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.
- 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.
AMAZING!!! This will be our staple! Made grilled “cheese”sandwiches last night and they were delish!
Then later on that night I just cut a piece of the mozzarella for a midnight snack 🙂
I’m so glad you loved the cheese! Thank you for using my recipe, and for sharing your fantastic feedback!
If I store in the fridge will it still be stretchy once melted and cooked on the pizza or will it have lost its stretch?
The cheese does firm up in the fridge but will still melt really well when put under heat.
Very nice recepie. Pl continue sharing with me. Thank you
Thank you for your feedback! I’m glad you love the cheese!
Hello, I really Want to try this, would this work with almonds instead of cashews?
Hi Bahia. I have used raw slivered almonds and sunflower seeds before. They both work pretty well, just soak them well first. Hope this helps!
Amazing! My non-vegan, cheese LOVING husband absolutely loved and approved of this recipe. So much so that he took video of the epic ‘cheese’ pulls to show his friends. I only made two additions, some minced garlic and nutritional yeast, everything else I followed to a T and it far exceeded my expectations. Very straight forward and easy to follow. The mozz bubbled up and browned beautifully under the broiler. Will definitely be my new go-to.
The “cheese” pull is epic, right?! Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback and comments!
My family LOVES this recipe. It has moved into my “Go to” recipes folder. Thanks! Sometimes I do substitute Beyond hot italian sausage for the lentils in my marinara, but either way, this really is THE BEST lasagna.
That’s really great to hear, Lisa! Thanks so much for using my recipe and for leaving such wonderful feedback!
My vegan son-in-law LOVED this, and that is saying a lot because his mom and grandma are excellent vegan cooks. This was my first try, so it’s definitely the recipe and not my skill that makes it good! A bit time consuming the first time, but now that I have made it and know what I am doing it will be a breeze.
Thank you, Mary, for your sharing your wonderful feedback! I’m glad the cheese was a hit! Wishing you happy cooking!
Hi. Can this recipe be used to make a hard mozz. One that can be shredded, or sliced?
Thanks
The cheese will firm up as it’s kept in the fridge but not enough to be shreddable.
I’ve made this recipe twice now!! It’s pretty darn awesome. Almost as great as the real thing.
The second time I used just 3 tablespoons tapioca starch, and I added a teaspoon of miso paste, and swapped out the apple cider vinegar for white wine vinegar. It turned out great – a gooey, mildly zesty mozz!
This recipe is so easy….
Hi Stephanie. I’m thrilled you are loving the cheese, and finding it easy to make! I appreciate you taking time to share your review and feedback. Thank you, and happy cooking!
I wonder if this cheese might taste a bit more creamy by using almond or soy milk in place of water. Thoughts?
This recipe is a game changer! I’ve made lasagnas, baked ziti, and pizza with it. I’ve never found any vegan cheese recipe or store-bought cheese even close to acceptable texture for vegan pizza or lasagna, but this stuff is awesome! Definitely worth broiling it to get the perfect browned top! Thanks Nora!
Sometimes I melt some Daiya shreds or other store-bought vegan cheese into it while on the stove for a little cheesier flavor (and reduce the amount of tapioca starch since they usually contain a lot of it).
I’ve made it with just an immersion blender and it works fine, just not quite as smooth as with a high-end blender.
Thank you for sharing your fun and wonderful review and ideas! I’m so glad you are loving the cheese!
I used up some sliced almonds to make this. It wouldn’t win any awards for appearance with the small bits of almond skin, but the taste is delicious! I look forward to trying it with cashews.
Hi Angel. I’m glad the cheese turned out delicious for you! Thank you for sharing your review and feedback!
How long does it take for the cheese to transform from watery to stretchy? It’s been boiling for 10 min and still has not turned clumpy or then stretchy…feels like more than a few minutes as the recipe notes. I made a double batch, any thoughts on potential issues?
Let’s see if I can help. It doesn’t take me more than 5-10 minutes at pretty high heat. It actually shouldn’t be all bubbly and boiling, it will just turn stretchy when it gets that hot. Did you use a high powered blender and not make any substitutions at all? Are you sure you used tapioca starch or flour? Anything else and the recipe will NOT work.
Great recipie! I add a tablespoon of white miso to give a cultured cheese taste. With a recipie like this you can easily cut out cheese!
