaped hole in my soul I'm going to have to live with when I finally give it up?
I never found a good substitute.
For what it’s worth — and not necessarily directed at you, but towards anyone reading — cutting out all meat, eggs, and dairy, except for cheese is still an incredible accomplishment that has tonnes of upsides. It’s absolutely not a failure or a partial success to end up at that point on your plant-based journey; it’s (IMO) 100% successful and should be celebrated as such.
And we’re hopefully going to get lab grown casein at some point, too, so hopefully animal-free cheddar isn’t that far away either :)
The idea that you have to be absolutist for it to matter is firmly implanted into the social psyche. Even something as simple as cutting meat to once a week is doing something that matters.
90% less animal products is 90% of the benefits. And it’s a much more easily evangelized position. I imagine compared to a vegan someone going 90% reduction might have a bigger impact because they’re more likely to encourage others to reduce their animal consumption.
Vegans are seen as monk-like, dedicating their efforts to a noble cause. But it bounces right off average people because it’s not something that can be easily integrated into their existing life.
Disclaimer: I am vegan. I agree that being absolutist doesn’t help. And often does more harm than good, because people think: I’m not vegan, so why should I try this.
However, veganism isn’t being plant based and in that context it makes sense to say: go all the way.
Because it’s not about food, but just the fact that animals are being seen as products which is the problem. can elaborate more later
I'm not currently due to vastly different life circumstances than in the past, but I would sometimes tell people I was vegetarian and other times I would just say I don't eat meat, depending on what the context of it coming up being. Like if someone just asked if I was vegetarian I'd just say yes, it's simpler that way, but I wasn't the typical definition of vegetarian.
I have had issues with foods my whole life basically so at that point when I decided to try to be 'vegetarian', the main reason I was not going vegan was because I had such a limited range of foods that I would eat even before then that I probably would have died or become severely ill if I restricted myself to veganism. Like, I basically ate pizza, chicken nuggets, Mac and cheese, cheeseburgers(plain) and hot dogs and most common simple things you'd make with potatoes and bread and not much else.
So essentially all I ate after were things made with bread, potatoes, cheese, imitation chicken nuggets, cheese pizza (there were far fewer cheese alternatives 15 years ago).
I knew I wasn't meeting the standard criteria for vegetarian. I would eat things with gelatin for example, because it would restrict my already restricted diet too much not to, but I also viewed it as, people don't buy things because they have gelatin in them (other than something like jello). A lot of people probably don't even know what gelatin is or that it's even in the products that it is in, and it wouldn't economically make sense to even use it in all the products it's used in for the purposes it's used for if not for it being basically a byproduct of the demand directly for meat or other known and desired animal products. So most things that use gelatin would likely use an alternative where possible if people just didn't eat meat or dairy products because it would be entirely uneconomical to produce the animals just to produce gelatin.
So I dont view the use of or consumption of gelatin in that context to be a driver of the use of animals. Yes, the fact that they can make money off of it makes it slightly more economical to use animals for these purposes which it being more economical can allow demand to be higher, but I perceive it in the grand scheme of things to be relatively minor (demand for products made from animals would still be very high). I also view it to be a hindrance to people considering vegetarian or vegan mindsets if it demands an unrealistic adherence to policing animal byproducts and that seems to be a more impactful way to lead people to reducing demand for products made from animals.
I get that it might not be for everyone, and it’s not trivial, especially coming from an omnivorous place. But I don’t agree with the use of gelatin. I am probably conditioned to checking for it anyways, but where I’m from (germany) I would say that most people know what gelatin is.
But there’s a ton of alternative products without gelatin. It’s not a big inconvenience to just grab the candy without gelatin that’s right next to it. And especially as a vegan, even as a vegetarian (if you want to label yourself as that- which is not required) you should not consume things that animals died for. No matter if it’s a “byproduct” or not. It makes the killing of animals for no reason other than enjoyment more economical.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t do it, or you’re wrong one way or the other. I think people should make their own decisions. I used to eat meat for every meal. Slowly transitioned to less and less, and became a vegan 2 years ago. But people pushing too much for it, definitely scared me off too.
