The best goat cheese from a grocery store shouldn’t be too different from the best goat cheese brand available at your local cheese shop. The main difference? It’s probably a bit cheaper and it doesn’t come with any pleasantly esoteric flavor descriptions from a cheesemonger. Don’t worry. We’re happy to fill that void and provide you with all the tasting notes you need.
The Sporked team tasted 11 different goat cheeses (mostly chevre goat cheese but a few firm goat cheeses as well). We focused on plain goat cheese for this tasting. (Don’t worry, we’ll get to the flavored goat cheeses soon enough.) We were looking for goat cheese that really tasted like goat cheese—it should be tangy, grassy, floral. If it’s soft, it should be creamy and spreadable, rather than dry. Even if it’s crumbly, it should still have some creaminess to it.
So, what’s the G.O.A.T when it comes to goat cheese? Here’s the best supermarket goat cheese we tasted. (Note: Most of the goat cheeses we tasted were pretty darn good, but these were the seven we would seriously recommend people purchase.)
- Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog
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This is a cheese board cheese. If you put a wedge of this on your charcuterie board, people will be impressed. I would certainly be happy. It’s one of the cheese world’s most popular cheeses, which is wild to me considering the line of ash running through the center, which you would think might be off-putting to some. But people (including Mythical’s own Stevie Wynne Levine) keep coming back for more. After one taste it’s easy to see why. It’s extremely creamy (there’s even a cream line around the outer edge) and delightfully savory and salty. I think this would go great on a burger, too, in place of blue cheese.
Credit: Liv Averett / Vons
- Vermont Creamery Bijou Crottin
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If you have no qualms about eating the rind, then here is the best goat cheese for your perfect snack. Or, if you want to get really French about it, serve one of these mini crottins (a crottin is a small round of goat cheese) as a cheese course alongside a lightly dressed salad—that would also make for a seriously good at-home lunch. The rind, which is meant to be eaten, imparts a nice funky flavor, which contrasts with the tart and tangy, creamy inner cheese. This is goat cheese for cheese lovers.
Credit: Liv Averett / Vons
- Trader Joe’s Chevre
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Trader Joe’s is good at cheese. And this chevre goat cheese is no exception. It’s very, very creamy—it tastes like fresh cream with just a touch of tang on the end. It has a grassy sweetness that makes it a perfect accompaniment to honey or fruit. This cheese, spread on sourdough toast, topped with sliced peaches, and drizzled with honey? We’re talking top- tier cheese experience.
Credit: Liv Averett / Trader Joe’s
- The Drunken Goat
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This semi-soft Spanish cheese is bathed in red wine, just like me. That gives it a bright, somewhat fruity flavor that contrasts with the cheese’s earthy umami notes. To me, the fruit came across almost as a bell pepper flavor, but Sporked senior writer Jordan Myrick’s sharp palate immediately detected the wine. The fascinating flavor and the texture make Drunken Goat cheese the best goat cheese for easy snacking. You’ll keep coming back, piece after piece.
Credit: Liv Averett / Target
- Laura Chenel Fresh Goat Cheese Original
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I saw this goat cheese on all the best goat cheese lists, so I came in with high expectations—but also thinking this would taste like a standard chevre. It does not—in the best way possible. It is so savory and salty and complex, while also tasting very fresh. It tastes like Laura herself was just out back squeezing some fresh goat cheese for you. Spread this on toast and eat it as an appetizer or alongside a salad for lunch. It’s a main course cheese.
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- 365 Goat Cheese Slices
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I didn’t know goat cheese slices existed, and now I don’t ever want to go back to a time when I didn’t have them in my life. These are a new staple in my home. The slices are a touch crumbly but mostly creamy and tangy. You still get that goat cheesy finish on the end. It’s the best goat cheese for a veggie sandwich by far. And I often grab a slice out of the fridge when I’m feeling snackish in the kitchen. Jordan said it best, “Hubba, hubba.”
Credit: Liv Averett / Whole Foods
- Vermont Creamery Goat Cheese
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The best goat cheese comes from the maker of the best butter, Vermont Creamery. It’s an absolute stunner of a goat cheese. Perfect for salads thanks to its slightly crumbly texture, this cheese is classically tangy, quite grassy, but still creamy. You take a bite and your mouth waters. It scores high points not only for its textbook goat cheese flavors but also for its utility. Along with salads, you could also spread this on toast, melt it into omelets, sprinkle it onto roast beets—heck, I bet this would make a good cheesecake in place of cream cheese. Personally, I like to eat it with slices of tart green apple. It’s the best goat cheese. It’s the G.O.A.T.
Credit: Liv Averett / Albertsons
Best for Cheese Boards
Best Cheesy
Best Creamy
Best for Snacking
Best Savory
Best for Sandwiches
Best of the Best
