Vegan Mozzarella Recipe | How to make vegan mozzarella that melts!
Learn how to make stretchy vegan mozzarella cheese, the easy way! This tastes like real cheese, looks like real cheese and melts like real cheese! Plus, it’s budget-friendly and healthy!
Oh my, oh my!!! I am so excited to present you this AWESOME vegan mozzarella recipe! This vegan mozzarella looks like real cheese, tastes like cheese and it even melts as cheese does! What I like even more about it is that it’s super-easy to make! Really, SUPER EASY! It doesn’t take forever to make either and it is budget-friendly. 🙂
This vegan mozzarella balls recipe is my no. 1 vegan cheese experiment, part of my Best Vegan Cheese Recipes Challenge I launched a few weeks ago. I am so happy that I succeeded in making a really good vegan cheese recipe. I had to test it 4 times before getting the perfect texture and taste.
Vegan mozzarella | How to make the best vegan mozzarella recipe
I decided to use cashews as a base for this homemade vegan mozzarella recipe, because cashew milk has the “milkiest” taste, in my opinion. The result was beyond my expectations. This is the perfect vegan pizza cheese ever! Depending on how you shape it, it can also be named vegan burrata or vegan bocconcini.
If you have a high power blender, this cashew mozzarella cheese will be extra-smooth. I didn’t have a very good blender when I made this, so you may see a bit of “graininess” in the photos. Well, that didn’t bother me at all, but I’m sure it would have been even better if I could pulverize the ingredients with the help of a good blender.
The first thing I wanted to make with this melty vegan mozzarella cheese was a grilled cheese sandwich. It’s the simple things you miss… 🙂 IT WAS SO GOOD. As you can see from the picture above…it really melts and it’s gooey, stretchy…PERFECT!
I also made some vegan mozzarella balls and stored them in the fridge for later. You can then slice them and use them in salads, pizzas or sandwiches. This is a vegan cheese recipe that melts, so it will melt again in contact with heat. 🙂
I created two vegan mozzarella cheese recipes with different quantities and different textures, but the same taste. I did this because I kept receiving questions from my readers about how to make a stretchy cheese sauce, so I wanted to create a perfect melty cheese sauce and also shape these dairy-free mozzarella balls so you can store them in the fridge for later. If you want to create a cheesy sauce, you will need fewer ingredients, so it will be even cheaper to make. Of course, you can turn mozzarella balls back into a cheesy sauce again, but I thought separating the recipes would be better from an economic point of view.
I can’t wait to try some other vegan cheese recipes, such as vegan parmesan and vegan ricotta! 🙂
So, are you curious about how to make stretchy cheese – vegan version? See below the recipe for the best vegan substitute for mozzarella. 🙂
NOTE: Nutritional yeast is not brewers yeast! See here what nutritional yeast is!
How to make stretchy vegan mozzarella cheese
Ingredients
For vegan mozzarella balls:
- 250 g raw cashews , soaked overnight
- 400 ml hot water
- 6 Tbsps tapioca starch
- 4 Tbsps nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
For cheesy extra-sticky mozzarella sauce:
- 150 g raw cashews , soaked overnight
- 500 ml hot water
- 7 Tbsps tapioca starch
- 4 Tbsps nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- For vegan mozzarella balls:
- Put all ingredients in your food processor or blender. Blend well until it has the consistency of milk.
- Put a large saucepan over medium heat.
- Pour the “milk” in the pan.
- Start stirring continuously.
- After a few minutes the cheesy sauce with start to thicken. Cook it while continuously stirring for about 10-15 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let it sit for a few minutes.
- Fill a large bowl with ice cold water. Add 1 Tbsp of salt and dissolve it.
- Using an ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, start scooping small mozzarella balls from the composition.
- Put the balls in the water and let them cool for one minute. You can refine their shape using your hands too.
- Do this until you finish the composition. You can store the vegan mozzarella balls in the fridge for a couple of days.
- For cheesy, extra-sticky mozzarella sauce:
- Follow all the steps above, except the ones after “Remove from heat”.
- Use this sauce for pasta or any other recipe you want.
Notes
If you make this, please leave a review and rating if you liked this recipe! ★★★★★
This is a great recipe! I make it all the time. One question though, you say to cook it 10-15 minutes but mine balls up like a dough ball within a few minutes. Ive been stopping there, if I cook it longer, with it firm up more or will the starch start to break down?
