Author: This is my love language. 💛 Ooey, gooey, stretchy, melty, where have you been all my life- vegan mozzarella. I'm pretty sure I just made all my vegan dreams come true. I made this recipe four times this week, FOUR. That's how amazing this is. Just dip some tortilla chips in this bad boy and welcome to heaven.
You can also use this anywhere you would like a melty mozzarella experience, which is, um, everywhere! Let's see... pizza, lasagna, grilled cheese, dips, the possibilities of deliciousness are endless.
I haven't even gotten to some of the best news yet. This takes only 7 ingredients, one of them being water. It takes only 15 minutes to make, AND it doesn't even have any oils or "bad stuff". Can you tell I'm excited? I'm SO excited.
So what makes it stretchy and gooey. Tapioca! Who knew right? It's the main ingredient in Daiya, a well-known brand of vegan cheese, and I found that Somer McCowan from the blog Vedged Out also used tapioca starch in her Fresh Moxarella Cheese. She is one smart cookie, er.. well some smart cheese, because she knew what was up. I adapted her original recipe to make a mozzarella that suited my own taste buds but be sure to try her original recipe and check out her blog. So many delicious vegan recipes to be had!
Back to tapioca. Tapioca provides this amazing stretchy, melty quality that any good vegan cheese deserves. It is an absolute must for this recipe. Any other starch will make a thick sauce, but only tapioca will give it that stretch. If you can't find it in stores you can pick it up on Amazon here.
This recipe will stay in a melty stretchy state, even when cold, but if you are looking for a grate-able cheese, try my recipe for The Best Vegan Mozzarella.
To make melty stretchy gooey vegan mozzarella:
To make Melty Stretchy Gooey Vegan Mozzarella: Boil the cashews for 10 minutes until softened. Then toss into the blender with the remaining ingredients, and blend until completely smooth. It will be very watery, don't worry, it will get cheesy!
Pour it in a small sauce pan, and heat over medium-high heat. Stir to keep anything from burning. You will start to see clumps forming.
Then all of a sudden, magic! Everything comes together and makes this cheesy, melty, deliciousness. Keep stirring and cooking for another minute or two, to make sure it's finished firming up. It should take about 5 minutes to cook total. That's it! Done. So easy.
If you want to save it for later, store in an air tight container in the fridge. It won't firm up like a hard cheese, it will stay pretty soft, but let's get real, who needs hard mozzarella anyways?
Serve as a dip, spread onto some toast, dollop onto pizza, do whatever your creative cooking spirit tells you. Don't worry if you eat it all in one sitting (cause I would never do that), you can always make more.
Bon appetegan!
Sam.
(click stars to vote)
Melty Stretchy Gooey Vegan Mozzarella
Servings: (makes about 1 cup)
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Ingredients
- ½ cup raw cashews,, softened (see step 1)
- 1 cup water
- 3 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons tapioca starch, (also called tapioca flour)
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
Softening the cashews:
- Softening the cashews first helps them blend. If you have a high-powered blender you may be able to skip this step, but if not, this step is important to get a smooth cheese. You can either boil or soak the cashews. To boil the cashews (the fast method): add the cashews to a small pot, cover with water, and boil for about 10 minutes until the cashews are very tender. To soak the cashews: add the cashews to a bowl, and cover with water. Let soak for 4 hours or overnight until tender. Drain and rinse cashews before using.
To make the vegan mozzarella:
- Add the cashews along with the 1 cup of water and all the remaining ingredients to a blender. Blend until completely smooth. It will be very watery.
- Pour into a small saucepan and put over medium-high heat. Continually stir. The cheese will start forming clumps, keep stirring and it will continue clumping until the mixture turns from watery to a thicker melty cheese sauce. This takes about 5 minutes. Serve hot or allow to cool and store in an air-tight container in the fridge for 2 - 3 days. The cheese will get thicker as it cools but will stay in a melty state.
Notes
- Tapioca starch is essential for this recipe. It's what gives the cheese it’s gooey and stretchy texture. Any other starch or flour will not get the same result.
- If you want to return the cold mozzarella back to dipping consistency, reheat over medium heat while stirring constantly so it doesn't burn. Once it is hot and bubbling it might have thickened up too much. You can thin it out by adding a splash of water at a time, stirring it in until desired consistency is reached.
- To ensure a smooth cheese, you may also want to pour the liquid through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth before cooking to remove any cashew bits that didn't grind up. This will ensure a smooth cheese texture.
Nutrition
⭐ Did You Make This Recipe?
I’d love if you left a rating and comment, it helps others find the recipe and makes my day! 💕
Tiffany says
I went vegan last year and have been experimenting with different brands of vegan cheese. After some major GI issues I realized I’m allergic to tapioca. I’m also allergic to nuts. Is there any substitutes for these ingredients or can you recommend any other recipes I can try?
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Tiffany, people have tried various different replacements in the comments that you can check out, or try checking out my post for 16 vegan cheese recipes. Perhaps there is something there you can enjoy.
