An Easy Dairy Free Appetizer - Great for Seasonal Celebrations!

A reader told me about these little cheesy bites not so long ago and since then I have been on a mission to find them. She gets them in Nourish in Santry but happily, I found mine in Nourish on Liffey St (€3.90 for a pack of 8) so the big trek was avoided! They are a Vegideli product, which is a sister product to Cheezly Dairy Free Cheese.

They are an imitation of deep fried cheese, or something similar and are based with Cheezly cheddar 'cheese' made with Soya. The ‘Cheezly’ taste is still there when eaten cold/room temperature, but the consistency is softer, there is a real peppery hit and they taste significantly better than the original ‘cheezly’ block due to the light breading.

They can be eaten as is, or they can be heated through. The package recommends frying or grilling. I have tried them cold, at room temperature and fried. Room temperature tastes nice but the best, in my opinion, is to fry them with minimal oil and then eat them when they are slightly cooled and can hold their shape. This is when they taste best and are most like the cheesy bites they aspire to.

The bad news is that they contain Wheat, Soya and Potato which limits the food allergy free attributes but if you’re stuck for a quick nibble during the upcoming festive season or are continually searching for a way to include your Dairy Free or Vegan guest in the snacks then I think Vegideli’s Breaded Pepperjack Style Cheezly Bites will pass the test.

- Dairy free
- Egg free
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- No Added Garlic Free
- No Added Onion Free
- No Added Tomato (note: does contain potato)
- No Hydrogenated Fats
- No Artificial Colours or Preservatives
- GMO free

Ingredients: Water, non-hydrogenated vegetable fats & oils, breadcrumbs, tofu, wheat flour, soya protein, potato starch, thickeners: carrageenan phosphate, unrefined sugar, dried red & green peppers, sodium citrate, naural flavouring, lactic acid

Nutritional Information per 100 g:
Energy 334kcal/1400Kj
Protein 5.7g
Carbohydrates 20.9
of which sugars 0.9g
Fat 25.5g
of which saturates 10.4g
of which mono-unsaturates 10.8g
of which polyunsaturates 4.1g
Cholestrol 0.0g
Fibre 1.3g
Sodium 0.9g