Over the years I’ve tried a plethora of cheese alternative items–I honestly think I’ve tried almost all of them. But they always fall short and they all have some ingredients that aren’t ideal.
Because if you’re going to make almonds taste like cheese, it usually requires emulsifiers and artificial flavors. The Honest Stand cheese style dip is the first dairy free cheese alternative I’ve tried that both tastes like cheese and has healthy ingredients.
I should caveat my statement–if you eat it straight, it doesn’t taste exactly like cheese, though it still tastes good. I’ll sit down and eat it with chips.
However, if you use it as an ingredient in a dish, like mac-n-cheese or chili, it tastes just like cheese! It’s pretty incredible.
QUALITY
The quality of this product is unsurpassed in its niche market, in my opinion. The Honest Stand cheese dips are gluten free, dairy free, certified vegan, certified paleo, and certified organic.
In fact, the person who created the product, did so after being diagnosed with celiac disease.
Like many celiacs, she found she was also allergic to dairy. Of course she did what we all do–tried to find a good dairy free cheese alternative. And when she couldn’t, God bless the woman, she made one! And it’s great!
I actually stumbled across this product at a gluten free restaurant that serves paleo food. I was eating a beef stroganoff(ish) dish and it tasted so deliciously cheesy that I stopped, walked up to the counter, and asked if they put cheese in the dish.
I was told no and was introduced to this magnificent cheese alternative that I now use all the time. I literally always have it in the fridge.
It’s also noteworthy that the dips are in BPA-free, microwaveable, fully recyclable containers.
INGREDIENTS
The ingredients are very similar between all the flavors. So let’s take a look at the smoked cheese flavor.
Ingredients: water, potatoes, cashews, carrots, onions, vinegar, seal salt, natural flavor, garlic powder.
The only iffy ingredient is the natural flavor. To their credit, the company has a statement on their website about it.
“All of our Natural Flavors are obtained directly from certified organic, non-gmo plants and are guaranteed Vegan, Gluten Free, Soy Free, Corn Free, Sulfite Free, Lupine Free, Yeast Free and completely MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) free.”
While I’m never thrilled about “natural flavors” as an ingredient, I appreciate the amplifying information. And one semi-questionable ingredient is way better than all the other cheese alternative brands out there which have A LOT of questionable (or just plain bad-for-you) ingredients.
HOW CAN I USE THIS CHEESE ALTERNATIVE?
Use it like regular cheese! I have a harder time deciding how to eat without cheese, but if you need some ideas, it tastes delicious in: dips, pasta, tacos, chili, stews, any Mexican or Italian style dish (I love it in lasagna), wraps, and mac-n-cheese.
WHERE CAN I GET IT?
It’s not in all stores, but it’s in several in my local area, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find. The Honest Stand website has a page that shows the locations near you that carry it. You can check out their website here.
CONCLUSION
The taste of this diary free cheese alternative is delicious and the texture is great. It maintains its integrity when heated and in the fridge. The smoked cheddar is my personal fave!
I honestly don’t know how I lived without this stuff. If you struggle at all with dairy or eat dairy free for any reason, give The Honest Stand cheese alternative dips a try. You won’t regret it!
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