37 responses to “the best vegan cheese for pizza” RSS icon

  • Gauri Radha गौरी राधा August 31st, 2011 at 08:14

    Can’t vote, I haven’t tried Teese yet

  • My perspectives:

    Follow Your Heart: It’s almost impossible to prepare properly. That stuff won’t melt unless you have a very hot oven and prepare it first by mushing out up.

    Daiya: Gets gross quickly. The mouth texture is greasy (sticks to the roof of mine) and it sticks to utensils etc. The cheddar version is great in grilled cheese sandwiches, though.

    Teese: Like an improved Daiya, but can be a little toothpasty in texture, like as if it has calcium in it or something. Probably my current favorite.

  • Agree with the above comment about Daiya…I need to try teese!

  • I don’t love Daiya on it’s own (AKA on pizza), it tastes slimy. I did make “Red Lobster” style cheddar biscuits with the cheddar Daiya & they were really good! Plus, the texture gets slightly better if you put something oily (like chipotle peppers) right below the cheese.

    Still need to try Teese. Can’t get the stores in & around Redondo Beach to stock it though. 🙁

  • It depends. I prefer the daiya cheddar and the teese mozzarella.

  • I guess it’s been so long since I’ve had real cheese (9 years), anything that closely resembles it like Daiya makes me sick. I like FYH because it’s not as slimy and oily. Sure it may not melt completely, but the texture is more appealing. I haven’t tried Teese yet.

    I’d be curious if more recently converted vegans like Daiya over FYH. Not too get all deep over this!

    Definitely think the survey is interesting, thanks QG for posting!

  • My pizza at home features a topping of daiya, FYH, and nutritional yeast with a little garlic powder. I prefer it to any singular cheese, and teese tastes more like salty pudding than cheese. It’s all about the slightly salty and tanginess of real cheese has that you need the nutritional yeast for

  • Daiya’s my favorite…it has good flavor, it has good texture…it’s awesome in any of my favorite comfort foods….pizza, grilled cheese, nachos, etc.

    FYH is OK. I used to use it all the time before Daiya…it’s hard to get really melty, and when you succeed, it’s a bit too liquidy. It’s very oily. I’ll eat it when actually AT Follow Your Heart, as their Friday Night pan pizza is very good.

    Teese – Still don’t know why you love it so much, QG…I’ve tried it a bunch of times and it has ZERO flavor. I’ll still eat it on Masa’s Chicago Deep Dish Pizzas cuz the crust and sauce are so good.

    I’d really like to try Cheezly…if a local store carried it, I’d definitely buy it.

  • @Jocelyn, the first cheeze I tried when I went vegan was FYH. I spit out the first bite and threw the hole block away. I eased into it with Daiya, and now I like all three! I went with Teese as it’s what they use on the vegan pizza at a place in my neighborhood, and the pizza is SO GOOD. I will continue to do extensive research though! Especially if opportunities for Cheezly or Sheese come up.

  • I agree that Daiya gets slimy and gross when it’s melted. As for FYH, I haven’t had any problems getting it to melt nicely, it has an ok flavor, and I’ve noticed that it doesn’t produce a plasticky odor like it used to when melting; I think they changed the formula and it’s my current favorite. I have to say though, that I do like Daiya cheddar flavor raw, but only if I can get it in chunk form, not shredded.

  • You veganized the Red Lobster biscuits, Stefany? BRILLIANT!

  • I agree with the mixture of teese and daiya. Wish teese would have the flavor of daiya and teese would melt a little more. I hate the goopyiness of Daiya, but the flavor makes up for it IMO. FYH is good when done right- Tomato Joes 😉

  • Agreed. Can’t stand the texture of Daiya alone. Only have liked it in biscuits as well.

    Have not tried the others.

  • If you like the taste of gross plastic, you’ll like the taste of Teese. I bought all three varieties to try out…threw them ALL AWAY!

  • I have not had teese, but I really really like the vegan cheese at hard times and the vegan cheese at vinnies in brooklyn. Variety is best.

