This one is highly requested so I’m going to jump right into it. Here is my list of current faux cheese favorites and other faux dairy brands below. Enjoy!
Let me know what you love so I can give it a try and shout out some more amazing brands!
And one quick caveat. Nothing replaces the flavor and texture of cheese but with these products, you aren’t harming animals, the environment or your body the way dairy cheese and products would, so I’d say that’s a win.
Plant Based Faux Cheese
Treeline Soft French-Style Cashew Cheeses - Best cheese and cracker cheese. Veganize your charcuterie board with this one.
UPDATE CHAO - Best sliced cheese. It’s the only one I enjoy cold. Great in sandwiches and grilled cheese.
Oh my Heart Vegan Smoked Gouda - Also good for grilled cheese cheese. Melts considerably well. Doesn’t taste like smoked gouda so set those expectations but it’s good. My son snacks on this one but I personally don’t like it cold.
Kite Hill Ricotta - Best for lasagnas, pasta, sandwich spreads.
DIY Parmesan - I use the recipe from Oh She Glows Crowd Pleasing Cesar Salad - It takes about 2 minutes in the Vitamix.
Violife has also been recommended to me but I haven’t had a chance to try it.
Nutritional Yeast - This is basically a vegan goddess food. It’s so high in B12, I get my daily dose here. I add it to roasted veggies, vegan mac and cheese sauces, pasta, really anything that you’d like to make savory, nutty, delicious. It’s not cheese. Set your expectation. But it is wonderful. Some add it to popcorn, but I have yet to try that.
Plant Based “CHEESY” Snacks
Late July Jalepeno Lime Chips - These are as close to cool ranch as they come. And the kicker is that they are even better! Warning: These are super addictive.
Hippies Organic Chickpea Vegan White Cheddar Puffs - Like cheesy poofs that are semi-healthy.
Forager Cheesy Greens Chips - These are on my list to try! Have you had them? Are they good? I love this brand so let me know!
(I am not a huge fan of the Earth Balance Vegan Cheddar Squares. They just taste kind of greasy and fake to me. I’ve tried them. My son loves them. But they aren’t my favorite so don’t let them convince you that plant based snacks don’t rock.)
Plant Based Faux Yogurt
Forager Cashew Yogurt, Plain - It’s hands down my favorite plant based yogurt. I add it to smoothies so that Mateo and I get our daily dose of probiotics.
Plant Based Faux Butter
Miyokos European Style Cultured Vegan Butter - Vegan butter that’s not made from palm oil! Finally!
Plant Based Faux Milk
365 Brand and Blue Diamond Almond and Soy Milks - I prefer the refrigerated ones versus shelf stable but we keep a ton of both in the house. This is our smoothie base so we go through a lot. Kids don’t need cow’s milk at any point in their development despite what the dairy industry wants us to think.
DIY Cashew Milk - I have a whole blog post - Cashews are Magic - so take a look for that and other recipes there.
Plant Based Ice Cream
Ben and Jerry’s Non Dairy PB and Cookie - Thank you, thank you, thank you.
FoMu - This one you may only find locally in MA but man oh man, if you haven’t had it, especially right from their store, you are missing out! All birthday ice cream cakes of mine come from here, too.
Veganized Dinners
These are a repeat from my Whole Foods Market Vegan Virtual Haul post but they are worth repeating.
Kite Hill Plant Based Ravioli and Tortellini - I nearly cried when I saw this at Whole Foods in early 2020. Wow. Just wow. I love ravioli and tortellini and never thought I’d have it again because even the pumpkin and butternut squash varieties that I’d seen before all contained egg. Not this one.
Gotham Greens Vegan Pesto - Goes great with the Kite Hill pastas above. So delicious. I make my own in the summer when I have a ton of basil but wow this is great when I don’t have basil on hand.
Sweet Earth, Vegan Veggie Lover’s Frozen Pizza - This is my current favorite frozen vegan pizza. For me, pizza was my vegetarian to vegan deal breaker for a long time. When I finally found my motivator (compassion for animals) I said goodbye and to be honest, it was hard. But, I have had some faux brands that I like and mostly, I make my own that I think are so delicious.
Annie’s Mac and Cheese - It tastes just like what I remember boxed mac and cheese to taste like, which is to say, delicious. I make my own faux mac and cheese regularly now thanks to Ellen Fisher’s ebook recipe but I got this to try for a quick fix and I am definitely adding this into our pantry back up’s!
For inspiration from our day to day life, follow me over on instagram @plantbasedbaby.us. Here’s a preview below of what you can expect - all things plant-based, montessori, DIY, parenting, lifestyle.
