The Stretchy Vegan Mozzarella Cheese of your dreams, made with just 5 ingredients and in 15 minutes! Perfect for grilled cheese, lasagna, pizza and more!
Meet the vegan mozzarella cheese of your dreams! Stretchy, tangy and oh-so-delicious. I love using this mozzarella on pizza and my new favorite place for it is on top of Vegan Lasagna. Oh my goodness, it takes the lasagna to a whole new level of amazing!
This cheese also makes a mouthwatering vegan grilled cheese sandwich, which I love alongside tomato soup. Talk about an easy meal that kids and grown-ups will love!
I’m sure you could use this vegan mozzarella in many more ways that I haven’t even discovered yet. I’m thinking french onion soup, eggplant parmesan, quesadillas, dips… The possibilities are endless.
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How do you make Vegan Mozzarella?
It’s very easy. First, you soak your cashews in hot water for 5 minutes (or up to an hour). Drain them, and add to a high powered blender with all the other ingredients. Blend; the mixture will be very watery.
Add to a small saucepan and stir constantly over medium heat. After a few minutes, it will start to get clumpy. Keep stirring. And then all of a sudden it magically turns into smooth, stretchy vegan mozzarella! That’s it, it’s ready to use.
How to brown vegan mozzarella in the oven:
I’ve discovered something new lately about this cheese. It will totally brown and bubble in the oven, like real mozzarella would! Simply spray the cheese with a little oil (I used olive oil spray), and broil for 5-10 minutes in the oven. I spread some cheese on sourdough bread and broiled it, and wow, it was incredible cheesy bread. I think this would work on top of casseroles (like lasagna), pizza and more.
What is tapioca starch and where can I find it?
You can read more about tapioca flour/starch here at Bob’s Red Mill. Tapioca starch and flour are usually the same thing, but not always. It’s made from the crushed pulp of the cassava root.
It’s a white powder and works similarly to cornstarch as a thickener. It’s absolutely necessary and perfect for making this vegan mozzarella. If you don’t see it in your local store, you can order it on Amazon here. It’s pretty inexpensive, and one bag will last you a long, long time.
How to use vegan mozzarella:
- Grilled Cheese – Spoon the cheese between two slices of (vegan) buttered bread and grill for a fantastic grilled cheese.
- Pizza – Spoon dollops of cheese on top of pizza crust along with other toppings of choice and cook as you normally would. You can also try to spread it all over the pizza (this works best when the mozzarella is very fresh).
- Lasagna – Spoon the cheese all over the top of the lasagna in the last 20 minutes of baking in the oven. Bake uncovered with the cheese, and broil if desired to brown in spots.
- Anywhere else you’d like! Dip chips into it, make quesadillas, in enchiladas, etc.
Recipe adapted from Minimalist Baker.
EASY Stretchy Vegan Mozzarella Cheese
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked
- 1 1/3 cups water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, fresh from about 1/2 lemon
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons tapioca starch
Instructions
- Boil 2 cups of water (I just heat up water in my tea kettle). Pour the water over the cashews and let soak for 5 minutes and up to an hour.
- Drain the cashews, and add them to a blender along with 1 1/3 cups fresh water (not the water you soaked the cashews in), lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, salt and tapioca starch. Blend until very smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed. It will be very watery at this point.
- Now pour the watery mixture into a small saucepan and bring the heat to medium. Begin to stir with a spatula or spoon.
- After a few minutes, it will begin to get clumpy. Keep stirring, constantly until suddenly it will become super gooey, stretchy, thick and smooth. It will become one big mass of stretchy vegan cheese. Remove from heat as soon as this happens.
- Use immediately, or store in a covered container in the refrigerator. It is easiest to use immediately, because it will thicken up more in the fridge and be less stretchy. So if possible, especially for using on pizza or lasagna, make right before using.
- For pizza, drop 1-2 tablespoon sized balls onto the crust and pat down a little bit. Or spread it all over. It will brown in the oven. For lasagna, drop dollops of the cheese all over the top towards the end of cooking time. Or place between bread and grill for grilled cheese.
