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    Home » Recipes

    BEST Vegan Mozzarella Cheese (Melts and Stretches)

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

    The BEST Vegan Mozzarella Cheese recipe is chewy, stretchy, and melts just like the real thing. Best of all, it’s completely healthy, plant-based, and so easy to make. Perfect for pizza, making the perfect vegan grilled cheese, or your favorite pasta bake.

    vegan mozzarella on top of pizza.

    Cheese, cheese, cheese! Ask anyone what prevents them from going plant-based or vegan and they’ll almost always tell you it’s the cheese. But, now that excuse is no longer valid.

    I totally get it. Who doesn’t love that melty, gooey, stretchy texture? Come on, be honest.

    This dairy-free mozzarella is so close to the real thing it’s scary and sure to satisfy your cheese cravings. It stretches, melts, and has just the right amount of tang.

    You can use it on top of your favorite vegan pizza or make one amazing grilled cheese sandwich. But, the fun doesn’t stop there. You can whip up some amazing quesadillas or bake up some tortilla chips and enjoy it as a dip.

    Bottom line: cheese is back in your life and for the better. Because it’s healthy and made entirely out of whole foods and uses no oil. So, time to leave those store-bought brands alone!

    Alright, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: LET’S MAKE IT!

    ingredients on top of cutting board.

    Table of Contents

    • Ingredients You’ll Need
    • How To Make The Best Vegan Mozzarella Cheese
    • How Do I Use Vegan Mozarella
    • Tips, Notes, and Suggestions
    • More Vegan Cheese Recipes
    • BEST Vegan Mozzarella Cheese (Melts and Stretches)

    Ingredients You’ll Need

    All you need are 7 simple ingredients and 10 minutes to make this delicious vegan cheese.

    • Cashews: cashews are the perfect base for plant-based cheeses. They’re creamy and blend very easily. Be sure and use only raw cashews that have not been roasted so they’re free of salt and oil.
    • Liquid: I use water in this recipe but you could unsweetened soy milk or any other non-dairy milk if your prefer.
    • Nutritional Yeast: you can’t have vegan cheese without the nooch.
    • Acid: lemon juice and apple cider vinegar provide “tang” and brightness.
    • Garlic Powder: Unlike the dominating flavor of fresh garlic, garlic powder adds a subtle fullness of natural flavor that may be more difficult to detect than with fresh garlic, but it makes the recipe taste better.
    • Tapioca Flour: also known as “tapioca starch” this is literally the glue that holds everything together. It makes everything stretchy and gooey. Tapioca flour is a wonderful thickener that is much more superior to arrowroot starch, cornstarch, or potato starch.
    • Salt: I used ½ teaspoon and found it to be plenty, but make it suit your taste.
    liquid being poured into a nonstick skillet.

    How To Make The Best Vegan Mozzarella Cheese

    This vegan mozzarella recipe is so easy to make and tastes so close to the real thing. It slices, melts and stretches.

    1. Boil the cashews for 5 minutes or soak in hot water for 15-20 minutes.
    2. Place all of the ingredients into a high-speed blender and blend until completely smooth.
    3. Pour the mixture into a nonstick skillet or small saucepan and stir constantly over medium heat until it starts to thicken and looks like melted mozzarella cheese.
    4. Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

    That’s it! The easiest and best vegan mozzarella cheese recipe. Now, how can you use it?

    vegan mozzarella being stirred in skillet.

    How Do I Use Vegan Mozarella

    Well, I’m glad you asked. The easiest answer is, “just like you would regular mozzarella.” But, there are a few of my favorites…

    • Vegan Quesadillas: spoon the cheese between your favorite whole wheat tortillas with some beans and rice, heat in a nonstick skillet on both sides, and enjoy!
    • Pizza: spread some sauce on easy whole wheat vegan pizza dough, then spoon the vegan mozzarella on top to make the pizza of your dreams.
    • Caprese Salad: place the cheese in the fridge for a couple of hours, let it firm up, then pull off pieces to toss into your salad, and make the best vegan caprese salad.
    • Grilled Cheese: spoon the cheese between two pieces of your favorite whole grain or sourdough bread, place in a nonstick skillet over medium heat and cook until both sides are golden. All that’s left is to serve it with some delicious vegan tomato soup.
    • Party Dip: whip up some of my healthy baked tortilla chips and enjoy it as a delicious dip.
    • Vegan Lasagana Rolls: Spoon the cheese over the lasagna rolls when there is 15 minutes left to bake.
    vegan mozzarella stretching over a spoon.

    Tips, Notes, and Suggestions

    • If you don’t have cashews you can use blanched almonds. You will want to boil or soak them as well.
    • Place vegan mozzarella in a freezer-safe container and store in the freezer for up to 1 month.
    • Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 week.
    • Use ONLY tapioca flour. You WILL NOT get the same stretchy and gooey texture with cornstarch or arrowroot starch.
    pizza with vegan mozzarella cheese.