Thank you, Jeff! 😀 It doesn’t break down, but I guess it may vary depending on the temperature. So if yours starts to form after just 15 minutes, it’s enough.
I made these this evening, as little vegan cheese balls to go in a pasta salad. The recipe really worked and the cheese balls were incredibly good! Even my pickiest eater liked them, and that’s rare!
I left out the nutritional yeast. Instead of soaking the cashews, I increased the water to 2 cups and then blended a little longer in a sturdy blender, plus then I added a tad more water to rinse out the blender.
I used a “small cookie scoop” to shape the balls and thought they were on the large side, so I ordered an even smaller (“size 100” – 1/2 tablespoon) cookie scoop to try making smaller cheese balls, because I know I will make this recipe over and over again in the future.
Yum! Thanks for this recipe!
Thank you, Valerie! 😀 I’m so happy you liked the recipe.
Hi
I thought I would share the results of my experiment with macadamia nuts instead of cashews and miso paste instead of nutrional yeast. I can’t have either so decided to swap those out. Also I halved the recepie as macadamias are quite expensive. It worked out quite well, apart from the balls didn’t stick so ended up in between the sauce and balls consistency, it tasted quite nice but a hint of macadamia taste which I think will go if I use a bit more miso and a small bit of Apple cider vinegar. Going to try that next time. I also reckon I might be able to get the ball consistency if I do the full recipe with the swaps. Will have to play around and experiment some more. Either way it was tasty will be trying to make a cheese toasty with it soon. Hope it helps for anyone looking for some substitutions.
Thank you for your tips!
HOLY (mozzarella) BALLS! I am sitting down taking a break from just making this cheese, I need the break bc I’m weak in the knees over how FANTASTIC this stuff is – I swear I licked the blender, the spoon, the spatula and my hands clean like a kid going after cake batter!! You were right – it is super easy, this is my first foray into making my own cheese and I couldn’t be happier or more excited. This is definitely going in my permanent recipes book…I hope some of this cheese makes it into the recipes it’s intended for lol but I think right now I’m taking another cue from you and making a grilled cheese sandwich. TYTYTYTYTYTYTYTYTY for this recipe – it’s definitely a game/life changer 💝
I’m SOOO glad you love it as much as I do!! And yes, I completely understand – every time I make it I eat it right from the blender in 10 seconds!
It’s also good for so many other recipes, hope you’ll try it again! <3
Is there anything the nutritional yeast can be substituted for or do you know of one that is not fortified? I’m not able to have folic acid which is in the Bragg’s nutritional yeast.
The one I use is not fortified, but it’s a Romanian brand. Unfortunately, it cannot be substituted, it is the one that gives the mozzarella a cheesy flavor. Hope you can find one that it is not fortified so you can try the recipe.
@Jaclyn, I don’t like the flavor of nutritional yeast but have found that a combination of white miso and lemon juice create a pleasant, cheesy flavor. about 2 tsp of miso and 2 tbsp of lemon juice seems to work well.
@Jaclyn, torula yeast is delish. I get it at Amazon.
Can this be made with cashew milk instead? My town is non vegan friendly and I am having difficulty finding the raw nuts.
I think it will work! You should give it a try. 🙂
Hi… can the balls be frozen?
I LOVE THEM
I never tried it. But I think they can be and they may melt again when heated.
Just finished making this. Had no tapioca flour so used cornflour. Made lots of mozzarella balls and am going to experiment with freezing some. They taste fab so will be spreading/ mashing some onto toast or spreading onto a cracker. It was so easy to make.
So happy you liked it! 😀
Have you tried this with cornstarch? Do you notice any difference in results?
It doesn’t work with cornstarch. Tapioca flour gives it a cheesy/melty texture.
Is that corn starch ?
Hi! Just made the balls and haven’t tried them on anything yet although the taste I had was really good. When you say they keep a couple of days, do they turn bad after? It does make quite a few and I’m the only one eating them at home. Thanks!
Hey! I have no idea, didn’t keep them longer. I usually eat them the same day! 🙂 I estimated that this would be the best timeframe but you can test and see if they last longer. 🙂
I made it before and kept it in my refrigerator for about a month and a half. It still tasted the same. I kept the balls in a mason jar in a salt water brine though.
Going to try this with cashews – I’ve made it with nut milk and added mesquite smoke powder and it makes a smoky cheese – almost more ‘cheesy’ in some ways.