  • Gauri Radha गौरी राधा August 31st, 2011 at 14:00

    ^ Haha, I will still probably try it out next time I can, these things can be so subjective, you know?

    I have some kind of spicy cheddar flavor of FYH at home that I like, which I bought at WF. I melt it on flax seed chips from TJ and then add guacamole for some makeshift vegan nachos:D

  • I like how FYH browns and how Daiya melts, so I tried processing Daiya and FYH together in the Cuisinart for pizza. I processed it too finely, though, and wound up with a delicious but weird-looking cheezy goo when it melted. I do think hybrid-style is the way to go and need to try the experiment again.

    FYH Monterey Jack tastes more like pizza cheese than FYH Mozzarella, btw.

  • You guys can have your greasey Diayarria…. the only vegan pizza is Tomato Joes and they use Follow your Heart, and just enough of it. Teese is like a rubber eraser if prepared like shit. Don’t wanna bash but there is a joint in LA that makes a deep dish vegan and it tastes awful. The crust was ok….that’s about it.

  • THEY ARE ALL SO GOOD. For reals. I don’t cook with follow your heart, but Ian’s pizza here in Chicago uses teese, and I love it. And I cook with Daiya at home. TOO HARD.

  • I like Daiya for making baked things, like eggplant “parmesan” or enchiladas. But Follow Your Heart I use like fresh mozzarella. My omnivorous nephews really like the FYH, oddly enough. It’s great for sandwiches and toster oven pizza thingies, even though it generally doesn’t melt all gooey. But they like day old pizza with the cheese like a slab so it makes sense why they prefer it over Daiya. Never tried Teese. Oh, and sliced FYH with avocado and cherry tomatoes in a tortilla is a meal.

  • Teese is the greatest. It’s kind of hard to vote because I use Teese for some stuff and Daiya for other stuff, but overall Teese is great. It’s the best cheese for Pizzas by far. By far.

  • Daiya: I think I like Daiya the best because it’s the most versatile for me personally. I use it for pizza, grilled cheese, baked goods like biscuits, scones, apple-cheddar pie, and it’s also great in risotto. If I could only choose one of the three, it would be Daiya for the versatility. I do not, however, like the taste of Daiya straight out of the package. And I don’t get an unpset tummy from Daiya like some other people do.

    FYH: FYH mozz and mont. jack taste great on their own. Great for sandwiches when I don’t want melted cheese and absolutely mind-blowing for caprese salad or sandwich unmelted. I have served it straight out of the package to omnivores who were really impressed by the taste and texture. So, if I want plain, unmelted cheese I would def go with FYH mozzarella or monterey jack. Not too into the cheddar style and have never tried the spicy one.

    Teese: ….what can I say. I have tried Teese once and did not care for it at all. I made a grilled cheese with it and found the texture to be chalky and weird. The taste wasn’t awful, but the texture was a no for me.

    I also LOVE Cheezly and Dr. Cow. I have gotten a bunch of Cheezly from Vegan Essentials but it’s pricey having it shipped to CA. And Dr. Cow is always pricey, when you can find it at Erewhon. I do only use Dr. Cow as a specialty cheese though, not really for pizza, grilled cheese etc. Both are great though!

    I’d love to try some of the Heidi-Ho vegan cheeses from Portland. Hope they make their way to CA soon 🙂

  • Ingredients:
    2 ½ cups Bisquick baking mix
    ¾ cup unsweetened soy or almond milk
    4 tablespoons cold smart balance light (1/2
    stick)(You can use Earth Balance, but in
    my experience, Smart Balance Light is more
    “buttery”)
    ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
    1 heaping cup grated cheddar daiya

    Bush on Top:
    2 tablespoons smart balance light, melted
    ¼ teaspoon dried parsley flakes
    ½ teaspoon garlic powder
    pinch salt

