Here it is! The Best Vegan Mozzarella Cheese recipe that I’ve ever tasted! Only 7 ingredients, oil-free, no nutritional yeast and no tapioca starch! So creamy, rich, thick and amazing! Made with healthy whole foods that make pizza, grilled cheese, pasta bakes incredibly delicious and even non-vegans will love it!
BEST VEGAN MOZZARELLA CHEESE
SO, vegan mozzarella cheese is not a new thing, I know. It’s pretty much all over the internet. The recipes are very similar…they contain cashews, tapioca starch or agar agar, oil, nutritional yeast and lemon juice. I’ve tried many online and store-bought versions and I can confidently say that my family and I agreed that this is the best vegan mozzarella cheese we’ve ever tasted. My hope is that you will all love it as much as we do. It was a labor of love and multiple testing. I also didn’t want any complicated ingredients. My recipe is very different and the method is different as well. This cheese does not use a starch flour, nor is it cooked over the stove top to thicken. To be honest, I’ve tried them with tapioca and that is not the texture I wanted.
In other words, my version is not stretchy like what you’d expect from shredded mozzarella in those packages, but my recipe is more similar to the fresh dairy mozzarella, you know the extremely smooth, creamy and softer style of mozzarella, but plenty gooey!
When I say I’ve tested this vegan mozzarella cheese recipe probably 20 times, I’m not exaggerating. The quest for my favorite mozzarella began when I shared a mild version of this cheese on my emeal plan. It is a sauce that bakes up on a zucchini pasta bake. It is delicious, but wasn’t specifically a cheese. So, that started my testing stages of perfecting this recipe.
I’ve been making this recipe for months for pizza night, tweaking the cheese recipe multiple times with varying acidity levels, liquids, etc. until I finally feel like I created the best tasting vegan mozzarella cheese ever. Both my hubby and daughter LOVE IT. They are not fans of store-bought vegan cheese at all, but my husband consistently remarks on how delicious the pizza is with this cheese and when I make grilled cheese sandwiches with it served alongside my Vegan Tomato Bisque.
So, what ingredients are in this vegan mozzarella cheese?
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
(full amounts and details on recipe card below)
- Low-sodium vegetable broth
- Raw cashews: Of course, this is what makes the cheese creamy and smooth.
- Gold potato: I’ve been using potatoes in my cheese recipes and sauces for years on this blog. I also use it here in my Vegan Cheese Sauce (nut-free). It is also the ingredient for the cheese in my Pizza Quesadillas in my cookbook.
- Cooked white rice: Surprise! You might not be expecting this, but when I was trialing this multiple times I was thinking of ways I could make this cheese gooey and rich without using starch/flour. It is stickier and more neutral in flavor than brown rice, so stick with white. It aids in the amazing texture!
- Non-dairy plain yogurt: Y’all know how much I love using yogurt in my recipes. I’ve done it for years and have been putting yogurt in my Almond Ricotta Cheese, nearly all my vegan cream cheese recipes, too. So, no surprise I used it hear for extra tang and flavor that lemon juice just doesn’t solely provide.
- White vinegar: This is key to the cheese flavor that apple cider vinegar or lemon alone do not provide, so don’t skip this! I use this in my cream cheese recipes and many others as well.
- Lemon juice: Just a small amount is used here for tang, but not too much or it ends up tasting too lemony.
- Salt: Of course, without salt, nothing is tasting cheesy.
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN MOZZARELLA CHEESE
Step 1: First, if you don’t have a high-powered blender, you will need to soak the cashews overnight in a bowl of warm water so they can be really soft. Otherwise, you will end up with a gritty cheese. No need to soak if you have a Vitamix.
Step 2: Cook the rice and potato. I just popped a couple of potatoes in the microwave wrapped in a wet paper towel and cooked until really soft. Let cool and then peel the skin off and weigh 120 grams and add to a blender or a food processor if you don’t have a high-powered blender. For the rice, you can use those frozen white rice packets that cook in 3 minutes or use some already cooked white rice. Just make sure it is not cold stiff rice from the fridge, or it will be hard to blend it up smoothly. Just briefly warm it in the microwave and make sure it is a thick/sticky rice.