First attempt at making vegan cheese and it went… Ok? It didn’t quite firm up as much as I’d hoped in the ball format and didn’t come across quite right texture wise on pizza. Hopefully with a few tweaks it’ll get there though! Any suggestions in either regard?
Hi, Josef! Maybe the measurements were a little off? Make sure you follow the exact recipe. It may look complicated at first but then you’ll get used to making it.
Tapioca starch is also called tapioca flour
Yup! 😀
Hello, does anyone have an idea on how long the mozzarella lasts??? Asking for a friend who would like to try their hand at this.
I made this tonight for pizza and it was delicious with a lovely texture! Will use the leftover cheese for grilled cheese tomorrow. Simply amazing and the best vegan cheese I have tried.
So glad you liked it, Laurie! 😀 Thanks!
How long do you leave the mozza balls in the water? Once they are firm how do you store them? In the water? In a container? How do you dry them off once they have hardened in the water?
Tasted so great! Im surprised at how well the shape stayed without using Agar Agar. Melted, browned and stretched with an open face cheese sandwich.
Hi, Marsha! When I make these they’re gone in just a few hours so I can’t tell you for sure how much they last in the fridge. You should store them in water, in an airtight container, otherwise they may get a dry crust on the outside. I don’t dry them because they’re like mozzarella balls which are usually stored in water, so it’s ok if they’re wet.
Hey! Never tried with cashew, but I make it often with a mix of soy milk + soy yogurt (both sugar free). the yogurt gives the fermented/acid cheesy flavor, and the soy milk turns the recipe a bit cheaper. 1 cup and 1/2 of soymilk plus 6 tbsp of soy yogurt should do the trick for your quantities.
also, around 3 tsp of carrageenan will turn it into a sliceable , firmer cheese.
try it 🙂
Great idea! Thank you, Bruno!
how is this budget friendly ? NON Organic cashews are 12$/lbs
where are you getting your nutts for cheap?
Hi, Shawn! Making your own vegan cheese at home is way cheaper than store-bought vegan cheese. Plus, where I live it costs about $9/kg.
So I make this way too often…I appreciate it but my workout schedule does not. I have not adjusted it until recently and I added hot paprika. It was so good, I ate all 2 cups worth in 4 hours. Not good. Better than good, thank you vibes sent for this recipe! Cheese is missed but this makes it not suck as much. Hee hee. Take care and positive vibes!
So glad you liked it! Great idea with hot paprika! 😀
Can I use Lactic Acid instead of lemon jus? and if so, how much?
I don’t think so. I’ve never used lactic acid in recipes. You can use just a tiny bit of vinegar instead, maybe 1 tsp ACV will do the trick.
Has anyone tried this recipe in a caprese salad?
Just did today it was a big hit!
Awesome! 😀
Thanks for the easy recipe! I would like to make it firmer and smoother, the later requiring a higher quality blender I sure 🙂 But, if I add more tapioca starch (available at Chinese food shops), will that make it firmer or more runny? If I add Agar Agar, (also known as “China Grass Powder” found in Indian spice shops), how much should I add?
Hope my info has been helpful to your fans and look forward to any tips you or your fans can give me.
You’re welcome! I’ve never used agar agar, but it will definitely help it get firmer. A few grams should work, but I don’t know the exact quantity. Will try it with agar agar and let you know! 🙂
I didn’t have cashews, so I substituted almond flour. Milder results, but still tasty. Had it on french bread pizza last night and it was great!
Hm…never thought about using almond flour. Cashews have a “milky” taste, unlike almonds which are a bit nuttier. Hope you’ll try this recipe with raw cashews too and see the difference. But glad you liked it this way too! 🙂
So I made this today… It sure does taste good even though I messed it up huge!
I ended up forgetting the step where it gets heated because I was so exited by how tasty the flavour is. I put it in a bread pan to try to get it to form into more of a brick, then put it in the freezer to harden. It was pretty goopy but nonetheless I put it into my attempt at eggplant parmesan. It gave this dish a nice, cheesy creamy edge.
Tapioca flour doesn’t get sticky unless it’s heated, so you may have ended up just with a slightly cheesy sauce. 😀 Hope you’ll try this again in the future! 😀
Dear Ruxandra,
What a great recipe! I made a vegan Parmigiana, and it tasted delicious! However, my mozzarella was definitely gooey, but not real stretchy. I think this was caused by not having a powerful blender. Could that be correct? Do you have that experience too? Thanks a lot for sharing your recipe!