    More Vegan Cheese Recipes

    Looking for more vegan cheese recipes for your gathering or just to snack on when you’re alone? Hey, no judgment here.

    Check out these delicious recipes…

    • Vegan Cashew Queso
    • Easy Garlic Herb Vegan Cheese Spread
    • Easy Vegan Cream Cheese
    • Plant-based Paremsan
    • The Best Vegan Cheese Sauce
    • Vegan Baked Mac & Cheese

    And, just for fun, I think it’d be great if you checked out this article about the Best Healthy Substitutes for Cream Cheese.

    pizza slices with vegan cheese.

    I hope you enjoy this Vegan Mozzarella cheese recipe. Please leave a comment below with a star rating. And, be sure and share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #shaneandsimple. I want to see your work. Enjoy!

    Print
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    BEST Vegan Mozzarella Cheese (Melts and Stretches)

    ★★★★★

    5 from 22 reviews

    Print Recipe

    The BEST Vegan Mozzarella Cheese recipe is chewy, stretchy, and melts just like the real thing. Best of all, it’s completely healthy, plant-based, and so easy to make. Perfect for pizza, grilled cheese, or your favorite pasta bake.

    • Total Time: 15 minutes
    • Yield: 8 servings 1x

    Ingredients

    Scale
    • ½ cup raw cashews
    • 1 cup of water
    • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
    • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
    • 1 ½ teaspoons nutritional yeast
    • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
    • ¼ cup tapioca flour
    • ½ teaspoon salt

    Instructions

    1. Boil cashews for 5 minutes or soak in hot water for 15-20 minutes.
    2. Place all the ingredients into a high-speed blender and process until completely smooth.
    3. Pour the mixture into a nonstick skillet or small saucepan and stir constantly over medium heat until it starts to thick and looks like melted mozzarella cheese.
    4. Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

    Equipment

    Tapioca Flour

    Buy Now →

    Wooden Cooking Utensils

    Buy Now →

    Cashews

    Buy Now →

    Nonstick Skillet

    Buy Now →

    Vitamix

    Buy Now →

    Notes

    If you don’t have cashews blanched almonds are a good sub. You will want to boil or soak them as well.

    Place vegan mozzarella in a freezer-safe container and store in the freezer for up to 1 month.

    Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 week.

    Use ONLY tapioca flour. You WILL NOT get the same stretchy and gooey texture with cornstarch or arrowroot starch.

    • Author: Shane Martin
    • Prep Time: 10 mins.
    • Cook Time: 5 mins.
    • Category: Appetizers and Snacks, Vegan Main Dishes
    • Method: Blend, Stovetop
    • Cuisine: Vegan
    • Diet: Vegan

    Nutrition

    • Serving Size: ⅛ of recipe
    • Calories: 54
    • Sugar: 0.6 g
    • Sodium: 148 mg
    • Fat: 4.1 g
    • Carbohydrates: 3.3 g
    • Fiber: 0.3 g
    • Protein: 1.8 g
    • Cholesterol: 0 mg

    Keywords: vegan cheese, plant-based, vegan mozzarella, easy vegan cheese, stretchy, melty, gooey, vegan pizza cheese

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    « Easy Vegan Chickpea Curry (Low Fat, Healthy)
    Vegan Chocolate Mug Cake (Oil-Free) »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Susan Solak

      January 14, 2023 at 6:55 pm

      This is by far, the best vegan mozzarella recipe out there. The texture is PERFECT! I was skeptical but once I made it I was hooked. All of your recipes are keepers Shane. Thanks for all you do! Would you consider doing a cookbook? I love having hard copies of good recipe sources.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    2. Susan

      November 28, 2022 at 10:21 am

      Amazingly good. Taste better than real mozzarella IMO. I’ve stopped buying the vegan shreds because of all the added oil. I made this for my homemade vegan pizza and was blown away. I almost ate half of it straight from the sauce pan. Thanks again Shane for another great recipe. I can’t live without your cashew mayo. It was a game changer for me.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    3. Tarah Rewoldt

      November 17, 2022 at 2:55 am

      Good Morning! I would really like to try this recipe. However, I am very conscious about the nutritional information. Do you have that posted anywhere? or will I need to figure that out on my own.

      Thanks in Advance ,
      Tarah

      Reply
      • Shane Martin

        November 18, 2022 at 12:22 pm

        It’s at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.

        Reply
    4. Sidney

      October 24, 2022 at 9:03 pm

      Shane, can this be refrigerated or frozen and then be shredded?

