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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.

How to make stretchy vegan mozzarella cheese recipe melt

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.

vegan grilled cheese sandwiches

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 recipe
vegan mozzarella cheese Branza mozzarella vegana

How to make stretchy vegan mozzarella cheese

Gourmandelle.com
How to make stretchy vegan mozzarella cheese | Tastes like cheese, looks like cheese and melts like real cheese! Plus, it’s budget-friendly and healthy!
4.78 from 31 votes
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Cheese
Cuisine Italian
Servings 6
Calories 276 kcal

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

Recipe inspired by Somer McCowan’s Fresh Moxarella Cheese.

Nutrition

Calories: 276kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 10gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gSodium: 393mgPotassium: 379mgFiber: 3gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 0.1IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 16mgIron: 3mg
Keyword cashews, tapioca, vegan cheese
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stretchy vegan mozzarella cheese recipe

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Recipe Rating




Jeff

Tuesday 2nd of August 2022

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?

Ruxandra

Monday 11th of March 2024

Thank you, Jeff! :D 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.

Valerie

Friday 15th of April 2022

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!

Ruxandra

Thursday 11th of August 2022

Thank you, Valerie! :D I'm so happy you liked the recipe.

Siddhi

Wednesday 9th of September 2020

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.

Ruxandra

Friday 12th of February 2021

Thank you for your tips!

Pamela

Monday 25th of February 2019

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 💝

Ruxandra Micu

Sunday 21st of April 2019

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

Jaclyn

Monday 31st of December 2018

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.

Lori

Tuesday 23rd of May 2023

@Jaclyn, torula yeast is delish. I get it at Amazon.

Renae Singletary

Sunday 13th of June 2021

@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.

Ruxandra Micu

Tuesday 22nd of January 2019

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.