Thank you, Marie! It may be due to the blender. Did you use the sauce recipe or the firm mozzarella recipe? For the sauce, it’s more gooey, for the firm mozzarella recipe, the texture is stretchy.
Hi,
Thx a lot for the recipe…
However, i need to follow a very strict diet …
So i am wondering if you think/ know:
1) If i can use for instance instead of tapioca also flax seeds or chia seeds or buckwheat or quinoa or some other seed ?
2) If you know it works also with other nuts, cause i may not eat cashew nuts.
And did you already tried it with other nuts ?
3) And the yeast , do you’ve any idea if i can use instead also some noble yeast flakes or baking soda ?
Thanks a lot ! Nele
Hi! Unfortunately, in order to make this recipe you have to use the exact ingredients. Tapioca cannot be replaced. You can try it with almonds, but the taste will not be the same. One of my readers tried it, liked it, but it definitely wasn’t the same as it is with cashews. About the yeast, this is inactive yeast – nutritional yeast. Don’t use brewers yeast, baking soda or anything else. Hope this helps. 🙂
Yummy recipe although mine turned out a bit soft. I’m going to try agar agar next time. Has anyone else tried it and if so what amount did you use?
Never used agar agar, but maybe someone else here can help you! 🙂
There is another person I follow who has made cheese in the past. She accidently put agar agar into one of her recipes and she’s been doing it ever since. It makes the cheese more firm.
If Ruxanda doesn’t mind … here is her youtube video for mozzarella. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_LoIMfQ4P8
I am going to make this for the first time. Don’t want to mess it up. When soaking the raw cashews overnight, do you use the hot water or do you just cover them with water and drain and then put them in the blender with the hot water?
Cold water is ok. 🙂 Yes. The next day I just drain and rinse them and put them in the blender. You need hot water when processing, because tapioca starch gets sticky only at high temperatures.
This recipe is amazing!!!!!!!
Thank you, Linda! <3
Wasn’t sure how to leave post so I’m just replying. I work at a dfgf school and just made these for pizza lunch today. I’m on instagram under janellemnop, they turned out beautiful. Didn’t look broken when I went to cook already was sauce like. How do I store leftovers? Will for sure be making more, can you freeze? Thanks so much! Janelle
So glad you liked these, Janelle! 😀 You can store them in salted water, in the fridge, for 2-3 days. I never tried freezing them but it should work! 🙂
This sounds like a great recipe…my daughter is eating vegan per her doctor. I am confused about what kind of cashews to use. Are they just plain old roasted cashews from grocery store???? Thanks
Use raw cashews only. 🙂 Roasted cashews will turn this bitter, too salty and make it a different color.
I’ve made this with roasted cashews and it still worked out well. I picked out the darker ones and throughly rinsed the salt off of the nuts. I also added a little bit of sugar to the brine
I made it many times tastes yummy , my daughter loves it , once I had tapioca flour instead of tapioca starch it did not turn good but we still used it . Thanks again for your delicious recipe
I’m going to try your recipe as I cant recall what recipe I used last time for mozzarella. I strongly encourage you and your readers to invest in a Vitamix, they can be purchased through QVC and the payment spread out over five months while still getting the awesome warranty. I’m very much on a budget and I took the leap two years ago with the intent of returning it if it didn’t wow me. It’s been worth every penny and will last a very long time. I can make your recipe without soaking the cashews and still have it come out nice and creamy! I make so much with it and it saves me time.
Yes, a powerful blender really makes a difference. I know own an Optimum blender which is just as good as Vitamix and the difference in texture is huge! It turned out extra creamy!
I made mozzarella balls yesterday, and then cut them up to stuff roasted pablano peppers for vegan chile rellenos, which I have been trying to perfect for years. The “cheese” filled 4 peppers, and it melted beautifully when they were cooked. When I used my fork to cut the first bite from the end of the pepper, before it even got to my mouth, I knew I had found the right filling. It was glossy and steaming, and it stretched! It really stretched! And the taste and mouth-feel were spot on. It had the perfect balance of salty and tart, and it was creamy, but a little firm and chewy. No strange tastes or texture at all, and the color was just little of a yellowish beige. Now I can’t wait to try it on pizza, lasagna (along with cashew/tofu ricotta), quesadillas, and all kinds of sandwiches! I used a food processor and processed the cashews alone until they were like butter, then I added the rest of the ingredients. Other than that, I followed the recipe to a T, and I couldn’t be happier with it! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!
