American cheese is mild and semi-soft, which means it’s great for various uses since it’s melty. Vegan cheeses have come a long way over the years, going from mostly bland and rubbery to deliciously soft and gooey when used to make vegan pizza, grilled sandwiches, quesadillas, and casseroles.
The ingredients used to make dairy-free cheeses vary, depending on the cheese style. Cashews and cultures mixed with oils and spices are the main ingredients for gourmet vegan cheeses resembling brie, feta, mozzarella, etc.
However, the ingredients are more extensive for the more processed, melty, everyday American cheese slices or shreds. These include nut milk, vegan lactic acid, oils, starches, flavorings, herbs, and spices. These cheeses usually have a higher fat content, usually from coconut oil, meaning they’re deliciously gooey and ethical, but indulge carefully. Read more about the healthiest way to indulge in vegan cheese healthily from Vegnews.
Choosing the best vegan American cheese depends on how you want to use it in your meals and your preferred flavors. Here are some of the best dairy-free cheese picks for your various dishes:
Creamy and Delicious Vegan American Cheese
Finding a dairy-free cheese with the right texture, flavor, and color of the cheese you are trying to replace can prove tricky. The best vegan American cheese varieties to use when creating cheese boards and recipes depend on your taste, but thankfully, there are more options now than ever.
When people think of vegan American cheeses, they mostly think of shreds and cheese slices. However, there are several other creamy and delicious vegan cheeses that can be used in recipes.
Vegan Cream Cheese
Besides using it to spread on bagels and bread slices, you can use vegan cream cheese to make dips. It’s also perfect for making cheesecakes or creamy frostings.
Kite Hill Foods Cream Cheese Alternative Made With Almond Milk – Kate Hill has expanded its offerings from dairy-free yogurt to butter, cream cheese, sour cream, and filled pasta. The cream cheese comes in original and several other flavors, including strawberry chive and garden veggie. The flavor resembles dairy-based cream cheese with enough tang and contains wholesome ingredients with mushroom extract to preserve freshness.
Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese – Here’s another option that tastes like dairy cottage cheese for your spreading and baking needs.
Treeline Dairy-free Cream Cheese – Treeline has several dairy-free cheeses, including slices, shreds, and French-style cheeses. Its plain cream cheese contains cashews, oil, and cultures for a smooth texture and tangy flavor.
Vegan Ricotta Cheese
Ricotta cheese resembles cottage cheese since it’s spreadable. Use it in lasagne dishes or to make dips. Otherwise, serve it with crackers and fruit or spread it onto bread slices.
Kite Hill Foods Ricotta – Even though it is often difficult to find, this is an excellent vegan ricotta product.
Tofutti Ricotta – This is another delicious ricotta that perfectly mimics dairy-based ricotta.
Vegan Feta
Dairy-free feta is the perfect accompaniment for a Greek-style, watermelon, or leafy green salad. It’s also delicious when served with or melted into tomato-based meals or sandwiches.
Follow Your Heart Feta Crumbles – With its sharp, tangy flavor, this allergen-free pre-crumbled feta resembles the real thing. It also melts well if you want to use it in bakes or on pizza and flatbreads.
Violife Just Like Feta – If you want vegan feta in a block with salty brine, this one is best because it tastes like the real thing.
Trader Joe’s Vegan Feta Cheese Alternative—This nondairy-based feta cheese alternative from Trader Joe’s is very good taste-wise and reasonably priced.
The Ultimate Vegan Cheese for All Your Recipes
The best vegan American cheese is not always sliced cheese. Shredded and parmesan cheese are both very versatile, making them the ultimate cheeses for all your recipes where you want to sprinkle or melt the vegan cheese:
Shredded Vegan Cheeses
Whether you want to make grilled cheese sandwiches, quiches, or creamy bakes, shredded vegan cheese is the most handy because it melts quickly. Here are the best vegan American cheese shreds:
Chao Creamery Vegan Shreds – A favorite go-to vegan cheese for grilled cheese sandwiches because of their excellent melt and subtle cheesy flavor.
Earth Grown Cheddar Style or Mozzarella Style Shreds – Aldi’s Earth Grown in-house vegan and natural foods brand has some great products, including dairy-free mozzarella and cheddar shreds. These contain coconut oil, potato starch, and protein. Both varieties are reasonably priced and melt nicely, but the cheddar shreds are more flavorful than the mozzarella.
