Best Vegan Mozzarella Cheese (No Oil!)
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!
Servings: 2 cups
Calories: 94kcal
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.
Nutrition
Serving: 8servings (1/4 cup each) | Calories: 94kcal | Carbohydrates: 10.3g | Protein: 2.4g | Fat: 5.1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 186mg | Potassium: 124mg | Fiber: 0.8g | Sugar: 0.8g | Calcium: 6mg