Homemade Vegan Mozzarella Cheese
Missing vegan mozzarella cheese in your diet? Not yet found a good vegan substitute? Now you too can enjoy “fresh” mozzarella made entirely from plant based ingredients! Get the recipe below.
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Vegan cheese
Good vegan cheese that mimics the real deal can be hard to come by. Supermarkets are improving their range and “artisan” vegan cheese brands are incredibly expensive. But, it is possible to make vegan cheese at home.
I’ve already showed you how to make vegan parmesan but today I’m going to show you how to make vegan mozzarella.
It’s perfect for topping pizzas, adding to salads, or creating decadent cheese toasties. For more inspiration on how to use it, check out my suggestions below.
What makes vegan cheese?
Dairy cheese is made from milk, culture and rennet. But vegan cheese is a little more complex. It requires a range of ingredients, some of which you may need to get from a specialist store or on the internet (tapioca starch and agar powder).
Despite being a relatively long list of ingredients, each one has an important part to play.
- The base for this vegan mozzarella (and lots of other vegan cheeses) is soaked cashews. They make a really creamy base along with the plant milk and yogurt which is neutral in flavour.
- The coconut oil adds a rich, fattiness to the cheese which is essential for mouthfeel and texture.
- The lemon juice, garlic powder, salt and nutritional yeast all create a cheesy but mild flavour, not dissimilar to dairy based cheeses.
- The tapioca starch is what makes the vegan mozzarella stretchy and able to melt.
- The agar powder is what sets the vegan mozzarella firm when cool.
How to make vegan mozzarella cheese – top tips
- The first step is to soak your cashews. This can be done in cold water overnight or in hot water for 30 minutes. The quickest method is to boil your kettle, pour over the cashews and just walk away!
- Prepare your brine by using roughly 2 litres of water and 8 ice cubes along with a teaspoon of salt. Keep to one side until you’re ready to use.
- Next you need to blend together the base ingredients for your vegan mozzarella. It is important you use a high speed blender that can get the mixture really smooth. Any graininess will transfer into the final product and won’t make for a luxurious creamy cheese.
- Next is to heat the agar powder in water. Keep stirring this with a balloon whisk as it heats so that no clumps form. I find a whisk does this better than a silicone spatula or wooden spoon. The water and agar will become gel-like. At this point you add the base cheese mixture.
- Once you’ve added the base cheese mixture to the agar and water, start using a silicone spatula to stir the mix. You want to make sure the agar is evenly distributed.
- Keep the mixture on a medium heat and stir constantly. You really want to avoid it sticking to the bottom of the pan as it will become lumpy.
- Stirring the cheese is a real workout! You will need to stir it for 5 minutes or so or until it is starting to come together into a stretchy ball and comes away from the sides of your saucepan easily.
- Once you’ve got your stretchy ball, use an ice cream scoop to make balls and drop them into the brine. The outsides will set almost instantly so don’t worry about them sticking together.
- Cover and keep in the fridge until you’re ready to use them.
The recipe
Vegan Mozzarella Cheese
Equipment
- 1 high speed blender
- 1 saucepan
- 1 balloon whisk
- 1 silicone spatula
- 1 large lidded container
Ingredients
- 150 g cashews
- 300 g unsweetened dairy-free yogurt
- 125 ml unsweetened plant milk
- 2 tbsp refined coconut oil
- 0.5 lemon juice only
- 3.5 tbsp tapioca flour
- 0.25 tsp garlic granules
- 2 tsp nutritional yeast
- 1.5 tsp sea salt plus 1 more tsp for brine
- 125 ml water plus 2 litre for the for brine
- 2.5 tsp agar powder
Instructions
- Soak your cashews (either overnight in chilled water or for half an hour in hot water).
- In a large lidded container, fill it halfway with water (I used roughly 2 litres for my container), a tsp salt, and 8 ice cubes then set to one side.
- Drain cashews then add them to your blender along with the dairy-free yogurt, plant milk, coconut oil, lemon juice, tapioca starch, garlic granules, nutritional yeast and salt.
- Blender the ingredients on high until completely smooth.
- In a saucepan heat 125 ml of water.
- Once the water is hot, whisk in the agar powder using a balloon whisk. Do this for 3 – 5 minutes or until it has become gel-like.
- Add in the blended ingredients and stir to make sure the agar gel is well incorporated.
- Using a silicone spatula keep stirring the mixture, making sure to scrape down the bottom and sides of the pan so it doesn’t stick and no lumps form.
- As it thickens keep beating the mixture. It is ready once it forms a stretchy ball and comes away from the side of the pan. This can take up to 10 minutes.
- Using an ice cream scoop, scoop balls of the cheese and drop them into the chilled brine.
- Repeat until you have used up all of the cheese mixture.
- Cover the container and place into the fridge for 2 – 3 hours or until the cheese has set. It can then be used as you wish.
Nutrition
How to use your vegan mozzarella
You could add your vegan mozzarella to a range of dishes. It works perfectly sliced up into salads and sandwiches. Or, you can use it hot in pasta bakes, lasagne, toasties and pizza.
How to store you vegan mozzarella
The brine that you use to set the mozzarella is also what allows you to keep it “fresh”. Keep it in an airtight container still in the brine, placed in the fridge. It will then keep for up to 5 days.