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.
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?
Tapioca flour is a starch extracted from cassava. Tapioca starch and flour are usually the same thing, but not always.
It’s a white powder and works similarly to cornstarch as a thickener. The difference is it’s the key to making cheeses like this stretchy instead of just thickened. It’s absolutely necessary and perfect for making this vegan mozzarella.
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.
Video
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.Â
- 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.Â
I just tried tonight, but I made a few mods ?
I tried three recipes. One with the soaked cashews, another with oat milk and another with yoghurt. I didn’t have access to tapioca, so did it with cornstarch. Still very stretchy to me, but I’ll try another time just to see how tapioca feels.
The one with cashews, I made the “mistake” not to use enough water, so it ended up being way to thick. Still spreadable, but not mozzarella. I’ll eat tomorrow with some sour orange jelly ? I’ll stick with cashews only when I intend to do 1 month cultured cheese. Not worth the effort for something quick to use on top of pizzas o lasagnas.
The one made directly with milk, obviously turned out to be a little bit thin. Flavour wise it was still good, using the same ingredients (plus some white miso), but the texture was a bit off putting.
And finally, the winner was the one made with natural yoghurt. Flavour and texture was perfect. And also super quick and convenient.
I even tried to make mozzarella balls, puting a spoonful into iced water. All three came out solidified after five minutes, but the cashew one still runny and thick, the milk one, gross and the yoghurt one, again, with perfect texture to put on top of the pizza I made.
So, from no on, tapioca starch pending for another day, this one will be my go-to recipe for mozzarella. Yummy.
What do you replace the yogurt with? Or is it an add in? TIA
Great recipe!
Made it for the first time last week, and it was perfect! However, I have tried to make it twice more now, and ended up with a gooey mess. The cheese becomes very stretchy, but isn’t forming/thickening enough. It tastes fine, but doesn’t have the “fresh mozzarella” texture. I am following the recipe exactly and using the same ingredients, blender, and pan as the first attempt. Any ideas on what I am doing wrong or suggestions for how to fix?
Thanks for such a great recipe, when it turned out the first time it was absolutely delicious!!
Thanks Mary! Well, every time I make it, it is quite a gooey mess but that’s how it’s supposed to be! This recipe is not supposed to get very firm or formed. That said, if you store it in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight, it will thicken and harden somewhat. Then you could scoop balls of it out and it will be more like “fresh mozzarella” texture. I hope that helps! You may also want to check out this recipe for Shreddable Vegan Mozzarella that does harden and can be shredded.
What a fantastic recipe! Much easier than cultured vegan mozz but tastes just as great. We’ve been making this at least once a week since first trying it on your lasagna (which is also AMAZING!) Thanks so much for sharing!
I’m so glad you are enjoying the “cheese”! Thank you.
This turned out perfectly! We had it on potato bread as grilled cheese, dipped in sweet raspberry sauce.
That’s great!
I haven’t tried it yet. Can it work on Corn Starch? I have to stay away from Calcium in a little bit, mine is too high, coming down some.
Unfortunately it won’t work quite the same with cornstarch. Tapioca starch makes the cheese stretch, cornstarch will simply thicken it.
Hi Nora, This sounds amazing, just wondering if I could use potato starch instead of the tapioca starch.
It might sort of work, but it won’t be stretchy like in the photos, tapioca starch is responsible for that. It should still thicken though, so if you need to it should be okay.
Loving your blog! Thank you for all the great recipes! I tried the vegan cheese and it didn’t quite turn out. My cheese was chunking from the cashews. It looks a lot like cream of wheat. I don’t think they were blended enough. How can I keep this from happening? I used a Thermomix to blend. Thank you!
Thank you Heather, I’m so happy you have been enjoying the recipes. I’m sorry the cheese didn’t turn out for you, yes it sounds like the cashews were unable to blend smooth. I don’t know much about the Thermomix, but I’m guessing it just isn’t powerful enough when it comes to blending up nuts like a Vitamix or Blendtec. One thing you might try is using tofu instead of nuts if your blender isn’t powerful enough. Just use about 1/2 cup of firm tofu instead of cashews. Works well, then you won’t have grainy cheese. 🙂
Great! I’ll try the additional tofu. The Thermomix is a super blender, but I might need to start with less water. However, I like the option of making the cheese nut free! We made the lasagna last night and it was a hit!
Thank you!
I have a lot of tofu I need to use up! How much would I need for this recipe? I have firm ones. Would I just measure out 1/2 cup? Thanks!
Yes, I just measure out about 1/2 cup. Enjoy!
Are you a magician?? The texture of this cheese is incredible. Usually when I eat vegan cheese, something about reminds me that it’s not actually cheese like the flavor, consistency etc. Not the case with this mozzarella! It complimented the meal perfectly! I can’t wait to incorporate into more of my cooking.
Nora, thank you for answering my cheese prayers!
Impressive!
On the stovetop, it looks like cheese fondue and taste nice! Even the meaty and greasy father in law approved! Over a lasagna, as done as prescribed, it was a charm. Used some leftovers in grilled-cheese and it was not that interesting though. I guess the taste of the apple cider vinegar goes well with white wine or tomato-ish stuff, but not so much in a breakfast.
