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! 💕
Laura says
Hi Sam - I mixed spinach powder in and have started spreading it on a bun for my office lunch - thanks for the recipe! Healthy, yummy and portable
Sam Turnbull says
Glad you enjoy, Laura 🙂
Jes says
So could I use gluten free flour ( it has tapioca flour in it).. instead of just tapioca flour?
Sam Turnbull says
No I would recommend using straight tapioca flour.
Nicole says
I made this today for my pizza. I put1 tea spoon of nutritionfacts.org’s Dr Greger’s savoury spice blend and 1 teaspoon of light miso instead of the salt. It came out wonderful! Added it to our pizza and will see how it turns out when its out the oven! Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
Awesome, so happy you enjoyed!
James says
Hot Tip: Freezing this cheese and then thawing it for a few minutes gives it a perfect texture for grating. Works very well on pizza.
Sam Turnbull says
Great idea!
shakila says
hi Sam. I have a question and I appreciate if you help me. since tapioca starch is not available in my country I decided to replace it with Salep flour which is accessible here easily. Salep is used in ice cream and pudding to mack it gooey and for thickening desserts. do you think it would work? and how much Salep flour should I use to result in gooey pizza cheese like yours?
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Shakila, I've never cooked with salep flour so I have no idea, but start with the same amount and see how that works. Enjoy!
María says
Hey Sam! Tried this recipe right after the seitan pepperoni one. Neither me nor my boyfriend are vegetarian, but we are both blown away by them, I just had a bread roll filled with those two for breakfast and cannot wrap my head around this sorcery... 2 out of 2 delicious, affordable and easy alternatives that have me checking your site for the next wonder to test! Thank you SO much
Sam Turnbull says
Oh wow! I love that you are so adventurous in the kitchen and enjoying these vegan foods! I hope you enjoy many more to come 🙂
María says
I just placed an order for Kappa Carrageenan and found Kala Namak in a local store, so there are at least 2 more ahead this weekend!!! We're trying to eat more consciously and your site is so great I keep on recommending it and inviting my colleagues and friends to try what I cooked. Again, thank you so much from this Spaniard living in Germany <3
Sam Turnbull says
Thank you so much, María! I very much appreciate it 🙂
Julie Nguyen says
If I could give this recipe a million stars I would. Based on the ingredients and short instructions I wasn't expecting much, if anything, but this recipe is amazing!!! So simple to make. I never liked cheese but I could easily eat tubs of this; it's that good. Definitely best when served hot though because otherwise the texture is more gloopy/congealed than stretchy. Also boiling the cashews (or having an amazing blender) is a must. Absolutely a fantastic recipe that I'd recommend to anyone!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!!!! So very thrilled you love it so much, Julie! Thanks for the fabulous review 🙂
Jessica says
I made this last night... 2nd time... I couldn't find the tapioca starch, so I used potato starch.. it came out good... the one with tapioca was probably better! 🙂 I kind of had to because I had all the other ingredients ready to go... oops.
I had to use extra vinegar because it tasted really bland... after sitting for an hour or so, it tasted pretty good...
Jersey Robinson says
This looks amazing! I'm thinking I'm going to try it in a lasagna, do you think that would work, baking it and all? Will it still be gooey and stretchy? And about how much does one batch make? Thanks for the super cool recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
Yes it will work just fine, I have a lasagna recipe in my cookbook which uses it! I like to add about 1/3 cup more water to the recipe so the cheese is thinner and I can just pour it on. It will thicken further in the oven. Enjoy!
Jersey Robinson says
Ok thanks!
Jersey Robinson says
About how much does one batch make? I'm wondering if I should double it for the lasagna...
Sam Turnbull says
About 1 1/2 cups.
RoseAnne says
Oh, Sam. This is sooooo good. And I love finding a recipe that works perfectly (to suit my taste buds) first time out: no "tweaking" required.
If there's one thing I've been missing as a vegan newbie, it's cheese. This hits the spot.
Tanks a huge bunch!
XOX
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful!!! So happy you no longer have to miss anything! 🙂
Rebecca says
Hi Sam, I just wanted to let you know how much me and my daughter LOVE your recipes! Everything we've made so far from both your book and your on line recipes have been amazing. Tried this mozzarella recipe for the first time this week and it's a game changer. Unbelievably good. We've put it on pizza, pasta, tofu mcmuffins, sooo good!! Fuss Free Vegan is by far our favourite cookbook right now. Keep up the great work!
