This Is The Hands-Down Best Cheese Brand To Buy If You're A Vegan

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For vegetarians or meat eaters that are trying to go vegan, cheese is one of the foods that they have a hard time giving up. And the overwhelming amount of plant-based cheese products is a testament to how much the industry tries to capitalize on that long-lost love for cheese. We tasted and ranked 16 vegan cheese brands, attempting to recreate every type of cheese. The hands-down best cheese brand to buy if you're vegan according to our ranking is Treeline Cheese, a vegan artisanal creamery producing cashew-based cheeses.

We were blown away with its taste, texture, and versatility. Since we sampled different types of vegan cheese, criteria wasn't just based on taste and texture, but also on how closely each cheese resembled its dairy counterpart. And Treeline Cheese's cream cheese would fool any dairy eater, with its perfectly cheesy tang and decadently smooth and creamy texture. 

Another quality we loved about this cream cheese was that it freezes easily and maintains its flavor and consistency even after being thawed. While many cashew-based cheeses and ice cream products often have a nutty undertone, Treeline cream cheese was able to mask any hint of nuttiness. Plus, with a simple ingredient list that uses probiotics to culture the cashew cream, it's no wonder Treeline Cheeses actually taste like cheese.

Treeline Cheese may be a fairly new vegan creamery, but they've garnered a huge following in a short period of time. Whether you're looking on Treeline Cheese's website or on Amazon, glowing reviews abound and back up our own top pick. Adjectives used over and over in reviews included creamy, smooth, delicious, and the overall best vegan cream cheese customers had ever tasted. The cream cheese's spreadability was also commended and many lactose-intolerant dairy eaters crowned Treeline cream cheese as their go-to choice.

In addition to spreading this creamy plant-based cream cheese over bagels and toast, a lot of reviewers used it as the key ingredient in a vegan version of a classic cream cheese frosting and cheesecake. You can also make it the foundation for a vegan spinach and artichoke dip to supplement with Treeline Cheese's own vegan sour cream. If you want to explore more flavors and textures, try Treeline Cheese's other tasty products including flavored cream cheese, ricotta, plant-based goat cheese, cheese wheels, mozarella, and vegan charcuterie.