What a great idea, Dianne! I love mozzarella Jalapeno balls but never tried them with this recipe. Will give it a try soon. Thanks for the idea! 😀 Also, I’m so glad you liked the recipe! Thanks!
Hi! I’ve made them twice, amazing! Just the second time I forgot the salt in the water and it turned in a big mess 🙁
Glad you liked it! 😀
Just made the mozzarella balls! I’m excited to have a cheap and simple cheese alternative that fits both vegan and paleo diets. And I can melt it on pizza?!
The texture is DIVINE! I just put them in the ice bath so hopefully they’ll firm up more in the fridge. I hope I’m able to grate mine.
My nutritional yeast is very fine so I reduced it by half a tablespoon- Next time I might reduce by a little more. It also needed about 50% more lemon juice and 25% more salt, but thankfully the lemon juice blended well even after heating and I can add salt to whatever I put it in or rub some on the outside. I want to soak them in olive oil but I’ll wait to see how they firm up. Next time it might be fun to add extra salt and a few drops of smoke seasoning to do a smoked mozza. Or coat them on black pepper! Or some basil added in! So may possibilities!
Thanks so much for this clever recipe!
So glad you liked the recipe, Shel! 😀 Great ideas for seasoning! 😀
I made both and prefer the sauce. It congealed nicely when refrigerated. I soaked the cashews and used a regular blender. Easy and way cheaper (and better tasting) than buying vegan cheeze. Actually, I think I might be a little addicted.
Tasted great, but the color was a little off, so I added a teaspoon of turmeric to the next batch. So pretty. Makes great cheeze toast.
Thank you, Kelly! 😀 Such a great idea with the turmeric! You can turn it into vegan cheddar. Don’t know what you mean by strange color, mine was milky white. Not perfectly white, like paper-white, but very light beige, just like in the photos.
So glad you liked it! 😀
Just made this according to your recipe, and I can hardly tell the difference to the mozzarella that I remember before becoming vegan! Really delicious, and great consistency! Will definitely be a recipe I use again and again! Thank you!
Thank you, Hannah! It makes me so happy to hear that you enjoyed it! Vegan cheeze ftw! 😀
We aren’t a vegan or even vegetarian family. My two grandsons have Autusm. They are severe, non-verbal. They don’t have dietary restrictions other than their own limited food choices. Basically carbs and melted (only) cheese. The flavor is surprisingly good. The color is off-putting, but unavoidable due to the yeast. I tried it in a grilled cheese. The ate around the cheese. I then made a pizza. It gets soft but doesn’t have ‘pull’. I took a knife and kind of spread it around, then sprinkled just the littlest bit of non-fat cheddar over the top. Stuck it under the broiler to brown it up some. They devoured it!! They even brought their plates back indicating that they wanted more. It won’t be a full on replacement…but its a heck of a start!! Its been murder trying to sneek anything healthy into their food…thanks for the recipe!! Btw… Only reason not 5 stars is the color…which again is unavoidable.
Hi Lorie! I do hope you used nutritional yeast, not some other type of yeast. Even though I emphasized this in the recipe, some people still used brewers yeast and that can change both the color and the taste. Glad you and your grandsons liked its taste, though! 😀 It’s not exactly like real mozzarella cheese, but I think it gets pretty close. 😀
I’m very excited to try this recipe! I’m not sure if it has already been mentioned in the comments, but in order to achieve a slightly more firm texture that will allow for better slicing, it might be worth it to try putting in a small amount of agar powder/flakes into the boiled mixture. I use agar in my cashew cheesecake recipes and it really helps to improve the texture and slicing ability with less chill time.
That’s such a great idea! I never used agar so far, but I’ve heard of it. 🙂 Let me know how it turns out!
My daughter has intolerance to gluten and dairy your recipe for vegan mozzarella seems very interesting I will try it and get back to you soon . Thank u so much for sharing your wonderful recipe
Thank you, Neelofar! Hope she’ll like it! 😀
Hi,
I had the same experience as Liza Shaw above. A few details as to what I did (maybe you’ll find the key to the mystery – if you don’t it may be my cashews).
I only used half the measures because I wanted to try both recipes separately at first.
I put in 2 sachets of Alsa baking powder (is this what you mean by nutritional yeast?), i.e. 11g×2.
