Of all the dairy products I miss eating, cheese is the hardest to give up. As I’ve said before, only cheese tastes like cheese. And only cheese melts like cheese. Well, until now. I am so impressed with brand-name companies that have created dairy-free versions of not only cheese but also other products like dressing, yogurt, ice cream, and butter.

For example, Hidden Valley, Kraft, Laughing Cow, Babybel, Breyers, Oui, Starbucks, Reddi Wip, Ben & Jerry’s, and Land O’Lakes have dairy-free alternatives for their dairy products. And they taste like the dairy versions. A fun fact is that Kraft used AI to develop authentic-looking and tasting dairy-free cheese. Find out how here: https://liveglutenanddairyfree.com/kraft-and-babybel-dairy-free-cheese/.

For Your Awareness

Before I reveal the gluten- and dairy-free versions of popular dairy products, I have to mention a few things for awareness. First, while there are many dairy-free ranch dressings, only Hidden Valley plant-powered tastes like the real thing, so it is the only one included on my list. The other vegan ranch dressings taste like sour cream, cream cheese, or tartar sauce. You can read my review of other brands here: https://liveglutenanddairyfree.com/five-more-dairy-free-ranch-dressings/.

Second, the same is true with cream cheese. Most of the vegan cream cheeses I have tried taste like sour cream and are more suitable for baked potatoes than bagels. They are also hard to spread. The exception is Philadelphia plant-based cream cheese, owned by Kraft, which has captured the same taste and texture as their milk-based cream cheese.

Third, not all brands are exclusively dairy and gluten-free, so you have to read the labels carefully. For example, many brands with allergy-friendly products have products containing gluten and dairy. An example is that some of Ben & Jerry’s nondairy ice cream has gluten, such as their nondairy chocolate chip cookie dough. Likewise, Magnum nondairy caramel bar contains wheat. Also, Annie’s makes regular mac and cheese, gluten-free mac and cheese with real cheese, and vegan macaroni & cheddar with gluten noodles. Of course, all of the products I list are gluten- and dairy-free, but it’s something to be aware of so you don’t pick the wrong product.

Finally, some products have been discontinued. Daiya ice cream and yogurt are discontinued, but they still make cheese, pizza, cheesecake, and macaroni and cheese. And my favorite queso, Siete vegan nacho & queso cheeses (https://liveglutenanddairyfree.com/vegan-cheese-not-dairy-crack/2/) is discontinued, but the Daiya sauces are a good substitute.

So Many Dairy-Free Products

I’m so glad there are so many dairy-free foods that I have to divide them into three categories. The first one is dairy-free products such as dressing, caramel, and butter, to name a few. Next, the category of vegan cheese includes slices, cream cheese, and sauces. Finally, the last category is ice cream and yogurt. And speaking of ice cream, a perfect cone for your ice cream is Let’s Do Gluten-Free ice cream cones. Not only is it delicious, but the packaging keeps the cones fresh.

If You’re Craving This, Here’s the Gluten- and Dairy-Free Version

If You’re Craving This	Here’s the Gluten- and Dairy-Free Version
Hidden Valley ranch dressing	Hidden Valley plant-powered ranch dressing
Cheesecake Factory cheesecake	Daiya cheesecake
Kraft Caramel	Cocomel coconut milk caramel (in various flavors) AvenueSweets vegan caramel
Land O’Lakes Butter	Land O’ Lakes plant-based butter I can’t believe it’s not butter, it’s vegan Country Crock plant butter Earth Balance buttery spread Miyoko’s European-style cultured vegan butter
Breakstone Sour Cream	Violife Just Like Sour Cream Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream Kite Hill Sour Cream Alternative Follow Your Heart dairy-free Sour Cream
Kraft Mac and Cheese	Annie’s Vegan Mac gluten-free rice pasta & cheddar flavor Daiya (cheddar, 4 cheese, and deluxe mac & cheese) Jovial gluten-free & dairy-free vegan mac Amy’s vegan rice mac & cheeze (in the frozen section) Banza plant-based mac with chickpea pasta
Coffee-Mate coffee creamer	Silk creamer (soy, almond, or oat) Planet Oat creamer Chobani plant-based sweet & creamy So Delicious creamer (coconut or oat milk) Starbucks nondairy creamer (in various flavors) Oatly! oat milk creamer Califia creamer (coconut, almond, or oat milk) Ripple Half & Half (pea milk)
Kraft Singles cheese slices	Kraft Not Cheese Violife Just Like Cheese Slices
Philadelphia cream cheese	Philadelphia plant-based cream cheese
Babybel cheese	Babybel plant-based vegan cheese
Laughing Cow spreadable cheese	Laughing Cow plant-based spreadable cheese
Kraft parmesan cheese	Follow Your Heart Parmesan Nooch it! Cashew Parmesan Go Veggie Vegan Parmesan cheese
Kraft shredded cheese	Daiya shredded cheese Parmela shredded cheese
Athenos feta cheese	Follow Your Heart feta cheese Violife feta cheese
Tostitos cheese dip	Daiya cheeze sauce
Oui and Dannon fruit on the bottom yogurt	Oui dairy-free yogurt
Dannon yogurt	Silk yogurt (soy, oat milk, or almond milk) So Delicious yogurt Ripple yogurt Forager Project Organic Yogurt Alternative
Reddi Wip and Cool Whip	TruWhip vegan whipped topping So Delicious CoCoWhip whipped topping Reddi Wip coconut whipped topping
Ben and Jerry’s ice cream	Ben and Jerry’s nondairy ice cream
Dove bar	Haagen-Dazs nondairy ice cream bars So Delicious Dipped ice cream bars Van Leeuwen vegan ice cream bars
Good Humor Strawberry Shortcake	SorBabes Strawberries and Cream My Mochi nondairy strawberry Talenti dairy-free summer strawberry sorbetto
Breyers ice cream	Breyers nondairy oat milk ice cream
Haagen-Dazs ice cream	Cado frozen avocado dessert NadaMoo dairy-free frozen dessert Oatly! nondairy frozen dessert Better Goods nondairy frozen dessert

Conclusion

If you also find it hard to give up cheese because of the taste, know that many well-known brands have created gluten- and dairy-free versions of their popular cheese products. And there are so many alternatives for other products like dressing, yogurt, and ice cream that you won’t miss their dairy counterparts.

Fun Food Fact

We say “cheese” when taking pictures because the word stretches our mouth into a smile.

Did You Know?

Manufacturers make most vegan cheese from nuts such as cashews and almonds, which they soak and blend to create a creamy texture similar to dairy cheese. They also use coconut milk because the high-fat content of coconut oil mimics the texture of melted dairy cheese. Many vegan cheeses, like regular cheese, undergo fermentation with probiotic cultures to achieve a taste and texture similar to dairy cheese.

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