Can Vegan and Plant-Based Cheese Really Compete With Dairy? What the Great Taste Judges Said

It’s probably the question plant-based cheese producers hear more than any other:

“But is it actually as good as dairy?”

For years, vegan and plant-based cheese has often been treated as a substitute. Something you choose because you can’t, or don’t want to, eat dairy rather than because it is genuinely the best thing on the plate.

At Casadei Foods, we have always wanted to challenge that idea.

Our goal isn't to make cheese that is “good for vegan.”

We want to make exceptional food that chefs and customers genuinely enjoy, regardless of whether they eat dairy.

This year, we received some pretty compelling validation.

Our Plant-Based Stracciatella Received 2 Stars at Great Taste 2026

Our Plant-Based Stracciatella, which is completely vegan and dairy-free, was awarded 2 Stars at the Great Taste Awards 2026, one of the UK's most respected food accreditation schemes.

What makes Great Taste particularly interesting to us is the way products are assessed.

Products are presented to judging panels blind, without the branding and packaging that can influence our expectations of a product.

The product has to stand on its own merits.

And this is what the judges said about our Plant-Based Stracciatella:

“The taste is absolutely magnificent, and the seasoning is perfect.”

Another judging panel described:

“A savoury tang reminiscent of Italian cheeses.”

They also praised its creamy texture, mouthfeel and aftertaste, describing it as:

“A really lovely and moreish product.”

For us, those comments are almost as important as the 2 Stars themselves.

Why the Words “For a Vegan Product” Matter

Or, more accurately, why their absence matters.

One of the biggest challenges facing vegan and plant-based food is the qualifier that so often comes with praise:

“That's really good… for vegan cheese.”

We want to get rid of the second half of that sentence.

Great food should be able to stand on its own.

So when judges describe our Plant-Based Stracciatella as “absolutely magnificent”, “moreish” and reminiscent of Italian cheeses, that means a great deal to us.

They're describing the characteristics of the food in front of them rather than making excuses for what isn't in it.

So Did Our Plant-Based Stracciatella “Beat” Dairy?

We need to make an important distinction here.

Great Taste isn't a head-to-head competition where every Stracciatella is ranked from first to last.

Products are assessed on their own merits, so it would be misleading for us to claim that our Plant-Based Stracciatella simply “beat dairy” in a blind taste test.

What we can say is something we're incredibly proud of:

A completely vegan and dairy-free Plant-Based Stracciatella was put in front of expert food judges, without our branding or packaging, and was considered worthy of a 2-Star Great Taste Award.

For a plant-based cheese category that has historically been viewed as a compromise, we think that's significant.

And It Wasn't Just Our Stracciatella

Our Plant-Based Mozzarella also received a 1-Star Great Taste Award in 2026, giving Casadei Foods two Great Taste-winning plant-based cheeses this year.

Like our Stracciatella, our Plant-Based Mozzarella is completely vegan and dairy-free.

For us, having both recognised is particularly encouraging because they are very different products.

Stracciatella is all about richness, creaminess and indulgence.

Mozzarella has a different job. It needs to deliver flavour, texture and versatility while performing consistently in a professional kitchen.

Having both our Plant-Based Stracciatella and Plant-Based Mozzarella recognised by Great Taste gives us confidence that this isn't simply about creating one standout vegan product.

It's about what the entire plant-based cheese category can become.

Vegan and Plant-Based Cheese Has Changed

Anyone who tried vegan cheese ten or fifteen years ago probably has a story.

Rubbery textures. Strange flavours. Products that refused to melt. Ingredient lists seemingly longer than the packaging.

The category has come a long way.

Today's best vegan and plant-based cheeses are a very different proposition.

Our approach at Casadei Foods has been to start with the eating experience we want to create rather than simply trying to imitate a dairy product as cheaply as possible.

With our Plant-Based Stracciatella, that means creaminess, richness, a slight tang and that indulgent texture that makes traditional Italian Stracciatella such a special ingredient.

With our Plant-Based Mozzarella, it means creating something that chefs can actually use: a vegan, dairy-free mozzarella alternative that tastes great, performs consistently and works in a busy professional kitchen.

Because flavour alone isn't enough.

Our plant-based cheeses were originally developed for chefs and foodservice, where consistency, texture, performance and reliability all matter alongside taste.

From Italian Restaurants to Plant-Based Italian Food

For us, there's also something personal about this particular recognition.

Italian food has been part of our lives for a very long time.

We know what the experience of eating great Italian food should be: simple ingredients, fantastic flavour and food that makes you want another mouthful.

Being vegan or choosing plant-based food shouldn't mean abandoning that.

It should challenge us to find new ways of creating it.

That's ultimately what we're trying to achieve at Casadei Foods.

We're not particularly interested in winning an argument about whether vegan cheese is better than dairy cheese.

We'd rather put the food on the table and let people decide for themselves.

But after receiving Great Taste Awards for both our Plant-Based Stracciatella and Plant-Based Mozzarella, and hearing judges describe our Stracciatella as “absolutely magnificent”, we're feeling pretty confident about putting ours on the table.

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