The 6 Best String Cheeses For Snacking and Pulling Apart, Strand by Strand

Of the dozen we tried, these are the ones we turn to again and again.

26 Mar 2024

6 min read

*This article includes mentions of merchants or brands who are partners of DoorDash, and DoorDash may receive a commission if you choose to make a purchase from these merchants or brands.

String cheese is a brilliant snack. First, it’s cheese! Second, it’s easy to toss in your purse, gym bag, or glove compartment. Let me rattle off several other reasons: It’s individually wrapped, protein-packed, no mess, zero fuss, and plenty delicious.

As a 15-year cheese industry veteran, I was once too much of a cheese snob to indulge in these industrially produced sticks. Then I had kids and realized the error of my ways. My daughter Simone can be frustratingly picky, and string cheese is often an easy win. But it’s a crowd pleaser for both kids and grown-ups — a snack everyone can get behind. Plus, there’s something deeply satisfying about pulling apart strands of mozzarella; the flavor and texture changes, and the hands-on experience makes snacking fun. With that in mind, my family and I set out to find the very best ones on the market.

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The Tasters

My 2-year-old, 4-year-old (Simone), my husband, and I dutifully snacked our way through a dozen brands of string cheese. We chose ones that looked familiar or nostalgic, as well as big national brands.

The Methodology

You can now get all sorts of cheese in stick form, from sharp cheddar to hot pepper-infused flavors to swirls of orange and white. For this story, we stuck with the classic mozzarella variety. They all looked quite similar: cylinders of ivory-colored cheese in a pull-apart plastic wrapper. But the differences in flavor, texture, and snacking experience were significant.

The best string cheese tastes like what it is: lightly salty, milky mozzarella. It should be easy to pull into wispy strings or fat threads. (If you just bite your mozzarella sticks, you’re either a toddler or a monster. Just kidding, we can still be friends). Of the dozen we tried, these were our favorites, the ones we’ll be reaching for again, and again, and again.

The Results

Our Absolute Favorite: Frigo Cheese Heads String Cheese

If you close your eyes and envision quintessential string cheese, you’re probably seeing Frigo Cheese Heads String Cheese. My whole family gave this a 10/10 for its spot-on flavor: rich and cheesy yet pleasantly light, with just a hint of tart brightness on the finish. We also liked its bouncy texture, and how easily it pulls into delicate strands — even my two-and-a-half-year-old managed (with a lot of focus).

Best Cheesy Flavor: Crystal Farms String Cheese

We love snacking on cheese curds, too, and Crystal Farms String Cheese’s squeakiness reminded us of that satisfying texture. My four-year-old thought these tasted most like “fancy cheese” of any of the brands, and she’s not wrong. It has the tangy acidity and a rich salinity that you’d find from fresh, just-made mozzarella. Plus, it scored high on pull-apart-ability.

Kid Pick: Good & Gather String Cheese

Mild and creamy without too much saltiness or tang, even the pickiest eaters will get behind Good & Gather String Cheese. There are no particularly strong flavors to turn off small palates, but the mellow cheese is still rich and had us all coming back for more. Our pulling apart resulted in fatter strands, which is totally fine for little fingers.

Best Classic: Polly-O String Cheese

“It tastes like string cheese string cheese,” my husband weighed in, and I couldn’t agree more. Super familiar, it had a winning balance of salt, richness, tanginess, and milkiness. It felt a little stiff, but then peeled off into pretty, smooth strands for a pleasant textural experience.

Creamiest: Galbani String Cheese

Simone said the luxurious creamy texture made this one “cream cheese string cheese.” It was a little more stubborn about its stringing, but I liked the smooth richness. It boasts a briny, buttery flavor reminiscent of pizza cheese.

Most Sophisticated: Organic Valley

The flavor mix here was a little different than the rest of the lineup: more richly savory, more nuanced, even a bit tantalizingly earthy. To me, this tasted more like the cheese I originally fell in love with — cheese cheese. These sticks were a little floppier than the rest of the contenders, but the stringing score was high for easy, skinny wisps.

