The Best Dairy-Free Parmesan Cheese (Taste Test)

Parmesan is a hard Italian cheese that is aged for at least 12 months. That depth in flavor can be hard to mimic without milk. But we found a few vegan brands that taste impressive to both dairy-free and dairy-loving consumers! This is the ultimate dairy-free parmesan cheese taste test, comparing top brands and some niche ones, too. We tried them cold and toasted, took notes on taste and texture, and even coaxed them to melt. One brand stood as the clear winner, but each variety had a fan or two.

Taste Test: The Best Dairy-Free Parmesan Cheese Brands

Allergen Notes: All items listed below are dairy-free and vegan by ingredients. But ingredients are subject to change at any time, and all products are at some degree of risk for allergen cross contamination, whether they have a “may contain” statement or not. Always read the label before consuming any food, and make sure you are familiar with this may contain information. Only you can decide what is safe for your needs.

We’ve ranked the brands in order, with our top pick first. But I’ll start with a quick list of category favorites before moving onto the details.

• Best Overall: Follow Your Heart Grated
• Cleanest Ingredients: Nooch It!
• Best Melt: Daiya Shreds
• Most Flavorful: Armored Fresh – Truffle Flavor
• Top for Allergen-Free: Follow Your Heart (Shreds and Grated)

Follow Your Heart Grated Dairy-Free Parmesan Cheese (where to buy)

This variety was a solid “like” for everyone in the group, giving it the highest marks overall. Our cheese connoisseurs said Follow Your Heart was the best at mimicking parmesan, but they preferred the grated version to the shreds. When toasted, this version doesn’t melt, but the flavor gets a touch bolder. (See more reviews.)

Pros:

• Tastes the most like parmesan
• Kraft-like vibe for fans of grated parmesan
• Soft texture both warm and cool
• Maintains good flavor when toasted
• Top allergen-free and gluten-free
• Certified Kosher Parve
• Sold in mainstream grocers

Cons:

• Flavor could be stronger for some
• Does not melt

Ingredients: modified potato starch, organic palm fruit oil, filtered water, expeller-pressed canola oil, cellulose, maltodextrin, natural flavors (contains autolyzed yeast), less than 2% of: organic vegetable glycerin, sea salt, citric acid, nutritional yeast, calcium phosphate, bamboo fiber, sodium phosphate, carrageenan, organic chickpea miso (organic handmade rice koji, organic whole chickpeas, sea salt, water, koji spores), sunflower lecithin, annatto.

Follow Your Heart Shredded Dairy-Free Parmesan Cheese (where to buy)

Their grated version just barely edged out the shreds in our taste test, so really, you could call it a tie. But the individual reviews of the shreds were more polarized, ranging from “love!” to “meh.” It still received approval as a pretty darn good parmesan copycat, but the underlying cheesy flavor was a little strong for some. We thought a touch more salt would balance it and help the flavors pop. The fine shreds also became brittle when toasted, rather than melting. (See more reviews.)

Pros:

• Several “it tastes like real parm” votes
• Texture is soft and pleasant when raw or warm
• Shreds are light and easy to sprinkle on foods
• Top allergen-free and gluten-free
• Certified Kosher Parve
• Sold in mainstream grocers

Cons:

• Flavor could benefit from a little more salt
• Doesn’t melt, shreds become brittle when toasted

Ingredients: filtered water, organic palm fruit oil, modified potato starch, expeller-pressed canola oil, natural flavors (contains autolyzed yeast), organic vegetable glycerin, less than 2% of: sea salt, calcium phosphate, bamboo fiber, sodium phosphate, carrageenan, lactic acid, nutritional yeast, organic chickpea miso (organic handmade rice koji, organic whole chickpeas, sea salt, water, koji spores), sunflower lecithin, citric acid, annatto.

Daiya Dairy-Free Parmesan Shreds (where to buy)

This is the only parmesan in the bunch that melts! It has a gently salty flavor that was voted “pleasant,” “tasty,” and “even better toasty.” It was also enjoyed most on spaghetti. But in a blind taste-test, it would be hard to identify this one as parmesan specifically. It’s a part of the Daiya Shreds line, and is identical to the other varieties (cheddar, mozza, etc), but has its own “natural flavors.” (See more reviews.)

Pros:

• It melts!
• Good soft texture cold and melted
• Pleasant flavor with a salty kick
• Top allergen-free
• Made with certified gluten-free oats

Cons:

• Didn’t shout parmesan in flavor
• Shreds are thick, more like mozzarella
• Limited distribution compared to other Daiya Shred flavors

Ingredients: daiya oat cream™ blend (water, gluten-free oat flour, pea protein, cultures, enzymes), tapioca starch, coconut oil, corn starch, expeller pressed safflower oil, calcium phosphate, salt, less than 2 percent of: konjac flour, yeast extract, fruit juice (for color), dextrose, xanthan gum, lactic acid, natural flavors.

Nooch It! Cashew Parmesan (where to buy)

It isn’t a parmesan copycat – the ingredients themselves are boldly independent. But it does provide good, strong flavor atop pasta and in recipes. The texture is a touch crunchy, and obviously, it does not melt. We also found the garlic was more pronounced when cooked. And I wouldn’t recommend this product if you truly dislike nutritional yeast. But overall, we had a few solid “likes” for this natural topping. (See more reviews.)

Pros:

• Most flavorful variety
• Simple, natural ingredients
• Shelf-stable – easy to order online
• Free of gluten, soy, coconut, oats, and legumes

Cons:

• The garlic flavor becomes stronger when cooked
• Crunchier texture
• Doesn’t melt
• Nuts and nutritional yeast are predominant flavors

Ingredients: organic cashews, nutritional yeast, organic garlic powder, organic hemp seeds, sea salt.

