14 Walmart Shredded Cheeses, Ranked Worst To Best

Whenever I go shopping, I look for the most reliable option before checking the cheaper versions for a chance to save money on a product that is, often, just as good as a name-brand option without the added price. Sometimes that leads to a great dish that costs less, and sometimes it leads to disappointing results.

After sampling Walmart's Great Value brand ice creams and ranking its Bettergoods frozen pizzas, I've become a fan of the discount retailer's products. True, they haven't all wowed me, but in several cases they've outshined the store brands of other retailers. So, when it came time to pick up some shredded cheese it was the perfect time to pick up a selection of both house brands from Walmart and check them out.

While there are over 40 unique shredded cheeses to choose from, I decided to stick to a combination of its cheese blends, classics like Parmesan and mozzarella, and a few of its plant-based shredded cheese replacements. After trying them all, I'm ready to tell you which were the worst and best among the options.

Coming in last on our list is this dairy-free mozzarella alternative. I'm not a stranger to vegan foods. In fact, I've had some amazing dishes that use cheese substitutes. However, I've never actually tried these cashew-based cheese options in a context where they were allowed to stand front and center. I wish I could say that was still true.

From the moment I opened the bag, I was horrified. The smell that greeted me was ... potent. I expected a scent unlike that of traditional cheese, but somehow I got a smell that was exactly like cheese. However, it was the smell of the most pungent, acrid, and off-putting cheesiness that I had ever encountered, and I've smelled some funky cheese in my time.

As a lover of cheese, I was ready to overlook the scent in the hopes that the flavor would prove more mild and appetizing. This was not the case. In addition to a texture like soft warm Play-Doh, this cheese didn't melt so much as smoosh and stick together. I love finding a vegan alternative to break up the monotony of my regular ingredient choices, but I can honestly say I will never be picking up a bag of this Bettergoods plant-based mozzarella cheese again.

After the previous slide, I'm sure it's not a surprise to see this cheddar and mozzarella blend of cashew cheese come in second from last in this ranking. Much like the pure faux-mozzarella, this blend still carried every note of funk and awful. Being the first of the dairy-free options I tried, I was honestly embarrassed to have been so shocked by the texture and flavor I spit out my first bite.

What was going on here? I love cheese, I love cashews, and I am practically known for enjoying strange foods that put others off. Despite all that, I almost held my nose just to have a second bite. The soft and almost paste-like texture of the melted "cheese" was almost as terrible as the smell.

If the goal of this product is to look and feel like a slightly dense and dry shredded cheese, then it does a great job. If its job is to taste or smell even remotely like actual cheese, then it isn't succeeding. At this point, all I could hope is that the texture and smell were coming from the mozzarella and without it the cheddar would be delicious.

While slightly less odiferous, the texture of both cheeses was nearly identical. After having gotten used to the smell a bit, it was still an overwhelmingly awful scent. The cheddar was more pleasing to look at thanks to its orange color, but nothing could make up for the truly awful texture.

Despite its wonderful impression of being shredded cheese while in the bag, I can't give it any credit as a dairy cheese alternative beyond that. I fear I'll come across as harsh, but I honestly couldn't find anything good to say about these cashew cheeses. Even the way they melted under the heat was strange.

While I can understand why a person who is dairy-free would want to find an alternative to cheese, I am sad to say that this plant-based cheddar, or its predecessors, aren't going to be a satisfying substitute for the real thing. While they may hit the mark visually, flavor, smell, and texture miss the mark by a mile.

Finely shredded cheese is usually my first choice, and a blend like this one, made with Monterey Jack, cheddar, queso quesadilla, and asadero, is exactly the type I usually go for. There's something about a good blend of cheeses that helps a pre-shredded cheese thrive despite lacking the freshness of a hand-shredded cheese.

Great Value's fiesta blend was, in every way, average. There was a touch of sharpness which was needed to help overcome how dry it was. Like most bagged cheeses, there was a blend of anti-caking ingredients added to stop the cheese from sticking together. I was dismayed to see that the amount of, in this case starch, that was added ended up leaving an almost dusty texture to the raw cheese.

I also noticed that despite melting there was very little fat to the end product which would explain why it seemed to hold so little moisture. If you're looking for a good cheese to melt, I'd suggest a different option, something about the starches left it dry and clumpy even when hot.

I'm a lover of Italian food. Which shouldn't be surprising considering my family's yearly Feast of the Seven Fishes, an Italian Christmas Eve tradition. Part of loving the food, is being able to appreciate the cheese. So, when I read mozzarella, provolone, Parmesan, Romano, fontina, and Asiago cheese on the label I was ready to dig in. I mean, that's half of the most well known varieties all in one bag.

