Publised on 31/05/2019. Last Updated on 31/05/2019 by Richard
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!
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🥫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
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!
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
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
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.
eileen
thank you for your absolutely delicious recipe!! this is the best vegan cheese i ever made it tastes just like real cheese i couldnt believe it! i omitted the coconut oil because i wanted to cook this right away and i‘ve only got native coconut oil at home. after i blended everything the cheese was already pretty thick, most likely because i left out the oil. do you know if i could replace the oil with margarine?
thanks a lot for sharing this recipe!!
eileen
thank you for your absolutely delicious recipe!! this is the best vegan cheese i ever made it tastes just like real cheese i couldnt believe it! i omitted the coconut oil because i wanted to cook this right away and i‘ve only got native coconut oil at home. after i blended everything the cheese was already pretty thick, most likely because i left out the oil. do you know if i could replace the oil with margarine?
thanks a lot for sharing this recipe!!
Arianna
that's actually a great Idea! i came to the comments to look for alts to coconut oil because I cant stand the taste - and I think margarine would work well given it's the same 'solid when room temp' kind of thing!
Babs Hecht
Hi Arianna!
This recipe uses refined coconut oil so there shouldn't be any coconut taste.
Nicholas
It really is genius how it came together while whisking. It’s in the fridge waiting to be grilled on toast tomorrow. I did notice an obvious coconut taste. Did I make it correctly, or is that an accepted variant sacrifice for not contributing to the maltreatment of beautiful animals? Can you suggest a tweak to reduce the coconut taste?
You are a genius! 🥰
Richard
Hey, did you use deodorised coconut oil?
Amanda Maloney
Use vegan butter like Earth balance or Miyokos
Alexis
All plant buters, except Miyokos, have palm oil, a evil ingredient
Elise
Vegan Block in the U.K. and some parts of Europe does not have palm oil.
zeynab
not even close to the chease
Richard Makin
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?
Debbie
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,
Jana
I do not use an unhealthy thing like oil at tall. In this case I’ve used instead of oil a coconut milk. It came out great !
Sazz
Oil is NOT unhealthy - it's essential for the health of your body and brain. Please educate yourself on this topic!
Dustin Martinsen
Oil is a highly processed, calorie-rich food which is extremely easy to overeat because it has no fiber or other food components to fill you up when eating it.
Fat, however is essential for the health of your body and brain. Please educate yourself on this topic!
Joshua Milks
Umm, oils are rich in healthy fats. I wouldn't call oil highly processed if you're getting it from the appropriate sources. Oil is just pressed olives or whatever other ingredient you're using. If you overeat anything it's unhealthy. The fats from oil actually are filling. I would definitely say adding an extra 8 pumps of oil on my popcorn at the theatre makes me feel fuller faster. At least I cannot eat as much popcorn with 4 times oil than the regular. I've overeaten plenty of fibrous foods.
Kelly
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!
Richard Makin
I've never tried without but it definitely would still be super cheesy, so why not give it a go!
Maggie
I know this is a super late comment but I have made it without agave to eliminate any kind of sweetener and it is super yummy! Thanks for this lovely recipe 🙂
Grace
I just made this recipe and loved it! I didn't have agave so I used maple syrup (I was making the smoked gouda version so I think the liquid smoke masked the maple flavour) I also didn't have agar powder but used guar gum and it turned out great still! My favourite way to consume was to put this on top of bread and then toast in the oven on broil, it really does brown nicely!
Lauren
How much guar gum did you use?
April
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.
April
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.
Richard Makin
woah! this is literally the best COMMENT ive ever received! SOO excited you like it!
Karen Sarll
Hi April - I'd love to know what you added for the Pepper Jack version ?
Bess
How did you make pepper jack? That's one of my favorites!
Jessica
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!
Jessica
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!
jonajim
I love this recipe, I make it all the time for pizza night. This is great stuff, I highly recommend it! The salt, cheesiness, consistency it’s all perfect. It’s surprised my vegetarian mom with how close it is to dairy mozz. Thank you!
Chris
Melts very well and brown's nicely under a broiler or torch. It lacks a bit of tang - maybe a bit of lactic acid would help? Definitely best when heated up like on a lasagna or pizza. When it's cold it is like a somewhat stretchy, jelly-like, custard. Would not use it in a caprese salad or cheese board, lol.
Blair beaudin
Can the cheese be frozen
Janice
This was a no go for me. I was excited by the comments even though I know from experience that it was going to be on the goopy side judging by the ingredients. I followed the recipe exactly and it came out like viscous snot. I’m so sorry to say this was the least fav of the 5 cheese recipes blind-tested on a pizza night with friends. HOWEVER, when I cooked it with the addition of 1.5 tablespoons of kappa carrageenan blended in and let it chill before shredding on the pizza, it was the 2nd fav overall. It needs substance to take away from the slime factor otherwise it’s exactly like flarp, which is nothing like real mozzarella, however it *looks better* in photos though...
Sean
So what's your first fave? Is it something you make?
Christina
Yeah thanks for letting us know! I had vegan cheese sticks in austin the other day.. did not have that slime factor! It had stringyness and cheeseness.. but when you pulled it apart and the stretch folds into itself it looks almost like dough or something (like the outside was a different texture because of frying? ) and Idc about how it looks exactly as long as i get that pull/stretch... it was from a food truck called the revolution vegan or vegan revolution, something like that.
Kofi
How much carrageenan did you add?
Lianna
this happens if you don't cook the mixture long enough. if you let it cook to the consistency of cheese fondue, then it will not be runny at all by the time it cools a little!