I love all of your recipes. I just made a mushroom swiss type bean burger with this. I didn’t have cashews so I used walnuts, and it turned purple! I’m gonna try shredding the leftover cheese onto my pizza tonight!
I am making this for your lasagna recipe and bringing it to a family member’s house. I plan to assemble the lasagna at home and cook it when I get there, so I am wondering if I could blend up the cheese mixture, and then not hear it up until a few hours later when I cook the lasagna. Think there would be any issue with that? Thanks! Can’t wait to try this!
That’s totally fine to do. Enjoy!
My quality of life has drastically improved after finding this recipe.
Will this work without spending $300
on a high end blender? I only get to cook for my vegan kids a few times a year.
The cashews won’t get super smooth without a high powered blender of some kind. You could try substituting silken tofu (Mori Nu brand) for the cashews and use less water. You wouldn’t need an expensive blender, but I haven’t tried it to know for sure it will work, sorry!
I have a blender from the thrift store (Osterizer) and it works well with this recipe.
Another option readers can try is to use raw store bought cashew butter instead of cashews. A general rule when subbing raw nut butter for raw nuts is to use half the amount called for. I have a high speed blender, but don’t have easy access to raw cashews, so this has come in really handy for me! I most often sub raw almonds or raw almond butter for cashews in recipes. Although, I have not tested it with this recipe.
I am SO IMPRESSED by this recipe! The texture is very mozzarella-like, and the flavor was great! I’m new at being plant based and after trying a couple different homemade vegan cheeses I was ready to accept life cheeseless. If you’re in the fence give it a go, it’s so easy! I cannot wait to try this in a grilled cheese and not just out of the pan I cooked it in. My blender isn’t fantastic so mine was a little grainy, but I imagine soaking the cashews a little longer would work. Regardless this is a keeper. Thank you Nora for all your lovely recipes!!
Hi Sarah. I really love cheese as well! A good vegan cheese is a must, and I’m so glad you love my recipe! Thank you for taking your time to share your fantastic review and comments. Thank you for using my recipes! Happy cooking!
Will potato starch work instead of tapioca starch?
Hi Nikkie. Potato starch might work ok, but it won’t be as stretchy. I have received comments from others who indicated potato starch worked well for them. I have not used potato starch myself. Hope that helps!
This is beyond amazing!!! I made grilled cheese on sourdough. Even my 50% vegan husband scoffed it down and said it was stupendous!
Have you ever tried adding chipotle or chili powder cumin to make it taste like Mexican cheese? I’ve tried other vegan quesos and while they are awesome … I’m wondering how this would do with other flavorings! I even thought about a little liquid smoke in it.. would it taste like smoked Gouda?
The possibilities are endless! As a former cheese addict I’m so happy that I have this now. I love it more that I made it myself and didn’t buy processed vegan cheese. This is a million times better!
Thank you!!! ?❤️?
I am so thrilled that you guys loved the cheese! I love it too! I have not tried adding any flavored powders to it, so I’m not exactly sure how it would work. I did receive a comment where someone added smoked paprika, and said it was wonderful. Let me know how it goes if you experiment! Thank you for sharing your fantastic review and comments. Happy cooking!
This was great! I used it with homemade tofu pepperoni, to make pizza.
Your pizza sounds amazing! Thank you for sharing your great comments! I’m glad you loved the cheese!
Thank you for this recipe! I’ve put off trying cashew cheese recipes because cashews are the only nut I’m not fond of. So if anyone is wondering, you can’t taste the cashews at all.
The texture was perfect and I put it on vegan bread in the air fryer and it looked exactly like a traditional thick grilled cheese. I’m wondering though if I can add things to give it more flavor. I felt like I could taste the tapioca starch even though it was completely blended and cooked. If I wanted to add nutritional yeast and maybe some herbs, would I add them right in the Vitamix and would it change the texture?
It’s fine to add some yeast and herbs, no problem. Thanks!
This was my first time trying to make something like this. I sought out tapioca flour but I had the same experience as another commenter who stirred for 20 minutes and never got it to form a ball. That said, it was still fine and delicious. I dropped it by big spoonfuls on my lasagna and broiled it a little (only two minutes and it started to burn!). I just wonder if the brand of tapioca starch/flour would make a difference? Thanks for a great recipe!
Is there a substitute for apple cider vinegar? Someone in my family can’t have that.
Lemon juice or another type of vinegar, like white vinegar would work.