The first thing I noticed was a much more mild flavor than I expected. While mozzarella isn't the most strongly flavored cheese in general, I usually expect a decent amount of pungent flavor from the others. There was a definitive Italian flavor to this bag, but it was nothing to write home about. This cheese did melt well, though was a bit thick and dry.

Anytime a bag of cheese says low-moisture or part-skim, I know the cheese is going to be more bland and melt less satisfyingly. This bag was further proof of that for me. Its best quality was how well it browned up along the top layer as it toasted longer.

I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that Great Value had a few limited edition blends to its name. This bag, a mix of hickory-smoked Gouda and provolone cheese, first made me thing of a nice steak sandwich. I'm a huge fan of provolone in general, and Gouda is a common staple in my cheese drawer.

When it came to the Hickory Smokehouse Blend, the lack of smokiness was disappointing. There was a light background note of smokiness, and I can understand not going too heavily on smoke for fear of hiding the flavor of the Gouda and provolone. The cheeses themselves tasted good, though a bit less strong in flavor than I'm used to when buying them in non-shredded forms.

Much like the bag said, this cheese did melt well. Both cheeses melted evenly and mixed together with no effort. They were gooey and stretched nicely as you pulled them apart. This cheese would work well mixed with something stronger in a mac and cheese, or any other dish where you want to add a very light touch of smoke but not much overall flavor.

This is one of a handful of bags I purchased that wasn't a blend or specialty of some kind. When I think of shredded cheese, I think of pizza, mac and cheese, and Alfredo sauce. The first begs for mozzarella, the second can be made with any cheese, and the last is the most perfect home for Parmesan cheese.

Bagged Parmesan can be tricky to use for a good sauce, especially when the anti-clumping agent used is cellulose. As a result, I was looking forward to seeing just how well this prepared Parmesan melted. As much as it was craved, no Alfredo sauce was made. This test had to be fair. Despite the lack of cream and butter to help this semi-hard and rather dry cheese melt, when given the chance it melted quite well and very smoothly.

While it lacked the intensity of flavor I expect from fresh Parmesan, this pre-shredded option seemed well worth the price and quality. I would happily top my pasta or salad with a healthy portion and not regret it for a moment.

Now when it came to buying a bag of this classic pizza cheese, I made sure to buy a bag of the whole milk variety. I feel like I see the low-moisture part-skim variety everywhere, and it just never melts as satisfyingly as fresh cheese grated at home. When given the option of a whole milk variety, I had to try it and find out if it melted better than the dry part-skim versions I've had in the past.

Satisfyingly, it really did. This cheese had one of the best melts of any cheese on this list. The stretch of the cheese pull was almost hypnotic and the lightly browned edges made me think this would be incredible on a homemade pizza.

Creamy, stretchy, salty, and rolled up in a tortilla, this was the only mini-quesadilla I made that I didn't share. While it wasn't quite as creamy or melty as a fresh ball of mozzarella, this bag of the cheese melted better than any other shredded and bagged variety I've picked up before. For the price and quality, this is going to be my first choice going forward.

So, on my personal scale this Taco Blend scored almost exactly the same as the mozzarella, but gained a slight edge for how balanced the seasoning was. A simple blend of cheddar and Monterey Jack, what makes this blend a little extra special is the addition of taco seasoning directly into the mix. I've seen it done many times before, but often too heavily seasoned.

Great Value's version was creamy and lightly sharp with enough seasoning to remind you of tacos without being strong enough to cover up the flavor of the actual cheese. While I usually judge a taco cheese by its flavor cold, since it doesn't usually melt, it was still put through the same melt test as all the others. With a quick-to-melt and very creamy and rich texture, this cheese would be as good on nachos as tacos.

The only negative, and it wasn't as prominent as it was in the fiesta blend, was a slightly too dry feeling on the palate from the starch used to prevent caking. Still though, this is a great discount brand option for taco night.

Another limited edition offering from Great Value, this combination of mozzarella, Monterey Jack, and hot peppers packs a punch. For those unfamiliar with the Carolina Reaper Blend, it is currently the second spiciest pepper in the world. Unfortunately, I'm also rather weak when it comes to spicy foods.

In flagrant disregard for my expectations, this cheese was very enjoyable. Out of the bag you first get a strong, salty, and tangy cheese flavor that really satisfies, followed by a rush of liquid fire as it melts across your tongue. This would be an amazing cheese for tacos or even pizza for someone who likes to sweat as they eat. It was too spicy for me, but I couldn't deny the obvious success.