Step 3: Add the broth first to the blender, this will make for easier blending. Add the yogurt, cashews, potato, rice, vinegar, lemon juice and salt. Blend on high until 100% smooth, thick and creamy, as pictured. You may need to scrap down the sides a couple of times to get it going. Taste that amazingness! It will taste a bit salty which is important so that it stands out in grilled cheese sandwiches and on pizza, since technically you aren’t eating it on its own. It should be very thick, creamy and gooey.
Step 4: If using for a pizza, you can use it right away and follow the instructions below on how to add it to the pizza. OR, place it in the fridge to chill and firm up some.
For grilled cheese or quesadillas: The method is slightly different. You will need to add the cheese from the blender to a 6 inch round cake pan, lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 10 minutes at 350°F. This firms up the cheese just a bit. This allows the cheese to get much more thick/firm and not ooze out all over the place when you make the grilled cheese or quesadillas. You can use it right away or put in the fridge to firm up even more before using.
WAYS TO USE THIS VEGAN MOZZARELLA
- Pizza: Duh, of course on pizza! The mozzarella browns beautifully, as you can see here! And for that pizza, make sure to use my 5 Minute Homemade Pizza Sauce and No Yeast Pizza Crust! The pizza sauce takes all of 5 minutes and thousands of readers have made it and said they will never buy store-bought again. It is such a hit, that it is even included in my cookbook. To make on pizza, see exact instructions on the recipe card below.
- Pasta bakes: Just drizzle or dollop this cheese over any pasta or casserole and it will bake and firm up beautifully in the oven!
- Grilled cheese: One of our favorite uses with this cheese is grilled cheese! For this use, the method is different. It is actually baked briefly beforehand to firm it up slightly, then cooled and then used in grilled cheese. This creates the perfect texture for grilled cheese. We’ve eaten a ton of vegan grilled cheese sandwiches using this cheese with my Tomato Bisque and my husband absolutely goes crazy for it! I’m confident in saying it is so good, that I believe any non-vegans would love this, too. It tastes so much like grilled cheese I use to eat back in the day, that my life feels complete, haha. My daughter will only eat grilled cheese with this recipe, that is how much she loves it.
- Dipping: This cheese is thick and creamy and you can just dip chips into it too or even soft baked pretzels. My husband remarked on how it reminds him of the cheese that is served with pretzels.
MORE VEGAN CHEESE RECIPES
- Baked Smoky Cashew Cheese
- Baked Herbed cashew Cheese
- Best Vegan Queso
- Lemon Parmesan Cheese
- Easy Vegan Mexican Cheese
*This post contains affiliate links. See my full disclosure policy here.
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
*I worked extremely hard on testing and perfecting this recipe, so please do not post or copy my recipe onto your site, but instead link to my recipe giving proper credit, should you choose to make it.
Best Vegan Mozzarella Cheese (No Oil!)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (120g) low-sodium veggie broth
- 1/4 cup (60g) dairy-free plain, unsweetened high fat yogurt (I used Kite Hill almond yogurt that is high fat, super thick and creamy. The thicker the yogurt, the thicker the cheese. You can also use soy or coconut.) You can find this at Krogers or Sprouts
- 1/2 cup (75g) raw, unsalted cashews
- 1/2 packed cup (120g) of cooked, peeled and mashed gold potato (You are weighing the 120 grams AFTER you've cooked/peeled & mashed the potato)
- 1/4 packed cup (50g) cooked white rice
- 1/2-1 tablespoon (15g) distilled white vinegar-use 1/2 for mild tang and 1 for extra tang (this is key to the cheesy flavor, so don't sub)
- 1 teaspoon (5g) fresh lemon juice
- 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (This is KEY to the cheesy flavor, so don't omit or reduce so it stands out on pizza and in grilled cheese, etc.)
NOTE
- Please weigh your ingredients if possible, so you get the exactly right ratios for this cheese to turn out perfectly! You don't need to use the cups to compare measurements, just simply use my gram weights listed. I literally just put my Vitamix on my scale, hit zero, and add each ingredient, hitting zero in between each addition. SO easy and fast.
