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! 💕
Alannah says
Can you bake this? I want to make a lasagna by the I don't know if I should put on the cheese on before or after I bake it.
Sam Turnbull says
Yes absolutely, prepare the cheese then spread onto your lasagna and bake away!
Kayla says
Just made this cheese as a topping for vegan meatball subs.......... phenomenal. My boyfriend said "this cheese is SO gooey, how did you do it???" Thank you so much for this recipe!
Sam Turnbull says
Boom! Can't get a much better review than that!! So happy you and your boyfriend loved it Kayla!! 🙂
celeste says
I want to use this in an aubergine and tomato sauce bake - do I add it straight from the blender and skip the last stage, or cook it in the pan and then add it in between my aubergine layers? I want it to be gooey when I take it out of the oven!
Sam Turnbull says
Oooo sounds delish! Cook the cheese first then use it. You might want to add a bit more water to the cheese to make it a bit easier to spread. It will come out fabulously gooey! Enjoy!
Patty says
Hi Sam! Can I use potato starch instead of tapioca starch? What is the difference?
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Patty, if you read the post or recipe, it explains that any other starch will not get the same results.
Virginia Wiemken says
Can I put regular tapioca in my Vitamix and make tapioca flour?
Sam Turnbull says
Yes, you can!
Karissa says
Oh my gosh. This is AMAZING. I could eat it by the spoonful.
Sam Turnbull says
Woohoo! So happy to hear that 🙂
Dana Lasswell says
Ugh...our football team, the Seattle Seahawks, JUST got knocked out of the playoffs. Time for Games Night and Sam's artichoke dip...with a spoon!!!! 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Haha! Well at least the artichoke dip is enjoyed!
Farah Yasmina says
Waaaaaah this is AMAZING!!!! For anyone wondering: I made this with arrowroot flou rinstead of tapioca and the result was magnificent!! Maybe not as crazily stretchy as with tapioca, but the gooey texture is certainly there and it does stretch a bit.
Delicious. Easy, Healthy, thank you 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Woohoo! So happy you loved it Farah 🙂
Jess says
Thanks for sharing. I made this with corn flour (because I didn't have any tapioca) for an eggplant lasagna and it turned out amazing! https://www.instagram.com/p/BPA4NEKhi1U/
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! So happy you loved it 🙂
Christina Bauer says
I was hoping to find someone who tried this with corn flour. That's all I have at home, so I'll give it a shot!!!
Sam Turnbull says
Corn flour would make a cheese like sauce, but only tapioca starch will give it that stretchiness.
Polly says
My children wanted Rotel dip on New Years Day. I did not want to buy one more block of Velveeta! I'm done with junk/fake food. So I made your "cheese" and added a can of Rotel tomatoes.
THEY LOVED IT!
In between bites, my daughter said the taste was different. My son just inhaled it. He loves any kind of nacho cheese.
They aren't so keen with it on pizza. We'll have to work on that one.
Thanks so much!
Sam Turnbull says
Hahaha, that's awesome! So happy everyone loved it, so much healthier for them too. You might be interested in next trying my Vegan Nacho Cheese recipe. Enjoy!
Nathan says
Can this be cooked entirely in a Vitamix? You don't say how long to blend it all so I wonder if it can just stay in the Vitamix and get cooked that way.
Sam Turnbull says
You blend it until it is completely smooth. My guess is that it wouldn't work to get cooked in the Vitamix, but you are more than welcome to try!
Maria says
I just made it!!! Soo good! I put 2 tbsp of agar flakes. First I activate the agar and then I mixed with the other ingredients. Looks more stretchy than your pics though. Let's see how it sets. The taste is sooo good!
A big thank you very much! !!
Maria
Sam Turnbull says
Yay! Glad you love it! Yes, agar will definitely change the texture. Let us know how it sets and re-melts for you! Enjoy 🙂
Trevor Gillian Doge says
Hey can I use macadamia nuts instead? I don't like chashews
Sam Turnbull says
Yes you can! You will likely have to soak or boil them for longer as they don't soften as quickly. Enjoy!
fran says
Hi! Is there a way to store this cheese as a solid? All the pictures only show it melted, thanks!