Mary says
I can’t wait to try this!
Christine says
Sam, this is glorious! Thank you so much!!
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! You're most welcome, Christine 🙂
CC says
By the way, this works also when substituting aquqfaba-based mayo in place of the cashews. A little lazy of me, but works in a pinch.
JoAnn M Lakes says
Can you explain what you're talking about (i.e. recipe)? I'm not getting it! Sorry!
Sam Turnbull says
Interesting! I've never tried that!
Cassy says
Hi, I can't consume dairy, and really wanted to have cheese in my diet still, so I started looking into vegan cheeses. I was wondering, if this recipe would work with almonds just the same, or if there is something special about the cashews? Hoping to hear from you soon. Thank you
Sam Turnbull says
Cashews are the best because they are the creamiest. Blanched almonds will work as well, but they will need a bit more time to soften, and they are not as creamy so I would recommend trying raw cashews first. Enjoy!
Cassy says
Thanks for the reply, I thought the cashews would be best, too, but my partner doesn't like them .
Molly says
Raw cashews blended into things like this don't taste at all cashew-y, if that helps!
Cassy says
Since I was keen for a cheese alternative and we had almonds on hand and no cashews... I went ahead and tried with the almonds, I am delightfully happy with how well this has turned out I can't wait to try it with cashews, but I can't say I'm disappointed with the almond attempt. I am just so happy to have a dairy free cheese!
Sam Turnbull says
Glad you enjoyed!
JoAnn M Lakes says
I was looking for almond mozz also but I'm going to try this with almond flour/meal since I have a ton of it that needs to be used.
Matilda says
How did it go with the almond meal?
Terri says
I was happy with the flavor, but my cashews didn't break down completely. I used a Ninja food processor. Is there a trick to get the cashews to break down better? I soaked them properly. I am determined to make a successful cheese for pizza. Your pizzas look soooo good! I am not a fan of the Vegan cheese at the store. I
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed it, Terri! I've never used a Ninja but I am sure it will work just fine for this recipe. Next time I would try boiling or soaking the cashews even longer so they are extra tender and blending a little longer to ensure the cashews break down. Enjoy!
Terri says
I think that I didn't use fresh cashews the first time. I bought a new container from Costco and my last three batches, yes, three, have turned out great! I have made lasagna, used it on pizza, and made queso with it! We love it. Thank you so much!!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! You're most welcome, Terri 🙂
Celeste says
Going to make this tonight, so I haven't actually tried it. Just wanted to say older beans and nuts need to soak a lot longer. Also, nuts should be stored in the fridge or freezer to slow them from going rancid.
Jessica says
The cup part works a lot better, I attempted this and a sauce with cauliflower and the food processor didn't break it down enough.
Molly says
I have a Ninja too, and I find that for things like this (I made cashew cream for green bean casserole at the holidays), the blender works MUCH better than the food processor at really getting it smooth. The individual blender cup is even better than the big blender, but that's not always realistic for the volume of stuff in a recipe. 🙂
Libby H says
Just tried this with potato starch and subbed lemon juice for ACV. Worked great! Love that it's oil-free.
Sam McBride says
This is so delicious and melty. So satisfying! I'm going to use this on everything
Sam Turnbull says
Woohoo!
Rosann Ashe says
Hi Sam, I love your website and recipes. In addition to being vegan, i also have to do low acid so cannot use vinegar. Are the vinegar in your cheese recipes imperative to creating consistency due to the acid interactions or just for flavor? If flavor, I can substitute by using sumac water which has worked well for me in the past. I want to experiment with this yummy sounding vegan mozz. kind regards, Rosann
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Rosann, the vinegar is just for flavour so you can absolutely skip it. Feel free to tweak the spices and flavours as needed. Enjoy!
Nancy Nurse says
Hi Rosann, did you know that vinegar actually turns alkaline in the body?
Sam Turnbull says
Awesome!
Brittney says
Can I soak the nuts overnight instead of cooking them in the boiling water? Or will they be too soft?
Sam Turnbull says
Yep absolutely, it's just slower. 🙂
Brittney says
does this recipe double easily? Can I just use 2x of everything? Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
Yep! Exactly. 🙂
Kevin says
I made this recipe replacing the cashews with chickpeas and half the water with liquid from the can of chickpeas. It turned out great. The color was a little off so I will add some turmeric next time and see what happens.
Sam Turnbull says
Awesome!
Jennifer Maron says
Wow thank you for this recipe. I just made it and am going to freeze it to make the spinach dip for Christmas. It was just as simple as you set out. Lumps and then perfectly smooth and gooey. It tastes great. I cannot wait to serve it. Do you have any suggestions for additional effort once it is un-frozen?
Sam Turnbull says
Thrilled you love it so much! Once it's thawed you can heat it back up in the pot, adding water as needed to reach the desired consistency. Enjoy!
