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!
Kaeleah
Hi! I made this last week (for the second or third time - I love it!) and life happened so I didn’t get to use it, it stayed in the fridge wrapped in a paper towel and cling film... how long does this keep? And how do you know it has gone bad? Thank you so much for this great recipe!
Rebecca
So glad you love the recipe! A week is usually about as as long as I think I would keep it. However, if there is no mold growing on it, and there's no foul taste, you are probably still fine. I'm sure I've gone over the week limit at least once or twice! 😉
Anita Corcoran
How long will this stay good/fresh in the fridge?
Rebecca
A week is usually a pretty good estimate for how long it will last in the fridge!
Dave
Hi
Neither Kappa Carrageenan or Agar-Agar are available locally..would tapioca starch or gelatin work?
Any other good substitutes you know of?
Thanks
Rebecca
Just tapioca starch alone is not enough to thicken this cheese beyond a saucy state. Probably some form of vegan gelatin would work but it would require a different cooking process and I'm not sure how much to use! Sorry I can't be more helpful!
Joe
Good recipe, tastes great! You have to move fast because it sets up quick!
Rebecca
Thanks for the comment! So glad you liked it! And yes moving quickly is important! It does set up quick!! 😉
Doady M Rogers
I made this cheese yesterday and shredded it today for pizza. I was impressed with how easy it was to make and how well it tasted. I cooked my pizza at 400 and it didn’t melt so I threw it on broil and it mostly melted but almost burnt the crust. When you say “melts at high heat”, what temperature would you use? I also wish it was stringy. Over all 5 stars for me. I’ll use it again and try the other recipes. Look forward to advice and improvements after this first attempt!! Thank you for the recipe!!
Rebecca
Hi! Thx for your comments and feedback! Glad you liked the recipe! I usually bake my pizza at 425 and if I put it on the top rack the cheese melts well for me but it does take longer than traditional dairy cheese to melt. You can add less kappa carrageenan to the recipe and the cheese will be softer and melt faster, but then it doesn't shred as well... Kind of a balance!
cookingsgood
I made this mozz today and I want to thank you for sharing the recipe. I really don't care for other vegan cheeses but this is incredible. I wish I had added the garlic. I will be making different vegan cheeses from now on. Cheese was my biggest issue with going vegan, mo more. I am in love!!!
Rebecca
Yeay!! So glad you loved the vegan mozzarella! Making your own vegan cheese is just SO satisfying! Thanks for letting me know how it went for you!
Amanda
If I substitute Agar Agar, will it still be firm enough to shred/slice? Trying to make a French onion soup, so I’m excited to try this cheese on it!! Thanks!
Rebecca
Agar powder will make it firm, but not as firm and shreddable as the kappa carrageenan. Your soup sounds delish! Hope all goes well!
Felicia
Would I still need to use coconut oil? Thanks for your time!
Rebecca
You could definitely try it without! I can't tell you for sure how will work since I haven't tried it that way!
Felicia
Any ideas on how to make it drizzle on my recipes? Like for say pizza?
Rebecca
You could just leave out the kappa carrageenan and it won't thicken much at all. However, if you like a firm cheese that melts, just make the recipe as is and melt it on top of your pizza in the oven! Yummy!
Jenny Sigler
I make this all the time, and it's so good! Doesn't feel heavy like real cheese but still has great flavor and texture, and it melts!
Rebecca
Thanks so much for commenting! You just made my day! Glad you love it!