This Vegan Mozzarella Cheese is creamy, plus it slices, shreds, and melts!
It takes only a few minutes and a blender to make this dairy-free mozzarella - no actual cooking involved! Everyone loves this amazing vegan cheese. You simply must try it!
Melty-stretchy gooey mozzarella cheese is something that I think all of us vegans dream of. Except now you don't have to just dream about it!
You can make it in your kitchen in about 5 minutes with just a handful of ingredients!
This Vegan Mozzarella Cheese...
- Is deliciously creamy
- Slices
- Shreds
- Melts - this is an amazing vegan cheese for pizza
- Is quick to make
- Healthy, thanks to a couple of nutrient-loaded ingredients, such as cashews and nutritional yeast flakes
I am excited for your try this stuff!
Shred this mozzarella and use it in my vegan manicotti or vegan stuffed shells stuffing, add it to pizza, serve it as part of a vegan charcuterie board, or simply snack on it! It's also amazing shredded on top of vegan stuffed Portobello mushrooms before baking, so it gets nice and melty.
What does Vegan Mozzarella taste like?
This Vegan Mozzarella is very mild and neutral flavored. It is rich and creamy, and has bit of that satisfying cheesy 'chew'.
I think it tastes a lot like string cheese actually.
It makes the perfect vegan pizza cheese, and I truly believe it is the best vegan mozzarella recipe.
What is Vegan Mozzarella made of?
- Refined Coconut Oil - Please don't miss the word refined. It doesn't taste like coconut but it still turns solid at cooler temps and just has that wonderful richness.
- Tapioca Flour This helps solidify the cheese, and also adds a 'stretchiness' to the texture.
- Kappa Carrageenan - This ingredient is what makes the cheese able to go from liquid to solid and back to melted state. It's a wonder ingredient and not widely sold. (find it on Amazon.
- Raw cashew pieces - These make the cheese creamy in texture and add lots magnesium, potassium, iron, and healthy fats to this vegan cheese
- Nutritional yeast flakes - Nutritional yeast is loaded with nutrients like niacin, Vitamins B1, B2, B6, B9, and B12, and it gives vegan cheese a wonderful realistic cheesy flavor
The one challenge of making this cheese is that it takes a few unusual ingredients that not everyone has on hand. But please believe me, it's SO worth it! (See all the rest of the ingredients in the photo below!)
How to make Vegan Mozzarella:
Assemble all your ingredients (Photo 1). Rinse Cashews under hot running water for several minutes. (Photo 2) Put all ingredients in the blender except for the water. (Photo 3)
Carefully! Add HOT (just boiled!) water to blender and blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides of blender with spatula once if needed. The water must be JUST BOILED. I mean, HOT! (Photo 4)
Pour immediately into heat-safe dish (this will be your mold - no need to oil the mold) and place in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight. (Photo 5)
Slice, grate and enjoy!
Expert cooking tip for making cashew cheese:
Don't skip rinsing the cashews! (If you don't want run water over them for several minutes, soak them in super hot water for about 5 minutes and then rinse again.) This step really helps to decrease the 'cashew' flavor in the recipe, while still using the wonderful creaminess of the cashew!
What kind of mold to use to make vegan mozzarella?
Any small heat-safe container will do, but I like making mozzarella into a round shape so it resembles a mozzarella bowl. The 2-cup container from this set of Pyrex containers is perfect!
How long does vegan mozzarella last in the fridge?
This cheese will last about 4-5 days in the refrigerator... if it makes it that long. 😉
Can you freeze Vegan Mozzarella?
Sure! It does get a little softer in texture after thawing, but if you think you can't eat it all, by all means freeze it! (Most people have trouble making it last that long though! Check out the comments below! )
Does Vegan Mozzarella Melt?
Yes! This vegan mozzarella does melt at higher temps, so if you're baking a pizza you're in for a melty treat! It also works great melted in quesadillas, shredded over lasagna, and breaded and fried as vegan mozzarella sticks!!
Can you use Agar powder in place of the Kappa Carrageenan?
The short answer is yes. Double the amount recommended in the recipe for Kappa Carrageenan and replace with Agar Powder. Make sure to use Agar Powder, not Agar Flakes.
The long answer is also yes, but it won't have quite as firm a texture and may not be quite as melty. Which is still perfectly fine for many uses!
What I would NOT recommend substituting:
Don't replace the lemon juice with Lactic Acid. For some reason, the quick blending process used here does not work well with this substitution and your cheese may not set properly.
For a slightly drier cheese:
After your cheese block has hardened, you can wrap first in a dry paper towel, and then tightly in plastic wrap. This will remove any excess moisture.
For a softer cheese:
Decrease Kappa Carrageenan amount to 1 tbsp. This texture is ideal for making Mozzarella Balls.
Whew, reading about the ingredients is SO much harder than actually making this, I promise. I cannot wait for you to try this so you too, can successfully make and enjoy yummy, healthy, Real Vegan Mozzarella Cheese!!!
Other recipes you will love:
- Vegan nacho cheese
- Vegan feta cheese
- Best vegan egg salad
- Easy vegan buttermilk biscuits
- Vegan smoked Gouda cheese
- Vegan pepper Jack cheese
- Vegan cream cheese
- Vegan herbed cheese
- See my web story for 10 vegan cheese to try!
If you’ve tried this Vegan Mozzarella Cheese recipe or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I LOVE hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious food!!!