Will definitively do it again for a lasagna, a pizza or a cheese fondue, but will try to tweak it for grilled-cheese or other kind of sandwiches.
A great recipe that is really easy to do and will become a staple! Thanks!
Thanks for the comment!
Ive been stirring this for 30 mins and it still hasn’t turned into cheese. How long does this take?
Oh yeah, it should not take that long! It only takes 5-10 minutes. Make sure you have the heat high enough. I wonder if you left out the tapioca starch by chance, because that is what makes it thicken and turn into stretchy cheese.
I tried this recipe for last night dinner. Omg! Best vegan mozzarella! I used inside a chickpea flour omelette With mushrooms and spinach. Texture was 10000! Flavor too but next time I think I’ll add nutritional yeast and less vinegar.
I’m so glad you liked it!
This recipe sounds so good but Is there anything I can substitute for the cashews, my daughter had a severe allergy.
You could sub raw slivered almonds, or even sunflower seeds (though they will make the cheese a slightly different color). Tofu would probably work as well. Thanks!
Hi. Have you tried to make vegan cheese shreds?
I JUST posted the recipe for shredded mozzarella here: Shreddable Vegan Mozzarella.
How much agar agar did you use? Interested in trying that!
This turned out great, I actually had to stop myself from eating it right out of the pot! I used white distilled vinegar and cut down the quantity to 1/2 tbs because I’m not a vinegar fan. I also added about 2 tbs of nutritional yeast for extra cheesiness. Used it to top a pizza, and then to make a grilled cheese the day after. So easy to make, and much better than store-bought vegan cheeses! Definitely my new go-to mozzarella substitute.
I’m so glad you love it!
This was great! Easy to prepare! Hardest part was finding tapioca starch which I finally found at Wholefoods. Next time i make this, i will use a bit less apple cidar vinegar because i can taste it a bit in the final product. I made it for pizza and it browned so nicely in the oven! Great recipe! Thank you!
Glad you liked the recipe!
I tried this recipe and I really don’t like the taste of vinegar. Next time I’ll try without vinegar.
Some people really dislike apple cider vinegar I’m realizing. Yes, just replace it with more lemon juice. Thanks!
This looks amazing! Do you know if it would work if I omitted the lemon juice?
Yes, it should still work.
Hi, could I make the recipe up to step 2 before cooking the mixture and freeze it in that state. So I could just cook small amounts of it as I need it?
I honestly don’t know if that would work or not, as I haven’t tried it. It might though!
Is that freezable?
It can be frozen, but it’s much better fresh.
I cant wait to try this recipe. I just changed to eating a plant based diet about a month ago. I haven’t had many of the ingredients that are needed to try new foods, but now I do. I was just wondering why you dont recommend using the same water that you soak the cashews in.
You could but I prefer to use fresh water. Hope you enjoy it!
I love this recipe so much! I used arrowroot tonight because I didn’t have tapioca – came out super smooth and lovely 🙂 Topped it on pizza with vegan pesto + balsamic!
Sounds delicious!
Oh, my. That sounds fabulous!
Does anyone know if this be made with pumpkin seeds? I have a nut allergy but I would love to try this. Thanks in advance!
This recipe does work with arrowroot power if you don’t have tapioca starch. Came out nice and gooey. I’m picky with my vegan cheeses and with the right recipe I think this will be great! Thanks! And healthy too (much of what I dislike with the vegan cheeses in the stores).
Thanks for sharing, I’m glad it worked with arrowroot powder! And I’m so happy you like the cheese!
Thanks for the comment about arrowroot powder – I think I thus have all the ingredients!
I doubled the recipe per the vegan lasagna recipe suggestion. It made so much that I had a lot left over. Once refrigerated, can the cheese be reheated to make grilled cheese?
Yes, the cheese once refrigerated makes for great grilled cheese! I do this all the time. It’s a little more firm, but it will work. Thanks!
This is one of the greatest recipes in.my repertoire. It is easy and versatile, and has non vegans clambouring for my lasagna, nachos, caprese salad (add agar agar for firm mozz) and filled crepes. Thank you Nora Cooks!!!
You’re welcome! Glad it’s a big hit.
I’ve been reading the recipe and the wonderful reviews with excitement, and really wait to try it! Being lactose intolerant also is a great motivation for switching to this healthy vegan cheese. But, does this cheese coat/ stick to one’s tongue when you eat it? I’ve tried several commercial vegan cheese, and find they all kind of stick to the tongue and roof of one’s mouth when you eat it, specially when melted on pizza.
We have vegan cheese available on local pizza chain’s pizza as well, and I find it’s not a pleasant eating experience because of the same quality of it’s coating the tongue, and sticking to it. Any thoughts?
I don’t think so, this cheese tastes much different than the store bought vegan cheeses (though I confess, I like most of those!). I think you might prefer this homemade cheese to the store ones. Hope you enjoy it!
Thanks for the quick response; I may just try making it today – snowy day outside calling for comfort food! 🙂