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!
Natasha Wilson
I LOVE this recipe, thank you so much for sharing! I live on an island where no-one sells vegan cheese so I'm thrilled to be able to make my own. I bring it to the pizza restaurants to give the chefs to make my pizza with, they all think im bonkers.
I was wondering though, what would you say its life expectancy is in the fridge?
Rebecca
So glad you are enjoying making your own vegan cheese! So fun! The cheese lasts about 5 days in the refrigerator. You can also freeze it, but the texture changes a bit so it's not quite the same!
Heidy
I just finished making it. I gave it to try to my mom (she had no idea what I was making (she loves milk) and she said “umm Mozzarella”. She knew she exactly what it was and of course no idea it was vegan. My daughter loved it. Finally she will be able to each “mozzarella sticks”. She iept asking for more. Its delicious. The only changed I made is that I used only 1 tsp of pink salt.
Thank you!!!!
Rebecca
Thanks so much for your comment! Love the details and that three generations enjoyed it!!
Mio
Yes I ordered it 2 days ago but won't arrive until mid June ): So I guess will have to wait till then!! Will report back when I do 😀
Rose
Well then...I’ll have to make it a point to look for them. I will be ordering the kappa stuff again soon! =)
Rose
Hello Rebecca. First, thank you for sharing your knowledge and tips so freely. I made the mozzarella and it is DELICIOUS! The first time I made it it didn’t firm up but I didn’t fully understand the importance of boiling water (I only waited a min before adding but that’s all it took to effect the outcome). It’s so easy to make and so yummy to eat I had to say Thanks again! Second, have you ever considered making links to the products you recommend? (I don’t expect you to answer..just food for thought). Did you know if we use a link you provide... anything we buy within a certain time period you would get a ka-Ching back from...so if I go through you to Amazon to buy that Kappa stuff and end up filling my cart with who knows what else while I’m in there you would get a percent of that. While it’s not a large percentage it can add up...I’m sure I’m not the only one who’d love for you to get a kick-back for all you do. Wishing you many wonderful, rich blessings for you and yours! THANK YOU! =)
Rebecca
SO glad you had success! Kudos to you for trying again! Glad you love it and really appreciate your genuine thoughtful comment! I do actually have a few Amazon links to products but they are in the body of the post so pretty easy to miss...
Mio
Hi Rebecca! I've JUST ran out of my nutritional yeast that I brought from the States - am overseas where it's hard to find. Any substitutes for it that you recommend? All these comments are killing me - I'm dying to try this!!
Rebecca
I wish I knew a good sub for nutritional yeast! I really hope you can find some so you can make this! Are you able to order online?
Gina
Hi there - I followed the recipe and used double the agar agar as you suggested, but my cheese never solidified at all - despite leaving it in the fridge uncovered for well over 24 hours. It's about the consistency of mayo. It also unfortunately didn't taste good or like cheese. What do you think I could do differently next time? Also, do you have a suggestion on how I could repurpose what I have? I'd hate to throw it out. Thanks!!
Rebecca
The Agar powder is much more difficult to use in this recipe than the kappa carrageenan. All isn't lost tho! Go ahead and cook it on the stovetop until it reaches a thicker consistency and then chill. Unfortunately, I still recommend the kappa for best results. You could also add a bit more salt if you like! Hope that helps!
Maria
hi! i made the recipe, but I don't know i what i fail. my my cheese taste good, but doesn't look as firm as yours. I used the same amount of Kappa. The only thing the kappa i have i quite old around 3 years. Do you think that makes a difference? Also when i blendered It was with the lid closed and I used avocado oil instead of conconut. Does the oil makes a big difference too?
kind regards,
Maria
Rebecca
Thanks for the question! Yes, the oil change will make a super huge difference in the firmness of the cheese. Coconut oil hardens when chilled so it helps create that firm texture. Be sure to purchase the 'refined' coconut oil to avoid the coconut taste! Also, your kappa is pretty old, but it sounds like it's working decently given that you subbed oils. I would try it again with the right oil and maybe increase your kappa just a bit since it may have lost some of its potency. Have fun!
Andrea Vera
How can I prepare it if I dont have either agar agar nor Kappa Carrageenan ? maybe cornstarch ? I want it to get hard like a real mozzarella block.
Rebecca
Using just cornstarch, it will be almost impossible to get the super firm texture you see in the photos. I highly recommend ordering the kappa carrageenan from Amazon or Modernist Pantry website. It is such an amazing ingredient and so worth the wait!
Janet
I added a 1/4 cup of plain almond milk yogurt to help give a bit of an aged flavor to the mozzarella. Turned out very nice, but adding the yogurt made the cheeze a little too light in weight, although the firmness seemed perfect, so next time, I'll add more cashews. This was my first time using kappa carrageenan and I'm well pleased with the results -- much better than anything I've bought from the grocery. Thanks, Rebecca.
Rebecca
Love your adaptations! Glad you are enjoying making the cheese. Kappa Carrageenan really is amazing!