If you don’t know, I’m pretty excited about this. Every vegan I’ve ever met in real life has said the hardest thing to give up was cheese and every non vegan has told me that they would never be able to give up cheese. Fortunately, due to amazing chefs like Miyoko Schinner, Jay Astafa, Somer McGowan, and Skye Michael Conroy, we are able to enjoy cheese-like products, without the cruelty. I’ve made several forays into the world of vegan cheese and learned a lot of different techniques from many different recipes. The particular recipe that I drew inspiration from for this is the cashew mozzarella developed by Jay Astafa. You can watch the YouTube video here. I noticed he uses soy lecithin as an emulsifier, which aquafaba has been shown to do in recipes like Nina’s butter and Peanut Butter and Vegan’s mayo. This inspired me to make this cashew mozzarella using aquafaba as the emulsifier. It also makes this recipe soy free, conveniently, for those who are intolerant.
Vegan cheese doesn’t create casein protein strands like dairy cheeses do, which is why we use tapioca starch to create that stretchy texture. Some places may have it labeled at tapioca flour, but they should be interchangeable. I find mine at an international market for a cheaper price. You can also add a bit of xantham gum to increase the stretchiness. If you don’t have any, feel free to omit it, the cheese will still be delicious! I use vegan lactic acid powder to create that dairy-like tang in this recipe. It’s definitely worth the purchase, but if you cannot buy it, substitute a tablespoon of lemon juice instead. Nutritional yeast also adds to this cheesy flavor. Refined coconut oil helps with firmness upon refrigeration and improves the mouthfeel and melt. Please use coconut oil that is solid at room temperature. Cashews can possibly be subbed for raw sunflower seeds for those with allergies.
Most vegan cheeses use either agar or kappa carrageenan as a binder to be sliceable and shreddable. I choose to use kappa carrageenan, as I prefer the melt and mouthfeel it imparts. I am well aware that many people choose not to consume it and I completely respect that; this recipe may be possible with agar powder, but I have not tested it. If you do test it, please contact me with your results!
Edited to add: Several people have tried with equal amounts of agar and have had a hard time getting it to set. I would suggest doubling the amount of agar powder (use 1 tablespoon and 1 tsp). Xanthan gum will not replace the carrageenan, it’s not a firm binder like carrageenan is, just a thickener.
If you like this recipe, be sure to check out these other vegan cheese recipes:
The Vegan Meringue group on Facebook is a great place for more aquafaba recipes as well.
Ingredients:
• 1/4 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight or boiled for 15 minutes
• 1 cup aquafaba, preferably chickpea or Vor Aquafaba Powder
• 2 tbsp tapioca starch
• 2 tsp kappa carrageenan
• 1 tsp lactic acid**
• 1 tsp nutritional yeast
• 3/4 tsp salt*
• 6 tbsp refined coconut oil, melted
*You may need to adjust the salt level a bit lower if using salted aquafaba.
**You can substitute with 1 tbsp lemon juice, but the lactic acid tastes better
Directions:
For video directions by Mary’s Test Kitchen, watch here
1. Blend softened cashews and aquafaba in a high speed blender until as smooth as possibly. Strain through a fine mesh sieve to remove any large particles and return to blender.
It should be very smooth after blending.
You may find there are still a few cashew particles if you’re using a lower quality blender or food processor, which is why I recommend straining.
2. Add tapioca starch, carrageenan, lactic acid, nutritional yeast, and salt and pulse in a blender to combine. *Please ignore the xanthan gum in this picture. It is not part of the recipe, but I used it in an early test, which is where this picture is from.
3. Add coconut oil and blend again very briefly. Mixture will be smooth and a little thick.
4. Heat in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat while stirring regularly. It will look like quite lumpy as the tapioca starch activates.
It will eventually turn glossy and smooth, like melted cheese. When it reaches 170°F, it is done. You will see it begin to bubble around the edges and maintain its thickness.
5. Pour into a mold, or scoop balls into ice water for buffalo style mozzarella. Refrigerate for a few hours to fully firm up the cheese before slicing or grating.
6. Alternatively, if you have a Vitamix or other high speed blender, the ingredients can all be blended together until heated thoroughly (over 170°F) and poured into a mold to set. This is currently my preferred method.
Obviously, the best uses of any cheese are either on pizza or fried into mozzarella sticks.
