Trader Joe’s Vegan Feta Cheese Alternative Review – You know Trader Joe’s keeps pushing the Vegan envelope constantly. They keep pushing out a large variety of Vegan cheeses and to be honest I didn’t think they could pull off a decent Vegan Feta cheese but here we are and this is really a good clone to real sheep’s milk Feta cheese.
Vegan Feta cheese has been around a while but never really mainstream until it hit the shelves at Trader Joe’s a few months ago. Traditional sheep’s milk feta comes in a tub or a bag but is almost always in a salty brine solution.
Feta is traditionally a soft cheese made from whole sheep’s milk or a combination of sheep’s milk and goat’s milk. In Greece, feta is cured in salty brine. Known as a pickled cheese, its flavor becomes sharper and saltier with age and the cheese becomes more firm. Feta is creamy white in color with small holes and a crumbly texture. It normally comes in square cakes with no rind, but you can also find pre-crumbled feta packaged in airtight containers without brine and with or without added seasonings. It costs more than other common cheeses, but a little goes a long way
I have to say that Trader Joe’s is one of my favorite places to shop for meatless foods. I love the fact that they offer so many products at reasonable prices. They also carry several vegan items which makes it easy to eat healthfully without having to pay an arm and a leg. The only thing I don’t like about shopping there is that their store is always crowded and I find myself getting lost in the crowd on a regular basis.
This plant-based cheese is made from palm oil and potato protein. It’s stored in a brine solution like real feta cheese. If you’re looking for something that tastes similar to feta cheese, this may be your best bet. The taste isn’t bad but it has a bit of a weird aftertaste. My wife likes it better than I do, and she eats it with crackers or as part of a salad.
I tried Trader Joe’s Vegan Feta Cheese over a couple of days and I have to say that I was quite impressed with the flavor and appearance of the “cheese”. To me, it was about 90% like the original Feta. It tasted and crumbled just like real Feta. I would say it’s not as creamy and luscious real feta, but once you put it in a salad or bake it, it’s pretty darn close. I also made some pizza with it and it melted like feta (which I have to admit, feta doesn’t melt very good anyway).
This is one of the best fake vegan cheeses I’ve had. I would be happy to buy this again. I am going to rate Trader Joe’s Vegan Feta Cheese Alternative 8 Bells!
Price: $4.99
Ingredients:
- FETA STYLE CHEESE ALTERNATIVE (WATER, COCONUT OIL, MODIFIED POTATO STARCH, POTATO PROTEIN, SEA SALT, NATURAL FLAVORS)
- BRINE (WATER, SEA SALT).
I’m sorry, but no. This vegan feta was terrible. It’s much more rubbery than real feta, and nit so crumbly. It has a bit of a funny smell, and while the taste wasn’t too unpleasant (the aftertaste you mention does exist). the taste is NOTHING like feta. Not nearly as salty, and it has nothing of the sourness that you expect from a good feta. I definitely won’t be buying this again, which is sad, because I had much higher hopes.
Thomas Kinney, I have to agree with your review. I also wanted this cheese to score but sadly it doesn’t make the mark. I grew up with feta though. My ex was from Lowell, MA and that was Greece stuck in the middle of New England.
I was sure that Trader Joe’s would have the product tweaked but the last time I purchased it (3-4 months ago) it hadn’t improved.
I’ve tried a lot of plant based feta and this one is my go to! I think it’s great.
I think it’s pretty darn good! Cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, purple onion thinly sliced. Fresh lemon juice.. olive oil.. vegan feta salt and pepper! Grab me a fork!