Armored Fresh Grated Oat Milk Cheese Parmesan (where to buy)

This was a hard one to rank because it comes in three very different flavors. The Original was a little too plain for most of us. It starts with a slight sourness that mellows into a pleasant but mild parmesan flavor. We all voted for a little more salt. The Kimchi was too “flaming hot” for all of us. But the Truffle flavor was alluring and an instant favorite for two of our dairy cheese eaters. That said, all three varieties are best as garnishes. The consistency of this brand is chalky when toasted, and becomes gummy when heated with a fat, like oil.

Pros:

• Truffle flavor is unique, bold, and delicious to most tasters
• Underlying parmesan flavor is good
• Pleasant parmesan-like texture when cold
• Comes in three very different flavors

Cons:

• Original needs more salt – flavor isn’t strong enough
• Texture unappealing when toasted or cooked
• Kimchi flavor is too hot for many taste buds

Ingredients: armored fresh cheese parmesan grated-oat milk (modified starch mix, fermented oat beverage, filtered water, coconut oil, cellulose powder, salt, citric acid, trisodium citrate, oat powder, potassium sorbate, beta carotene for color), cellulose powder (to prevent caking).

365 Plant-Based Parmesan-Style Cheese Alternative (Whole Foods house brand)

I love seeing an affordable house brand. But unfortunately, Whole Foods’ plant-based parmesan didn’t bode well with most of our tasters. Some thought the saltiness was just right, but our cheese connoisseurs said the taste was just okay. And everyone agreed that the texture could be improved. The shreds are very large, and don’t melt at all. So instead of a delicate sprinkle of parmesan, you get big pieces of relatively firm dairy-free cheese. (See more reviews.)

Pros:

• Saltier taste adds more flavor
• Budget-friendly store brand
• Certified Kosher Parve
• No added proteins

Cons:

• Big thick shreds that don’t melt
• Texture was a little “plastic” to some, especially when heated
• Mixed reviews on taste

Ingredients: water, highly refined coconut oil, potato starch, modified potato starch, cornstarch, sea salt, rice starch, natural flavor, glucono delta-lactone, olive extract, beta-carotene (color).

Violife Dairy-Free Just Like Parmesan (where to buy)

We were most excited about this brand since it comes as a wedge. It shreds and shaves beautifully for an at-home restaurant experience. But that’s where the appeal ended. One person said the taste was “too sour” and another that it was “plastic,” but the rest said it simply wasn’t flavorful or salty enough. Interestingly, our dairy-free tasters gave it an “okay” ranking cold and “good” when heated, but all of our dairy-consuming tasters gave this brand a flat “no.” (See more reviews.)

Pros:

• Sold as a wedge – tastes fresh when shredded
• Shreds and shaves beautifully
• Texture is similar to parmesan
• Free of top allergens, gluten, and legumes
• Certified Kosher Parve

Cons:

• Flavor too weak and “fake cheese” in taste
• Doesn’t melt

Ingredients: filtered water, potato & rice starch, food starch-modified (potato), coconut oil, salt (sea salt), rice protein, parmezan flavor (vegan sources), olive extract, beta carotene (color), vitamin b12.

Melt Comparison

I took photos of the melt tests we conducted to see how these vegan parmesan cheeses performed with heat. The first one is dry toasted – just the parm on bread.

None of the above parmesan alternatives budged when heated, so we oiled the bread first, and did a repeat toasting. This time the Armored Fresh melted completely (but was a bit gummy), both Follow Your Heart varieties melted quite a bit. The others till remained fairly firm.

We were unable to get Daiya in the first taste test, so we held a second one once we had it. It melted and gently browned with ease, so we didn’t bother with an oiled bread test.

More Dairy-Free Parmesan Cheese FAQs

Which Parmesan is Best for Chicken or Eggplant Parmesan?

If you are sprinkling the parmesan on top of the whole dish, I would go with Daiya or Follow Your Heart Shreds. If you’re using it in the breading, with the crumbs, I would personally pick Nooch It!, Follow Your Heart Grated, or the Truffle version of Armored Fresh.

Will Any of these Work to Make Parmesan Crisps?

I think Daiya Parmesan Shreds would work best for baking crisps. I would vote against Whole Foods 365, because the shreds are too thick and don’t melt well. Follow Your Heart Shreds and Shredded Violife could work if you grease the surface to help them melt together. If you’re looking for more of a garnish, we also have a recipe for Vegan Parmesan Flakes.

Where do I Buy These?

Most of them are sold refrigerated, so you will need to purchase them in store. See the “where to buy” link next to each product. The nut and nutritional yeast based types, like Nooch It!, are often shelf stable and can be purchased on Amazon.

Why didn’t you like my favorite brand?

None of these dairy-free parmesan cheese brands were disliked by all of our tasters – our ratings are averages. See the Pros and Cons for more specific opinions and details, and feel free to leave your own review in the comments below!

More Dairy-Free Parmesan Cheese Brands to Consider

• Good Planet Grated Parmesan – Their simple ingredients are similar to Violife, but this brand makes grated-style parmesan.
• Pancheeza Dairy-Free Parmesan – Just like Armored Fresh, they have Original, Truffle, and a Hot & Spicy flavor. But this is a cashew-based grated parmesan, more like Nooch It!
• True Goodness Dairy-Free Parmesan-Style Shreds: This is a Meijer house brand that’s made with an oat base.
• Violife Just Like Shaved Parmesan – The formula of their shaved parmesan is very similar to the wedges, but a touch different. But we haven’t found it in stores yet.

Discontinued Brands

• Go Veggie! Dairy-Free Parmesan
• Parma! Plant Based Parmesan (might relaunch)

Enjoy Our Homemade Dairy-Free Parmesan Recipe!