🌱 VG
Publised on 31/05/2019. Last Updated on 31/05/2019 by Richard
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4.7 from 137 votes
Vegan mozzarella cheese that melts, browns and stretches like the real thing! Revolutionise your vegan pizza game in minutes!
Heads up: this recipe was updated on 7th Nov 2022. If you'd like to follow the original recipe, skip to the "Variations" section of this blog post.
This is the updated, more affordable, easier to make and arguably even better tasting version of my vegan mozzarella recipe. It's ideal for pizzas, grilled cheese sandwiches, pasta bakes - YOU NAME IT!
It takes literally minutes to make and stores in the fridge until you're ready to use it! And guess what? It uses even fewer specialist ingredients than before! Too gouda to be true? Read on and find out!
Jump to:
- 🥫Vegan Mozzarella Ingredients
- 🔪 Method!
- 🔄 Substitutions
- 🍽 Vegan Mozzarella Variations
- 🫕 Equipment!
- ❄️ Make Ahead!
- 🙋♀️ Vegan Mozzarella FAQs
- Vegan Mozzarella
🥫Vegan Mozzarella Ingredients
Here's a run-down of everything you'll need to make my vegan mozzarella! I've simplified this recipe and done away with as many difficult to source ingredients as I can without sacrificing the quality of the cheese! Hopefully, this means you'll have most of these ingredients in your pantry anyway!
- Silken tofu - Use a soft variety if you can find it. Got a soy allergy? See the notes under the "Substitutions" section below!
- Rice vinegar - To give our cheese just a little extra tang! If you don't have rice vinegar, see the "Substitutions" section below!
- Agave syrup - Sugar also works fine! Agave just blends more easily because it's already a liquid.
- Nutritional yeast flakes - For that cheesy umami kick.
- Tapioca starch - This is what makes the vegan mozzarella melty and stretchy!
- Sea salt
- Vegetable oil - Cheese is mostly fat, so for authenticity we need a little oil! Any neutral vegetable oil will do.
- Water
As always, full quantities are in the recipe card at the bottom of the page!
🔪 Method!
Let's take a look at the processes involved in making homemade vegan mozzarella! It's insanely easy and I just know you're gonna breeze through it!
1. Assemble your ingredients! Everything can all go in the same cup or blender together at this stage. No need to separate wet and dry ingredients! Just throw em all in!
2. Blend everything! To get super smooth vegan mozzarella you'll want to blend as well as you can. If you have a high-speed blender, use it! If you don't, use a food processor or immersion blender!
3. Cook the mixture! You'll now need to transfer the mixture to a saucepan and place over a medium/low heat. You'll need to keep whisking constantly as the mixture will catch and burn if you're not careful!
4. Bingo! The sauce will thicken and become very stretchy. It'll happen quite suddenly and usually after a good few minutes of nothing at all happening, so be prepared! Your vegan mozzarella is now ready to use!
Hint: Once cooked in the saucepan, your vegan mozzarella is ready to use on pizza, pasta you name it! But remember, for perfect results I'd advise grilling/broiling or baking your cheese before serving. This will improve the texture and the flavour, plus you'll get to see it melt and brown!
🔄 Substitutions
Got some dietary requirements but still wanna make the best vegan mozzarella on the planet?? No problemo! This recipe is naturally:
- Gluten free - No elements of this recipe contain gluten! So go wild!
- Soy - The recipe includes tofu, which is obvs soy-based but this can easily be replaced for your favourite soy-free plant milk!
- Dairy - Not a huge surprise, but this vegan mozzarella is FREE FROM DAIRY! Oh, you already knew that? Ok, cool. Glad we're on the same page..
If you've made this recipe with some swaps, let me know how it worked out on my instagram!
🍽 Vegan Mozzarella Variations
Look, this recipe is magic, but you may want to take things a step further! Here's how!
- Too Gouda To Be True?! - Make your own melty smoky vegan gouda instead of mozzarella! In the recipe card at the bottom of the page, just add the "Smoked Gouda" variation ingredients before blending!
- Original recipe - This recipe is an update, but if you're loyal to the original, you can find the former ingredients list in the notes section of the recipe card!
Looking to try some other vegan cheeses? Why not whip up some grateable vegan cheese, for use in your sandwiches! You might also be a fan of my vegan Philly cheesesteak recipe or my vegan cauliflower cheese!
🫕 Equipment!
You won't need much to get cracking - just a few bits of essential vegan mozzarella kit!
- Blender, Immersion blender or Food processor
- Small saucepan
- Whisk
❄️ Make Ahead!
My vegan mozzarella will store for a few days in a sealed container in the fridge. Just spoon it over whatever and grill/broil until golden and bubbling. Alternatively one of my fave things to do is to chill until spoonable then freeze until firm. The vegan mozzarella will keep for good few months in the freezer and can be grated more easily over pasta and pizza!
🙋♀️ Vegan Mozzarella FAQs
Q: What is vegan mozzarella made from?