Recipe Notes
- Tapioca starch/flour is essential in this recipe, cornstarch will not create the same "stretchy" quality.
- I've never tried it with another nut, but I suspect raw slivered almonds could work.
- If you want the cheese to brown in the oven (like it looks on the bread in the post above), simply spray with a little oil and broil for 5-10 minutes, watching carefully. This is wonderful for lasagna, pizza, or just atop bread for cheesy bread.
- I have frozen this and while it is still edible, it definitely tastes best fresh. It will keep in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. But again, it will be the most stretchy and easy to work with immediately.
Tessa
My bf and I have very recently made the choice to go Vegan, and I’ve been most dreading giving up cheese. Not anymore. This stuff is amazing! I can’t believe that it’s so gooey, and the flavour is incredible. Very excited to try this with all my recipes 😀
Bec
Agree with the comment above about reducing the amount of cider vinegar, or perhaps replacing it with lemon juice. It´s less noticeable when the cheese is mixed into lasagna but on it´s own the cheese just tastes like vinegar to me. I think I would love it after making these adjustments.
ewg
Truly Great Stuff, added 1/2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast, delicious. Adding teaspoon of Turmeric next, to curb my Velveeta craving.
Marin
I may have already commented on this… but i just made your lasagna with the double batch of mozzarella… and I’m still so mind blown at how good this is. My family was stealing spoonfuls from the pot before it was even finished cooking…. then I gave my neighbor a piece of lasagna and she texted me “OMGGGGG THIS CHEESE!! How?!!?”
It’s just. That. GOOD.
Thank you!
Nora
Thank you so much! So happy everyone loves the “cheese”! I always eat a few spoonfuls out of the pot, lol. It’s just so good!
Julia
My husband and I made this last night to top some veggie “meatball” subs and it was amazing! We had some left over and I tossed it in the the fridge, figuring I’d see how it was the next day even though you said it was best fresh. I’m so happy I did, because when refrigerated overnight this has the exact taste and texture of burrata! It firms up just enough to be sliced or rolled into balls, while still being stretchy and creamy–just like fresh mozzarella. I made a caprese salad with it for lunch today (something I miss desperately from my non-vegan years) and I was blown away. Great recipe!
Nicole
Is there something other than lemon juice that can be used? I’m not able to have that right now. I have been using lemon oil in some things but I wonder if this needs the acidic juice to work! Thanks.
Nora
The lemon juice adds that “sour” cheese flavor without it needing to be cultured. Same with the apple cider vinegar. So it is the acidity that is needed. You could replace it with more apple cider vinegar, or leave it out. The “cheese” just won’t have quite the same flavor, but I’m sure it will still be good! Thanks.
April
Does potato starch act like tapioca starch enough to be used in this recipe? I live in China and it’s hard to get certified gf things, and I have potato starch at the moment and not tapioca and I’m so anxious to try this and not wait until it’s shipped here. Thank you so much for everything you do!
Nora
I haven’t tried potato starch for the cheese but I have a feeling it would work pretty well, especially if that’s all you have to work with. If you try it, please let me know how it turned out, I’d love to know! Thank you. 🙂
Teeb
I love this cheese! It’s so melty!!
Lauren
Wow! I am blown away by the taste of this cheese. This is the best cheese I’ve ever tasted. It’s been years since I’ve had real cheese so maybe I forget what it tastes like but I thought this tasted exactly like it. I can’t wait to try it on pizza or in a panzerotti. Your lasagna recipe is currently cooking so I’m super excited to taste it!
Nora
So glad you like the “cheese”! It does taste a lot better than most of the vegan cheeses you can buy at the store, and it’s cheaper. Thank you!
Patricia
Glad to hear that the arrowroot worked well wondered if the tapioca is gluten free? If not, I’d like to use arrowroot too.
Nora
Tapioca is gluten free, so it should be safe for you to use. Thanks!
Kathleen
This is a great recipe! I was able to substitute with equal parts Arrowroot Starch and it worked wonders. Thank you for the recipe 🙂
Nora
I’m so glad to hear that! Thank you!