It melted as smoothly as some of the best, and its texture was creamy and rich. The only downside was how quickly it went from stretchy to solid. While it melted well, it lacked enough moisture to stay soft after cooling for even a minute or two.

Venturing into the Bettergoods dairy-based cheeses was both exciting and a bit intimidating. I had loved the brand's ice cream flavors, but after trying the cashew cheeses, even the logo had me uneasy. Knowing my duty, I soldiered on through my discomfort. With every ounce of tenacity I could muster, I opened this bag of mozzarella, colby, Gruyère, and Asiago blend that really would be perfect for breakfast.

This cheese melted in a perfectly even way that only happens with a good cheese, and the bitter, tangy, nutty flavors of the mix almost begged me to cook up an omelet on the spot. There was a slight touch of toughness to the slowly cooling cheese as I dug into my little quesadilla, but I've learned to expect that from part-skim mozzarella whenever I see it on a label.

The most prevalent flavor here was the colby, but all the others showed up in supporting roles and helped to round out an intense cheese flavor. The rougher cut and thicker shred also helped to reduce the starch to cheese ratio which made all three less dry on the palate.

This cheese was my hands-down winner of the "best melt" award. Considering my choice of tasting method, this was the first cheese I melted. Taking the lead, it proved very hard for many of the other cheeses to match the creamy, gooey, and rewarding melt of the Queso Quesadilla. Originating from Chihuahua, Mexico, this was my first time hearing of a cheese by this name.

This cheese is apparently known for its amazing melting abilities, and despite being pre-shredded and bagged, it was incredibly smooth and the anti-caking starches didn't leave even a touch of dryness. When combined with a mild flavor profile and light tartness, this salty cheese really is a perfect choice for a simple cheese quesadilla.

Having never picked up a bag before, I can promise this won't be my last time. Knowing there is such a great melting cheese, that could easily be mixed with other cheeses for alternate flavor profiles, tells me that I have some experimenting to do in my future.

This mix of sharp cheddar, Swiss, and Gruyère cheeses is marked as the Gourmet Baking Blend, but I can picture using it for so many other uses too. It has an overall nutty flavor with a steady undertone of bitterness from the Swiss and subtle bite from the sharp cheddar. With all three of those cheeses working well in baked goods, I can see why they chose the name.

While this blend melts well, it also holds up a bit more than the others which would make it a good choice to fold into some bread dough before baking. Despite that fact, a little heat and time gives you a smooth and thick melted cheese that would go perfectly in a grilled cheese on sourdough with a bowl of tomato soup. I'm not often a fan of Swiss cheese, but in this combination it works very well.

I think it's time to consider that maybe the plant-based cheeses are "good for what they are," because with two bags of cheese hitting it out of the park, Bettergoods' shredded cheeses would be welcome in my fridge any day.

Macaroni and cheese is such a common and varied dish that we've all tried amazing versions, as well as versions I'm sure we wish we'd never eaten. No matter how many times I make mac and cheese from scratch, I always find myself using a different blend of cheeses. While I've used cheddar, Gouda, and Gruyère in the past, I can't say that they've ever been a specific combination.

I'm glad to have learned how well they worked together. Whether a pinch out of the bag or mixed and melted, the sharp, salty, nutty, and umami notes of all three cheeses come together in a way that just plain tastes like mac and cheese. My tortilla wrapped around the ooey gooey melted cheese actively tasted like a tray of perfectly baked cheesy pasta.

Between it's amazing meltability, bright and full-bodied flavor, and richly creamy texture, this was my favorite bag of cheese among the lot. I know the next time I make homemade mac and cheese I'll be picking up some of this instead of a few bricks of cheese I'll have to grate myself.

In order to best review and rank each shredded cheese on the list, I first decided on three criteria that would determine how each was judged. After some careful deliberation, I decided to focus on how well each cheese melted, the flavor of each, and the texture of each when cold and when melted. In order to try each cheese melted, while adding as little flavor as possible, I chose to use plain flour tortillas as a base and make each type of cheese into a quesadilla.

Flavor was judged by combining known expectations of a cheese's profile against the strength, enjoyability, and recognizable notes expected of each. To prepare each quesadilla, an equal amount of each cheese was placed into a hot ceramic pan until it began to melt and then topped with a tortilla, before being flipped over to heat the tortilla and continue melting the cheese.

After tasting both the cold and melted cheeses, each was judged and placed on a tier-list style scale. As a new cheese was tried it was ranked above or below previous cheeses in order to determine an accurate ranking.