A: Vegan mozzarella is made from a blend of vegetable oil, tapioca starch and cheesy flavoured ingredients like nutritional yeast. The tapioca starch helps it to melt and stretch like real mozzarella!
Q: Is mozzarella vegan?
A: Dairy mozzarella is not vegan, since it's made from animal products. You can easily make your oven vegan mozzarella though, using the recipe below!
Vegan Mozzarella
This super cheesy vegan mozzarella is gooey, stretchy and browns when baked or grilled - ideal for pizza or baked pasta!
4.71 from 137 votes
Prep Time: 3 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 3 minutes minutes
Total Time: 6 minutes minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 72kcal
Author: Richard Makin
Equipment
Blender, Immersion blender or Food processor
Small saucepan
Whisk
Ingredients
- 50 g silken tofu OR sub for 60ml of any plant milk
- 2 teaspoon rice vinegar OR sub for any neutral flavoured white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon agave syrup OR sub for 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes
- 5 tablespoon tapioca starch
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 90 ml vegetable oil OR sub for any neutral oil
- 300 ml water
FOR SMOKED GOUDA VARIATION ADD:
- 3 teaspoon liquid smoke
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon extra salt
Metric - US Customary
Instructions
Place all the ingredients in the cup of a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. Alternatively blend with an immersion blender or food processor until smooth.
50 g silken tofu, 2 teaspoon rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon agave syrup, 3 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes, 5 tablespoon tapioca starch, 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, 90 ml vegetable oil, 300 ml water
Transfer to a small saucepan and place over a medium low heat. Whisk constantly until the mixture is thick and stringy. The liquid will start to thicken suddenly so do not leave unattended. The thickened vegan cheese should resemble fondue or melted stringy cheese. Remove from the heat.
Use immediately or transfer to a container and store in the fridge until you're ready. The cheese will not set but will become thicker and more spoonable when chilled. For best results, cook this vegan cheese under the grill or broiler for a few minutes - this way it'll melt, bubble and brown to its full potential.
Notes
This is an updated version of an older recipe. If you'd like to use the older version, the ingredients are below. The method is identical to the recipe above, just make sure your cashews are soaked and soft before blending.
1teaspoonpsyllium husk powder + 6 teaspoon water
35graw unsalted cashews(soaked in boiling water for 1 hour)
2teaspoonapple cider vinegar
1teaspoonagave syrup
3tablespoonnutritional yeast flakes
1tablespoonagar powder
2.5tablespoontapioca starch
2teaspoonflaky sea salt
80mldeodorised or "refined" coconut oil
375mlwater
Nutrition
Serving: 1grams | Calories: 72kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.04g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 595mg | Potassium: 144mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin C: 0.5mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 1mg
Reader Interactions
Comments
Anna
Thank you so much for this recipe! I was looking to substitue Mozzarella but cashews are rather expensive and in middle europe they don't get that good oecological foodprint so I was reluctant to switch for it. Obvious no cow was treated bad for them, but I don't think they are a good alternative and who knows if there are not humans suffering growing them for us. If I go vegan I think I go all the way, not just switch out animal products, but become halal in the indonesian way, which means even in production harm is forbidden. I like that very much and think it should be adopted by all muslims, as the definition of halal differs a lot by region.Reply
Mel
I am so impressed with this master of genius recipe. It really gave us all the “cheesy” feels when eating. Even my non vegan son said it was pretty amazing. Thank you so much Richard for inventing these clever and so tasty recipes. I will be making this over and over again.
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Val
This is perfect for French onion soup! I've been looking for something that will work for it that is actually at least somewhat nutritious. Thanks for the recipe, I'll make it soon 🙂
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Angela
Do you mean 500 grams of soft tofu?Reply
Aj
I used 50 and it worked as expectedReply
Mathis
Honestly a great recipe for vegan mozzarella. I loved cheese before going vegan, and I think I have tried all of the recipes for vegan mozza available so I can tell you honestly this is the only one who didn't disappoint.
It's not exactly like mozzarella (like, blindfold on, you can tell) but it does taste like cheese (more precisely, like a mix between bechamel and cheese) and it browns, bubbles and strings like cheese which is a game changer ! It tastes good, the texture is honestly exactly like cheese, and it definitely satisfies a cheese craving. I really recommend it.Reply
Colleen Juett
I made the older version of the cheese. I used Psyllium husk that was already ground. My result was a very unappetizing gray green color. Definitely did not look like your pictures!
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LoopyLou
This is the best pizza cheese recipe I've found! I mix and match the old and new versions by adding 20g cashews to plant milk, and find vegan butter/marge gives more cheesy taste than a neutral oil. A spoon of dijon mustard and a drop of truffle oil also add a bit more interest. Behaves beautifully on melty recipes 😀Reply
Imogen
HiI haven't made this yet but I put the ingredients into Lose It and the nutritional information says 1 serving is 256 calories and 4.4g of protein, would you mind giving a breakdown per ingredient so I can see where I'm going wrong!
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Pinkaponka
I couldn't find tapioca starch so used potato starch in case that's of use to anyone.Reply