So maybe I’m just arguing semantics, but if you’re a vegan, you don’t eat products that animals got used/died for. As a vegan that counts for leather and other things too. I get that it might be hard to go all the way immediately, but most people don’t go from 0 to 100 anyways.
I just like to see people question their decisions - I do it all the time myself.
The type of absolutism you display in this comment ends up driving people away from consuming fewer animal products. If you decry someone for eating no meat but consuming other animal products all that's going to do is convince people who would readily give up meat that it's not worth the effort. If you insist on absolutism in this respect, you lose out on huge potential gains -- if an entire country switched to eating meat only one meal a week, that would have massive effects on the industry and culture, far greater than that of a much smaller portion of the population becoming truly vegan. By insisting that any reduction that fails to meet the standard of full veganism is insufficient, you are becoming a barrier to that type of positive change.
Also, if you live in Germany, you really need to get off your high horse about how easy it is to eat vegan alternatives, especially when it comes to gelatin. German candy aisles are not the average worldwide when it comes to vegan options, and you're incredibly lucky to have the bevy of vegan options in the same aisle here. And that's without even starting on gelatin in things other than candy. Insisting that it's incredibly easy when you live somewhere where it's so much easier for you does not make your case better.
That’s needlessly offensive and I will stop engaging with you, but you should re-read my comment. I am not judging anything. I am just saying: if you are vegan, you do not consume animal products. If you reduce your consumption of animal products, it’s great, I agree. But it’s not vegan.
I have not said that anywhere. Please don’t put words in my mouth.
Incredibly pointlessly hostile. I am from Germany, and I specified it. I literally argued with that. Also, I don’t live in Germany. I am currently in Vietnam, I spent some time in Japan and Thailand and here in the recent times and I have always found vegan candy options.
I find it absolutely insane to claim that I am absolutist, when I literally said the following:
Maybe you should question why you’re so defensive, when the things I said were very mild. People just like to hate on vegans, I guess. Have a good day
As someone who is vegan since 2009, I agree with this. I just stopped eating cheese altogether (including replacements, because they’re often highly processed), and learned to love other foods more. I love cheese myself nonetheless, and @Rudism got very far, and that’s very commendable.
I don't think there are any good cheese substitutes yet. I've tried an few and none of them are very good. I've never seen any being recommended.
What worked for me is to just forget about cheese altogether. Food preference is a habit and you can change it like any other habit, either slowly or cold turkey. For pasta, I like to sprinkle sunflower seeds over it. You can roast them in a pan, but I'm usually too lazy. It's nothing like cheese, but it provides some texture, which is nice.
It really depends on what you are trying to accomplish with it. If you are trying to have the flavor of a snack cheese, there are many alternatives; I rather like aged cashew cheese which is fermented just like dairy cheese is.
If you are looking for something with a gooey or melty texture there are many homemade starch based options to try. They don’t really have the flavor down quite right though. If you are trying to get the stringy stretchy texture there isn’t really anything that perfectly mimics it.
I agree with @kacey in that if you can get to all vegan minus cheese occasionally you’re doing great, and that is an accomplishment. I will add in that cheese is also really bad for your health, so regardless of trying out veganism it’s good to limit how much you are eating.
I for one think that pizza is actually better without a bunch of cheese. The “full mozzarella” style that most American people are familliar with drowns out the flavors in the sauce and veggies and herbs that should be in a good pizza. A pizza loaded with a big variety of veggies is more interesting texturally than cheese. For now try eating a less cheesy style of pizza like a margarita and then try it with less and less and see if it really makes that much of a difference to you.
I'm not vegan but I know (processed-food type) vegans and I enjoy trying vegan alternatives.
I share your experience, there just aren't any good vegan cheese simulacrums yet. Unlike meat, where (IMHO anyway) the Burger King & McDonalds plant-based patties are superior to their beef patties, all vegan cheese substitutes range from repulsive (for me, it's plant-based Babybel which has the mouthfeel and taste of eating a candle) to simply boring and insipid (Violife). I assume it's just too complicated a combination of flavours to replicate currently.