      Reply
      • Shane Martin

        October 25, 2022 at 4:48 pm

        You could try but I’ve not let it sit up that long:) It usually goes pretty fast in our house. LOL!

        Reply
    5. Meg M

      October 18, 2022 at 9:14 am

      Made this yesterday and it was perfect on my pizza! I followed the recipe and by accident found what I think may be a good shortcut! I let the vitamix run on “ soup” to kind of preheat before I finished it off in the sauce pan. I hate standing over the stove stirring! So I thought if I get it good and warm, less stand and stirring time. Well, the cheese was the consistency of melted mozzarella so I skipped the sauce pan. After an hour in the frig it was still a pudding like consistency. Hopefully it freezes and grates well!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    6. Kevin Carr

      October 07, 2022 at 3:02 am

      Dumb question but do you cook the pizza with the cheese on it or do you just place drop spoonfuls of the cheese on top of the cooked hot pizza. Many thanks.

      Reply
      • Shane Martin

        October 07, 2022 at 11:14 am

        You can actually do either. I got back and forth.

        Reply
    7. Madeline

      September 10, 2022 at 11:33 am

      Amazing recipe – thank you! We made it for a pizza and I even used the leftovers on a breakfast sandwich. Possible uses are endless.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    8. Joanne Silvestro

      August 05, 2022 at 7:23 pm

      Delicious! Thanks for all your recipes!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Shane Martin

        August 06, 2022 at 1:20 am

        My pleasure and thank you!

        Reply
    9. kb

      July 14, 2022 at 3:25 am

      Really an excellent recipe and fabulous flavor!
      Thank you Shane!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Shane Martin

        July 14, 2022 at 12:56 pm

        Thank you!

        Reply
    10. Shanda

      July 12, 2022 at 2:20 pm

      I was hesitant due to a difficult time getting off the casomorphin laden, (I call them quesomorphines jokingly because they interact with opiate receptors) cheeses a couple years ago. After reading the ingredients I was in! You are the real deal, thank you for not adding oil or some other junk. My question now is I have half of the mix from yesterday still in the Vitamix attachment. Do I just throw it back on and mix when ready, add anything, or throw out and begin again?

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Shane Martin

        July 12, 2022 at 4:00 pm

        You can store it covered in the fridge for up to 3 days and then use it again. It should be just fine.

        Reply
    11. Sh

      July 10, 2022 at 7:04 pm

      Made this for my pizza tonight and it was perfect! All ingredients that I already keep on hand and much better than any vegan cheeses that I have purchased. I was pretty sure that this would be a winner after I tried Shane’s mayo (which I now can not live without). I was right. Thank you Shane.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    12. Aimee

      June 24, 2022 at 1:40 am

      Amazing tasty and easy!!! Thank you!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    13. Stacy

      June 21, 2022 at 9:24 am

      This recipe has fantastic flavor! I love it! One question though…I’m wondering if I cooked it long enough? It wasn’t quite the stiffness of say Velveeta (I definitely don’t eat it anymore!). Is that the right consistency? Or should I have cooked it a little bit longer? Also…if I freeze it, I’m assuming it will shred at that point? I tried it for the first time last night on a pizza and it was so good!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    14. Karen

      May 31, 2022 at 5:10 pm

      Please clarify……out of ignorance I ask this question. I don’t use the cashew soaking water for the water in the recipe ?? Thank you. About to whip this up, and I need to know. Thanks in advance~

      Reply
      • Shane Martin

        June 01, 2022 at 12:48 am

        Great question. No, you don’t use the cashew-soaking water. I’ll go back and make sure it’s clear in the post. Thanks!!!

        Reply
        • Karen

          June 01, 2022 at 8:43 am

          Thanks so much! I made the recipe, and it is fabulous!! Whoot! Whoot! My husband and I loved it on our pizza! Thanks for all you do!

          Reply
          • Shane Martin

            June 01, 2022 at 11:02 am

            That’s awesome, Karen! Thank you so much. If you wouldn’t mind rating it I’d greatly appreciate it. It helps me out with the Google “authorities” and helps others to see it. Again, thank you!

            Reply
    15. Alexandra

      April 20, 2022 at 5:58 am

      good and easy

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Shane Martin

        April 20, 2022 at 11:34 am

        Thank you!

