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! 💕
Becca says
How much is a serving for the cheese?
Sam Turnbull says
1/4 of the recipe, about 1/4 cup. You can see the info at the top of the recipe. Enjoy!
Michelle says
I am a brand new vegan, and seriously, you have saved me. I miss cheese most of all, and this stuff is unbelievably awesome. Thank you so much for all you do: for your positive attitude, your cheeriness and your delicious recipes. You're the best.
Sam Turnbull says
Awwww shucks, Thank you so much, Michelle!! Thrilled that I have been able to help you in some small way 🙂
Vanessa Harmon says
I doubled this recipe the second time I made it and omitted the teaspoons of tapioca because I wanted a different consistency. I put it in a mason jar and mixed it with leftover pizza sauce to make a pizza dip. It was SO good. I loaded up on unsalted cashews because I plan on making this every week! Hoping to try different mix-ins next week.
Sam Turnbull says
Ooooh pizza dip, sounds delish, Vanessa!
Alex says
Wow Sam, this recipe was amazing! Both me and my husband were in love at first bite. And the mozzarella, OMG! I am sure it will become a staple in our house. Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
That's awesome! So happy you enjoyed, Alex 🙂
Kiki says
Yum! Thank you Sam!
Sam Turnbull says
You're most welcome, Kiki 🙂
Marta says
This was so good. At first I thought it a bit bland but I remembered that mozzarella isn't an explosion of flavour. It was a great fast and easy cheese fix. Kept going back to the fridge for bites. I think it would make a good spread after refrigeration.
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed it Marta! Yes, mozzarella is very mild. If you are interested in a punchier flavoured cheese try my nacho cheese 🙂
Renae H says
This was pretty good. The only thing I would do is add just a little more salt. I’m curious to see how it melts.
Sam Turnbull says
Glad you enjoyed! You can always add more salt to taste. This cheese stays in the melty form and will brown nicely when baked. Enjoy!
Josiah Brush says
Oh my this was so good! It actually did taste quite a bit like dairy mozzarella and the taste/texture combination were exquisite. I used about 2/3 of my batch on my pizza and ate most of the rest straight off my spatula . Thanks once again!
Sam Turnbull says
that's wonderful! So happy you enjoyed it so much, Josiah 🙂
Josiah Brush says
I tried some leftovers on a Beyond Burger tonight and wow! Don’t tell anyone I said this but it was the best burger I’ve had in a long time, vegan or not. Your mozzarella cheese made the burger extraordinary. Happy tummy 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
A great topper 🙂
Joshua Austill says
We made this tonight and ab'd it on pizza vs daiya shredded mozzarella and it won hands down. The only thing I did differently was I dropped it in an ice-cold salt brine for an hour after cooling it down, that made it spreadable on the pizza dough.
I would point out that your metric measurements aren't quite right The tapioca just says 55 with no unit, it comes out to around 27g in reality. The nutritional yeast is 5g per tbsp, not 15g. And the salt measures out to around .8g not 1.25g. That could be a difference in types of salt though?
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you enjoyed it, Joshua 🙂 Thanks for your notes on measurements. My wonderful assistant is currently working on converting all of my recipes into metric, so I will bring this to her attention to make sure it's up to date. 🙂
Jenna says
This recipe is SO GOOD I have it memorized. You will find yourself making it over and over again.
Thanks Sam!
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! That's awesome, thrilled you enjoyed it so much, Jenna 🙂
Jenny says
Used this inside homemade garlic dough balls - amazzziiinnnggggg! Thanks so much x
Sam Turnbull says
Ohhh that sounds epic!! 🙂
Irina says
Hello! Can you write mesures in Metric pls?
Sam Turnbull says
Working on it!
Pam says
Loved, Loved this recipe. Used it on veggie lasagna.
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!!! Thrilled you enjoyed it so much, Pam 🙂
Betty says
Can this be frozen and shredded? I read that some people have thought about it but want to know if you have actually tested it?
Sam Turnbull says
Yes, it can be. Personally, I don't find it worth it as it melts very quickly and turns back to the gooey texture, so you need to grate directly onto your dish. Personally I just like dolloping it on the dish instead. Enjoy!
Marta says
Oh good idea.
Maureen Cram says
Had to let you know how I used my frozen cheese (I always make a double recipe and then freeze half of it).
