Best vegan cheeses taste tested: Alternatives for camembert, feta and more

Rich, creamy and moreish, Honestly Tasty’s Veganzola Blue packs a brilliant punch. Made with coconut oil and almonds, this cheese is salty, tangy and delicious.

Similarly, Honestly Tasty’s Bree provides a fantastically authentic texture - from the tender external rind to the rich, creamy interior.

In my experience, this is one of the toughest vegan cheeses to crack, and Honestly Tasty achieves it brilliantly.

After trying a small dollop of this vegan, fermented soya milk-based stracciatella on a salted cracker, we were immediately hooked. Most vegan cheeses, despite tasting fantastic, are very cleary made with vegan substitutions. This is evident through either the cheese’s texture, the addition of a nutty taste or in some cases a little bit of separation within the cheese itself.

This is not the case with Superstraccia. Deliciously creamy, this vegan creation tastes like melty centre of the most expensive burrata on the menu. We can imagine adding a big dollop of this into a homemade tomato pasta sauce for some creamy, marscapone-esque goodness.

One of the first to grace UK supermarkets with dairy-free cheeses, Violife was a trailblazer. The camembert-flavoured Le Rond is its brand new offering.

At first inspection the cheese lacks the look or feel of a classic camembert, but once baked in the oven Le Rond has a fantastic melt and a great cheesy flavour.

Delicious enjoyed with a baguette for dipping, and it only takes five minutes to cook, I was extremely impressed.

I’ll admit I was excited for this release. I’ve long missed the garlic kick of a thick slather of Boursin on a slice of crusty bread, and the plant-based version did not disappoint. Thick, creamy and with that same familiar herbaceous flavour, I could find no fault with Bourisn’s first  - and hopefully not last -  impressive foray into the vegan sphere.

Marks & Spencer were fast out the gates with their fantastic Plant Kitchen vegan range, spanning from spicy puppy hot dogs to dairy-free pizzas. The brand’s vegan cheese range is no expectation. Most recently I sampled the Greek Style Cubes (aka feta), which are deliciously salty, creamy, and fantastic tossed on a salad.

A shout-out too to the grated Not’zarella - arguably the best supermarket option for the melt factor in cooking.

Mouse’s Favourite is an artisan vegan cheese producer with a huge range of camembert-style wheels. Cashew-based, the look and feel of these cheeses is incredibly authentic, and the variety in flavours is inspired.

Best enjoyed cool and creamy opposed to baked, the Camblue’s interior is spiked with blue streaks offering a mild and indulgent flavour. For a harder cheese, the Aged Dulse is also an excellent choice.

The 2022 introduction of the new plant-based Babybel feels like a watershed moment for veganism, with no cheese we now cannot eat. I was excited to try this, and gleeful to see the packaging exactly the same as the Babybel’s I remember from my childhood. Same wrapper, same satisfying wax exterior to peel from the cheese - but this time all in green, and all recyclable. The taste too was just as I remembered it - slightly waxxy, a little rubbery, and oddly moreish. Babybel have stuck to what they’ve always done with this release - if you love a Babybel but want it dairy-free - you’ll love it.

Thick and creamy, Nush’s chive almond spread is a decadent addition to the vegan cream cheese market. Made with Nush’s own UK-produced artisan almond milk, this spread has a taste and texture which far exceeds most supermarket stocked vegan spreads. Made with live vegan cheese cultures, and 60 almonds per pot, Nush is also a great source of protein. Fantastic on crackers, and bagels, I’d highly recommend Nush’s range of creamy spreads which are all fantastic value for money.

Nerominded from I am Nut OK is as striking in its taste as in its all-black appearance. With rich notes of truffle and a delicious accent of garlic, this is best enjoyed atop a cracker to let its flavours sing.

I am Nut OK is a London vegan favourite, produced by hand, in small batches in Hackney. The brand’s signature block Minerthreat (£6.99) is a stalwart, achieving a bold cheddar-style taste from its creamy cashew base. And the Rigotta in garlic oil (£5.99) is as indulgent as vegan cheese gets with a beautiful texture and sharp tang, hard to achieve outside of dairy.

With a broad product range, the brand is a cheese board must.

The Smoked German Style block from Sheese has a fantastic smoky taste and depth of flavour. With an authentically crumbly texture, it’s great on crackers as well as in sandwiches.

Sheese also sits at a significantly lower price point than many others on this list, and provides great value for money.

The range also includes cheddar, grated mozzarella and a fantastic selection of spreadables. The chive cream cheese was a personal favourite of mine enjoyed on a bagel with faux smoked salmon.