This Vegan Mozzarella Cheese is creamy, plus it slices, shreds, and melts!
It takes only a few minutes and a blender to make this dairy-free mozzarella - no actual cooking involved! Everyone loves this amazing vegan cheese. You simply must try it!
Melty-stretchy gooey mozzarella cheese is something that I think all of us vegans dream of. Except now you don't have to just dream about it!
You can make it in your kitchen in about 5 minutes with just a handful of ingredients!
This Vegan Mozzarella Cheese...
- Is deliciously creamy
- Slices
- Shreds
- Melts - this is an amazing vegan cheese for pizza
- Is quick to make
- Healthy, thanks to a couple of nutrient-loaded ingredients, such as cashews and nutritional yeast flakes
I am excited for your try this stuff!
Shred this mozzarella and use it in my vegan manicotti or vegan stuffed shells stuffing, add it to pizza, serve it as part of a vegan charcuterie board, or simply snack on it! It's also amazing shredded on top of vegan stuffed Portobello mushrooms before baking, so it gets nice and melty.
What does Vegan Mozzarella taste like?
This Vegan Mozzarella is very mild and neutral flavored. It is rich and creamy, and has bit of that satisfying cheesy 'chew'.
I think it tastes a lot like string cheese actually.
It makes the perfect vegan pizza cheese, and I truly believe it is the best vegan mozzarella recipe.
What is Vegan Mozzarella made of?
- Refined Coconut Oil - Please don't miss the word refined. It doesn't taste like coconut but it still turns solid at cooler temps and just has that wonderful richness.
- Tapioca Flour This helps solidify the cheese, and also adds a 'stretchiness' to the texture.
- Kappa Carrageenan - This ingredient is what makes the cheese able to go from liquid to solid and back to melted state. It's a wonder ingredient and not widely sold. (find it on Amazon.
- Raw cashew pieces - These make the cheese creamy in texture and add lots magnesium, potassium, iron, and healthy fats to this vegan cheese
- Nutritional yeast flakes - Nutritional yeast is loaded with nutrients like niacin, Vitamins B1, B2, B6, B9, and B12, and it gives vegan cheese a wonderful realistic cheesy flavor
The one challenge of making this cheese is that it takes a few unusual ingredients that not everyone has on hand. But please believe me, it's SO worth it! (See all the rest of the ingredients in the photo below!)
How to make Vegan Mozzarella:
Assemble all your ingredients (Photo 1). Rinse Cashews under hot running water for several minutes. (Photo 2) Put all ingredients in the blender except for the water. (Photo 3)
Carefully! Add HOT (just boiled!) water to blender and blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides of blender with spatula once if needed. The water must be JUST BOILED. I mean, HOT! (Photo 4)
Pour immediately into heat-safe dish (this will be your mold - no need to oil the mold) and place in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight. (Photo 5)
Slice, grate and enjoy!
Expert cooking tip for making cashew cheese:
Don't skip rinsing the cashews! (If you don't want run water over them for several minutes, soak them in super hot water for about 5 minutes and then rinse again.) This step really helps to decrease the 'cashew' flavor in the recipe, while still using the wonderful creaminess of the cashew!
What kind of mold to use to make vegan mozzarella?
Any small heat-safe container will do, but I like making mozzarella into a round shape so it resembles a mozzarella bowl. The 2-cup container from this set of Pyrex containers is perfect!
How long does vegan mozzarella last in the fridge?
This cheese will last about 4-5 days in the refrigerator... if it makes it that long. 😉
Can you freeze Vegan Mozzarella?
Sure! It does get a little softer in texture after thawing, but if you think you can't eat it all, by all means freeze it! (Most people have trouble making it last that long though! Check out the comments below! )
Does Vegan Mozzarella Melt?
Yes! This vegan mozzarella does melt at higher temps, so if you're baking a pizza you're in for a melty treat! It also works great melted in quesadillas, shredded over lasagna, and breaded and fried as vegan mozzarella sticks!!
Can you use Agar powder in place of the Kappa Carrageenan?
The short answer is yes. Double the amount recommended in the recipe for Kappa Carrageenan and replace with Agar Powder. Make sure to use Agar Powder, not Agar Flakes.
The long answer is also yes, but it won't have quite as firm a texture and may not be quite as melty. Which is still perfectly fine for many uses!
What I would NOT recommend substituting:
Don't replace the lemon juice with Lactic Acid. For some reason, the quick blending process used here does not work well with this substitution and your cheese may not set properly.
For a slightly drier cheese:
After your cheese block has hardened, you can wrap first in a dry paper towel, and then tightly in plastic wrap. This will remove any excess moisture.
For a softer cheese:
Decrease Kappa Carrageenan amount to 1 tbsp. This texture is ideal for making Mozzarella Balls.
Whew, reading about the ingredients is SO much harder than actually making this, I promise. I cannot wait for you to try this so you too, can successfully make and enjoy yummy, healthy, Real Vegan Mozzarella Cheese!!!
Other recipes you will love:
- Vegan nacho cheese
- Vegan feta cheese
- Best vegan egg salad
- Easy vegan buttermilk biscuits
- Vegan smoked Gouda cheese
- Vegan pepper Jack cheese
- Vegan cream cheese
- Vegan herbed cheese
- See my web story for 10 vegan cheese to try!
