Snacks infused with cheesy goodness are a guaranteed way to get us elbow-deep into the bottom of the bag while we lounge on our couch, watching plant-based cooking videos on YouTube. One chip, puff, or cracker is never enough to satisfy. To all who love crispy, crunchy, and salty noshes, this is for you. Here are 27 vegan cheesy snacks to satisfy your cravings.
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What is in vegan cheese flavoring?
While most cheesy snacks on the shelves rely on dairy ingredients to get that signature flavor, vegan cheese-flavored snacks are a little different. Instead of animal ingredients, plant-based cheesy snacks often use ingredients like nutritional yeast, real vegan cheese, or alternative milks to achieve that addictive cheesy element, and, trust us, they are just as delicious. Seriously, you won’t be able to put the packet down.
The best vegan cheesy crackers
Cheez-Its are one of the most iconic snack foods. Thankfully, there are a few picks for vegan versions of those irresistible crackers.
1 From the Ground Up Crackers
These may look and taste like your basic vegan cheese square cracker, but they’re unique in that they contain vegetables. The cauliflower-based crackers come in Cheddar and Nacho cheese flavor, and the butternut squash-based crackers are infused with vegan parmesan. We promise—all you’ll taste is cheesy goodness.
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365 by Whole Foods
2 365 by Whole Foods Market Gluten Free Vegan Cheddar Flavor Almond & Sunflower Seed Flour Crackers
A cross between a Cheez-It and a Wheat Thin, these large, crunchy vegan snacks are what those with gluten sensitivities crave. Gluten-free or not, there’s always a box of these crackers in our Instacart.
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Green Mustache Munchies
3 Green Mustache Munchies Crackers
There are so many reasons we love these gluten-free and organic crackers—starting with the fact that they are shaped like mustaches. Other reasons include the company’s commitment to sustainability. Green Mustache upcycles unsellable crackers into farm animal feed so nothing goes to waste. The Cheddarish, Spicyish, and Parmesan Rosemary flavors are all vegan.
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4 Fair & Square
Take a bite. What do you taste? Cheddar flavor, yes. A hint of sea salt? You bet. What you won’t taste is green banana flour, but that’s the first ingredient. Mind blown.
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Back to Nature
5 Back to Nature Plant Based Snacks
A lot of vegan cheddar flavor is packed into these gluten-free square crackers. With a name like Cheddalicious, we’d expect nothing less.
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Kroger
6 Simple Truth Ancient Grains Vegan White Cheddar Rice Crackers
In 2020, Kroger’s Simple Truth better-for-you range launched 50 new plant-based foods. These vegan white cheddar rice crackers were just one of those accessible and delicious new launches. Good to know that wherever there’s a Kroger store, cheesy vegan snacks are nearby.
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Every Body Eat
7 Every Body Eat’s Cheese-Less Thins
Chicago-based Every Body Eat’s Cheese-Less Thins are deliciously cheesy and indulgent, and they’re made with just eight ingredients, including brown rice flour, garlic, white pepper, and sea salt. They’re so good, they were named one of Whole Foods’ best-selling cheese snacks in the Midwest last year.
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The best vegan cheesy potato chips
Nothing says “Welcome to my abode, friend” quite like a bowl of chips. From nacho cheese-flavored Doritos analogs to puffed chips, here are 10 kinds of cheesy vegan chips you can find in stores:
From the Ground Up
8 From the Ground Up Cauliflower Nacho Tortilla Chips
What’s better than dipping a tortilla chip into a vat of vegan queso? Dipping a nacho-flavored tortilla chip into a vat of vegan queso. Win the party by bringing a few bags of these cheesy vegan chips.
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Beanfields
9 Beanfields Chips
Made with a blend of black and navy beans, these cheesy vegan chips pack in four grams of plant-based protein per serving. Not bad for an indulgent-tasting snack! Flavors include nacho, spicy queso, cheddar, and cheddar and sour cream.
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Ka-Pop
10Ka-Pop Dairy-Free Popped Chips
Remember rice cakes? These crunchy, gluten-free snacks have a similar texture, but the similarities stop there. Ka-Pop’s popped chips are made with sorghum flour and are so much more palatable than the humble rice cake. Cheesy options include cheddar and sour cream and onion.
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Hippeas
11Hippeas Organic Chickpea Snacks
Never will we ever use regular tortilla chips for homemade nachos again. These chickpea flour-based Jalapeno Vegan Cheddar Tortilla Chips are the only acceptable option when Game Day (aka nacho season) arrives.
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Plant Snacks
12 Plant Snacks Cassava Chips
Sure, the standard cheddar flavor of these vegan snacks is great, but Plant Snacks is the only vegan chip we’ve seen with a Beet and Vegan Goat Cheese flavor. These are what vegan cheese board dreams are made of.
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Que Pasa Foods
13 Que Pasa Foods Nacho Tortilla Chips
Falling under the Nature’s Path corporation, these vegan nacho-infused tortilla chips are perfectly spicy, cheesy, and ultimately addictive. Bring on the chunky salsa and guac.
