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! 💕
Freddy says
I love this recipe, just made it tonight for pizza. Best vegan cheese I've ever had. I wonder if you can use almond milk instead of water? Love you Sam!
Jeannie Miller says
How do you spread the Ooey gooey mozzarella cheese on pizza?
Carol Anne says
I love this recipe! I like to modify it a tad to creat a queso dip: I double it, reduce the tapioca a little bit, add a little smoked paprika, a dash of turmeric for color, and a can of mild rotel with green chiles. I love it and it’s been a hit with friends and family as well! I love to eat it with blue corn tortilla chips 🙂 thanks so much for this!!
kels says
Carol Anne: That sounds delicious! Do you add the rotel after blending? and do you drain the rotel first??? (I know you posted months ago, but, well, I'm slow...)
Lo McEllin says
My guess is she drains the rotel first and adds it at the very end to combine. It would be too runny otherwise.
Lindsay says
This looks so good! Can you use salted, canned cashews for this recipe?
Marie Roberts says
no- all nut sauces need raw, unsalted nuts.
Danielle Liddick says
I use roasted cashews for everythingand they come out delicious. The only thing i dont use roasted for is cheesecake.
Eve says
We love your recipes and cookbook. I need help though. I have to use almonds instead of cashews due to allergies and both times they have come out grainy. Tried your nachos and mozzarella recipes and boiling the almonds. Both yummy just want to improve the texture.
Sam Turnbull says
You may need to boil the almonds a little longer. Make sure the blend as well as you can, and then I would recommend pouring the mixture through cheesecloth or a fine mesh strainer before cooking to get any leftover bits out. Hope that helps!
Marie says
A better alternative for cashews In sauces is raw sunflower seeds.
VeggieTater says
You can also try reducing the dry almonds to a powder first in the blender, then soak in the one cup of hot water for a few hours or even overnight. Or better yet... add a spoonful of active plain yogurt or other probiotic to a cup of WARM water to soak your almonds... and let it ferment on the counter over night or longer. (hot water will kill the microbes... cooking does too, but by then they've done their job!) Not only does it help break down the fiber if you can't strain them,(straining will still yield the smoothest result) but adds a wonderful "cheesy" depth of flavor without the addition of the vinegar. (I even do this with cashews for the flavor boost!)
Lynn says
We also have to use almonds due to allergies. I found using blanched almond flour (we buy at Costco) helps to make the texture more creamy and reduces steps since you don't need to boil and peel first. Hope this works for you as well.
An says
THANK YOU!!! I am about to eat all of this straight from the pan with a bag of chips ha! But I'll save it for our grilled veggie panini's later. We also had your tofu bites for lunch! Thank you so much for the great recipes!
Sam Turnbull says
Hahaha! You're welcome 🙂
Brandee says
Can I use agar agar instead of tapioca flour?
I don’t have tahani nor miso paste.
I do have nutritional yeast, Bragg soy sauce, and agar agar.
Help!
I’m trying to work with what I have for a pizza.
How do I learn what I can substitute with or what to have in my pantry? Do you have a video or book on that?
Wee says
I so miss grilled cheese on pizza. Kappa carrageenan is not easily available in my country and dolloping this on a pizza is lovely and stretchy by the grilled factor is missing. I'm wondering if I freeze this and grate it whilst frozen and then use it as a topping on a pizza prior to baking, will it work?
Molly says
Awesome recipe! So easy to make and delicious. I made a chickpea flour frittata with sautéed veggies and poured this cheese on top. My husband has made various vegan cheeses before and he gushed over this cheese! Thank you.
Carrie says
Can you sub The tapioca flour for arrowroot flour?
T
Niki Nelson says
I cannot find tapioca flour can I use Cassava flour instead? Also is there an alternative to nutritional yeast as I can’t tolerate it?
cindy says
cassava is the same as tapioca!
Doug says
This is so easy. Why have I waited so long to try making it? I will be using it in your Vegan Lasagna Soup.
