6 Cheese Brands To Buy, And 6 To Stay Away From

Let's be honest, buying cheese can be daunting. With multiple brands, products, and sections to consider, it's easy to get so overwhelmed that you stick to the same things. But some of the most popular brands aren't making real cheese at all.

Foods labeled "cheese product" or "processed cheese" contain different ingredients than the natural stuff. As Delighted Cooking explains, fakes cheese are made with additional ingredients to make them more affordable, colorful, and long-lasting. You'll find that some of your favorite American cheese slices, pre-grated bags of cheese, or bright orange blocks fall under this category. The problem is that additives found in these cheeses — like preservatives, oil, and artificial coloring — make eating them potentially unhealthy. Because of this, we recommend avoiding big brands or the corporations that make them. Additionally, the companies that make these fake dairy products are often some of the worst culprits when it comes to animal welfare (via The New York Times) and sustainability, per World Wildlife. That doesn't make us want to buy from them.

Per Wine Enthusiast, real cheese is usually made only with cultures, salt, enzymes, and milk or cream. There are also more specific artisanal cheeses made by small businesses and cheese makers. Per Formaggio Kitchen, these cheeses are the best to buy due to their nutritional content, ethical farming practices, and amazing flavor. The downside is that these cheeses are typically more expensive and less accessible. But they're worth it, in our eyes. Here are six cheese brands to buy and six to stay away from.

If you want to buy real cheese, don't buy Velveeta. While it's clear to many that this grocery store item is not fresh cheese, the company is no longer allowed to make the claim that it is even partially made with real cheese. While this used to be part of the recipe, Velveeta today is made with milk and whey protein concentrates, instead (via Organic Authority). As a result, the FDA requires Kraft — the parent company of Velveeta — to label its product as a "pasteurized recipe cheese product," per CNN.

Per the Target website, Velveeta does use normal cheese ingredients such as milk, but then it's filled with a laundry list of other items. These ingredients help to give Velveeta its iconic orange color, smooth texture, and strong taste, while allowing it to be shelf-stable at room temperature.

This highly processed cheese has been appreciated for its ability to melt smoothly and its affordable price tag, but there are plenty of ways to get a smooth cheese without it, such as by using sodium citrate. Remove its melted texture from the equation and there's no reason to be eating it.

For one downside, Velveeta contains more lactose than regular cheese, making it more harmful to lactose-intolerant individuals. Beyond that, its taste and texture are not enjoyed by all people. On Reddit, one person said "it tastes like wax & plastic. ...zero flavor." Another person added, "Velveeta cheese is disgusting and destroys everything it touches." 

Kraft is a cheese brand that you're likely already familiar with, as the company makes several different kinds of cheese. These come in sliced, shredded, chunk, grated, string, stick, cubes, cracker cuts, and crumble varieties. That's not to mention the popular Kraft singles. But no matter what shape they come in, Kraft's cheeses are processed. They come with unnatural ingredients that help the cheese maintain its prepared forms and help extend its shelf life. But these ingredients also keep Kraft's cheese from being completely natural dairy products.

For Kraft products like its famous American cheese slices, many people are already familiar with the quality they will get. They grow up eating processed cheeses like Kraft singles, thus developing a nostalgic fondness for the product. But when you forget about nostalgia, you see Kraft's cheese for what it is: bad-tasting. "Fake and rubbery cheese slices. This is not real cheese," said one reviewer on the Walmart website. "The cheese is so floppy and slimy feeling," wrote another person. We recommend looking for cheeses made by brands other than Kraft.

In your grocery store's cheese aisle, you have probably come across the brand Sargento. We admit that some of Sargento's cheeses are less processed than companies like Kraft. Products like Sargento's Natural Sharp Cheddar Slices are made from milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes, and annatto — just like real or artisanal cheeses are, per The Cheese Wanker. 

But with shredded cheeses sold by Sargento, even more undesirable ingredients are added to help the cheese maintain its form. These include controversial ingredients like Natamycin, a food additive that's believed by some to have negative health effects. It's banned by health-conscious stores like Whole Foods (except when its used in cheese rind wax), which is why you won't see Sargento's products at the grocery chain.

On top of all that, the company has been sued for labeling its products as free-from antibiotics. The group Beyond Pesticides sued Sargento in 2021 for mislabeling its cheeses as such. As a result, on Sargento's website, you won't see the "antibiotic-free" label on its cheeses anymore. This may seem obvious because Sargento's cheeses are not USDA organic or non-GMO certified. Unfortunately, many people also complained of spoilage problems with Sargento's cheese on Walmart's website.

Great Value is Walmart's brand of affordable products, and you can buy Great Value's shredded cheddar, shredded mozzarella, American singles, a Velveeta-like product called "Melt'n Dip," sliced cheese, cream cheese, jarred queso, and other products at the superstore. While you might save a few dollars on each container of Great Value cheese compared to name brands, we would suggest buying from a different company.

While some of Great Value's products have less processing than others, the only unnatural ingredient in some of its block cheeses is food coloring. More so, the brand's healthfulness is only part of the problem. On Reddit, Walmart customers have complained that Great Value's cheeses are so artificial that they are nearly impossible to melt. "Even pouring the grease over it wouldn't melt it. ... didn't even know there was such a thing as fake cheese," said one person. Others noted that it was a common problem they experienced with processed, American cheese slices.

On Walmart's website, the criticisms of its American cheese continued. "Oily, rubbery texture with almost no flavor. The greasy consistency is so bad that it sticks like glue to the wrapper," wrote another customer. "This product barely passes for food, much less cheese," said another reviewer.

If you're trying to get your hands on the real thing – which we recommend — don't purchase Borden cheese. The company makes a series of processed and prepared cheese products that are meant to be shelf-stable and affordable, but they won't taste great. Even though there is real cheese used in some of its products, there are usually additional fillers in there that make Borden's cheeses potentially harmful to your health. The artificial ingredients used in these products, such as anti-caking agents and mold inhibitors aren't the best for your body (via The Alternative Daily). Although real cheese itself isn't exactly a health food, it's better than the prepared cheese products made by Borden.

It's no secret that Borden's cheese isn't authentic. Certain items are labeled as "pasteurized prepared cheese product" on the packaging. But what's lost on some of us is that processed cheese is going to have a milder, less complex flavor than the real thing. Some Walmart customers noted an off-taste in Borden's products themselves. "Used for grilled cheese and it melts funny, not smooth, and has a very odd taste once melted," wrote one customer. Another person noted the flavor was mild, writing, "It also doesn't taste very cheesy. It doesn't taste bad, just not cheesy."

Cottage cheese is having its TikTok moment so you may be inspired to try some yourself (via Thrillist). But if you do, don't buy Breakstone's. For one, its cottage cheese products are made with tapioca starch, a thickening agent used to change the consistency of foods. You won't find this filler food in the ingredients list of more natural cottage cheese brands. This is one of many artificial components you'll find in Breakstone's products.

In addition to the possibly harmful ingredients the company does have, there are even more things that Breakstone's lacks. As Mamavation explains, the company's food is not organic or non-GMO-certified, and it does not state a commitment to animal welfare or sustainability on its website. All of this signals to us that there is a little less care going into this brand's products, which could have an impact on the quality of its cottage cheese.

Some customers who purchased Breakstone's cottage cheese through Walmart found the results to be disappointing. Many people noted with dismay that each cup contained a higher amount of liquid than desired. "All of the units are watery and soupy. The only reason I pay more for Breakstone's is because of the extra firm consistency. I hope this is not a new recipe," wrote one person.