My blender did the job very well. During cooking, I didn’t stir for 10-15 minutes after the first clumps appeared, because it became doughey quite quickly, so I thought leaving it on the heat for longer would bake it or burn it. I must have lost all liquid appearance after about 7-8 minutes.
After letting sit, I removed it from heat and scooped it into ice water. Since it tasted odd, I let it rest in the fridge for 1-2 hours and then… the Liza experience. It also tasted a bit fishy.
I hope you can tell me what I did wrong.
Thanks for your – visibly – awesome recipe!
Hi, Beri! Sorry to hear it didn’t work for you but you used the wrong ingredients. 🙂 Nutritional yeast is not baking powder! I mentioned in the post and also in some comments. Nutritional yeast is this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutritional_yeast If you use brewers yeast or anything else, it will not work. Hope you’ll try it again, with nutritional yeast this time. 🙂
I made these today! I tried it after I cooked it in the pan, and it was quite delicious. Very cheese-like. I just formed them into balls and put them in the fridge. I followed all of the directions. I only have a few questions. Are they supposed to be an off-white color? Will they be harder and sliceable after being in the fridge for a few hours? They weren’t sliceable before I put them in the fridge, and they had an off-white color unlike the pictures – I assume it’s because of the nutritional yeast flakes. I just want to make sure I didn’t do anything wrong here. Thank you for your time! 🙂
So glad you liked it, Cristy! 😀 It is not paper-white, it has a slightly yellowish tone, but in the right light (like in the photos) you can’t notice that. Yes, nutritional yeast is the ingredient that slightly changes its color. It is definitely sliceable, but leave it in the fridge to harden.
I don’t like cashews they upset my tummy, how about almonds or walnuts or some other nut? Has anyone tried to substitute the nut?
Thanks!
Hi, Marie! 🙂 I haven’t tried these with other nuts. I guess you could try using peeled almonds. Don’t use almonds with the peels on because it will look weird. Let me know how it goes!
For my second try, I’ve just attempted it with almonds, using only half a measure of each ingredient, in case it wouldn’t work well. The mix didn’t turn into a milk, more like a thick cream and my blender ended up blending thin air at the end because the mixture was too thick to flow down.
I soaked 250g of almonds, so they probably swelled to 300g and used roughly half.
The yeast I used reads “malted yeast” on the packaging. Does this sound OK? It says it’s used in salads, etc.
The texture remained creamy in the saucepan, didn’t get really firm and it has a strong smell of almonds.
By the taste of it, I feel more like turning them into something sweet, adding a lot of sugar, than using it as a spread, since it might prove to be a bit heavy on the stomach.
Beri, noooo! :)) No malted yeast, brewers yeast etc. just NUTRITIONAL YEAST! 🙂 Pretty please everybody, stop using other types of yeast. I can just imagine the horrible taste. I even emphasized the note with red in the recipe. Only nutritional yeast MUST be used. No replacements. 🙂
Did you use peeled almonds? I think they’re better, color-wise. Cashews have a milkier taste, that’s why they’re the best option. If you want to use almonds again, I suggest you change the recipe a little bit and maybe add some spices, just to cover the strong almond taste. Maybe some oregano? 🙂
According to the French Wikipedia page, malted yeast is a kind of nutritional yeast. It comes in flakes.
I did use peeled almonds but I think I’ll stick to cashews from now on. However, these are quite sweet and I am not sure I can get something satisfactory.
Yes. Cashews are the best for this. 🙂 Just add a little bit more salt if you find cashews too sweet. Make sure they’re raw too.
Hi! This recipe looks amazing, and I am gonna try it next time I make pizza! One question I have is if I leave it in the fridge long enough will i be able to shred it like dairy mozzarella cheese? I would normally place it on my pizza in slices, but I like to switch it up sometimes with shredded cheese instead. Thanks!
Thanks, Cas! 😀 It shreds, but it has a slightly softer texture than real mozzarella, so it may be a little more difficult.
I just bought all ingredients on Amazon and can’t wait to try this! I am a long time vegetarian and newly vegan missing cheese. I made a cashew sauce before and love the flavor. This is exactly what I was looking for!! Thank you!
Hi Danielle! Let me know how it turns out! 😀
Hey, this looks really nice but can i replace the tapioca flour with another flour?:) i cant find tapioca flour or starch anywhere here where i live. Thank you:)
Hi, Carolin! 🙂 Unfortunately, no. Tapioca starch is what gives it a sticky, melty texture. You could just buy tapioca pearls and grind them until they turn into flour. Use that instead.
