Stringy, melty vegan “mozzarella cheese” made with 7 ingredients and simple methods! The perfect cheese for pastas, pizza, salads, and more!

PREP TIME1 hour 15 minutes

COOK TIME10 minutes

TOTAL TIME1 hour 25 minutes

Servings10 (2-Tbsp servings)

CourseCheese Alternative

CuisineGluten-Free, Vegan

Freezer Friendly1 month

Does it keep?1 Week

Ingredients

  • 1 cup raw cashews
  • 1/4 cup plain unsweetened coconut yogurt* (or store-bought)
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened plain almond or rice milk
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt (plus more to taste)
  • 2 – 2 1/2 Tbsp nutritional yeast (for cheesiness)
  • 4 Tbsp tapioca starch (for stretchiness)

Instructions

  • Soak cashews in very hot water for 1 hour or overnight or at least 6 hours in cool water. Drain thoroughly.
  • Add cashews to a high-speed blender, along with coconut yogurt (see notes for substitutions), lemon juice, almond or rice milk, salt, nutritional yeast, and tapioca starch, and blend on high until creamy and smooth, scraping down sides as needed.
  • Taste and adjust flavor as needed, adding more nutritional yeast for cheesiness, salt for saltiness, lemon juice for acidity, or coconut yogurt for more creaminess or tang. The texture should be creamy, smooth, and pourable.
  • Transfer to a small saucepan or skillet, heat over medium-low heat, and begin whisking. It should start to bubble and thicken and look a little clumpy – this is OK. Keep whisking and the mixture will come together in a ball-like shape within 4-5 minutes. Lower heat if cooking too quickly. It’s also normal for the cheese to stick to the bottom of the pan a little. Don’t panic.
  • Lower heat to the lowest setting and switch to a wooden mixing spoon. Continue stirring until a loose “ball” is formed (see photo). Then transfer to a small mixing bowl.
  • At this point, it’s cheese that’s ready to be used! I prefer covering, letting it cool in the refrigerator, and then scooping into 1 Tbsp amounts for “curds” or 3 Tbsp amounts for “mozzarella-like balls.”
  • Optional: Make a salt water brine by adding 1 1/2 Tbsp sea salt to 2 cups (480 ml) hot water and stirring to dissolve. Then add plenty of ice to chill. Add your mozzarella balls or curds to the bath to add a bit more salty flavor. However, I found that this caused the cheese to take on more liquid and become too moist, so I’d personally recommend skipping this step.

Notes

*If not using my Coconut Yogurt Recipe, I recommend Coyo Plain Coconut Yogurt for best results. Or you can always just sub full-fat coconut milk + 1-2 probiotic capsules.
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate.

Nutrition (1 of 10 servings)

Serving: 1 two-Tbsp servingsCalories: 98Carbohydrates: 7.6 gProtein: 2.3 gFat: 7.2 gSaturated Fat: 2.4 gTrans Fat: 0 gCholesterol: 0 mgSodium: 106 mgFiber: 0.9 gSugar: 1 g