Jordan Myrick
Gwynedd Stuart
The best string cheese is firm, cheesy, and a little salty—no doubt about it. To bite it or to pull it apart? That is the real question. Or do you bite and then peel, like we do? And are you team firm string cheese or team soft string cheese? There are actually a lot of questions to ask when you’re seeking out the best string cheese.
Over the course of three separate taste tests, the Sporked team set out to find the best low fat string cheese, the best organic string cheese, and the best string cheese overall. We judged them on peelability—it’s string cheese, so we want to see strings!—and flavor. Mozzarella string cheese should taste like mozzarella, not just chewy, salty air.
We unwrapped. We bit. We peeled. This is the best string cheese you can buy. (Seeking out the best cheese sticks? The kind you don’t peel? We have you covered there, too.)
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- Daiya Dairy-Free Mozzarella Style Deluxe Cheeze Sticks
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I cannot believe these vegan cheese sticks taste good, but they do! They are actually cheesy. They’re salty. They don’t have a weird, upsetting texture like some other Daiya products. If I didn’t consume dairy, I would be thrilled to get one of these in my lunchbox. Even if you’re just looking to cut down on dairy a little, grab a bag of these the next time you’re at the grocery store. Granted—they aren’t stringy like string cheese, but they’re the best string cheese-style sticks if you don’t do dairy. —Jordan Myrick
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Sargento Fiesta Pepper String Cheese
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Pepperjack cheese sticks abound at the grocery store…but these are different. This is actually string cheese—and it’s damn stringy, too! They’re made of part skim mozz that’s studded with lots of pepper seeds and bits. The habaneros and jalapenos contribute a little bit of heat and lots of flavor. These are pretty salty tasting, but I do think the fresh, interesting pepper flavor helps. It’s the best string cheese if you’re craving something zesty and different. Try it. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Merc / Instacart
- Lucerne Reduced Fat String Cheese
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This isn’t the best low fat string cheese we tried, but if you’re a person who prefers soft string cheese to the denser, more plasticky kind (my personal pref), this is good. Lucerne is a brand that’s sold at Albertsons-owned grocery stores and a lot of their cheese is sort of mid, but these are highly stringy and have 2.5 grams of fat versus 6 grams in their regular part skim mozzarella string cheese. If you’re into softer string cheese and you’re cutting fat and cals, give this string cheese a shot. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Sargento Light String Cheese
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Okay, I pretty much always buy light string cheese versus full-fat string cheese and I’ve always suspected that part of the reason it’s lower in fat and calories (2.5 grams of fat versus 6 grams in a regular Sargento string cheese) is that the sticks themselves are smaller. I can confirm that they are smaller. Perhaps not half as small, but…smaller. Do you, like me, need a company to regulate the size of your portion to reduce your calorie intake? Well, then try Sargento Light String Cheese. It’s got that nice, thick, somewhat waxy consistency (I always compare it to Polly-O, which was my string cheese of choice as a kid), but the cheese still tastes creamy. It tastes like cheese you could grate and put on a pizza and be perfectly happy. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Galbani String Cheese
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In my notes, I referred to Galbani string cheese as ““authentic.” What does that mean, you might ask? Well, string cheese is not “authentic” to any particular place, but these have strong Italian vibes. The packaging is emblazoned with imported-from-Rome colors, and the cheese itself tastes like cheese shop mozzarella (it’s soft rather than waxy). You could obviously devour these in their intended string form, but you could also chop them up and toss them into an antipasto salad or on a quick tortilla pizza. We love a versatile product, and Galbani makes the best string cheese for a bunch of uses. —Jordan Myrick
Credit: Merc / Instacart
- Frigo Swirls Cheese Heads
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Frigo Swirls Cheese Heads are just plain fun. They’re called “cheese heads” because the mascot is a little string cheese with wild, cheese strand hair. How cute is that? Even though these cheese sticks contain two types of cheese—mozzarella and cheddar—the flavor is still mild enough for people who are used to straight-up mozzarella. My only complaint is that these aren’t swirled as the name would imply; they’re more like a cheese duo spooning each other in plastic wrapping. Still, it’s the best string cheese if you want something just a little bit different. —Jordan Myrick
Credit: Merc / Vons
- Sargento String Cheese Snacks
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We all agreed that Sargento String Cheese Snacks are the most adult version of string cheese. First of all, the packaging reads as very mature, with its dark colors and mildly baroque energy. The flavor also feels more adult because it’s a little tangy, like a nice aged cheese. You could even add these to a cheese board during your next wine night—I’m not kidding! If that doesn’t sell you, maybe this will: Andjelina, a self-proclaimed string cheese expert, liked this the most of the string cheeses we tried.
Credit: Merc / Instacart
- Sprouts Market Corner Low-Moisture Part-Skim String Cheese
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Selfishly, I brought this bag of Sprouts string cheese home with me after our initial taste test because it’s some of the best string cheese out there. I couldn’t stop snacking on it. When it comes to texture, it strikes the perfect balance—it’s waxy and pliable at the same time. Even though it’s part-skim, the flavor is full fat. We bumped these from the top spot because they aren’t widely available, but, hey, it’s certainly the best string cheese if you’re a regular Sprouts shopper. —Jordan Myrick
Related: Best Shredded Mozzarella: Top Your Pizza with These 6 Cheeses
Credit: Merc / Instacart
- Organic Valley Stringles
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The best organic string cheese is the best string cheese overall. I wrote in my notes that the flavor profile is a bit “farmy,” but I meant it in a good way. Organic Valley Stringles taste less salty than a lot of other brands, and that really lets the flavor of the dairy shine. The cheese itself is good and stretchy and has way more flavor than most string cheeses, plus, it’s more accessible than our previous best string cheese, which is from Sprouts. It tastes fatty and luscious. This is good string cheese! —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Pavilions
Best Plant Based
Best Organic
Best Low Fat String Cheese (Soft)
Best Low Fat String Cheese
Best Soft String Cheese
Best for Kids
Best for Adults
Best of the Best
Best Organic String Cheese and Best of the Best!
Other string cheese brands we tried
Ralph’s, Great Value Pepperjack, Great Value Mozzarella, Frigo Original, Kraft, Kroger, Kroger Twists, Simple Truth Mozzarella, Horizon, 365, Happy Farms, Lucerne, O Organics, Good & Gather, Polly-O, Trader Joe’s
Griffin Parker
Joe Rumrill
Tyler Bowers
