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.
Just wondering if Kraft minute tapioca will work . Couldn’t find tapioca starch not sure if there’s a difference . Making this for first time for my parents 60th anniversary and don’t want it to be weird. I did see someone used cornstarch half the amt. if that works I do have that.
I don’t think that will work, it doesn’t seem like the same thing at all unfortunately. Cornstarch makes it thick but not stretchy, so not the same, but it does kinda work.
That’s yummy! And easy….I would make it again for sure. I needed a little more salt for my liking.
Thanks for sharing your feedback, Lesley! I’m glad you enjoyed the cheese! Happy cooking!
Not sure what happened. I followed directions but also added some nooch and garlic powder per others’ comments. I cooked it for more than 25 minutes and it never thickened completely. Suggestions?
Did you use tapioca starch/flour? That’s what causes it to get stretchy, cheesy and thick. It also needs to get hot enough for this to happen. Did you get it blended smooth before you started heating it on the stovetop?
Yes, I used tapioca starch, blended it well, and it was bubbling so it was very hot. It just never went past a semi-liquid state. I put some on a flatbread and it dribble off the edge. Do you think I could add more tapioca and reheat or is it too late to save it? It tastes great!
You could try, but I’m not sure it will work at this point. Maybe you got a bad batch of tapioca? That doesn’t sound right at all.
I ended up just freezing it in muffin sized chunks. I cut off slices and used on flatbread for my dairy-allergic grandson today, and he was delighted! Thank you again for being so responsive!
This is a great recipe!!!! easy, no preservatives! so much better than buying processed vegan mozzarella! Another great recipe by Nora Cooks!!
Hi Tricia. Thanks so much for your awesome feedback! I’m thrilled you are loving the recipe!
Also, can this cheese be frozen for a longer life?
It freezes quite well yes.
Can I use Lemon juice in place of the vinegar as I don’t injest vinegar on purpose.or knowingly.
Yes you can.
Can I replace the lemon juice and ACV with white wine vinegar as I can’t eat lemons or apples? Would it still work? Please say yes…………
Yes, you could sub white wine vinegar. Enjoy!
perfection. I made it on pizza and mixed it with vegan pastry cream in a tiramisu su….
Just curious – how well would this work on high heat pizza oven? Looking to find something that will stand up to 900 deg oven while the pizza cooks. Usually would use a fior di latte cheese – but currently dairy free breastfeeding!
I’m honestly not sure as I’ve never cooked it at such a high temperature. It might work!
I made this and it was quick and resulted in a great, gooey texture. Not a strong flavor, though (then again, Mozarella doesns’t have a strong flavor…) I used it for grilled cheese…I included “Picalilly” on the toasts (a piquant sauce,) and that added some zing. Any ideas for what to add to the cheese itself if one wants to make it more zingy? Herbs and spices, I guess? In any case, a great recipe, and one can be spontaneous, as it does not take long to make and can be used right away…:)
I’m glad you enjoyed the cheese. Yeah, you can add all sorts of things to it. Fresh or dried herbs, whatever spices you like, perhaps hot sauce..
I’ve made this many times. My favorite flavor add ins are 1.5 Tablespoons of nutritional yeast plus 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder. It gives a more cheesy flavor.
I skip the apple cider vinegar and only use the lemon juice typically and it always turns out great.
Using nutritional yeast adds more of a cheesy taste , I have done this occasionally
Try adding nutritional yeast for that cheesy taste
Hi,
Do you think this recipe can be used as cheese sticks? If it pour in a silicone molds.
I think that could work well! The cheese gets pretty firm once chilled, but not quite as firm as regular cheese sticks.
Do you think it would be possible to blend it in my vitamix which will make it hot and cook it? Rather then have to pour it out and dirty another pot…… It’s how I make other thickened cheese sauces….. just blend until it’s hot.
I’ve never tried it but this one might get weird in a blender… It gets stretchy, not just thick, and I think the blender blades will ruin that actually.
I made this and I love the taste but it didn’t thicken for me. I used pine nuts in place of the cashews. I stirred it for almost 10 minutes. What can I do differently in the future to get a nice thick cheese? TIA
Hi there, it was probably due to using pine nuts, I’ve never tried that and I don’t know if it will work the same. Did you use the tapioca starch? I’m not sure where it wouldn’t get thick and stretchy unless you left out the tapioca or used a different starch. And it could be the pine nuts so try to use cashews if you can.