Sam Turnbull says
Hi fran,
The cheese will always stay in a melty form, think of it as more of a melty gooey sauce. 🙂
fran says
Thanks for responding! I'm thinking using this recipe for a vegan cheese fondue? any thoughts or ideas? Maybe add some white wine to make it a little more tart and fondue like? Thanks:)
Sam Turnbull says
I think that would be delish! Traditionally kirsch is used in fondue (which is a clear cherry brandy), so that would definitely be the right flavour. The cheese used in fondue is also a bit tangier than mozzarella, so maybe upping the apple cider vinegar and garlic powder a bit might help. You can add the flavours in at the end so that you can taste test, it just takes more stirring to incorporate. Enjoy!
Wayne says
could you freeze it in wax paper or something so you could then grate it to spread it around a pizza or something? or how do you best put it on a large surface area?
Sam Turnbull says
Some people have frozen and grated it. When I tried it, I found that it melts almost instantly when grated so you would want to grate it directly onto the pizza. Personally, I liked just spreading it out on the pizza best, but yes, it can be done!
Sarah says
Hi there I'm just wondering how long this will stay good for in the fridge?
Sam Turnbull says
I would say about a week. Follow the directions to reheat it. Enjoy 🙂
Maureen Cram says
Made this and used some of it for black bean quesadillas. Red, yellow and green peppers sauteed in a little olive oil, add in tablespoon of water and teaspoon of tomato powder and cook a bit, then a can of drained black beans... spread the cheese all over the wrap and the bean mix on half. heat in un-oiled pan until nice and crispy! Some vegan sour cream and salsa... great supper. thanks again for the recipe. Using the rest of the double recipe for the spinach artichoke dip today :).
Sam Turnbull says
Woot! So happy you love it Maureen. You could also try my Black Bean and Corn Quesadillas if you like. 🙂
Monique Amar says
OMG. I never leave comments on recipes, but this deserves it. SO EASY, TURNED OUT PERFECTLY. I've never ever had such a realistic vegan cheese texture!! Will make this again, adding some cajun spice 🙂
Sam Turnbull says
Haha, well I'm super flattered that you decided to leave a comment Monique! Feel free to spice the cheese up as you desire, now that you have the basic recipe you can take it anywhere you like! You might also like my Nacho Cheese recipe. 🙂
Me says
Can i put these into jalapenos and bake them to make jalapeno poppers?
Sam Turnbull says
Sure!
sarah says
I used 3 tablespoons of potato starch (that was all I had) and added a teaspoon of agar agar.
I got excellent results (looks just like in the picture)
Thanks!!
Sam Turnbull says
That's awesome!! So happy it worked out for you Sarah 🙂
Josh says
I just made this and it tasted very good, but the texture was a little slimy. Followed recipe exactly minus lemon juice for the apple cider vinegar. I tried adding water to it, but it didn't seem to help the texture. In fact it may have made it worse. But if I use less water the whole things sticks together too much.
Any ideas to get the texture less slimy?
Sam Turnbull says
Hmmm... I'm not sure what happened here. I find it gets slimy when I tried using alternative milks instead of raw cashews... perhaps the cashews you used were a little different than the ones I have used? Not sure really. Wish I could be more helpful!
Aurora Brenes says
Hi!! Can I use a garlic clove instead of garlic powder?
I already tried it before and its delicious btw but just wondering if I can use the garlic without changing the consistency?
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Aurora,
Yes, it will totally work, but because the cheese only cooks for about 5 minutes, there might be a raw garlic taste. If you're into that, go for it!
Marie says
Have you ever swapped arrowroot for the tapioca?
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Marie, arrowroot will make it more of cheese like sauce, only tapioca will give it that stretchy cheesy quality. Hope that helps!