In answer to Liza Shaw who said hers didn’t taste good : is it possible that she used Brewers Yeast instead of Nutritional Yeast?
As for sodium : salt is sour. Lemon juice is sour. Nutritional yeast is also quite salty tasting. So I would add a 1/2 tsp of each extra i/o the salt.
Thank you for a grea recipe. I couldn’t find Tapioca flour, so I bought Tap.balls & put them put it in my hi-speed blender & ground it down myself. Also, roasted cashews work very well.
Oh.. I hope Liza didn’t use Brewers Yeast. The taste would be terrible! Also, you should check the cashews so they’re not rancid. This changes the taste as well. I did this mistake once when I made a raw cake.. bleah.
Great idea with the tapioca balls! If you have a high speed blender you can turn them into flour, in no time! 😀 Glad you liked it! 🙂
Hello, I tried this recipe tonight and I can’t figure out what went wrong. I followed the recipe to the letter and the results looked exactly like the pictures (except not as grainy because I used a vitamix), yet the flavor and texture were simply inedible. The texture was slimy and resembled something closer to raw Pizza dough than cheese. Or silly putty. That’s what it was like! Ughhhh… and the taste? Y U C K ! ! The only thing I can compare it to would be the way I can imagine a Mildewed gym sock would taste. It was salty but the yeast gave it that funky sourness that didn’t taste ANYTHING like cheese but more like someone’s stinky foot. So either I did something terribly wrong here, or perhaps it’s been to recently that I had the real stretchy, salty, delicious genuine article: CHEESE.
I didn’t expect this to really taste like it (even though tons of comments here claim that it tastes exactly like it), but I thought maybe it would have a nutty flavor. Not even a little. What a waste of 2 cups of raw cashews!!!
Hi Liza! Maybe your cashews were too old? I can’t imagine why it would taste bad. So many people have tried my recipe and not one complained about its taste. The taste is actually pretty amazing! 🙂 I’ve tried this recipe so many times so far and it turned out perfect every time.
This just rocked my world! Absolutely amazing! Thank you! Have already made pizza, caper se, grilled cheese! I am excited to try more of your recipes, tho this will be hard to top!
Awesome! 😀 I’m so happy to hear that you liked it! 😀 Thank you!
Omg! This is amazing! I’m newly vegan and really miss cheese ? Made cashew cheese before but not moxarella and this is just perfect! Can’t WAIT to try it on pizza. Thanx Ruxandra xxx
Thank you, Alana! 😀 You should try it on pasta as well. It’s delicious! 😀
i wonder if this could be frozen and then shredded?
I tried to freeze it but then sliced it, not shred it. It was perfect. 🙂
Just made it but by mistake I wanted the mozzarella balls but did 7 tbs tapioca fl instead of 6. In refrigerator now. I also would like to use less salt . I think I did cut it back to 1/2 tsp. My husband I used to love the real no or low salt mozzarella .
Thanks for the recipe
Hi Linda. I don’t think that would be a problem. Let me know how it turned out! 🙂
This is a great recipe. It actually tastes good. I’d like to make a sliceable mozzerella for a caprese salad. Would adding more tapioca flour work, or would that just mess up the taste?
Hi Diane! Thank you! You use the same ingredients. Once it hardens and cools down, you can easily slice it. See the instructions for mozzarella balls in the recipe. When the mozzarella sauce is warm, all you have to do is shape the balls and place them in ice cold water. It instantly hardens and you end up with perfect little mozzarella balls. 🙂
Does it have to be raw cashews? I can’t seem to find anything but roasted near me.
I don’t know how roasted cashews will taste in this. Raw cashews have a more subtle, “milky” taste.
Hi Ruxanda, your recipes are fun! I’ve made many versions of vegan mozzarella, and your recipe is really great. It only takes 5-7 minutes of cooking and stirring before my cheese is thick and creamy. After letting it sit a bit, I scooped it into balls and dropped it in ice water – perfect. I have also been able to freeze these ‘cheese’ balls and they thaw really well!
Thank you so much, Lauren! It makes me so happy to hear that my recipes are appreciated. 🙂 It’s great to hear they can be frozen as well. This way we can make them in larger batches and have vegan cheese for a whole month! 🙂
I made it today and I’m surprised how delicious it is. I made mozzarela balls, followed the recipe (specialy quantities) and everything went right. I think it is important to mantain the right temperature, not too high.