A friend who enjoys Violife hasn't had cheese for so long that I think he simply doesn't have a point of comparison anymore, and is just enjoying it as a novel non-cheese snack food. I could be totally wrong on that, but hard and mature cheeses are life for me.
He is American and I'm European, so could also be a general difference in cheese cultures (pun neither intended nor regretted).
I'm based in the UK so this applies there:
I also recommend checking out La Fauxmagerie which had a great range of cheeses.
Nutritional yeast gives some of the savoury flavour. You can make a good ricotta by blending together soaked cashews, tofu, and lemon juice, and salt. Works great as an lasagne layer. Otherwise they’re… not great, imo. I still eat cheese. It’s an area vegan subs are really lagging ( I like oat milk more than moomoo milk). Also on cheese: There’s a brand in the UK called applewood which has a smoked flavour and isn’t toooo bad.
I'm a big fan of nutritional yeast. It also goes well on popcorn, in pasta. I've never tried but always wondered what bechamel flavored with it would taste like.
Same. It's become my most ubiquitous ingredient.
Weird, I find the Violife cheese almost identical to real cheese. A bit gooier when melted and not as chewy, but not drastically different. It's been my go-to for a while when I'm in the mood for vegan.
In my opinion Violife is as close as you're going to get because to me that's the closest I've ever tasted.
So I actually quite like some vegan cheeses, but I've never had one that ended up having the same versatility that a lot of cheeses have. If you are looking for something that you can slice up and serve on crackers, or a soft cheese that you can spread on a bagel, there are some options, but if you are looking for a vegan cheese-like topping for pizza, then I do not know of a good substitution.
I don't particularly like the wheat based vegan cheeses I've tried. I have had more success with cashew and starch based ones. There's one local to me called Green Goddess Fromagerie that has some particularly good products, but I don't think they have particularly good distribution. And these are good as a cream cheese or chevre, or good as a cheddar on cracker sort of situation, but I don't think they melt particularly well, which is one of the real challenges I think you'll find.
The great and wise Kenji Lopez-Alt has done some excellent recipes that basically replicate all the qualities that make cheese something you want to eat, rather than trying (and failing) to replicate cheese itself: https://www.seriouseats.com/vegan-stovetop-style-macaroni-and-cheese-recipe
Daiya makes pretty good cheese substitutes if you're in the US. They don't melt and flow/stretch right but they're perfectly edible and work. There's a pizza place near me that is completely vegan and I didn't feel like I was not eating pizza when I was there.
I like nutritional yeast for things that are mushy/mashy and want something of a Parmesan flavor because you can sprinkle it in/on and mix it thoroughly. It gives the same nutty cheesy funk to stuff and I've had success with grits and popcorn with it. Do not confuse it with brewers yeast, that's a different thing. Nutritional yeast is also used as a cheese flavor industrially, even for things that aren't explicitly trying to be vegan/healthy.
My family has made some dishes using nutritional yeast. It has a cheese-like flavor. You may want to look for some recipes. It can make things that have a cheesy sauce, like to put on noodles. I’m not sure about something stringy like for pizza, I’ve tried some things but I didn’t like them.
I’ve also made fake hot dogs using vital wheat gluten which has a very rubbery texture. That isn’t too bad. But it’s not cheesy.
If you're in the US, and can spare the money, I'm a little surprised that no one has mentioned Rebel Cheese . I only bought one package of three some time ago. It is amazing! I could eat the smoked cheddar all day—though it really is all quite impressive.
Depending on where you live, you may be able to find a specialty shop selling fermented nut cheeses. These are about as close to cheese as you can get while remaining vegan. They can substitute pretty convincingly for very tangy cheeses---e.g., your typical goat cheese---or even brie. You aren't ever going to find convincing substitutes for cheeses that have more body; e.g., cheddar, gouda.
I'm vegetarian but we do try different vegan cheeses. Both the Field Roast and Miyokos brands make some really good options, if you have that near you. Miyokos even makes a pourable mozzarella, for pizza, that I have heard positive things about.