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Recipe
Real Vegan Mozzarella Cheese
Ingredients
- ½ cup Raw cashew pieces, Rinsed under hot water for several minutes
- ¼ cup Refined coconut oil
- ¼ cup Tapioca flour
- 1 tablespoon Nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 ½ tablespoon Kappa carrageenan
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 1 ¼-½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 ½ cup Boiling water
Special equipment
Instructions
- Select a heat-safe preferably glass dish that can hold approx 3C and set aside. (This is your cheese mold.)
- Rinse cashews under HOT water for several minutes.
- Put your water in a small pot on the stove to boil.
- Add all ingredients (except the water!) to the blender. Add the cashews first and then everything else on top of the cashews.
- Carefully add (so you don't burn yourself!!!) the boiling hot water into your blender. Put the blender lid on! And blend immediately until completely smooth.
- Stop blending once if need be to quickly scrape sides of blender and resume blending right after.
- Immediately transfer your cheese to your chosen dish/mold as it will start to solidify quickly as it cools.
- Place in refrigerator to chill. No need to cover yet.
- After 2-3 hours or when fully chilled, remove cheese block from dish/mold and wrap in paper towels and then tightly plastic wrap. The flavor gets better over a day or two but it’s great as soon as it’s hardened, too. Yeay! You are officially a cheese-maker!
Lindsey
Is there a substitute for coconut oil? All that saturated fat is scary.
Kate
I have not tried. Coconut oil is unique because it's solid in the fridge but melts easily, so it helps keep make a meltable vegan cheese. Let me know if you end up trying it with a different type of oil, otherwise I recommend looking for different cheese recipe, perhaps one that uses cornstarch or a potato-based cheese. Read the recipe descriptions and reviews to make sure they melt and shred, if you're looking for a plant based cheese that is similar to mozzarella.
JoAnn
I’ve read that Carrageenan is not good for you they use it in plant based milks to thicken
Is this a diff kind that they use in plant based milks
Thank you
Kate
Get food grade carrageenan. Everything in moderation.
Shirleen
Will this mozzarella work in breads that call for regular mozzarella?
Mari Niddrie
What can I replace Cashews with? My husband is deadly allergic to them. We are also very new to this way of eating.
Kate
I don't know for this recipe, but look for vegan cheese recipes that use tofu, cornstarch, or potatoes as the base instead of cashews.
Carrie Xie
If I don’t have cashews/don’t want to use it, is it possible to use plant milk as a substitute?
Kate
The cashews add bulk. Using milk only will result in a liquid cheese. Instead of cashews, some people use sunflower seeds or potatoes for a nut-free vegan cheese, but you might need to try different ratios or look up recipes specific for those ingredients, since the exact ratios really help make up the correct texture of this "cheese"
Kate
I haven't tried, but generally arrowroot powder can be substituted for tapioca starch 1:1, so give it a try and let me know how it turns out!
Susan
Tastes just like a delicious mild mozza to me! Using on pizza tonight 😋 Thanks for the great recipe. I am transitioning to plant based and love the freedom of whipping something up myself instead of running to the store.
Mrs S
I used olive oil in place of coconut oil. I used 1/4 cup homemade vegan cashew cream cheese and omitted the nooch, in place of cashews and coated the bowl with some oil and dusted it with Italian spices before setting up the cheese. I also blended everything plus a pinch of turmeric and then heated it in a non-stick milk pot until the entire thing until it became thick and came away from the sides of the pan. Then I put it in the bowl and let it set up and cool. Worked well. Not as stretchy as I had hoped, but tasted good.
Kate
Sounds like you made enough changes and came up with your own recipe for vegan cheese! Glad you liked the flavor.
Christina
Is it gluten free?
Kate
Yes! This is gluten-free vegan mozzarella. There are no wheat ingredients used.
Kate
I have made this recipe a few times with Knox gelatin and it is delicious. I tried it 3 times last night with Agar Agar powder and it is not working. As per the note, I used 3 tablespoons of agar agar powder. The first time, I put it in the blender on top of the cashews with all the other ingredients, as per the instructions. When I added the 1.5 cup of boiling water, it gelled immediately and would not blend. On take 2, I put everything in the blender, except the agar powder; I added the boiling water and turned on the blender, then quickly added the first tablespoon of agar powder. It immediately gelled and wouldn't blend any longer. On take 3, I put the 3 tablespoons of agar powder in the blender first and added 1/2 cup of cool water and blended it. I put all the other ingredients on top, added the boiling water and blended. It gelled pretty quickly, but looked as if it might be sufficiently blended so I poured it into my mold and put it in the refrigerator. This morning it l had not hardened. Has anyone else successfully used agar powder with this recipe?
Marie
This is a little late but maybe it will help.
Blend all of the ingredients, EXCEPT Agar, with 1 cup of hot water until smooth and set aside. Mix 1/2 cup cold water with 3 Tbsp agar powder in a saucepan, and bring to a simmering boil on medium heat stirring or whisking quickly for about 1 minute. Now add the blended ingredients to the saucepan and constantly stir with a whisk thoroughly and bring the sauce to a simmering boil. When it does
boil again, which will be quick, pour the mixture into an oiled container of choice and freeze for 1 hour or refrigerate until set. Remove if using freezer after 1 hour and it is ready to slice or shred. Or refrigerate and develop flavor as she said.
It should come out perfect. A friend of mine uses this method with Agar. Kappa is much easier.