Violife Cheese Review From A Non-Vegan
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I can’t believe I waited this long to try vegan cheese, I honestly can’t. I mean, I have tried some before, of course. But never the Violife Cheese, and this Violife Cheese review is the one for all my non-vegan peeps.
As you know, I am not vegan myself. And I am sure that was clear through the many recipes on here. But if anything, I have always been curious about food. And definitely having a vegan flatmate helps: we’re always trying and adapting recipes so that we can all share and eat the same food. So of course we jumped at the idea of reviewing the Violife cheese.
And while you might not believe it, as a dairy lover, this Violife Cheese is definitely not too shabby.
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We had the opportunity to try a small selection of what Violife vegan cheese actually does, and let me tell you – you will be surprised. Their range is very extensive and you’re able to find everything from hard cheese to grated, butter and even cream. We got to try the following:
- Violife Smoky Cheddar Flavour Slices
- Violife Original Flavour Slices
- Original Flavour Grated
- Epic Mature Cheddar Flavour Block
- Violife Le Rond Camembert Flavour
Who is Violife?
Let’s start off with introducing Violife. An award-winning company based in Thessalonica, Greece. They have been making vegan food since the 90s. Violife is well known for its dairy free, nut free, gluten-free, GMO-free, nuts free, soy free and preservative and cholesterol-free products. So you can get the best allergy free product that everyone can share, no matter whether you are vegan or not.
Before we let you know all our thoughts on these and we review the Violife Cheese, though, check out this amazing vegan summer sandwich we have prepared using the Smoky Cheddar flavour slices we so loved.
Vegan Smoky Cheese Sandwich
Ingredients
- 1 ciabatta roll
- 1 vine tomato
- ½ avocado
- 1 tbsp wild garlic pesto
- 3 slices Violife Vegan Smoky Cheddar Flavour
- some salad
Instructions
- Toast the ciabatta roll lightly, then spread the wild garlic pesto on both sides.
- Lay the dairy free cheese on the pesto, then top it with the salad, sliced tomato and thinly sliced avocado.
- Serve immediately with an iced cold drink on the side.
All the bits we got to try we actually very much enjoyed. The slices – both normal and smoked – were extremely tasty and flavourful. I am not usually very fond of smoked food, but this one was absolutely brilliant: I loved that the smoked part of this cheese is the rind only, and it’s just such a subtle flavour you will love it. It tasted cheesy, it felt cheesy in texture. It ticked all the boxes!
Then we tried the cheddar block and the Camembert. Both are very extremely tasty, but if I have to be completely honest, the Camembert took my vote. It’s creamy and you can even bake it! Like, who would have thought?! My favourite way to eat Camembert is baked, with a crunchy baguette to dip into it, and this is even possible with the vegan version. The block of cheddar was crumbly, with a similar texture to non-vegan cheddar and quite tasty as well.
So what else did we try for this review of Violife cheese?
The grated cheese was the only disappointment here. While it did not lack in taste, this review of Violife cheese needs to admit that we were unable to make this one melt. Sadly, it turned a little hard – but don’t think of it badly. Think of it as a nice little cheesy crisp. There you go, I knew I’d have your attention like this!
What is so good about Violife vegan cheese?
Violife vegan cheese and products are all soy free, so what are they made of? Coconut oil is the main ingredient of the Violife products which is proven to have plenty of health benefits, like killing harmful bacteria and fungi. And, their product is also reinforced with vitamin B12, which is one of the most important vitamins our body needs to function and keep healthy.
Will we have these again?
Yes, admittedly after trying the Violife Cheese on this review, I have repurchased the smoky vegan cheese slices and tried their cream cheese spread too. This last one must be one of my absolute favourites, after the Camembert! I am also trying to get my hands on the butter to try some vegan baking.
So keep your eyes peeled for the next chapter of this adventure. And I have just discovered that they also do a cocoa spread and vegan feta, so Violife will surely be again on these screens! If you need some inspiration on how to use these all, the Violife website has a whole section on vegan recipes you need to check out.
Find some other vegan recipes in this section of the blog. And let us know what you think of this Violife Cheese review!
Will you try these cheese substitutes? Have you ever had Violife products? Let us know below in the comments!
Pin this violife cheese review!
The vio life parmesan in the block triangle is the best plant based parm. Not too salty as the other brands in shreds, melts well when shredded fine, actually tastes like parmesan. Want to try the other vio life products, if only I can find them.
