Vegan mozzarella cheese which melts, browns and stretches like the real thing! Revolutionise your vegan pizza game in minutes!
Too GOUDA to be true??
The words “vegan mozzarella” are pretty charged in the plant-based scene. Why? Because vegan mozzarella tends to be the most hit and miss element of vegan dining – but more often than not it’s a miss.
Shop bought stuff has that chemically flavour which lingers and has a tendency to stick to your front teeth and the room of your mouth. Home-made varieties aren’t much better: usually MEGA salty, not melty and DEFINITELY not stretchy. But here’s where that nightmare ends!
Why’s it so good?!
Trust me – this vegan mozzarella is going to blow your mind. I’ve tried a LOT of vegan mozzarella recipes and made about 55 variations of this recipe and the texture is never quite right. Here’s five reasons why my vegan mozzarella is better:
- It’s ACTUALLY stretchy! Once melted, this stuff pulls apart just like the real deal!
- It DOESN’T stick to your teeth. Such a smooth customer!
- It tastes delicious. No weird chemically vibe and not too much salt – it’s just right!
- It literally takes MINUTES to make! No waiting for it to set for seventy hours – just bung it straight on a pizza and you’re good to go!
- It keeps in the fridge AND is freezer friendly!
Surely this is witchcraft?!
No witchcraft involved, and don’t call me Shirley! The solution to the best ever vegan mozzarella came to me recently almost by accident.
As you may have noticed, I use psyllium husk in baking all the time as an egg replacer. It acts as a binding agent and holds things together really well.
I was recently developing a brownie recipe and while mixing together the psyllium husk and the melted vegan butter I noticed how stringy everything got! I’m no scientist but it seemed like the high fat content and the binding action of the psyllium made a rather mozzarella like texture!
Any ingredients notes?
In my baking recipes I’d say that you can replace the psyllium husk with flax seeds, but not here! I’ve tried and the texture is gloopy instead of stretchy and stringy.
Also, make sure you use DEODERISED COCONUT OIL! The flavour of regular coconut oil is way too strong and blocks out the cheesiness. You can find odourless flavourless coconut oil on Amazon or at most health food shops.
If you’d like to store the cheese, pour straight from the pan into a Tupperware box, allow to cool fully on the counter before sealing and storing in the fridge for up to a week. You can also freeze the cheese for a long time and defrost when needed!
I’ve also added an ingredient variation for making a smoky Gouda style cheese which works amazing grilled on top of vegan burgers!
Make it and let me know how you get on in the comments below.
Now you’ve made it…
Here are some recipes to use your NEW FAVE vegan mozzarella in!
Equipment
- High Speed Blender
Ingredients
- 1.5 tsp psyllium husk powder + 6 tsp water
- 35 g raw unsalted cashews soaked in boiling water for 1 hour
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp agave syrup
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 tbsp agar powder
- 2.5 tbsp tapioca starch
- 2 tsp flaky sea salt
- 80 ml deodorised or odourlescoconut oil (melted
- 375 ml water
(for smoked gouda variation add)
- 3 tsp liquid smoke
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp extra salt
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the psyllium husk powder and the water. Set aside to thicken.
- Soak your cashews in boiling water for at least an hour. When soaked, drain and discard the water and transfer the cashews to the cup of a high speed blender along with all the remaining ingredients including the thickened psyllium husk.
- Blend on highest speed for at least a minute – make sure the cashews are completely smooth – no chunks or sandy grains.
- Transfer to a small saucepan and place over a medium low heat, whisking constantly. The liquid will start to thicken quite quickly. Keep going until the liquid is very thick and stringy and resembles fondue or melted stringy cheese – if you don't use a whisk your cheese may go quite lumpy – SO USE A WHISK! Remove from the heat.
- If using immediately, allow to cool for around 10 minutes before spooning onto toast or pizza or a pasta bake (however you’d use mozzarella). The cheese baked beautifully and melts wonderfully. Place under the grill or broiler for a few minutes and you’ll notice it browns really, really well.
This vegan mozzarella is delicious and surprisingly simple to make! I put it together while getting pizza toppings ready and slapped it on top of a veggie pizza, where it browned and bubbled beautifully under the broiler. A few days later, after leaving it covered in the fridge, I added it to a ziti bake and it worked perfectly in that recipe as well. Definitely will be making this again!
Omg this is LITERALLY the BEST vegan cheese I’ve both tasted or made.
I’ve even made a pepper jack version of it that my husband LOVES and my non vegan friends dig it too!
This recipe is a godsend and a new staple in my home.
Now I can FINALLY have pizza with cheese that tastes even better than the real thing!
Thank you.
woah! this is literally the best COMMENT ive ever received! SOO excited you like it!
How vital is the agave syrup in this recipe? It would really contribute to browning, but is it vital for anything else? I’m doing Whole30 and would love to make this cheese compliant by omitting the syrup, but only if it would replicate the original goodness!
I’ve never tried without but it definitely would still be super cheesy, so why not give it a go!
I’m trying to watch my saturated fats and coconut seems to be one of the higher ones. Do you think this would work with a different oil such as Safflower?
Thank you,
Hey Debbie,
It’s important that the fat is solid at room temperature, which is why coconut works so well. I’ve tried with numerous liquid fats and they haven’t worked. I’m sorry. The recipe only calls for a very small amount of coconut oil, but you could always try ommiting it completely?