If you’ve tried this Vegan Mozzarella Cheese recipe or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I LOVE hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious food!!!
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Recipe
Real Vegan Mozzarella Cheese
Ingredients
- ½ cup Raw cashew pieces, Rinsed under hot water for several minutes
- ¼ cup Refined coconut oil
- ¼ cup Tapioca flour
- 1 tablespoon Nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 ½ tablespoon Kappa carrageenan
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 1 ¼-½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 ½ cup Boiling water
Special equipment
Instructions
- Select a heat-safe preferably glass dish that can hold approx 3C and set aside. (This is your cheese mold.)
- Rinse cashews under HOT water for several minutes.
- Put your water in a small pot on the stove to boil.
- Add all ingredients (except the water!) to the blender. Add the cashews first and then everything else on top of the cashews.
- Carefully add (so you don't burn yourself!!!) the boiling hot water into your blender. Put the blender lid on! And blend immediately until completely smooth.
- Stop blending once if need be to quickly scrape sides of blender and resume blending right after.
- Immediately transfer your cheese to your chosen dish/mold as it will start to solidify quickly as it cools.
- Place in refrigerator to chill. No need to cover yet.
- After 2-3 hours or when fully chilled, remove cheese block from dish/mold and wrap in paper towels and then tightly plastic wrap. The flavor gets better over a day or two but it’s great as soon as it’s hardened, too. Yeay! You are officially a cheese-maker!
Justina M.
Do you use raw cashews for this?
Rebecca
Yes. Raw cashews is right!
Carla
Is there a substitute for the oil that would work? We try to remove oil from recipes if possible. Thank you for this recipe. I can not wait to try it.
Rebecca
This recipe really doesn't work very well without the oil. As you probably know, Coconut oil firms at cooler temperatures which helps create the firmness for this cheese. I do have a nacho cheese recipe that is fabulous and you can leave out the vegan butter in that recipe with no problem! https://www.veganblueberry.com/vegan-nacho-cheese/
Phemonoe
I made this last night and it is amazing! It's genuinely the best vegan cheese I've ever had, and I breathed a huge sigh of relief eating my pizza. I'm going to use this with mac and cheese (with less kappa carrageenan). Now that I know this flavor and texture is possible, I'm dumbfounded about all of the crummy vegan cheeses I've been served at restaurants. Thank you so much for this recipe!!!
Rebecca
Thanks so much for your comment and so glad you loved the cheese! It is wonderful to be able to make yummy stuff at home! Be sure and try the pepper jack recipe and smoked gouda as well...two of our family faves!
RR
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I am about to make it but don’t have lemon juice on hand. Would juice from an orange (real orange juice) or apple cider vinegar be ok as a substitute?
Rebecca
Thanks for the question! Apple cider vinegar would be an ok substitute!
Lars
Hello from Norway, we have just become vegan and I have tried a few mozzarella recepies.
This is by far one of the best in taste and texture.
It works well to put all inn a caserole and heat up until it tickens.
Thank you for sharing!
Rebecca
Thanks so much for your comment! So glad that you are enjoying the recipe! Love hearing from all my readers and it's nice to know that you can get all the ingredients where you are located! Happy New Year!
rosa
this Recipe is the best recipe for mozzarella I've ever tried. just like everyone is saying amazing and delicious
I may have missed it, but how long does this stay in the fridge? thanks again great recipe!
rosa
Rebecca
Thanks so much for your comment and question! So glad you love the recipe! I usually say it lasts covered in the refrigerator about 5 days. You can push the border on that but just keep a watchful eye on it!
Kae
Ah, I get it now! It needs to be blending nonstop or else it will split. That makes sense, emulsification. Thank you! Fingers crossed for me. ?
Rebecca
Hope all goes well for you! Do let us know!
Rose
Do you need a high powered blender? Can I use an immersion blender (800w)? Thank for sharing. Super excited about trying it!
Rebecca
A high powered blender is not necessary. Plenty of readers and friends have made it with different blenders. I don't recommend the bullet style and I wouldn't recommend an immersion blender tho it may work. Make sure to soak your cashews to make blending easier! Have fun!
Kae
Hi, I just got my kappa and excited to try this; a bit worried with the water though as my blender might not be able to handle hot liquids. I was wondering if I could just blend it all together in room temp water and then heat it stove top?
Rebecca
You can blend at room temperature and cook on the stovetop until thickened and then chill. However, sometimes the mixture can 'split' or separate a bit so it is a bit trickier. Most blenders seem to be able to accommodate the just boiled water, however I wouldn't recommend it with a bullet style blender. Hope that helps!
Amy Marshall
This is a miracle cheese! My family is ecstatic to finally find a cheese that tastes delicious, melts, and is so easy to make! I reduced the kappa carrageenan to 1tbsp so it would melt better on top of a pizza, but I like the hardness of the original recipe for most other applications:) Thank you!
Rebecca
So glad your family loves this recipe too! Sounds like you have all the adjustments for melty-ness vs. firmness all figured out! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment!