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Vegan Cream Cheese Reviews 2020
I panicked a little this morning when I bit into my first bite of vegan cream cheese on my bagel.
I won’t reveal the brand just yet..but it was one I was excited to try and one that I trusted to be good.
It tasted weird and was assaulting my mouth with tanginess and awkward sweetness.
It was distracting..I started to flash back to all the times I had raved to non-vegans at how amazing dairy alternatives are now.
“You can’t even tell its vegan!”
I was cringing…and I decided I need to educate myself and others about what is really out there.
There are actually quite a few companies who are selling vegan cream cheese but I used what I had available at my local store.
Here they are: Daiya, Go Veggie, and Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet (all plain flavored )
Daiya Cream Cheese Review:
Daiya is one of my absolute favorite non dairy cheese options.
I use their cheese for pizzas, Mexican dishes, I eat it out of the bag standing at the fridge..etc.
1-Taste:
Well..I’m not sure what John Daiya was smoking when he said ‘Yeah package that up..that’ll do.”
There is an odd overly tangy flavor going on.
As you can guess from my intro, this was the distractingly sweet and strange cheese.
Don’t get me wrong – I inhaled the bagel but something just wasn’t right here.
2-Consistency:
Daiya was the thickest of the three and was similar to real cream cheese in that respect.
It had quite a bit of bounce to it if you pressed your finger on it which was a little odd.
It was definitely smooth and creamy as the label suggests,it spread well on the bagel with a little bit of firm pressure with the knife.
3-What’s in it?
Daiya is a great option for people who cannot have casein, soy or lactose due to allergies since it is made in a factory free of soy, eggs, milk, peanuts and tree nuts.
The second ingredient listed is coconut oil– which I liked to see rather than canola or some junk like that.
Oh wait I spoke too soon, as I read on I realized the second ingredient is in fact canola oil…at least it is non-gmo.
Daiya also contained the most sodium out of the bunch with 190mg.
Go Veggie Cream Cheese Review:
I am fairly new to Go Veggie so I was excited to try it out as well.
1-Taste:
The taste was somewhat flatter than the others but much easier to enjoy on my bagel.
I was not distracted by a tongue assault. Not overly sweet but you definitely got the idea that it was supposed to be cream cheese.
2-Consistency:
Very creamy and a bit thinner than the other two. It was very easy to spread and reminded me of softened cake frosting. Yum.
I must add that there was a teeny tiny bit of graininess going on here..but when put on a bagel it was undetectable- possibly because you are putting it on a huge grain disc…
3-What’s in it?
Similar to Daiya, the second ingredient here after filtered water is coconut oil. It does contain soy – so be aware if you are avoiding that.
The packaging does boast that it is dairy, lactose and casein free as well.
This one had the highest amount of saturated fat however, coming in at 4.5g.
Follow Your Heart Cream Cheese Review : Vegan Gourmet
This product is non-gmo certified and 76% organic which is always a plus.
1-Taste:
Similar to Daiya, there was something not quite right (I know..it’s VEGAN CREAM CHEESE.. of course it’s going to be a little off..)
When I tasted it I immediately thought of tofu. Strong soy flavor in there.
It was also quite sweet, which made for an odd combo with my savory bagel.
READ : Why Vegans Don’t Drink Milk?
2-Consistency:
Like Go Veggie there was a tiny bit of graininess here too.
It was smooth and creamy and spread just like I would imagine cream cheese does (it’s been a while since I suckled at the teat of death so I may have forgotten..)
3-What’s in it?
The package reads that it is gluten-free, vegan and dairy-free.
Palm fruit oil is the main oil here, along with soybean oil (that may explain the tofu likeness.)
Soymilk and soy protein are also mentioned in the list.
It has thehighest amount of calories from the group- 100 per 2 tbsp.
The Winner: Go Veggie!!
Yes it was milder and a little thinner than the other two, but in my opinion this worked just fine.
When spread on a bagel I almost could not tell it wasn’t dairy cream cheese. Daiya and Vegan Gourmet put up a good fight.
If your thing is consistency, go with Daiya, and if you want a a sweeter tangy option for baking you might want to try Vegan Gourmet.
If you have tried other brands let me know…I would love to hear from you!