Parmela Creamery Shreds – This smaller brand uses cashew milk for these cheddar-style cheese shreds that melt well. Wegmans and Whole Foods usually have these on their shelves.
Violife Shreds – Like all vegan cheeses, Violife’s mozzarella and cheddar shreds might not stretch like traditional cheese, but this brand will melt well in a grilled sandwich, ensuring it’s ready before the bread burns.
Daiya Cutting Board Collection Shreds – These shreds are better than their classic shredded cheese, and the mozzarella tastes good and melts well.
Vegan Parmesan
Let’s face it: if you want vegan cheese for sprinkling over pasta or risotto, then a parmesan-styled cheese is what you need. However, you can also use it to give a richer, cheesy flavor to stuffed pasta and bakes.
Follow Your Heart Dairy-Free Parmesan – If you want a pre-shredded parmesan that melts like a dream in the oven, these large store-bought shred options save you time and have a neutral taste. If you prefer a powdery vegan parmesan, pulse the shreds in your food processor.
Dairy-Free Heaven: Vegan American Cheese Options
Even though it’s easy to make vegan cheese at home, replicating the taste and texture is often tricky, especially if you prefer more strongly flavored or scented cheese. That’s where shop-bought vegan cheese varieties can offer you dairy-free heaven. When thinking about the best vegan American cheese options, most people immediately think of sliced cheddar, gouda, and mozzarella. These vegan cheeses are great for creating burgers, sandwiches, wraps, grilled cheese bread sandwiches, and pizzas. Here are some of the best vegan American cheeses to use:
Vegan Sliced Cheddar and Gouda Cheese
Use vegan sliced cheese to melt in grilled cheese sandwiches or on burgers. Vegan sliced cheese is also practical for making creative sandwiches.
Field Roast Chao Creamery Slices—These creamy vegan cheese slices contain coconut and fermented tofu, making them tasty. Whether you snack on them raw or want to melt them in a grilled sandwich, they taste deliciously like real cheese without an artificial aftertaste.
Violife Mature Cheddar Slices – Another super-flavorful option is Violife’s Mature Cheddar Slices which always melt perfectly.
Follow Your Heart Smoked Gouda Slices – All the FYH sliced vegan cheese varieties taste very good, but the Smoked Gouda is exceptional if you want something with a smoky flavor.
Daiya Swiss Style Slices – These Swiss-style vegan cheese slices taste remarkably like the real thing!
Vegan Mozzarella Cheese
The stretchy, gooey texture of vegan mozzarella makes it ideal for melting onto pizzas and oven-baked dishes like macaroni and cheese or lasagna.
Miyoko’s Pourable Mozzarella – It’s easy to make liquid vegan mozzarella, but if you want a shop-bought pourable mozzarella, you’ll struggle to find one. Miyoko’s makes the only pourable version you can buy, and it’s divine on pizza or pasta bakes for a browned and bubbled effect with a deliciously creamy and gooey taste.
Violife Mozzarella-Style Shreds—These mozzarella-style shreds from Violife are great for sprinkling onto pizza and pasta or using raw in wraps.
Miyoko’s Organic Cashew Milk Mozzarella – Miyoko’s organic cashew milk mozzarella is a sliceable mozzarella with a soft texture. Nonetheless, it melts nicely on hot dishes and tastes delicious when used uncooked in salads like Caprese.
Discover the Perfect Vegan American Cheese Alternative
Finding the best vegan American cheese alternatives is easier than you thought, thanks to the various vegan brands making cheese to enhance the taste of your plant-based dishes.
These cheeses are great when eaten alone on crackers or making interesting combinations for grilled or plain sandwiches or wraps.
Besides the brands mentioned earlier, here are more vegan cheese slices to check out:
365 Whole Foods Market Plant-Based Cheddar Cheese Alternative – This cheese alternative is a great option for a dairy-free cheddar, thanks to its bold flavor. There’s also a Smoked Gouda alternative, meaning you can choose which cheese alternative slices you prefer for piling on crackers or sandwiches or to enjoy with fruits and nuts.
Parmela Creamery Plant-Based Mild Cheddar – Another dairy-free alternative is this mild cheddar made with cashew milk for a creamy and flavorful mild cheddar from Parmela Creamery. Use these vegan cheese slices on burgers, homemade sandwiches, topping tasty burgers, and grilled cheese sandwiches. Besides Mild Cheddar, other choices include Sharp Cheddar, Creamy American, and Fiery Jack.