Justin Smith
This worked really well. The only thing I might consider is cutting the amount of Apple Cider Vinegar in half. It’s a bit strong.
Kathy
This turned out better than I ever expected. As a vegan, I generally eat only whole foods, but since my husband went vegan five months ago, I found myself looking for recipes that would keep him happy without having to give up the luxury of cheese he enjoyed. This was super easy to make and was gooey like melted cheese. I added a but of nutritional yeast, which changed the colour slightly. I put it on a veggie pizza and it was delicious. The next time I make it I may add 1/8 of a teaspoon of garlic to it as it was a bit bland,mbut with all the veggies on the pizza it wasn’t noticeable too much. I can’t wait though to try it on veggie lasagna for him! This recipe is a winner!
April
Thanks so much! My lasagna was loved by omnivores who said it was indistinguishable from traditional lasagna. I couldn’t have done it without your recipe. Thanks so very much! FYI I used 1/2 cup of cashew milk and 1 cup water for my liquid and it was so creamy and cheesy!
Lee
April, do you mean that you used 1/2 cup of store-bought cashew milk plus one cup of water to make the liquid that gets cooked into the vegan mozzarella?
Helen
Your recipe is simple and easy with ingredients easily found in any supermarket. I made spinach and mushroom lasagna roll ups with the vegan mozzarella. Vegans and omnivores couldn’t tell the difference.
Nora
That sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing.
Sarah Kiser
This is just fantastic! Thank you for sharing your recipes! I made a double batch and tried it on pizza today and everyone in my family was blown away. Way better than any other vegan cheese we’ve had yet 🙂 Do you know if freezing. It is ok? Just wondering if maybe it could be shredded if frozen…
Nora
Thanks Sarah! I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed this cheese so much. We love it on pizza, too! I’ve never tried freezing it, so I’m not really sure. That would be a good experiment!
Rozz Maassy
I was going to ask the same thing! Definitely going to tey it 😊
Lindsay
Did you ever try this? I had the same idea and came to the comments to see if I could find someone else who did it successfully 🙂
Haviva
Hi, will this work with arrow root powder instead? Thank you!
Nora
I haven’t tried it, but I don’t think it would work. The tapioca gives the stretchy consistency, where arrowroot and cornstarch simply thicken.
Samantha
Does this not require nutritional yeast for the cheesy taste?
Nora
No, it does not, though it wouldn’t ruin it to add some in. I like it without; tastes more like a white mozzarella that way. I’m working on a cheddar though, and for that I will use nutritional yeast. 🙂
April
Would arrowroot work?
Nora
No it wouldn’t work the same, sorry! Tapioca starch creates the stretchy quality of the “cheese” that I don’t believe arrowroot (or cornstarch) does.
Turia
Can I make this the day before I put it on lasagna?
Nora
You could make the cheese the day before putting it on lasagna, though I think it looks nicer and smoother if you make it right before topping the lasagna with it. But it’s totally possible, the cheese just gets a little more firm and less stretchy sitting the the fridge for a day.
Alan
I love this on our pizza and the lasagna.
June
Hi Nora,
Will this only work with nuts? Have you ever tried it with anything else, like chick peas perhaps? I’m asking because my family has nut allergies.
Nora
I haven’t tried it with chickpeas, I’m not sure how that would go honestly! The creamy, richness from the cashews is really what makes it so good. I would recommend one of the shredded vegan cheeses you can buy at the store, such as daiya, OR if you don’t want to eat that, you could try one of the potato-carrot-cheese sauces like this one.
Ellen
I didn’t get it to form an actual ball is that what I am aiming for? Cooked at least 10 mins at the end boil? Thanks
Nora
Sorry for any confusion Ellen! I changed the wording in the instructions to hopefully make the process a little more clear. It doesn’t exactly form a perfect “ball”. It’s more of a big mass of gooey, stretchy cheese. It should look like it does in the photo with the spoon. That’s when it’s done and perfect for using. From there you simply scoop spoonfuls and put it on your pizza or lasagna. I hope that helps!