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- First, if you don't have a high-powered blender, you will need to soak the cashews overnight in a bowl of warm water so they can be really soft. Otherwise, you will end up with a gritty cheese. No need to soak if you have a Vitamix.
- Cook the rice and potato. I just popped a couple of potatoes in the microwave wrapped in a wet paper towel and cooked until really soft. Cool and peel the skin off and weigh 120 grams (a packed 1/2 cup). Add to a blender or a food processor if you don't have a high-powered blender. For the rice, you can use those frozen white rice packets that cook in 3 minutes or already made rice. Make sure it is not cold stiff rice from the fridge, or it will be hard to blend.
- Add the broth first to the blender. Add the yogurt, cashews, potato, rice, vinegar, lemon juice and salt. Blend on high until 100% smooth, thick and creamy. You may need to scrape down the sides a couple of times to get it going. The salt is important so that it stands out in grilled cheese sandwiches and pizza. While it tastes amazing straight out of the blender, wait to fully judge it on pizza and grilled cheese! Use it right away or place in the fridge to firm up.
- TO USE FOR GRILLED CHEESE OR QUESADILLAS: This method is different since the cheese is a bit too runny to use right away. To create a firmer cheese, you will line a 6 inch round cake pan with parchment paper (as pictured) pressing it along the sides of the pan to fit flat. Pour the cheese in the pan and bake at 350°F for 10 minutes. This firms up the cheese just a bit, making it less saucy. This allows the cheese to get more thick/firm and less saucy and not ooze everywhere when used for grilled cheese or quesadillas.
- TO USE FOR PIZZA: The cheese is the perfect consistency to use on pizza right after blending, as it's very easy to spread and drizzle or dollop. I always use my Homemade No Yeast Pizza Crust (which is pictured in the post). Simply add the pizza sauce to your pizza crust and all the toppings you want. Then drizzle/spoon the cheese sauce all over the pizza. You want to be generous with adding on top of the pizza, so you really taste the cheese in every bite. Bake at 400°F until the cheese is starting to look firm and a bit brown on top. I always cook my pizza at 400°F for 15-20 minutes or so until the cheese and crust are golden.
Notes
- STORAGE: This cheese lasts 1-2 weeks in the fridge.
- NO STARCH: As noted in the post in the beginning, this recipe does not call for tapioca starch or agar agar like nearly all vegan mozzarella cheese recipes do. Why? Some have asked and well, I wanted my version to be as whole foods based as possible and easy to find ingredients. We've always preferred the texture of real fresh classic dairy mozzarella, which is very smooth, creamy and soft. Not like the mozzarella shreds. We also love the texture of thick, creamy queso. Those dairy cheeses are not crazy stretchy, so that was the texture I was after here. It gets plenty thick and gooey from the cashews, potato and rice!
- If you want yours even thicker than it is out of the blender, you can always heat it up over the stove for 3-5 minutes over medium heat. It will become thicker and more gooey. But it is totally not needed for pizza or grilled cheese.
Hi there! Are the any options for subbing the cashews? My daughter is allergic to nuts & soy, which makes finding plant based cheese recipes quite tricky. Thanks!
The cashews are really important to the texture and creamy aspect. You could try raw sunflower seeds, but it won’t have quite the same smooth flavor, since they are stronger in taste, but you could try that. Also, they make sauces a bit thicker, so make sure to blend up long enough to get it fully smooth.
This is fantastic and super easy. I use this for lasagna and pizza, and I bake it to spread on bagels. Today I added 1.5 tablespoons of nutritional yeast to make it taste extra cheesy. Thank you so much for another great recipe! <3
I just made this cheese a few minutes ago and it is absolutely delicious. Every single one of your recipes I’ve tried have been fabulous. Even my meat eating mom enjoys your recipes.
That is so amazing to hear Brittany, thank you so much!!
oh my goodness! I did not expect this result, just amazing. I could only find natural coconut yoghurt which I’m not overly fond of but went with it. On first taste i could only taste the coconut…so disappointed. Then i remembered your comment re salt. I added more salt than stated and voila! Perfection! …and the coconut flavour has literally melded into the background.
Thank you for yet another amazing recipe.
Why does this taste so good!!! Super easy to make, actually smells good, and taste, phenomenal. Great Job!
