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.
Would potato starch work?
Unfortunately no, tapioca starch creates a stretchy, cheese like texture. Potato starch will only thicken it.
This was excellent! And this is coming from a cheese lover who can no longer eat cheese.
I’m thrilled to get the approval of a cheese lover! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review and fun comments! I’m so glad you love the cheese!
This was so quick, and I enjoyed it on my pizza a lot more than any store bought vegan cheese I’ve tried. I look forward to trying it in lasagne.
Thanks for sharing this simple recipe! Would you recommend adding nutritional yeast for a more cheesy flavor? And when during the preparation should we add it? Thanks!
You can add some when you blend everything together, I’d suggest 1/4-1/2 cup. Thanks!
Wow! This was so simple I wasnt expecting much, but I could eat this by the spoonful. Putting it into my lasagna tonight, maybe a FEW spoons shy…
Hi Jennie. I’m so glad you found the cheese recipe simple and delicious! Thank you for taking time to share your wonderful review and comments! Happy cooking!
High rating for it’s ease, use of regular ingredients, and somewhat similarity to mozzarella. Knocked off a star because
A) flavor is somewhat lacking
B) very difficult to work with. When I placed a glob on pizza crust and tried to stretch it out, it just pulls back together into the glob. But worked fine for a casserole where the cheese didn’t need to be so evenly distributed
Hello Nora!
Can we substitute the apple cider vinegar for lemon or lime juice, or does the vinegar help to make the cheese stretchy.
You can sub lemon or lime juice, the vinegar is just for a sour cheesy flavor. Thanks!
Thank You
OMG, this is the best! I couldn’t stop myself from eating it right out of the pot.. Amazing and easy recipe. Better than any commercial vegan cheese I have ever had. I wonder if adding water the next day and whisking over a low heat would restore that stretchy texture? I will try.
I’m not sure that will work, but possibly. Let me know if you try it! I’m glad you love the cheese!
Yummy! Love cashew cheese. Thanx 4 sharing.
How long is this supposed to cook after it starts getting stringy? I stirred mine for 20 min before giving up – it was cooking down and thickening, but never became anything resembling “a mass of stretchy vegan cheese.” It’s more of a nacho cheese dip consistency and definitely not solid enough for the grilled cheese sandwich I was hoping for. I followed the recipe exactly, and tried increasing the heat at the end but that didn’t help. Any suggestions for what I should do differently next time?
Hi Emily, I wonder if you really used tapioca starch or did you use something else? That is the ingredient that makes the mixture get stretchy and cheesy. What your describing sounds like what happens if you use cornstarch or another thickener. It only takes about 5 minutes, maybe a few more, depending on the heat level. It should be very obvious though, there’s no way to miss it.
I’ve made this recipe several times with variations. My favourite so far has been to halve the amount of lemon juice and vinegar, and add 1/2 tsp each of onion, garlic, and mustard powder, 2Tbs of nutritional yeast, and 1tsp yellow miso paste. Super delicious! Even my dairy cheese-obsessed son loves it!
super easy to follow! Went perfectly on my lasagna!
Amazing taste and soooo easy…thank you !
You are welcome! Thank you for sharing your review! Glad you love the cheese!
Would this work for a vegan Caprese salad
Yes, I think so. It’s a bit soft, but after refrigerating it gets firmer and you could scoop it into balls. Hope that helps.
Excellent consistency, good stretch. Needed a little more flavor. Thank you because this is better than any store bought cheese!
Could lime work instead of lemon?
Yes, that’s fine.
I tried making this but didn’t notice I’m not supposed to use the water from the strained cashews. It ended up taking a very long time and only ever became clumpy, not stretchy. Do you think it was because I used the water from the strained cashews or does the mistake lie somewhere in local ingredients not being the exact same as american ingredients?
I don’t think using the water from the cashews soaking would make a huge difference, but if you also added fresh water then it could have thrown it off. If you didn’t use tapioca starch (also sometimes called tapioca flour) then it won’t become stretchy.
I made it in the microwave instead of the stove and it worked
How?
This recipe has been life-saving! My newly dairy-free (and soy-free and GF) husband thought he would never have lasagna or pizza with cheese again, but now we don’t hesitate to cook these at home because this recipe mimics cheese so well. I actually think lasagna made with this cheese tastes BETTER than the normal version with ricotta! Thank you!!!
Hi Carolyn. I also love this cheese! Thanks so much for taking time to share your review and comments! I’m so glad you are loving the cheese, and that your husband gets to eat lasagne and pizza!!
Can’t wait to try this recipe. Could you store the uncooked mixture in the fridge and cook as required since it’s best fresh? Thanks.
Yes, you can. Hope you enjoy it!
I have made this several times now and I really like it a lot. Thank you!
Glad you are loving it! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
Do you think arrowroot starch could be substituted for tapioca?
No, I don’t think so. Tapioca is what gives it that cheesy stretchiness. Arrowroot will just make it a little thick, but not cheesy.
Hi Nora, thanks so much for sharing. Can I use cassava flour instead of tapioca flour? Same plant, but not sure if it will work.
You know, I don’t think it will work the same, but I’m not totally sure as I haven’t tried it.
once it firms up in the refrigerator if you make sticks and melt them are they stretchy or is that only when first made?
It never really gets firm enough in the refrigerator to make sticks or slices, but it does firm up a bit and get less stretchy. However, if you put it in a grilled cheese sandwich or elsewhere, it will still be pretty melty and stretchy. This recipe is best right away.
Does the cheese harden enough to make mozz sticks?
No, not really. It stays squishy. For mozzarella sticks and a firm vegan cheese, go make my Shreddable Vegan Mozzarella.
This has become a family favorite! It made it into my recipe binder after the first batch! We double the recipe and there are never leftovers! We’ve made everything from tacos, tostadas, nachos, collard and lettuce wraps, and even enchiladas! Today we will be omitting the lime and orange juice, subbing with a little zest of each, and attempting jackfruit jerky in our Excalibur! I had tried various other recipes before finding yours and none of them came close to the rich deliciousness of yours! Thank you for all of hard work and brilliant creations!
Hi
I am allergic to cashews?and find so many cheese recipes call for them. Is there another nut I can sub. Really missing cheese( dairy allergy).
Love your site
Thanks Michelle! I have used raw slivered almonds and sunflower seeds before. They both work pretty well, just soak them well first. Hope that helps! Oh, you could also try my nut free cheese sauce, it’s yummy!