Shawn says
This is the best and easiest vegan cheese I have Ever tasted. I added an extra tbl spoon of nutritional yeast for extra cheesy goodness:)
Sam Turnbull says
Woohoo! Thrilled you love it so much, Shawn 😀
Diana says
Hi there! I LOVE this recipe - real game changer for me as I transition from vegetarian to full vegan! I think I may add a bit more sourkraut for more tang next time, but otherwise, it was perfect! I have three questions for you:
1. How long will leftovers keep in the fridge?
2. Would it mess up the ratios if I were to cut the recipe in half?
3. If I'm using for pizza, should I return to a melted state before adding to the pizza, or can I just plop it onto the pizza cold/at room temp before cooking? I cook my pizzas on a very hot pizza steel at very high temp.
Thanks again! Love your site AND your cookbook (which I purchased a couple weeks ago).
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Diana! So happy you love it so much. It should keep for I'd say 3 - 4 days in the fridge. You can cut the recipe in half but your blender might have a difficult time blending the ingredients smoothly unless you have a mini blender. Since you have my book, there are already directions in there for how to use it on pizza. But yes, you can use it either way, hot or cold. Enjoy!
Joyce says
It works great with peanuts as well!! Cashews here where i live are 5 times more expensive than peanuts. Thank you a lot for this awesome, easy and now very cheap for me recipe. I was surprised at the results ♥♥♥ thank you!
Just in case, tapioca flour is also called "polvilho doce" here in Brazil, and when named like this, it's usually cheaper 😉
Sam Turnbull says
Interesting! Did the cheese have a peanut taste for you? So happy you enjoyed it!
Shawn says
Thanks for posting that. I never thought of using cheap peanuts. I will give it a try.
Jessica S. says
I liked this very much. I had to special-order the tapioca flour starch before I could make it (and then I found out my local Safeway DOES carry it). I liked it on tortilla chips and I'm looking forward to trying it out on pizza. Your instructions were very clear, there were no surprises. I used my NutriBullet for the blending.
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful 🙂
Melissa says
I am new to veganism and I have to say this just tastes like flavoured dough. Maybe it's better in recipes that use only a little but in the spinach artichoke dip it was just too much doughy-bland. The search continues but not sure that vegan cheese is possible.
Sam Turnbull says
Too bad you didn't enjoy it.
Carrie says
Try adding a lot of sea salt and pepper. Those spices will drawl out the doughy flavor and make it more mozerella like. Also add a little more nutritional yeast than called for in the recipe to really make it cheese like!
Nancy Nurse says
Carrie, there are some amazing vegan cheeses; just google them... some are now extremely successful commercial types but are amazing! Just google them... you will find them! Don't give up!
Jackie says
This is incredible! i made it with the spinach artichoke dip for thanksgiving. My non vegan family enjoyed it as well. I would like to use this in a zita receipe. Do you suggest i double the receipe to get 1.5 cups cheese? Do you suggest adding some water to make it less stretchy so it mixes well with the pasta? If so, how much?
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Jackie! So happy you enjoyed. In my cookbook Fuss-Free Vegan, I water the cheese down a bit with 1/3 cup of water when using it for pizza or lasagna so it is easier to spread and bakes up nicely. Enjoy!
Jackie says
Thank you! I look forward to purchasing your cookbook. ❤️
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!!! 😀
Sam Turnbull says
Sorry you didn't enjoy!
Rachel says
Hi!
Firstly can I say I ADORE this recipe, I've used it tons of times with almonds and cashews and it's always delicious! I can't thank you enough 🙂
I want to make enchilladas this weekend and pour the cheese in it's liquid form (beofre cooking it and making it strechy and gooey, then bake it and hope it comes out the texture and consistency I'm looking for. Do you think that's a horrible idea? Have you tried anything similar before?
Please let me know if you have any ideas 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoy it, Rachel!
I would recommend cooking it fully first, but add a bit more water to make it a pourable consistency. That's what I do for my pizza recipes in Fuss-Free Vegan 🙂 Enjoy!
Rachel says
Ok, brilliant! I'm going to do that! Thank you 🙂
Emily Hansen says
OMG, Sam!
This stuff is so heavenly! My family loves it! I'm planning to make more of these for a vegan pizza recipe I'm doing this weekend. Hope it goes well!
Sam Turnbull says
Hahaha, awesome! So happy you are enjoying it. Enjoy the pizza!
Nicole says
Hello,
We have to avoid cashews. Is there a substitute for the nut? Thanks
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Nicole, you can use blanched almonds or macadamia nuts. If you need to avoid nuts altogether, I haven't found a substitution I have loved but if you look through the comments, other readers have tried and enjoyed different replacements. Hope that helps!
The most creative name says
I've heard of using tofu as a substitute.
Catherine says
Hemp seeds are supposed to be a good sub for nuts in vegan cheese recipes. I'm going to be trying t myself since I am allergic to nuts and I would be happy to share my results :).
Emily says
Sunflower seeds are a great replacement but make sure they are raw.