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! 💕
Kristi says
Hi Sam - I noticed the recipe here and in Fuss-Free Vegan are a bit different. Is the one in the book your new favorite go to for mozzarella? I want to make one to use on little pita pizzas and have some left for grilled cheese, but not sure if I should choose one over the other. Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Kristi! Both recipes are great and it totally depends on your flavour preferences which one is better. The one in my book is my newer version. 🙂
Mary says
Hi Sam, yes it is Bragg's. Ingredients are: inactive dry yeast, niacin (B3), pyridoxine HCI (B6),riboflavin (B2), thiamin HCI (B1), folic acid, and vitamin B12.
Mary
Sam Turnbull says
You're good to go!
Jennifer Bushee says
OH MY GOD. I have been meaning to make this for ages. Today after second guessing buying an expensive artisanal cheese I instead grabbed a bag of Tapioca Starch and so pleased I did. SO DELICIOUS. The nutritional yeast was perfect proportion to add umami but not overpowering. It tastes like mozzarella for real! I made it for a pizza tomorrow but already ate several glops and had to walk away to write this!
I never comment on blogs because honestly never feel compelled to but you are the sole exception, Sunshine Girl. Not only are your recipes spot on but you are the real deal. It's really important to have open hearted and non judgmental people like yourself to help people who might have a more difficult time understanding that you can completely eat a plant based diet and be healthy. You are doing the good work!
<3
Sam Turnbull says
Sunshine Girl!!!! How did you know, my gang name is "Sunshine". I know, I'm so tough. (It's a long story and I'm not actually part of a gang). Hahaha! Thrilled you skipped the expensive store-bought vegan cheese to try your own. Homemade food is the best food! Completely flattered that you are loving my work so much, Jennifer!
Jillee says
Exactly!
Theresa says
I very rarely leave comments, but this was so delicious that I felt the need to put in my 2 cents. I've made vegan cheeses before and was always let down. EVERYTIME. This was not one of those times. It was absolutely delicious!!! It works really well in pizza and I could hardly stop sneaking in spoonfuls. My 4 year old loved it too! I'm going to try it on a grilled cheese tomorrow! Well done!
Sam Turnbull says
Amazing!!! So happy you loved it so much, Theresa 😀 Thank you for the wonderful review!
shakila says
hi Sam
thanks for sharing this amazing cheese. I was looking for a delicious vegan pizza cheese for so long and I am so happy to find it here. But unfortunately I could n`t find tapioca in my country for home sale. all of them was in big mass and for industry use. Is there any other substance which could be replaced with tapioca in this recipe and still result in a gooey pizza cheese?
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Shakila! So happy you like the recipe! Tapioca is key in that it's what gives the cheese it's stretchy gooey quality. You can use another starch such as cornstarch, but the texture will be more of a sauce and not so stretchy. Enjoy!
Diana Sleiman says
This sounds like a great recipe! Would I be able to replace the tapioca starch with arrowroot flour? I am intolerant to Tapioca for some reason.
Kayla Phillips says
I just finished making it with arrowroot it turned out goofy and melty as expected!
Sam Turnbull says
Any other kind of starch or flour will just make a sauce, the tapioca will give it that stretchy quality. So if you are ok with just a sauce, go for it!
Barb says
Do you think this would freeze ok? Or does it become firm in the fridge that you could grate it? Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Barb, it does freeze fine. It stays in a melty gooey state when in the fridge. Enjoy!
Regina says
I made this this weekend. Came together just like you said. I spooned it into deep dish muffin tin pizzas. Loved it and I am very picky!
Sam Turnbull says
Haha awesome!!
Sophia says
This recipe is absolutely delicious! I recently became vegan and needed a way to serve cheese to non-vegan party guests while still sticking to my vegan values. I was completely blown away at how tasty and melty it was. I’m never one to leave a review but this recipe totally deserves it. Will definitely make again!!!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!! That's so awesome. Thanks so much for the review, Sophia. Thrilled you loved it so much 🙂
Madison says
I really appreciate this website and the help with identifying what vegan substitutes I can have. I have a ton of food allergies, so being vegan is most compliant for me. However, I am also allergic to nuts, which I find in a lot of vegan foods. Any suggestions for vegan cheeses that do not require the use of nuts?