Had to take something to a big family (of daughter in law) Christmas Eve breakfast where yes I was the only vegan. So I chopped up a shallot and a package of button mushrooms, a clove of garlic and sautéed until soft and the juice from the mushrooms had mostly cooked off. Added some dried thyme and into the turned off heat pot I plopped the frozen cheese and put the lid on and walked off. Came back a bit later, mixed it all in and mashed it in and added some home made breadcrumbs. In the fridge overnight and this morning I made mini mushroom and cheese (sausage) rolls which got baked at my son's house while I stood out in the garden to get away from the non vegan breakfast food smells. They turned out so well everyone had at least one and most people had two of them. And people asked for the recipe :). Thank you thank you and thank you again xxx.
Sam Turnbull says
Sounds delish!!!!! Wish I could try 🙂
Carol says
I used this recipe from your book with the first flavoring alternative. I am so excited about the results, I just can't calm down at all! I have been unable to eat dairy cheese for most of my life and whenever I did it made me really sick. But I remember the taste and texture and this recipe captures it exactly. I can't believe it, and when I think of all the possibilities lying ahead. Thank you so much for making this available to the general vegan public. This recipe alone is worth the money spent on the book.
Sam Turnbull says
Oh that's so awesome, Carol! So happy you are enjoying my recipes so much 🙂
Angela says
Hi Sam! I scrolled for so long to reach the end of the page because there are so many comments What can I substitute garlic powder for this recipe? Because I can't eat garlic and onion :))
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Angela! The garlic powder is just a flavour enhancer, so you could skip it and replace with any spice you enjoy. Maybe celery salt would be nice?
Essa Grey says
It has been a long time since this recipe was posted, but I have to say thank you!!! I have never ever commented on a recipe before but I have made this 3 times now, and this last time I mixed in chopped banana peppers and replaced a few tablespoons of the water with banana pepper brine. Crazy yummy in black bean quesadillas, and my carnivore partner requested this "cheese" instead of real cheese 🙂 you have made choosing vegan options so much easier! Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
That's so wonderful! I'm honoured that this recipe inspired you to leave a comment. And even happier to learn that I'm making it easier for you to go vegan, Essa 🙂
Kara_western says
I’ve made this recipe a few times now and although I like it for taste and ease, it just doesn’t get stretchy or melty. I just have a thick paste that globs together but doesn’t stretch. I cook it for a few minutes until it firms up and gets really thick. I love in France and have only found Tapioca starch (it’s not a flour, more like a sandy grainy texture). Is this the problem? I thought they were the same.
Sam Turnbull says
Sounds like it's the tapioca starch as that's what makes it stretchy. The one I use here is a very fine powder like flour. Maybe try grinding it finer in a high-speed blender or coffee grinder. Hope that helps!
Rob says
Your thoughts on this cut and paste?
When it comes to recipes it really varies by the author or cookbook on what it is called, but if a recipe calls for tapioca starch, you can easily use tapioca flour, since they are the same thing. Tapioca flour comes from the root of the cassava plant. ... Tapioca flour/starch adds structure to gluten free baking.
Alicia Cromwell says
Well I have tried a handful of vegan cheeses and this is the only one we really like! Thanks for the recipe!!!
Sam Turnbull says
That's awesome! Thrilled you like it so much, Alicia 🙂
Zaden says
Would the recipe work if I made it like this?:
- 1/2 cup coconut cream
- 1 cup water
- 3 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons tapioca starch (I'm trying to go keto so is there a way to reduce carbs?)
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice (I was gonna try to find a bottled one)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon mixed herbs (including thyme)
I replaced the cashews because of FODMAP content, which is also why I replaced the garlic. Both give me IBS, as does ACV. Dairy makes me hurt so that's why I want to use this. I also have a lot of fatigue so the quicker and easier this is to make and clean up after the better. Do you have any further suggestions to make it simple and easy? Things you might take for granted take an immense effort for me :/. I'm guessing with the coconut cream no soaking or boiling is required before blending. Am I able to use a Nutribullet to blend? I'm not sure if coconut makes me sick, I'm hoping it doesn't, but any alternatives that are similarly easy would definitely be appreciated. I was going to use this for pizza, nachos, and vege dip but is there a way to make it harden? This is so it can be used as a taco shell during keto.
Sorry for all the questions, please try to reply to all of them (too many times I've had people only reply to the last question and it's frustrating). Thank you ^^.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Zaden, I can't know if it would work just by looking at it, but if you want to experiment with your own recipes, for sure, give it a try! I hope it works for you.