Luckily, improvements were made! By the early 1990s, newer vegan cheese variants appeared and it paved the way for more vegan cheeses to come… and they did! By 2018, vegan cheese was sold globally. Europe ate the most vegan cheese followed by North America.

You can now get all kinds and varieties of vegan cheese and you can buy vegan cheese online. Parmesan, gouda, mozzarella, cheddar, and cream cheese. There are dairy-free cheese alternatives for all varieties now! The texture and the taste are what you can expect from premium vegan cheese alternatives. It’s what we deserve!

What is Vegan Cheese

Vegan cheese is made from a mix of plant-based ingredients, usually the base is made from nuts, coconut oil or tofu. Vegan cheese has come a long way and the vegan cheese selection is continuously growing. You’re not limited to just one brand and one kind anymore. Now, you’ve got loads of options to choose from. We can even argue that you’ve got as many options as dairy-based cheeses. 

You can get vegan cheese in slices, get them in wedges, and even get them in blocks depending on what your needs are. It’s not just all vegan cheddar cheese. You can find vegan alternatives for just about every common cheese there is.

You can also get herb-infused vegan cheese spreads here at PlantX, too! While we know vegan cheese is often used to make pizzas and wraps, most of us just grab dairy-free cheese to slather on some toast or make sandwiches with. No more fuss over melting vegan cheese when you’ve got these around!

Speaking of melting, yes vegan cheese can melt! A lot of brands make vegan cheeses that can be sliced, melted, grated, and crumbled just like their dairy-based counterparts. That’s delicious food science in action!

The Cost of Being Cheesy

As you and many others may notice, vegan cheese isn’t cheap! Why is that? It’s true that most vegan cheeses are made from oils or nuts and a bunch of seasonings. But it also takes a lot to make something look, feel, taste, and act like cheese! When it comes to vegan cheese, we leave that to the experts.

That brings us to point number one. Making the best vegan cheese in the UK is hard! There’s all that processing you have to do and all that time needed to make it. Also, you need to source the right vegan ingredients! It takes some know-how to make vegan cheese. With non-GMO, organic, and natural ingredients come delicious melty plant-based cheese - how awesome is that?

Vegan cheese is an exciting food that we’re ready to share with the world! Pair some with your fave wines and add some slices to your burgers. Serve and eat vegan lactose-free cheese just like your regular cheese. It’s really that simple!

Top Dairy-Free Cheese To Try:

This is our guide to vegan cheese. If you are already a cheese lover and plan on making a switch, you know that you like the taste of some brands better than others! Here we are making things a little bit easier for you because we already compiled a list of the best cheddar, feta, mozzarella, pepper jack, and swiss cheese alternatives for you. Click on the ones that catch your interest down below!

Vegan Cheddar Cheese

Cheddar is known for its sharp and pungent (in a great way!) flavour. It’s probably one of the most common cheeses out there and the one people have most often. It also has a lovely earthy taste to it, making it a fantastic addition to savoury recipes. This is great for grilled cheese sandwiches and burgers!

Vegan Feta Cheese

Feta cheese is a saltier dairy-free cheese. You’ll also find that you can get different levels of pepperiness from it - which is similar to regular feta (the more aged it is the pepperier it gets). There are a lot of vegan cheese brands successfully trying to make this cheese similar to its crumbly, dairy-based counterpart.

Vegan Mozzarella Cheese

When you buy mozzarella cheese, you know you're getting that signature melt! This vegan cheese may be a little mild-tasting, but it still tops the list of favourite cheeses. Mozzarella cheese is also known for having a soft texture with sometimes floral notes. 

Vegan Pepper Jack Cheese

Pepper jack cheese is a versatile dairy-free cheese. This vegan cheese is one of the most flavourful, being seasoned with many spices. Speaking of spice, this plant-based cheese can also come in spicy variations. Depending on the type you get, pepper jack cheese is also known as an easy-to-melt cheese.

Vegan Swiss Cheese

When you watch cartoons, the cheese you often see drawn is Swiss cheese. It’s easily identifiable by its iconic cheese holes. Vegan Swiss cheese could have firm, yet smooth textures with a mildly sweet taste.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is vegan cheese lactose-free?

Glad you asked! Vegan cheese can be made out of a bunch of plant-based ingredients, making them naturally lactose-free. If regular cheese can be made with milk from a cow, goat, or even sheep, then vegan cheese can be made with soy milk, almond milk, cashews, peanuts, and pine nuts.

There are a lot of combinations one can use to make plant-based cheeses. That’s why there’s such a variety of them!

Is vegan cheese healthier than regular cheese?

They might be healthier, but there are some caveats! Vegan cheeses are normally less fatty than regular cheese and automatically contain no cholesterol, which is great! But that also means vegan cheese could also contain less calcium and protein.

If you’re getting a calcium and protein source somewhere else to balance that out, then that’s a step in the right direction!

Is vegan cheese meltable?

If you want a plant-based cheese that will melt, you have to get one that’s made to do so! You can find vegan cheese that will not only melt but will give you the stretchy cheese pull as well!

Meltable cheese isn’t only limited to vegan mozzarella cheese as well. There are other plant-based cheeses that are made to melt at high temperatures.

Can vegan cheese be frozen?

All vegan cheese should be stored in the fridge, but some of them are okay to freeze too. We can’t speak for all cheese brands, but you can keep your cheese in an airtight container in the freezer to help it last a little longer. That time could range from 3 to 6 months depending on whether it’s a store-bought or homemade cheese. Please check individual storage instructions because not all vegan cheese is recommended for freezer storage!