        Reply
    16. Deborah Shields

      April 03, 2022 at 6:15 pm

      Sorry to hear about your hand! I hope it mends quickly! This looks like a great recipe! I can’t do anything fermented or with yeast. Could I just use extra lemon juice instead of apple cider vinegar and any thoughts on how I could zip things up without using nutritional yeast? Maybe some mustard powder? Would love to give this a try!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Patrick

        June 14, 2022 at 3:44 pm

        I’d try a combination of dijon mustard, dried mushrooms and maybe garlic? It wont give the same cheesy flavour but should give a tasty umami alternative

        Reply
    17. Nita

      March 31, 2022 at 7:08 pm

      Yummer-Doodle. It is clear how much experimenting/testing work you put into your recipes to make them successfully delish for me. Thanks be for encouraging me to stay the path on this new lifestyle for me.
      Cheers, Nita

      Reply
    18. Vickie

      March 22, 2022 at 3:15 pm

      I really loved this… Is a tablespoon of garlic powder correct? I may cut it down a bit next time. Or it could be I used granulated garlic so maybe that’s stronger than [email protected]

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Shane Martin

        March 22, 2022 at 4:00 pm

        Whoa! Good catch, Vickie. That should be 1 teaspoon. Man, I like garlic but even that would be a little too much for you me. LOL!

        Reply
    19. Lucille

      March 02, 2022 at 1:10 am

      This recipe made my heart sing. I was very happy to enjoy a pizza with your cheese, sauce, and breakfast sausage crumbles and baby spinach.. top with a balsamic glaze. Delicious!!!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Shane Martin

        March 02, 2022 at 4:52 pm

        Wow, that sounds amazing!

        Reply
    20. Elaine

      February 23, 2022 at 11:59 am

      This is delish! I can’t believe how easy it was to make. Amazing how it can be meltable or not. But mostly, it is plain delicious.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Shane Martin

        February 23, 2022 at 8:55 pm

        Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. It’s a fave around our house.

        Peace,
        shane

        ★★★★★

        Reply
    21. Bobbie

      February 04, 2022 at 4:05 pm

      This is the first vegan cheese I have made and it is wonderful. They always seemed like too much trouble and many cannot be frozen. Used my food processor so maybe it would have been smoother using a blender but no complaints here. Can’t wait to try a grilled cheese and pizza. Maybe even on a baked potato. Thank you Shane.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    22. Shane Martin

      January 23, 2022 at 2:06 pm

      So good.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    23. Alisha

      January 21, 2022 at 6:48 pm

      So good! And so easy! Two things that are important to me. I didn’t have lemon juice so subbed lime juice and it is still delish. Thanks for an amazing recipe!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    24. Stella

      January 20, 2022 at 10:35 pm

      You mention a high-speed blender. Is that a $500 Vitamix? I have a $40 Hamilton Beach blender. Will that work?

      Reply
      • Shane Martin

        January 22, 2022 at 6:54 pm

        Hi, Stella! No, you don’t need a Vitamix, though it’s fun and helps:) You don’t want to use a 20 dollar bargain blender. Just be sure and either boil or soak your cashews.

        Reply
    25. Brenda G Hundley

      January 20, 2022 at 9:40 pm

      Just tried this. Goes together quickly. No cashews so I subbed raw pumpkin seeds. Other than giving a slight greenish tinge of color, this was so good. Mouth feel very melty cheese. Good neutral cheesy flavor. I have really missed this! Can’t wait to try it after it chills.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    26. Mary

      January 20, 2022 at 8:17 pm

      Any chance white beans can be subbed for cashews (allergies here). Thanks!

      Reply
      • Shane Martin

        January 22, 2022 at 6:55 pm

        Hi, Mary! Unfortunately, white beans won’t give you the same texture.

        Reply
    27. Carla

      January 20, 2022 at 5:51 pm

      Hi Shane. This looks yummy but I cannot eat nuts or seeds. Any chance you have a substitute for the nuts?

      Reply
      • Shane Martin

        January 22, 2022 at 6:56 pm

        Hi, Carla! I’m so sorry to hear that, but unfortunately, there’s really not another sub in the recipe. I’m sorry:(

        Reply
    28. Lester

      January 20, 2022 at 5:43 pm

      Can’t wait to try. Love oil-free.
      Ingredient list says tapioca starch; elsewhere says tapioca flour.
      Are they different?
      Which is correct?
      Thank you!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Shane Martin

        January 20, 2022 at 7:32 pm

        They are the same thing:)

        Reply
        • Kelly

          January 21, 2022 at 11:52 am

          Curious… do you know if ground up tapioca pearls is the same thing as the flour? I think I have flour, but I know I have pearls. I haven’t tried making this yet, but certainly intend to!! THanks much!

          Reply
          • Shane Martin

            January 22, 2022 at 6:54 pm

            I’ve never tried making it that way so I can’t say for sure.

            Reply
    29. Shane Martin

      January 20, 2022 at 1:54 pm

      The BEST Vegan Mozzarella Cheese recipe is chewy, stretchy, and melts just like the real thing. Best of all, it’s completely healthy, plant-based, and so easy to make. Perfect for pizza, making the perfect vegan grilled cheese, or your favorite pasta bake.

      ★★★★★

      Reply

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