I will repeat it for sure 🙂 Thanks for the recipe.
Hi, Natasha! So glad you liked it! 😀 Yes, medium-low should be ok. It can burn on the bottom if the temp is too high. 😀
I made mozzarela balls a few minutes ago for the first time and I’m surprised how delicious they are. I followed the recipe and everything went righr. I think it is very important to mantain the right temperature, not too high.
I will repeat it again. Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
Thanks for the tip! I’m so glad you liked it. 😀
Been looking for a moxarella recipe that does not require garlic powder and yours is just awesome! Also, I cooked it for just about 7 minutes and it still turned out the amazing. Thank you!
Hi, Liz! Thank you! So glad you liked it! 😀
Great Recipe, thank you! For those who like a more flavoured ‘cheese’ add 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp garlic granules, 1 tsp Cajun seasoning and 1 tbs apple cider vinegar instead of lemon juice.
Hi Lalla! Thank you! So happy you like it! That’s a great tip! I will have to look for Cajun seasoning in the stores. Never seen it before here, but it sounds good. 😀
Maybe I’m just texturally sensitive but mine turned into a big blob of goop. Mine wasn’t creamy like yours in your video – it tightened up almost immediately, basically the consistency of softer silly putty. Is this right?
Oh 🙁 No! It should be creamy and sticky when it’s hot. After it cools it hardens and you can make mozarella balls. I made this recipe so many times now. Are you sure you used the exact measurements? In any case, maybe add a little bit more water when this happens.
I just want to say that I used it as cheese on pizza and for the first time I can say that i am TOTALLY impressed with this substitute. It worked beautifully: good taste, texture and look. Thank you.
So glad you like it, Heather! I will try to make a vegan cheddar cheese too. 😀
This recipe is amazing 🙂
Glad you like it, Anna!
Can this recipe be frozen?
Never tried it, Ticia. If you’ll try to freeze it let me know if it works. I would really appreciate it! Thanks!
Just made this cheese. Have been vegan for three years and always afraid to try cheese. This recipe is easy to follow and easy to make. Didn’t need 10 minutes was done in 8.
Very tasty, looking forward to my first grilled cheese sandwich and making pizza tomorrow.
Thank you for sharing
Hi, Rae! Glad you liked it! 😀 It awesome in cheese sandwiches!
How mich does this recipie yeild? I need to make about 10 pizzas for hungry college. Students. I’m just wondering how much id need tk make.
This makes between 15-20 mozzarella balls. It should be enough for 10 pizzas. 🙂
Have you tried this in a pizza recipe?
Yes! Multiple times. It’s great! 🙂
Hello! I wanted to try this, can I put them in the freezer?
Never tried it so I can’t tell you how they will be. But you can try 🙂
I think u can also use arrowroot powder
Will try! 🙂
Did you (or anyone) try this with arrowroot? I’ve never made vegan cheese and only have arrowroot, but don’t want to mess it up by substituting!
Hi Lisa! I’ve never used it. Tapioca gives it that stretchy/melty texture. I don’t know if arrowroot will be the same.
This recipe worked fabulously. Do you store the mozzarella balls in the water as well?
Thanks!
Glad you liked it! 🙂 You can store them both in water or in dry containers. If you want to keep them longer in the fridge you should store them in salty water.
These look wonderful. Would it work if I reduce or eliminate the salt? Is there something I could replace it with? I’m on a no / low sodium diet.
They have to be a little bit salty or else they will be tasteless. I think there are salt replacers you can buy. I’m not familiar with them but I heard they’re ok for low sodium diets.
Hi! Do you think this would work well to use for breaded mozzerella sticks?
Thank you!
Sure! That’s a great idea! 🙂
This looks great! 😀 I haven’t actually seen tapioca starch in the shops over here though – could I use cornstarch (I might even have potato starch for some odd reason)? Can’t wait to impress the family with a “real” pizza effort or something similar.
Hi Margaux! Thanks! Tapioca starch is the same with tapioca flour. Maybe you’ll find it by that name. I haven’t tried it with another starch, but from my experience cornstarch will make it thick but not sticky. I think potato starch will do the same. I’ve heard about agar agar that it could be used for vegan cheeses as well. Maybe if you combine agar agar with cornstarch…? I don’t know, but I may experiment it soon. 🙂