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PHOTO CREDIT:

Photographer: Paul Quitoriano
Art Direction: Sarah Ceniceros Gomez

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Author

Hannah Howard

String cheese head? Upgrade your snacking with these top-tier picks that stood out in our taste, texture, and stretchiness tests. Each was selected for its perfect pull and flavor balance and you can order them all and other top grocery finds from nearby stores on DoorDash today.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ordering Cheese on DoorDash

Yes — DoorDash does keep a history of your past grocery orders so you can reorder fast. Every time you place an order, it gets logged in your account’s Order History, where you can easily tap to review what you bought before.If you loved the items you got last time — string cheese, frozen snacks, or weekly staples — you can use that history to rebuild your cart or reorder with just a few taps, making restocking fast and stress-free.

Keeping your cheese fresh comes down to the way DoorDash handles temperature-sensitive items. Your shopper picks refrigerated products like cheese toward the end of the trip through the store, minimizing the time they’re out of the cooler, and packs them carefully to keep them chilled. Once the order is ready, a Dasher delivers it quickly—often in as little as 30 minutes* —so your dairy stays at the right temperature from store to doorstep. The result: cheese that arrives just as fresh and snack-ready as if you’d picked it out yourself.

* Delivery times vary by location. See app for estimate.

You can absolutely find specialty and organic string cheese from both local and national stores on DoorDash Grocery. Many neighborhood markets stock smaller-batch or organic brands, while larger retailers often carry well-known options featured in this guide—so you can compare textures, flavors, and ingredients all in one place. As you browse, you’ll see a mix of classic snacks, organic picks, and premium varieties, making it easy to choose exactly what fits your taste or dietary needs.

Refrigerated and frozen dairy items get extra attention during DoorDash Grocery delivery. Shoppers pick these temperature-sensitive items last, pack them carefully, and keep them separate from pantry goods so they stay cold and protected. Once the order is ready, a Dasher delivers it quickly—often in as little as 30 minutes—so milk, cheese, yogurt, and other chilled items spend minimal time out of refrigeration. The whole process is designed to make your dairy arrive just as fresh, cold, and ready to enjoy as if you grabbed it straight from the store yourself.

Delivery is typically fast—many customers get string cheese and other dairy items in as little as 30 minutes*, depending on store proximity and Dasher availability. Because DoorDash partners with nearby grocers and uses top-rated shoppers who work efficiently, chilled items are picked quickly and spend minimal time out of refrigeration. It’s a convenient way to restock snacks, grab last-minute lunchbox essentials, or top off your weekly shop without making an extra trip.

*Delivery times vary by location. See app for estimate.

You can definitely mix and match as many flavors or brands as you want in a single DoorDash Grocery order. Whether you’re grabbing a few types of string cheese, pairing them with yogurt, or tossing in snacks for the week, everything goes into one easy checkout. Your shopper handles each item with care—chilled, frozen, or otherwise—so the whole order arrives fresh and ready to stock. It’s a flexible way to shop the way you actually eat, without hopping between stores or making multiple trips.

DoorDash does let you schedule grocery delivery ahead of time, so you don’t have to shop around your day—you can have DoorDash Grocery work around yours. At checkout, you’ll see available delivery windows for later the same day or on a future date, and you can pick the time that fits best. It’s especially handy for weekly stock-up runs, party prep, or making sure dairy and snacks arrive after you’re home from work. Just build your cart, choose your window, and we’ll handle the timing from there.

Yes—you can link your store loyalty account on DoorDash at select grocery partners, which means you’ll earn points or access member-only deals on items like cheese, dairy, and other staples. When a store supports loyalty integration, you’ll see a prompt to connect your account right on their page, and once it’s linked, eligible discounts and rewards apply automatically at checkout. It’s an easy way to get the same perks you’d earn in-store while enjoying the convenience of DoorDash Grocery delivery.

If your string cheese arrives damaged or not quite right, you can resolve it quickly through the DoorDash app. Just open your order details, tap Help, and choose the option that best describes the issue—whether the cheese was opened, warm, or didn’t match what you expected. DoorDash’s Quality Guarantee covers grocery items, so you can request a refund or another resolution right away. It’s a simple, built-in way to make sure you always get fresh, snack-ready cheese without any hassle.

Grocery makes it easy to add a last-minute item even after you’ve checked out. As long as your shopper hasn’t finished picking your order, you’ll see an option to Add Items right from the order status screen. You can search for what you forgot—string cheese, snacks, produce, anything—and it’ll be added to your cart instantly. If your shopper is already wrapping up, you may not see the option, but when it’s available, it’s a lifesaver for those “oh wait!” moments that always hit right after placing an order.