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Enjoy Life
14 Enjoy Life Lentil Chips
Enjoy Life first entered our radar with its vegan mini chocolate morsels and chocolate baking chunks, but in the years since, we have fully embraced the savory side of this allergen-friendly vegan company. We’re in love with every flavor of these cheesy vegan snacks.
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Siete
15Siete Grain Free Tortilla Chips
This allergen-friendly company may have discontinued its vegan queso, but it also produces cheesy vegan chips for dipping. Try the nacho, ranch, or fuego if you dare!
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The best vegan cheese puffs
Reminiscent of Cheetos puffs or Cheez Doodles, these crunchy little snacks are perfect for lunch boxes.
Peatos
16Peatos
We don’t have to tell you what iconic snack food Peatos seeks to replicate. These cheesy vegan puffs come in Fiery Hot and somewhat misleading No Cheese. The latter is indeed cheesy—they’re just made without dairy. These crispy cheese curls won Best New Product in 2022. We’re definitely addicted.
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From the Ground Up
17 From the Ground Up Cheddar Cauliflower Stalks
Just like the crackers from this vegan snacking company, these cheesy puffs contain cauliflower. Unlike your average puff, these “stalks” have a hole right down the center for an extra light and airy bite.
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Outstanding Foods
18 Outstanding Foods Puffs
We have no idea how something so light and crispy can carry such a bold flavor. It’s easy to get to the bottom of the bag with these white cheddar-spiked vegan puffs.
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LesserEvil
19LesserEvil Paleo Puffs
You don’t run into paleo and vegan too often, but LesserEvil has combined the best of both food philosophies to create a deliciously cheesy vegan snack. The “No Cheese” Cheesiness Paleo Puffs are USDA-certified organic, kosher, vegan, and paleo-approved. Note: avoid the very similar-looking No Cheese Power Curls. While they’re dairy-free, they contain egg whites.
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Asha Pops
20 Asha Pops Lily Seed Puffs
Puffed water lily seeds don’t sound all too craveable at first, but a handful of the Vegan Cheese flavored puffs will abruptly change your perspective of what is delicious. Bonus: each 100-calorie serving contains five grams of protein. Not bad for a tiny seed.
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Hippeas
21 Hippeas Puffs
Chickpeas seem to do it all—from aquafaba to these tasty puffs, their versatility extends galaxies beyond hummus and falafel. These light and crispy snacks come in slightly spicy Nacho Vibes and umami Vegan White Cheddar packs.
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Spudsy
22 Spudsy Sweet Potato Puffs
The adorable sweet potato mascot enticed us to give these vegan snacks a try, but the taste and texture made us buy more. Since discovering this brand, we’ve tried all three cheesy puff varieties including vegan cheddar and vegan sour cream and onion.
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Earth Balance
23 Earth Balance Puffs
Earth Balance has nailed vegan dairy. From its buttery sticks to these Vegan Aged White Cheddar Puffs, we wonder what dairy-based food it will tackle next.
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Vegan Rob’s
24 Vegan Rob’s Puffs
Vegan Rob’s produces a medley of tantalizingly good vegan chips, crisps, and puffs. We are smitten with the cheddar puffs and fiery Dragon puffs which remind us of a certain snack often touted by a walking, talking cheetah with sunglasses.
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Rhythm Superfoods
25 Rhythm Superfoods Chips
Kale never tasted so good. Rhythm Superfoods has turned this leafy green into crunchy, cheesy kale chips in the flavors Zesty Nacho and Kool Ranch.
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The best vegan cheese popcorn
Popcorn—the everyman’s snack. Just like one of the options in those tins filled with three different popcorn flavors, these are alluringly cheesy.
Lesser Evil
26 LesserEvil Popcorn
You could sprinkle nutritional yeast on your popcorn, or you can let LesserEvil do the work. The “No Cheese” Cheesiness Organic Popcorn is perfect straight from the bag.
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Skinny Pop
27 Skinny Pop Popcorn
There are very few foods you can eat three-and-a-half cups worth that only equate to 150 calories. This snack may be extremely low in calories, but it’s high in vegan cheesy flavor. Opt for the white cheddar variety in the yellow bag, as the brand also makes a dairy-based age white cheddar flavor as well.
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Bjorn Qorn
28 Bjorn Qorn
This vegan popcorn is as fun to eat as it is to say. Simply seasoned with sea salt and nutritional yeast, it achieves a cheesy taste without additives, colors, or ingredients we can’t pronounce.
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For more about vegan snacks, read:
Tanya Flink is a Digital Editor at VegNews as well as a writer and runner living in Orange County, CA.
Here at VegNews, we live and breathe the vegan lifestyle, and only recommend products we feel make our lives amazing. Occasionally, articles may include shopping links where we might earn a small commission. In no way does this effect the editorial integrity of VegNews.