Sam Turnbull says
Amazing! SO happy you love it, Doug 🙂
shan says
This recipe is sooooooooo good. I've been making it once a week since I first acquired tapioca starch =D
I cook it until it sort of solidifies though and then use it all week like it's a fresh ball of mozzarella.
I've also found that if you add 1-2 tsp of liquid smoke to the mix it gives it a good smoked cheese flavor that's really really good if you use this to make a grilled cheese sandwich.
it's just soooooooooooo crazy good!!!
Chris says
What!?! I’ve been making vegan nacho cheese for sometime but this changes everything!! Just crazy that a few simple ingredients can taste like cheese!! Awesome!!! Turned out great. Super simple. Only thing I’d change is next time I’m gonna double or triple!
Sam Turnbull says
Wonderful! So thrilled you enjoyed, Chris 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Delish! So happy you enjoyed, Shan 🙂
Simone says
Hello. This is probably quite a dumb question, but I have recently become fully vegan. I do not miss cheese in any recipes except for one. I used to put mozzarella in my korean ramen and let it melt. Of course I can't use any vegan cheese for that purpose, but I was wondering how this cheese would work if I poured it into hot liquid. I'm assuming it probably wouldn't work, but I wanted to ask.
Best,
Simone
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Simone, yes it will work. It will just be cheesy meltiness. Enjoy!
Mandi says
I will be honest ..I am currently eating this straight out of the pot. Hahaha.
Texture is on point can't wait to use this in recipes! Delicious. Thanks Sam
Karen says
Hi Sam your amazing! So far all your recipes are FANTASTIC I love em! Thank you ...... Keep it up your the best!
Sam Turnbull says
Aww thanks Karen!
Emilie says
This is amazing. The best vegan cheese recipe i've tried so far. Looking forward to trying your other cheese recipes. Thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
Aww wonderful! I hope you love them all 🙂
Mandy says
Easy and absolutely DELICIOUS!
Sam Turnbull says
Yay!!
Leah says
Can I make this a day ahead of time and then use it on pizza? Will it affect the flavor/consistency?
Sam Turnbull says
Absolutely! It gets a little stiffer when chilled in the fridge so you can either just dollop it on the pizza and have spots of mozzarella, or you can thin it back out by whisking extra water into it when reheating. Enjoy!
Kirby says
Just made this minus the nooch because i hate it and predictably ot was bland. Any flavours i could add to keep is cheesy but more flavorful?
Georgiann says
Try adding in some miso paste instead of nooch.
I would recommend trying nooch in thing in smaller amounts to get used to it. Many people do not like nooch at first, (myself included) but when you just put in small amount, the flavor isn't as noticeable and you may find yourself adding in ore and more as time goes on... I used to use it very sparingly and now I throw it in by the handful! I love it now and so glad I gave it a chance!! 🙂
Brie says
Had anyone tried using this as pasta sauce for mac n cheese?
Sam Turnbull says
That would work. My nacho cheese or my mac & cheese powder will be a more traditional flavour tho 🙂
Bianca says
Hi Sam! Did this twice for pizza and loved it! I wanted to turn this into fondue this time, but I thought it would be nice to incorporate white wine somehow to make it taste more like tradicional fondue. Any ideas in regards to the amount of wine I could add without compromising the texture?
Bianca says
Ok, so I experimented with a few tweaks and the result was amazeballs! Anyone looking for a fondue recipe, I highly recommend the following:
- 150 grams of cashews
- 350 ml of water
- 1 tbsp of light oil (canola, sunflower, etc)
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 3 tbsp tapioca starch
- 2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 100ml of white wine
Same thing: boil the cashews, drain them, then blend with everything else.
You're gonna fool people with this "cheese" fondue!
Joan says
Nice! Sounds amazing! Thank you for sharing.
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Bianca, you can just sub some of the water for the wine. I would start with a couple of tablespoons and if you need more you can always stir some in later on 🙂
Chris says
Hi Sam,
Given the thick consistency of the finished and cooled cheese, should I heat it up and then spread on my pizza crust (almond flour base) or can I spread it cold onto the crust and heat for 10 minutes like a regular pizza with the rest of the toppings?
Sam Turnbull says
I would recommend dolloping it on 🙂