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I have made this mozzarella recipe before and I am making it today. I love it, thank you. As a vegan of just 1 year I have missed cheese, I love that I can make it myself and save some money. Trying the Pepper Jack and smoked Gouda next.
I love this frickin cheese recipe so much I think I can fool people into thinking it’s real mozz
I love this recipe. I think it works well with the lemon juice, but just tried it with lactic acid. Maybe I’m using a different brand from you but I thought it was a little too tangy. Going to try halving the lactic acid next time!
Looks amazing! I’m gonna try this one. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Just about every vegan cheese recipe calls for nutritional yeast. Is there an alternative? Can it just be omitted? I’m allergic to all yeasts so I have yet to find a vegan cheese I can safely eat.
Just omit it!
I just made this and it is chilling as I write. However I couldn’t wait to taste and it is delicious!! I can’t wait for the final product!!!
Thank you!
AWESOME!! I’ve been looking for pizza cheese for years, this is heaven!
Do you mean 6 tbsp of solid coconut oil melted? Or do you mean 6 tbsp of already melted coconut oil?
Solid coconut oil, melted.
Thank you for this amazing recipe! I wanted to know how to make the mozzarella sticks? Or now like How do I get the cheese in stick form.
Just cut the block into sticks and bread and fry it!
Do you think this would work with sunflower seeds in place of the cashews? We are a dairy/peanut/treenut/egg free house due to allergies and I really want to try this one!
I have seen others use sunflower seeds as a replacement successfully.
What brand of Tapioca Starch did you use? I can’t wait to try this recipe 🙂
I typically use a Thai brand from my local Asian market. But any brand should work, including Anthony’s goods and Bob’s red mill.
Thanks so much for this – I just made it and it’s amazing!
How long can I store this for, and should I use the fridge or freezer?
Thanks!
Up to one week in the fridge, or 3 months in an airtight container in the freezer!
Thanks!
I prefer to store in the fridge though.
I doubled this recipe, so I’m planning to keep it in the freezer and take out a portion each week that I’ll keep in the fridge. Hopefully the taste isn’t affected the longer it’s kept cold. Thanks
This is so great – thank you for sharing!
One problem I have, about 20% of the time I make this the oil separates while I’m cooking it and I end up with the cheese sitting in a puddle of oil. Any idea what might be causing that?
Typically this is when the emulsion breaks. You can fix it by blending it with an immersion blender when it’s still hot!
Thanks! So once I’m done cooking I just hit it with the immersion blender then pop in the fridge. Thanks! And again, great recipe! Among other things I use it to make Brazilian puff bread
Hi so I just completed this recipe, but I noticed that there was a lot oil, where the oil kind of poured out as I poured the cheese into the mold. Is that normal, or does it mean I added too much oil? I added exactly 6 table spoons as in the recipe.
It means your emulsion broke! If you reheat it and use an immersion blender it should recombine for you.
Just did that and it seems to have worked! Thank you. What would have caused the emulsion to break?
Also, is it possible to use less oil? Just for health reasons. Thanks!
Sure, you can drop the oil by a couple tablespoons! It usually happens if it’s heated too high too fast or if the aquafaba isn’t strong enough to keep it emulsified
HI I tried to make this mozzarella cheese. I used my Vitamix. Followed the steps. I did make the mixture but it had to sit while I melted the oil. When I cooked it as it got hotter the oil separated. The mixture never came together as one. I stirred it the whole time. At 170 degrees I poured in a bowl. Any idea what went wrong? Thanks
Sometimes the emulsion can break if the aquafaba isn’t quite strong enough to keep it together or if it’s heated too fast. It’s an easy fix though, just use an immersion blender while it’s still warm, or you can cook the whole thing in the vitamix and pour into a mold.
Thanks for your help. How long would I cook it in the Vitamix roughly? My aquafaba was fresh out of a can. I probably heated it too quickly. Dusk
I let it go in the vitamix until it starts steaming and the blades slow down quite a bit, then pour it out as quickly as possible.
I made this a couple of days ago with almonds instead of cashews (allergy in the house) – it was delicious! Mine wasn’t quite as solid as yours – more like cream cheese in consistency – I’m wondering if I might have stopped cooking too soon? I don’t have a thermometer so I was just going by the photos. Nonetheless, it was delicious on pizza and pasta, and I will definitely be making it again 🙂
Wow, seems to be good !! 🤩 I just have a question : is it possible to substitute the raw cashews by macadamia nuts ? I am intolerante to a lot of nuts 😔
Yes! That would work well!