Wow. This is excellent. I’d almost given up on finding a good vegan mozzarella. My non-vegan daughter even says it is good. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Have been wanting to make this recipe for a few weeks. I finally made it tonight and we loved it. Hard to stop eating out of the blender. We had it on pizza. What I especially liked was that it was easy . You just throw everything in the blender, no cooking involved. I did make the rice yesterday. I do want to try baking it a little to firm up. I probably went a little less on the salt because we usually do not use any salt. Thanks, I ‘m going to look up your pizza crust recipe.
Linda
My family & I LOVE this recipe! I was pleasantly surprised by how how it tastes to cheese. My husband & kids really love their cheese, but loved this just as much. We’ve made it twice and are planning more. I highly recommend.
*by how close it tastes to cheese
That is amazing to hear, thank you Brooke!
Oh my! This is the closest homemade cheese I have ever made at home! When I first made it and tasted it right from the blender I was taken abacak how real it tasted. I was like, no way and kept licking the spoon… It is unreal! The day I made this cheese, I also made bagels and we bought TJ’s vegan cream cheese in case this did not turn out how I wanted. After I baked the cheese it was still in spreadable consistency. We didn’t even try TJ’s vegan cream cheese, we just ate this cheese it’s that good. Also follow the measurements because they work! I don’t have a scale so I used measuring cups and spoons and the taste was perfection. I generally change recipes depending on what I like etc. and I did question the amount of salt, but I am so happy I followed the recipe. After that first try I made this multiple times and I LOVE it! One time I tried making it right after I woke up and messed up the measurements and I had to triple the recipe to make it somewhat close to the original. It still tasted good and we ate it all but it wasn’t as good as when I followed the measurements exactly. Thank you for this amazing recipe!
Thank you so much Oz for this amazing review!! I’m so happy to hear how much you loved it! And thank you for mentioning that about the measuring. I’m extremely meticulous about testing my recipes to the T for the absolute best measurements for the best flavor, so I’m happy to hear how perfect it turned out following the exact measurements!
This is absolutely the best Mozzarella cheese recipe I have tryed. I am first generation Italian & it gets a 5 star rating from me lol. I love that it’s made from wholesome simple ingredients with no oil. Those plant based cheeses in the store taste so artificial & make me nauseous. Thanks so much for all the time & effort you put in to perfect your recipes & for giving such awesome detailed instructions! I appreciate you!
I’m not vegan, but I’ve been experimenting with more plant-based meals. Never, ever did I think I’d like a vegan cheese. But here I am three days later still RAVING about this recipe. Along with the pizza crust recipe, I was able to make the most delicious vegan pizza that was so unbelievable, I was shocked it came from my blender and a few ingredients I had laying around. IT MELTED TO ABSOLUTE PERFECTION. Thank you so much for this wonderfully detailed and perfect recipe, I am excited to try this out again and make myself some ‘vegan’ queso. This is a must-have for anyone trying to cut back on dairy like myself. 5/5!
Such a wonderful review, thanks a ton for leaving it Christine!!
DANG! I was skeptical when following the instructions but now I am in cheese heaven! I was short a bit on potato so I found some potato flakes that I mashed up and added. Makes a lot for 2 people but no worries! I’m using it on pizza now and I can see that cheesy veggies, baked potato and maybe some ziti are in my future! Spinach dip? Artichoke dip? So many possibilities! Between this and the awesome ranch dressing your website is now one of my go to places 🙂
Woohoo, really lovely to hear all of this, thank you Jean!
This was so good, blended it with tons of sautéed spinach and artichokes and made a dip !
I have made this a few times now, put it on pizza and noodles. Tonight I made Gnocchi with a lentil marinara and veggies. We dolloped this cheese on top and swirled it around. Oh my goodness….my husband and I both agree that you should win some kind of award or medal for this cheese recipe. It is amazing!!! Thank you sooooo much!
Wow! I’m trying to get it into the fridge, but we keep tearing off bits of fresh made bread and dipping it in this amazing “cheese” I want to bake some also, to see how it firms up with that technique. Winner! Winner!
Awesome Linda! It doesn’t firm up a bunch, just enough to use it in grilled cheese or quesadillas and not be so saucy. Baking it too long (I’ve tried) turns it into an unpleasant almost ricotta texture.