Hi Nora,
Thanks for this, and your other amazing recipes. Re the mozzarella – I’m cooking lasagna for a couple of people coming for dinner. I want to make the lasagna the day ahead. Do I wait until the guest come to make the cheese? Or could I make it a bit before they come on the day and put it on the top then, as I saw that it changes consistency if it’s in the fridge for a while. How would you do this? NB I’m not experienced at this, so I’m worried about making it when they’re here, but would do so if absolutely necessary. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Hi there! Okay, there are a few way you could do this. If you feel like you can, blend the cheese ahead of time but don’t cook it and add it to the lasagna. It will be watery, and that’s okay, just place in a container in the fridge until the next day. When you put the lasagna in the oven, simple add the cheese to a pot/pan, cook to thicken, then add on top of the lasagna as directed. If that feels like too much, you could make the cheese completely the day before (or a few hours before), then top per the instructions. The only thing with making it ahead of time is that the cheese will become thick and it will be more like dollops of thick cheese on the lasagna. It only spreads well when fresh. I hope that helps! Of course you could just buy a bag of vegan shredded mozzarella and make it a lot easier on yourself, but I do love my homemade cheese. 🙂
Will this cover a 12-14” pizza or would you recommend doubling?
One recipe is enough for one 12-14 inch pizza, unless you want a really thick layer of cheese all over, then you might want to double it.
Perfect recipe! Wanted pizza tonight but had no vegan cheese. I made this and it was very quick and easy. I did not have tapioca starch and when I searched for a substitution it was suggested on Google that you half the amount of corn starch when subbing for tapioca, so that’s what I did. This is an ooey gooey texture, great for pizza, and it has a very nice mild flavor with a hint of cashew taste.
More affordable and healthier than processed vegan cheese, will definitely be using this in the future! Thanks!!
Is there a non-citrus substitute for the lemon juice? A member of the family is allergic to citrus.
You could probably just leave it out and use just the vinegar instead.
Thank you. Looking forward to trying it out!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I tried it but used a mix of leftover odds and ends of nuts ( sunflower, almond and cashew ) with agar agar. So delicious and great texture ❤️
This sounds so amazing but we have but allergies in our house (to all nuts). Do you think this recipe would work if combined with your no nut vegan cheese sauce recipe? Have you tried this at all? Wondering if I can just replace the cashews with the potato/carrot/nutritional yeast option.
I haven’t tried it but I think it might work!
Love this, I’ve made it multiple times. It’s my go to for grilled cheese and tomato soup.
I’ve made this a few times and I love it. I add freshly chopped herbs (basil, parsley, rosemary, chives ) while it’s on the stove top and some dried herbs as well which makes it look and taste like an Herby bechamel. I then add this top stews instead of cream or I’ve made a delicious cheesy Herby bread with it. In also omit the vinegar as I dislike the sharp tang.
Hands down, genius. This is the best mozzarella substitute I’ve seen, or tried! If you are looking for parallel experience to the real McCoy, try it. It’s great.
I appreciate your positive feedback and review! Thank you!
I so much want to make a cheese like this, but my family is allergic to cashews nuts! We can eat peanuts, almonds, pine nuts and most seeds (sesame, pumpkin,sunflower…). Any idea if I might substitute one of these for the cashews?
Raw slivered almonds are a good substitute, just make sure to soak them a bit longer as they take a little longer to soften for blending. 🙂
This was delish. I was so excited to make my first vegan cheese and oh my gosh, it was fun. I read the reviews and left out the apple cider vinegar and only used lemon juice. (I didn’t double the lemon juice, just used the exact amount requested). I also added 1-2 tsp of nutritional yeast and some dried herbs and more salt as it was cooking on the stove per the other reviews to enhance the flavor.
I used it for the top of your vegan lasagna and it tasted really good. It browned a tiny bit but not much but the taste was still fantastic. I actually think it’s quite similar to mozzarella when it’s heated. It was so ooey gooey beauuuuutiful. Thank you!
This was so much fun to make, just added 1-2 teaspoons of nutritional yeast when blending. I made an indulgent grilled cheese sandwich that took me back to my (nonvegan) childhood! Without oil, it feels guilt free too!
Thank you for so many of your recipes.
You are very welcome, Shilpa! Thank you for sharing your encouraging words and review!
Now that’s some gooey deliciousness Nora! I added a little garlic salt and basil the second time to use on lasagna and it came out great. So easy!
I’m so happy it came out great for you, Mika! Thanks for sharing your wonderful feedback!
I was a little apprehensive about this recipe, but it was absolutely amazing! I used it for lasagna and will make it again soon! Thank you!
Have to admit I was a bit sceptical but this was even better than expected. The texture was great, taste great also. Served this up on pizzas for my non-vegan pizza loving kids and they went back for more!
Hi Patrice. Thanks for sharing your wonderful review and feedback! I’m thrilled the cheese was a hit!
You have saved me millions of dollars buying cheese to make pizza for my kids! They love it!
That is awesome! I’m so glad you are loving the cheese! Thanks for your fantastic review!