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Madison, and welcome! If you scroll through the comments, lots of people have tried substitutes for nuts in this recipe. I believe the best results were with raw sunflower seeds. I haven't tried it myself, so I can't say how it turns out, but others seemed to be happy with the result (although it did give the cheese a green ting). Hope that helps!
Linnea Hanson says
I use this all the time. Thanks so much!
Sam Turnbull says
So glad it's a fave!
Nelli says
Hello Sam, thank you for the recipe. My daughter is allergic to cashews as well as dairy. Can anything else be used instead of cashews in this recipe?
Sam Turnbull says
Blanched almonds work well. You just have to boil them a little longer 🙂
Grace says
I use sunflower seeds instead of cashews. They give a slightly nuttier, less sweet taste, but work well for most dishes. I tend to add a little extra salt and sometimes even a tiny bit of sweetener to balance the harshness.
Sam Turnbull says
Great idea!
Sam says
Some times with cashew recipes you can use sunflower seeds too. I'm doing the regular recipe but it's worth the try
ama says
Fantastic recipe...thank you! Used it on pizza.
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! So happy you enjoyed it, ama 🙂
Claire says
Thanks a lot for sharing this recipe Sam!
It's definitely the best vegan cheese recipe I've tested so far! I was amazed how quick and easy it was to make. No fancy method needed here and the 'gooeyness' is real! Besides the taste is quite addictive. I actually found myself putting a spoon several times in the pot to get a taste...
Love your blog! Cheers from France
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! Thrilled you love it so much, Claire! Cheers from Canada 🙂
Sonya D. says
I've made this and tasted just before cooking and Wow! I simmered mine for 30 min and the cashews blended creamy and perfect. It was stringy but cooled semi firm. I'm going to cut mine and use in my vegan rellanos. Ty for sharing this recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderufl, so happy you enjoyed, Sonya!
Barbara says
Hi Sam! this looks so delicious and I want to try it asap! I am not sure if you are still replying to the comments here, but I was wondering if I could use roasted cashews instead of raw ones?
Sam Turnbull says
I try to reply to all questions 🙂 Raw cashews break down into a smooth creaminess, whereas roasted cashews are dried out and won't have the same effect, so I recommend raw.
Barb says
Thanks a lot for your reply! I just did it and it is awesome!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!
Heather Renee Holloway says
Ok...this is AMAZING! I made 3 versions. The original then I subbed 1/4c white wine for part of the water and it was gooey delicious! THEN I added a little fresh garlic and fresh jalapeno for queso fundido so GOOD!!!
Sam Turnbull says
Amazing! Great ideas for playing around with it too 😀
Courtney Ransom says
YUM! I've been looking for a yummy mozzarella replacement and this sure hit the spot on my pizza earlier! I love Jasmine from Sweet Simple Vegan and she recommended your blog on Instagram earlier today-so I decided to check out your site. Wow, I'm so impressed! I'm new to the food blogging world, but I'm so passionate about creating and sharing yummy and plant powered recipes with the world. I've subscribed to your blog and I'm so excited to follow along on your journey and try your yummy recipes 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Aww thanks so much, Courtney, thrilled you love the cheese so much and my blog. Welcome! Excited to have you here 🙂
Maria says
Hello! Awesome recipe, I was shocked when it actually stretched! Hehe, but I had a little "problem": it was all going perfectly but when I lower the heat and added a little more salt (to my taste), the stretchiness was gone. I tried adding an 1/8 teaspoon of tapioca starch, but to no result. It still tasted great, but after I took it away from the heat, it was no longer stretchy, just like a thick cheesy sauce. What did I do wrong?
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Maria! So happy you loved it. Hmmm... that's weird, I have never had that happen before. Next time I would add the extra salt with the other ingredients, and remove from the heat once cooked. Hopefully, that helps!
Molly says
I made this today for your spinach artichoke recipe (which I haven't tasted yet...having a party tonight, made it ahead and haven't baked it yet). I snuck a taste of some of the cheese stuck to the pot after I mixed the other recipe up...omg! It's delicious, stretchy, cheesy...the garlic was pretty prominent to me, but holy cow! Now I want to try this on a pizza! And so many other things! I also couldn't believe how quick/easy it was. Thank goodness I found tapioca starch at my local fancy grocery store. 🙂 I will definitely be making this again.
Sam Turnbull says
So thrilled you loved it so much, Molly!! You can always reduce the garlic to taste 🙂