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! 💕
Judy Johnsey says
This recipe has really come in handy in several recipes. I can't relieve the stretchiness. It's great!
Stephanie says
I've been making this recipe for nearly 10 years! It works well as a pizza cheese, a base for spinach artichoke dip, or as a cheese for pasta and lasagna.
Courtney Moses says
This was one of the first of Sam’s recipes I ever made. It’s SO good and so versatile. The gooey texture is incredible and could definitely fool nonvegans! It’s got the perfect mild mozz flavor as well. So much better than store bought alternatives.
kb says
This is my "go to" recipe for cheese.
Easy to make and Wonderful in so many different dishes.
Thank you!
Gabrielle says
Delicious. Made it in my vitamix which has a heat function so I was able to do it all in the blender.
Was so easy to make. Love it!
Jess @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Even better! That's terrific!
Judy M says
Really delicious, Sam! And easy.
We aren’t vegans (yet). I have to be dairy free. My husband can eat dairy.
We both liked the cheese!! He loves it and asks for it. I have to be careful with how much I eat Because I have to eat low-carb. Cashews unfortunately, are high carb. So I limit myself to 2 tablespoons per portion.
Thank you for all your hard work.
Jess @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
We're so glad you enjoy this recipe, Judy!
Chloe says
Have been making this recipe for years and love it! Recently we were making pizza and instead of cooking the cashew mixture, we poured the liquid directly on the pizza and it firmed up so nicely in the oven!!
Jess @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
We're thrilled it worked like that!
Doris says
I made the smoky sun dried tomato pizza (Fuss Free Vegan) with the homemade mozzarella and it was a huge hit with the family. The mozzarella was soft and melty and delicious. I’ll never miss the real mozzarella. No problem finding the tapioca starch at Whole Foods and saw tapioca flour and starch are the same thing. Also so EASY to make .. just blend and cook.
The smoky sun dried tomatoes were delicious too. I cannot wait to make it again!!
The reason I am on this site is that several people want the recipe after seeing my photos and hearing my raves over the recipe.
Jess @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Thank you so much for your kind words! We're thrilled you enjoyed the mozzarella and the pizza so much!
Holly Ann says
I can’t find tapioca starch near me but I have potato starch. Can I substitute?
Jess @ It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken says
Potato starch may help thicken but it likely won't give the same cheesy gooey texture.
Amanda says
This cheese thickened up SO much within one minute in the pot. I followed the recipe exactly. It was so thick it was like bread dough. Any suggestions?
Gayle says
Hi there,
Is there a substitute for garlic powder I could try? My husband is on a low FODMAP diet and garlic powder is not his friend.
Julie says
I'm following - wondering if Italian or some other herb could be used instead of garlic? We don't tolerate garlic well in my house 🙁
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Chives would be a good alternative!
Cecil Self says
My partner can't do garlic, we use asafoetida for everything! It tastes really similar, but it isn't an allium, it's related to carrots. I eat garlic all the time when I'm not at home and I don't notice much difference in flavor.
Alana says
Very good in my veggie lasagna skillet meal! Can see where I could alter this slightly for a veganized provolone for vegan cheese steaks!
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Yes! That all sounds amazing!
Emily Mastronardi says
Amazing and so easy. Will definitely make again.
Ashley says
i love this recipe!! i have made it for the last two years. i do have a question though, after using this in the spinach dip recipe on your website it seems like the cheese goes grey in color after i bake it with the dip? is this normal? am i doing something wrong? is there a way to keep it a more white color? tia!!
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Hi Ashley - do you mean the spinach and artichoke dip? If so, it's a totally normal chemical reaction with artichokes as they react with high iron. This could be from a lot of spinach or a cast iron pan. You can try really squeezing out any liquid from the spinach or bake in another pan.
Madeline Files says
I was absolutely agog watching it go from liquid to the fabulously stretchy and cheesy end product. Feels like kitchen alchemy! It's delicious and the texture hits just right. Thank you!
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Yes! Absolute vegan magic!
Kay says
Anyone try freezing this after cooking?
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Yes it does freeze well! Thaw and warm up as needed.
Kay says
Thank you! 🙂
Sandra says
First of all: I've been making this recipe for years, and I still think its absolutely delicious. It's easy, with no weird ingredients (except tapioca starch I guess - though you can get that in the Asian supermarket!) In my opinion, it tastes better than the shredded vegan cheeses you can buy. At the very least, it is way healthier than those cheeses, who mostly consist of coconut oil.
Anyway, after using it for so long, I wanted to share two of my favourite hacks!
1. I always batch-make the liquid cheese mixture in my blender and then freeze it - in its liquid state - in various containers, e.g. ice tray cubes, small tupperware etc. That way, I always have some on hand, and depending on the recipe, I thaw only a handful of ice cubes. Then, I prepare them as intended by heating it up until it gets gooey.
2. Which brings me to my second hack - you can totally heat this up in the microwave instead of on the stove. It's what I normally do when I crave a cheese sandwich! Put about 1/3 cup of the liquid cheese mixture in a small microwave bowl and microwave it for 20 seconds. Stir, and if needed, microwave in 5 second intervals until your desired consistency. Mine is usually perfect after 30-35 seconds. Fair warning, I've never done this for larger portions (e.g. if I need enough cheese for pizza), but I'm guessing it would also work.
Thanks a ton for this awesome recipe!
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Very cool tips, thanks for sharing Sandra!
Bill says
Easy to make and my wife who is not vegan said it tastes like mozzarella. I put it on pizza but it didn’t seem to melt either freshly made or on the second pizza after being refrigerated.
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
Sounds like it was quite thick, but a little water should help get it into a melty state again.
Rosemary says
I’m surprised! It really works! Just needs a bit more salt, for me. But I can always add that later or with a particular recipe, like pizza or lasagna. Thanks for working on this recipe. I do have a question: When I strained the liquid prior to cooking, there were quite a lot of tiny bits. I put them all back in the liquid because I thought it would not thicken. Was this assessment incorrect? No matter - it’s great! Will do the silken tofu next!
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
We're so glad you enjoyed it! If desired, you can strain out those tiny bits through cheesecloth before you cook it to make it as smooth as possible.
Kay says
I read that as "pizza lasagna," sounds good to me!
Lainey says
this recipe is so yummy!! I was wondering if you could bake this mozzarella? I was wanting to bake it on top of Japanese curry rice and wasn’t sure if it would hold up/burn. thank you!
Jess @ IDTLC Support says
It should work just fine! It works great on vegan lasagnas and pasta bakes.
Gillian Barratt says
I used this on a baked aubergine parmigiana and it was excellent.