I have two picky eaters at home and one kiddo who will eat anything. We tried this cheese out in quesadillas yesterday and the two picky kiddos had the option of Daiya cheese or this. They’ve grown up on Daiya cheese and THEY BOTH CHOSE THIS!!! My mama heart did cartwheels!!!! Another AMAZING recipe, Brandi!!!
Woohoo, that is sooo awesome!!
WOW!! This is truly the best vegan cheese on earth, I don’t see how this could be better. I usually always feel like there should be some tweaking in the recipes but this one is perfect, and I can’t believe this is the most healthy of all!
And the best part is that my bf, who’s non-vegan and absolutely addicted to cheese to my despair (cheese is the only non-vegan food in the fridge I couldn’t make him quit), loved it too and said he could eat it any day of the week so I’m stoked if I can make him replace his usual with this one!
You’re a genius, thank you for sharing this with the world, will be making this often!
Wow, that is so awesome and such a compliment! Thank you for this incredible review Audrey!
Hi Brandi, loved this cheese! Wow!! You’re the best—thank you for so many recipes that make plant strong eating so doable and tasty! My grilled cheese sandwich today was the tops. I move this cheese and am anxious to incorporate it into many recipes.
That is so wonderful to hear, thank you Darlene!
I’ve been trying so many vegan cheese recipes and I’ve gotta say this one has surpassed the rest! Loved it in grilled cheese and quesadilla.. thanks again for the recipe. I’ll use the left overs on pizza tomorrow.
Yay, that is awesome feedback, thank you so much Abhaya!!
Not that I should be surprised, since every one of your recipes is amazing, but THIS CHEESE! The stars aligned in my refrigerator, as I happened to have just enough yogurt left after making our weekly batch of your skillet Mac, and I decided to give this recipe a go. It tasted absolutely amazing right out of the blender. I used it to top a lasagna and it firmed up beautifully. I ended up making a double batch the next day, baking half and leaving half soft. I’ve made quesadillas, swirled it into pasta, dipped soft pretzels. The whole family loves it. You’re the best!
This makes me so happy to hear Arielle, thanks so much for this wonderful review! Oh and yes, I’ve served it with baked pretzels too, omg, sooo good!
So easy and so delicious. I’ve made this 3 times and we are addicted. Great on enchiladas, quesadillas and I also made some vegan poutine and put dollies on this on top of the gravy. Really outstanding.
So wonderful to hear Colleen! Thank you!
HI Brandi, Do you have a recipe for home-made vegan yogurt that would work for this mozzarella? Thanks!
Hi Harriet, no I don’t, I’m sorry! There are lots online, but depending on the recipe, they are not comparable to the flavor and tang of storebought. Particularly the ones that are just made with cashews and lemon juice. It would need to be authentic yogurt made from probiotic capsules or something to have the right yogurt flavor.
So so good. Just made it so I can have pizza for lunch tomorrow. Was hard to put away, kept eating from the blender. I put a note in my book to double the batch next time.
haha, I know the feeling, thank you Carole!
This was the best ever vegan cheese! So easy to make and I loved all the ingredients since I had all of them handy and they were so common (nothing weird 😋). You are truly the best cook ever. ❤️
Thanks for all you do to keep us healthy and satisfied.
That is really kind of you to say, Janet, so happy you love this recipe!
Can this be frozen? 🙂
I tested freezing some and posted about it here. I went over my points there about it: Facebook post
I have made this 5 times now and with a bit of playing I found I like it best with apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar and a full teaspoon of salt! 1 batch will get me enough for a large pizza and a full box of noodles to make Mac n cheese.
So happy you love this recipe so much Meg! Yes, that makes sense since white vinegar has a much saltier taste, so using apple cider vinegar would need more salt! I’ve tried it with apple cider as well and prefer the white vinegar, but so glad you found what you love best! Thank you so much Meg!
AMAZING- thank you! I gave some to my dairy loving family and they preferred this cheese over their usual dairy mozzarella! I added in slightly more vinegar (just personal taste) and it was still awesome.
Wow, that is so amazing to hear Unna!!