Artisan Vegan Cheese (the best brands)
Own-brand supermarket vegan cheese are not that great (you can just about melt them into recipes). Some of the dairy companies that now make vegan cheese are a little better (they still are based mostly on coconut oil, but some add in some protein, they are listed below if you’re on a budget).
Proper artisan vegan cheese tends to be made with nuts, and seriously tastes just the same, but it is expensive. So just buy less and enjoy it more. Like ‘oat milk’ now has to be called ‘oat drink’, you may find that some brands have to call their products ‘cheeze’ or ‘chease’, to follow silly government laws.
And many of these also sell in paper and compostable packaging, though you can recycle any plastic at kerbside or supermarket bag bins.
Avoid blue and other ‘mouldy cheeses if pregnant/nursing, weak immunity or for children. Also keep them away from pets due to mould, nuts, garlic, salt, chives etc. For the same reasons, don’t give leftovers to garden birds or wildfowl as salt is toxic, and fat smears on feathers, affecting waterproofing and insulation.
If ordering online, set up a safe drop-off point to arrive chilled (and out of reach of children and animals).
Honestly Tasty Vegan Cheese (sold in good supermarkets)
Honestly Tasty is one of the few artisan cheese alternatives sold at around 1000 stores including M & S, Ocado, Planet Organic and Selfridges. Made from natural ingredients, the range includes Smoked Good (and Pretenslydale!), Bree, Shamembert and Garlic Herb (du pain, du vin, du Honestly Tasty!)
Why try artisan vegan cheese?
Because it tastes just as nice, is packed with nutrients and supports local artisans (and farmers, as many buy their ‘flavourings’ like onions from local growers).
And of course, many people now have given up dairy due to animal welfare and environmental concerns, or simply due to allergies.
To get the best flavour, let cheese warm up for 20 to 30 minutes before serving (keep unused cheese wrapped in the fridge, so it doesn’t dry out). Most artisan vegan cheese only tastes good, for a few days.
Palace Culture (plant-based organic cheeze)
Palace Culture is also sold in groceries (including Waitrose). Began in a London family kitchen to deal with the founder’s son’s dairy intolerance, these are made from organic cashews and almonds (grown using regenerative farming methods in Spain)
- The Goat is a semi-soft moult-ripened cheeze with fermented cashews, almonds and live cultures.
- Kimcheeze is a semi-soft cheeze with fermented cashew nuts, kimchi brine and live cultures, rolled in red chillies for a tangy heat.
Kinda Co Vegan Cheese (handmade in Somerset)
Kinda Co is an award-winning brand of artisan che*se, in easy-to-recycle or compostable packaging. Most have a fridge life of around 10 weeks, but eat within a few days, once opened. You can freeze block cheeses on day of delivery for up to 6 months (thaw overnight in the fridge).
The range includes the following block cheeses (all melt so good to stir into mashed potatoes or pasta sauces). Or buy a ‘cheeseboard collection’ or subscribe to the monthly cheese club!
The range includes:
- Farmhouse (ideal with pickle for sandwiches)
- Smoked (with hand-harvested Dorset sea salt)
- Garlic & Chive (a French-inspired crumbly treat)
- Sweet Pepper (tangy and spicy, with small red peppers)
- Greek-Style (ideal for salad, pasta and pizza)
- Chilli (spicy paprika, for Mexican food)
- Italian-Style (a glass jar Parmesan alternative)
- Rikotta!: Ideal for Italian recipes like pasta or pizza)
- Mozzalloumi: A fusion cheese to replace mozzarella and halloumi)
- Blue Cheese (with spirulina so check medication, nice with pear walnut salad.
I Am Nut OK Vegan Cheese (from London city)
I Am Nut OK is a gourmet brand, founded by an American/Italian couple in London. It offers a nice non-dairy cheddar alternative, a ricotta alternative in a glass jar, Oh Grate! (a Parmesan alternative including a Ho! Ho! Ho! version with sage and onion) and an affordable ‘wonky wedge’ to combat food waste.
Tyne Vegan Chease (from the North)
Tyne Chease (based just outside Newcastle) makes organic cashew cheeses (they don’t melt, more for cheeseboards, with fruit and wine).
All have a tangy taste (apple-smoked, pink peppercorn, pickled onion, Ethiopian spice and cream cheeses in glass jars, plus a creamy nacho dip. It even makes vegan camembert! It has recently become the first UK company to introduce a plant-based liquid mozzarella alternative!
La Fauxmagerie (vegan cheeses from Brixton)
La Fauxmagerie is a London cheesemonger founded by two Brixton sisters). Its sells its own and other brands. The range (which is also sold online at Waitrose) includes:
- Camden Cultured (truffles and garlic mushrooms)
- Brixton Blue (aged for extra umami)
- Camemvert (with a white bloom rind)
- Shoreditch Smoked (a deep smoky cheddar)
Supermarket vegan cheeses (which are the best brands?
Although by far the artisan brands are better, obviously in these austere times, many people can’t afford to pay up to £10 for a block of cheese, however tasty it is. So if you’re going down the supermarket route (get your protein from other sources, as these are based on coconut oil), here are some of the better brands:
Violife is the one that you’ll find in all supermarkets. This offers several versions including block cheese (including Parmesan), a mozzarella and creamy herb garlic.
Try these vegan baked potatoes with their cheddar, along with rosemary and chives, and plant butter (Flora and Lurpak have no palm oil).
Cathedral City is sold in mature, extra mature, smoky, grated and cream cheese. You can grate blocks before freezing up to 3 months, but thaw in fridge for 24 hours and don’t re-freeze (so take out only what you need).
Boursin offers a Great Taste award-winning version of its plant-based garlic herb cheese.
Nush offers thick creamy dairy-free spreads in plain and chives. Made with almond milk, British sea salt and live vegan cheese cultures. Try with vegan bacon in baked spuds.
Smokey Applewood is good in a vegan cheese and ham toastie.
Philadelphia is made with coconut oil and almond protein.
The Vegan Creamery (homemade cheese, milk and ice-cream)
The Vegan Creamery is a book by a Japanese-American chef who founded Miyoko’s Creamery, one of the USA’s top vegan artisan cheese companies. Recipes include French-style soft truffle cheese, Reggie goat cheese (good on pizza) and homemade mozzarella and halloumi (these are more complicated).
Before cooking, read up on food safety for people and pets (many foods are unsafe near animal friends). Bin allium scraps (onion, leeks, garlic, shallots, chives) and citrus/tomato/rhubarb scraps, as acids could harm compost creatures. It’s okay to put them in food waste bins (made into biogas).
For tinned foods, fully remove lids (put inside) or pop ring-pulls back over holes (and pinch tops closed) before recycling, to avoid wildlife getting trapped.
The Vegan Dairy Cookbook has over 50 simple recipes including chive cream cheese, by a Dutch chef.
Homemade Vegan Cheese, Milk and Yoghurt is by a European home chef, and includes recipes for tomato rosemary cheese (made from almonds) and a herbal cream cheese made from coconut cream.
Thomas’ homemade vegan cheese recipes
Truth be told, most of us are not going to bother. But if you fancy having a go yourself, here are some simple recipes. ‘King of the vegan cheese chefs’ is French Thomas at Full of Plants. He obviously offers French vegan recipes (like blue cheese), but also many others (like the smoked hickory cheese.