I came across this site/recipe after searchong on Violife and Sheese. Violife has been substituted for Sheese on my home shopping delivery, and I was wondering how others thought they ‘stacked up’. Your recipe sounds 5-star. I enjoy something close, but easier, which is avocado, Sheese slices and ‘super’ seeded bread. I’d love to add the other ingredients but gastric issues made me give up tomato and garlic along with a host of other things. I’m near vegan but love duck eggs and cannot get on with milk substitutes. I still miss proper cheese – must have eaten dozens of varieties once – but I do like the flavour and texture of the sliced Sheese. P.S I used to run the organoleptic assessments, taste panels, for one of Birds-Eye’s sites … many moons ago!
Thank you Robin! I’m glad you enjoyed this post and we hope you’ll want to hang around for some other recipes xx
I love the original cream cheese! Per package instructions, I wish I didn’t have to consume in 7 days🤣
Thank you, Maxx!
It tastes okay compared to other vegan cheese but it is far from being delicious. Also it has next to no protein in it, and is largely a lump of saturated fat which tastes and smells somewhat vinegary, just as all vegan cheese does. As a vegetarian I loved cheese, as a vegan I learnt to do mostly without. Healthier and tastier. It is very easy to replicate cheesy flavours if not the texture, in order to make delicious mac no cheese for example.
Thank you so much for sharing, Sara. We value your feedback and we hope other readers might find a different point of view useful too.
i never use this one as a replacement source of protein and I am pretty sure the article never suggest this as a viable option for that… its the flavor here… plus protein can be replaced or added to very easily.
I have not found other versatile products like these and they finally arrived to Colombia but I guess its interesting, satisfying to just bash from a privileged lifestyle.
want something that crisps? you got it. Wanna make pizza, lasagna, and other stuff without too much fuss? you got it. Most importantly, wanna try to abolish exploitation, which is what veganism is all about, using something rather inexpensive and quick as an alternative with non vegans? even better. I was missing cheese (no, mooch or mushrooms totally don’t cut it for me at all and buying lactic acid gets me 5 blocks of those where I live) until I found the violife some months back. Friends like it, fam loves it, I really have not found anyone in real life who despises it as much as this review.
Hi Juan
We are happy you enjoy Violife as much as we do – thank you for taking the time to leave a comment.
I have to be honest, there’s never been a vegan cheese I’ve liked. And I LOVE all cheeses. I’ll have to keep a look out for Violife, though! I wonder can it be got here in NI?
It should be available in NI as well, but after a quick search online I can confirm it is x
That’s great that you loved this brand and have already repurchased from them! I’d have loved to have tried the camembert, I loveeee “normal” caeambert, so would have been interesting to see how this one matched up!
The texture of the camembert is honestly so good – especially for the price it is at!
This is a great suggestion. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you!
This sounds like an interesting dairy cheese alternative, and great review. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you xx
I went through a stage of eating masses of Violife slices! Now I’ve decided that I much prefer the slices if melted. They work great in savoury pancakes. Also, check out Bath Culture House vegan cheese x
Thank you for the recommendation, Laura! I will have to check it out x
oo! I have to say the smoked one sounds really nice! I might have to try that 🙂
It was very nice indeed x
I’ve never tried vegan cheese before, but Violife sound great! I would love to try the smoky cheese slices, they sound tasty! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
You should when you can Lucy!
We have a vegan friend who is always looking for new foods to try. We’re going to suggest this!
Thank you guys!
I haven’t tried that vegan cheese before, but always wondered what it was like. Thank you for sharing your experience. I might have to give it a try!
Lauren x
You should, Lauren!
This looks nice. I like quick recipes to make them. Because of work, I tend to buy or make something quickly. This is an awesome recipe! Thank you for sharing!
It’s the perfect sandwich for work days!
I’ve tried a large number of different vegan cheeses to try and find one I like and Violife is probably the one that was the best so far — it really is pretty decent. I’m vegetarian but wildly intolerant of dairy so this was a good alternative to turn to when I don’t want to feel ill (gonna freely admit that I still eat normal cheese; I just suffer through it, haha)!
I am too lactose intolerant, but I can’t give up cheese – as you said it’s nice to have an alternative though x
Hi Simona,
I too, am extremely Lactose (& Gluten) intollerant.
I’m fighting Cancer, after being in Remission for 22 years ~ so am now taking my diet very seriously.
We have a wonderful selection of Violife Cheeses in Sunny South Africa. I’m coco-nuts about the Feta, Mozzarella & Parmesan ‘type’ ~ they taste, melt & grate just like cheese. They all store very well too.
I’m now going to look for their Camembert & bake it!!!
Regards Wendy
Hi Wendy, thank you so much for your comment, we do hope you can be successful in your fight again!
The Violife range is great indeed, and glad to hear you can find it in South Africa!
Sending love ❤️