Sam Turnbull says
Aww that's so awesome! I'm so delighted you are enjoying my recipes so much!! Thank you so much, Rebecca 🙂
Deborah Rene says
Can this cheese substitute be used in eggplant parmesan? I haven't tried it yet, but I will this weekend.
Sam Turnbull says
Absolutely!
Emily says
Can I use corn starch instead of tapioca flour (since I don't have any atm)? Also for the nacho cheese one can I use soy sauce instead of miso paste?
Thank you
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Emily, for the starch, read the notes on the recipe. 🙂 Soy sauce would make the cheese a bit brown and will not provide the same flavour as the miso. Enjoy!
Jamie says
I used corn starch, and it turned out fine. Not as stringy as tapioca starch would be, but still smooth, thick, and delicious. Perfect for pizza night, and a really fabulous alternative to processed vegan cheese. Thanks for the recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
Glad you enjoyed!
Emilie Perron says
I just tried this recipe. I tasted it and it taste great. I will put it on a faux chicken parmigiana tomorrow. Thanx so much for thé recipe i was looking for a great homemade vegan cheese. Sorry for my english, from Montréal.
Sam Turnbull says
Glad you enjoyed!
Karen Ackerman says
I tried to post a question about whether the Mozzarella Cheese may be frozen---tried to post---response= "looks like you already sent that." NO I DID NOT.
Sam Turnbull says
Yep, I see both of your comments! Yes you can freeze it. Enjoy!
Christina says
Hi! I am making this "cheese" in order to put together the Spinach Artichoke Dip. I noticed that this online recipe and the one in your (AMAZING) cookbook are slightly different (amount of nutritional yeast, olive brine vs. cider vinegar)...since the cookbook is more recent, should I go with that recipe? Do you prefer the one in the book with the modifications? Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Christina, both recipes are great and it will depend on your flavour preferences, but the cookbook has my new and improved version. Enjoy!
Sonia says
Just made this for pizza! I am not vegan (vegetarian for 40+ years though) but trying to cut back on dairy and looking for special recipes to make for vegan friends. It came out great on the first try (not my usual experience for vegan cheeses!). It looks like it would easily make into balls (maybe with a scoop into ice baths) and I'll definitely try that in the future. texture and "meltability" was good (it browned, but didn't spread-melt, so I'll spread it more evenly by hand next time), or cook it less so it is gooier to begin with if it's for pizza); taste was excellent! Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
Thrilled you enjoyed it so much, Sonia! You can scoop it into balls, simply by pouring it into a container and letting it chill in the fridge. It will still be pretty soft but scoopable. For using it on pizza, check out the method I use in this pizza recipe. Adding 1/3 cup extra water to the cheese so it is a looser sauce. Then you just pour it onto the pizza and it will firm up more in the oven. 🙂
Gabriella says
Sam, this looks so delicious (AND EASY)! I've just subscribed to your page and will be trying this out to take to my girls' night this weekend!!
Sam Turnbull says
Amazing! Welcome, Gabriella, I hope you enjoy it 🙂
Christina says
Hi! Do you have an alternative to cashews that would work? My boyfriend has a nut allergy. I was thinking maybe garbanzo beans?
Sam Turnbull says
I've heard people had good success with sunflower seeds. I think it does give it a green tinge tho.
Amy says
Would pine nuts work? My daughter is allergic to cashews.
Sam Turnbull says
I have never tried pine nuts, but blanched almonds work well.
Jennifer Loula says
How big is a serving? And how long does this cheese last for?
Sam Turnbull says
I would say roughly 6 tablespoons a serving and it will keep when covered in the fridge for a few days. It stays in the gooey state but does get a little firmer.
Karen Ackerman says
I did not see any information about whether the Mozzarella Cheese could be frozen. Please respond.
Sam Turnbull says
Yes, it can. Enjoy!
Linda Ferris says
I have just made the mozzarella, the cheese sauce and the cheese ball. All are fantastic and the mozzarella
will enable me to eat "real" pizza which I have been missing for a long time. Thank you for these incredible recipes. I was surprised that my local supermarket had tapioca flour.
Sam Turnbull says
You're most welcome, Linda!! Thrilled you enjoyed them both so much 🙂 I try my best to always use easy to find ingredients so that people don't have to go to fancy healthy food stores, so glad tapioca was right in your regular grocery store 🙂
Alex says
Wow! This is the best vegan cheese I've ever made! I'm usually hesitant about using nutritional yeast because my family really dislikes it but they all loved this on pizza. Thank you so much for this easy recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
That's awesome! thrilled you and your family loved it so much, Alex 🙂