Simple Truth Cheddar Style Slices – Simply Truth is a Kroger brand of non-dairy cheese slices with a rich taste and creamy texture, making them a pleasant addition to burgers, sandwiches, and snacks.
Kraft NotCo American Style Plant-based Slices – Another tasty and dairy-free option comes from Kraft. These slices have an authentic cheese flavor and creamy texture, perfect for creating your desired snack or meal. Other options include American, Cheddar, and Provolone.
Esti Vegan Cheddar – Another brand making dairy-free cheese options is Esti. These cheese slices contain extra-virgin olive oil for a creamy and smooth texture. They melt perfectly and are GMO-, gluten-, preservative-, and artificial flavor-free. The robust cheesy goodness will enhance any dishes, including pizzas, burgers, quesadillas, and sandwiches. You can also get the slices in American, Mozzarella, Smoked Gouda, Pepper Jack, and Truffle Mozzarella varieties.
Read more about the best vegan American cheese slices from World of Vegan to help you indulge your palate.
Making Veganism Approachable: A Guide to Choosing and Using Vegan American Cheese
Transitioning to a vegan lifestyle can feel daunting, especially when finding replacements for beloved staples like American cheese. Whether you’re new to veganism or want to expand your dairy-free options, here’s a practical guide to selecting and enjoying vegan American cheese.
Understanding Vegan Cheese Options
- Identify Your Needs: Consider what you typically use American cheese for. Is it for melting on burgers, incorporating into casseroles, or perhaps as a creamy addition to sandwiches? Knowing this will guide your choice.
- Explore Varieties: Vegan cheeses come in slices, shreds, blocks, and spreads. Each type serves different culinary purposes:
- Slices are perfect for sandwiches and burgers.
- Shreds work well for pizza, tacos, and baking.
- Blocks are ideal for slicing and dicing in salads.
- Creamy spreads are great for bagels, wraps, and dips.
- Read Labels: Check ingredients to ensure the product meets your dietary preferences, especially if you avoid certain allergens like soy or nuts.
Tips for Using Vegan Cheese
- Melting Tips: Not all vegan cheeses melt like dairy cheese. For best results:
- Preheat: Allow the cheese to reach room temperature before melting.
- Low and Slow: Melt cheese over low heat to avoid burning and ensure even melting.
- Cover: When melting cheese on a burger or in a pan, cover it for a few minutes to trap heat and encourage melting.
- Flavor Pairings: Enhance the flavor of vegan cheese by pairing it with complementary ingredients. For example, vegan cheddar pairs well with tomatoes and pickles on a burger, while mozzarella-style vegan cheese can be enhanced with basil and tomato on pizza.
Incorporating Vegan Cheese into Meals
- Experiment with Recipes: Use vegan cheese in traditional recipes for American cheese. Try it in grilled cheese sandwiches, quesadillas, and cheeseburgers.
- Taste Test: Before adding vegan cheese to a dish, taste it first to understand its flavor profile and how it might change upon cooking.
- Creative Uses: Think beyond typical cheese dishes. Use vegan cheese in stuffed peppers, on vegan meatloaf, or even in a dairy-free cheese sauce for macaroni and cheese.
Setting Realistic Expectations
- Texture and Taste: Be open to the fact that vegan cheese might not exactly replicate the texture or taste of traditional American cheese. Embrace it for its unique qualities.
- Health Considerations: While vegan cheeses are dairy-free and a healthier option, they can also be high in processed ingredients and oils. Moderate your intake according to your dietary needs.
- Cost: Vegan products can sometimes be more expensive than their non-vegan counterparts. Shop for brands that fit your budget, and consider it an investment in your health and ethical eating practices.
Finding Your Favorites
- Sample Different Brands: Just as with any other food product, you may need to try several brands of vegan cheese before you find the one you like best.
- Community Recommendations: Ask for recommendations in vegan forums, social media groups, or from friends who follow a vegan lifestyle.
- Local Vegan Markets: Frequent local health food stores or vegan markets, as they often offer a wider variety of vegan cheese options.
By understanding your options and how to use them, you can switch to vegan cheese with confidence and creativity. Whether you’re using it in cooking or as a snack, vegan American cheese can offer a delicious and ethical alternative to traditional dairy cheese.