    Directions:
    1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
    2. Combine Bisquick with cold Smart Balance in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter or a large fork. You don’t want to mix too thoroughly. There should be small chunks of butter in there that are about the size of peas. Add Daiya, non-dairy milk, and ¼ teaspoon garlic. Mix by hand until combined, but don’t over mix.
    3. Drop approximately ¼-cup portions of the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet using an ice cream scoop Or your hands, I like my biscuits messy.)
    4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown.
    5. When you take the biscuits out of the oven, melt 2 tablespoons Smart Balance is a small bowl in your microwave. Stir in ½ teaspoon garlic powder and the dried parsley flakes. Use a brush to spread this garlic butter over the tops of all the biscuits. Use up all of the butter. Makes one dozen biscuits.

    Original recipe courtesy of Todd Wilbur, “Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2,” Plume Books. Veganized by me.

  • I am recently converted (4 months) & Daiya does not closely resemble cheese AT ALL. Cheese is greasy, not slimy. There is a difference.

  • :-O

    THANK YOU!!

  • It’s so hard to decide based on what everyone else says because no one agrees. I have only tried Daiya, all three flavors, and I like it enough to use. I want to try Teese!

  • Daiya- I use this on my Pizzas and I love it. I love the fact that it’s soy and gluten FREE. It’s probably “healthier” than Teese and FYH. Daiya needs to come out with more flavors and single slices and sell them. A Parmesan cheese would be cool too. It’s obviously the #1 vegan cheese as far as popularity.

    Follow Your Heart- Before Daiya came along this was the #1 cheese. I still use this cheese sometimes, I love it on sandwiches and if i’m making a sauce. It sucks for melting tho.

    Teese- Never tried it, they don’t carry it here in Miami.

    I really wanna try Cheezly!!

  • Awesome!

    I’m going to make a vegan fried chicken biscuit sandwich with this. Yum.

  • You know how Teese has that unnaturally bright white color? It’s from titanium dioxide (a natural food color) and I think that’s what gives it that chalky powder taste.

  • I honestly think Daiya is the closest in flavor and texture to American cheese, i.e. process cheese. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_cheese While growing up this was what other kids had in their sandwiches and it’s pretty much the worst kind of cheese ever invented. We never had it in my house or any kind of Kraft or Velveeta cheese. Legally, in many places it can’t even be called cheese but must be labelled “cheese analogue” or “cheese product”.

    The ironic twist is that the current best melting vegan cheese tastes like the worst “cheese” ever invented.

  • Tofutti makes the best “American-Style Slice” I’ve found for grilled cheese.

  • If you ever go to Figuroa Produce in Highland Park they have big blocks of Daiya at the deli counter that they slice for sandwiches. I think you can buy it by the pound too.
    http://archives.quarrygirl.com/2010/09/27/authentic-vegan-deli-subs-in-la-at-figueroa-produce/

    Oh, whoops you’re in Miami. Well it must be available wholesale for food service.

  • Gauri Radha गौरी राधा September 9th, 2011 at 15:59

    Despite not having tried Teese yet, I went ahead and voted for FYH in the poll anyway, since I’ve had that one most often. [Looks like it received the lowest number of votes haha, oh well:p]

    I’m going to try and sample Teese, Cheezly, and Dr Cow soon. Also that new Vegusta one or whatever it’s called. Very glad that there are so many vegan cheese options out there:D

  • I just bout some Teese at Figueroa Produce. Trying it out tonight.

  • Has anyone tried the variety of cheeses from WayFare Foods yet? From our side of the world (Atlanta) they are the best yet and the healthiest which is nice in contrast with the others which seem like they all use tons of oil. Here is a link, they are in whole foods, earth fare and more around here. http://www.wayfarefoods.com

  • Vegan cheese? I don’t crave cheese anymore.
    Did not need to vote.

    These substitutes taste so fatty and greasy.
    Makes sense… they are mostly made up of oil.

    After you’ve been a vegan for a while, these desires for your past life go bye-bye. Fake-outs don’t enthuse you as much.

    Is my eating boring?

    Think again.

  • Or, others’ mileage may vary.


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