Easy Cashew Cheese | Mozzarella
This amazingly simple Vegan Cashew Cheese is deliciously stretchy and gooey on pizza, French onion soup, and so many other recipes. It’s the perfect dairy-free cheese recipe that also happens to be gluten-free.
Is it really possible? Homemade cashew cheese that requires only a handful of ingredients and no oil that stretches like mozzarella? YES, it is! I’m not going to kid you, this cashew cheese recipe is one of the best things since sliced bread, in my humble opinion.
This stuff will surprise you, guaranteed. Not only is it delicious, but it actually has a stretch to it like mozzarella cheese. Seriously! There is even a nut-free option available! If you love vegan cheese, we have some delicious recipes on this website including the best vegan cheese sauce ever and even sweet potato cheese sauce.
Reasons you will love this vegan cheese
- Creamy and Stretchy Texture – This cashew mozzarella vegan cheese boasts a creamy, stretchy consistency that mimics traditional mozzarella, making it perfect for topping pizzas, pasta dishes, or using in casseroles.
- Nutritious and Wholesome – Made from raw cashews, this vegan cheese is packed with healthy fats, protein, and essential nutrients, providing a delicious and nutritious alternative to dairy cheese without compromising flavor.
- Easy to Make – Whipping up cashew mozzarella is a breeze, requiring just a few simple ingredients and minimal prep time, allowing you to enjoy homemade vegan cheese in no time!
- Versatile for Various Dishes – This cashew mozzarella can be used in a variety of recipes, from lasagna and stuffed shells to salads and sandwiches, making it a versatile ingredient that elevates your plant-based meals.
Ingredients you will need
Regular mozzarella cheese is not dairy-free, because it’s made with milk. However, this cashew mozzarella is! It is made with only five ingredients and it’s completely vegan, dairy-free, oil-free, and gluten-free.
- Raw cashews- Using raw cashews to make cashew mozzarella cheese is essential because they have a mild flavor and creamy texture that blend smoothly into a rich, velvety cheese alternative. For those avoiding nuts, white beans can be used, but it changes the taste and texture.
- Nutritional yeast– Adds a distinctive cheesy flavor and umami richness, which enhance the overall taste of the cheese alternative.
- Thickener- Cornstarch or arrowroot powder helps achieve the desired stretchy and gooey texture that is characteristic of traditional mozzarella. These starches act as thickening agents, allowing the cheese to melt smoothly and hold together when heated.
- White wine vinegar– This acidity helps mimic the taste of traditional mozzarella, providing a well-rounded flavor that balances the creaminess of the cashews.
- Salt- Enhances the overall flavor, making it taste more like traditional cheese. It helps to bring out the natural flavors of the cashews and other ingredients, creating a well-balanced and savory profile.
Cashews or white beans for the base
The base of this cheese recipe is soaked cashews, however, there are many folks that need to avoid nuts due to allergies or calories. That’s why I came up with a white bean option as well.
Personally, I love the cashew version because the flavor is out of this world. However, I understand completely that some folks have nut allergies or heart disease and are staying away from nuts.
When soaked, the raw cashews create a creamy texture and neutral flavor that pairs well with tangy white wine vinegar and nutty nutritional yeast. When blended together with the other ingredients, it creates a powerful warm, creamy, nutty flavor that is perfect for mozzarella.
Thankfully, white beans do a good job of substituting in this cashew cheese recipe. Just keep in mind that the outcome will taste a bit different.
Tips & Suggestions
- Soaking cashews- The fast method for soaking cashews is in very hot water for at least an hour. The slower method can be done in cooler water for 6+ hours.
- Beans- The white beans I prefer in this recipe are white cannellini beans.
- Freezing- The bean version does freeze and grate as well. It’s a little darker in color and the taste, as well as texture, is different from the cashew version of course. I much prefer the cashew cheese, but white beans will work as a substitute. Once it’s frozen and shredded, it has to stay frozen and can’t be refrigerated.
How to make cashew mozzarella cheese
The recipe card at the bottom of the page has the full list of ingredients with measurements and instructions.
STEP #1: Begin by deciding whether you would like to use raw cashews or white beans for the base.
If you are using cashews, you’ll need to soak them in very hot water for 1 hour or overnight or at least 6 hours in cool water.
I have also made this without soaking the cashews, but the texture and flavor are better if they are soaked even when using my Vitamix blender. I do highly recommend soaking.
And, I hope it goes without saying that if you’re using white beans, they will need to be cooked first unless they are from a can. If they are from a can, remember to drain the liquid and rinse them well.
STEP #2: Once the cashews have soaked and become softened, add all of the ingredients to a blender and process on high until smooth.
STEP #3: Next, pour the blended cheese ingredients from the blender or food processor into a saucepan. Begin slowly heating and whisking together as it warms. This will happen quite quickly.
Do not leave it unattended because it needs to be stirred nearly constantly until it reaches the desired thickness and stretchiness.
The demo video below shows how creamy and stretchy the texture of this cashew cheese becomes while it’s heating up. Be sure to check it out!
STEP #4: At this point, the cheese is ready to be used in other recipes like grilled cheese sandwiches, spinach lasagna, quesadillas, veggie pizza, vegan meatballs, French onion soup, or anything else that comes to mind.
Making your own vegan mozzarella cheese is very simple and SO much better for your health than the processed store-bought varieties. If you’re looking for a super quick recipe, try this 5-Minute Vegan Cashew Queso.
Can you freeze cashew cheese?
Absolutely, and I actually highly recommend freezing this cashew cheese. Once it’s frozen, it can be grated to use as shreds which are terrific on pizza and salads.
I simply pour it into a glass dish and cover it well then place it in a freezer bag. When it’s frozen solid, remove it from the freezer and grate it into shreds.
Use the shreds as a topping for pizza, soups, and salads. You can even slice it and make grilled cheese sandwiches. Refreeze immediately or it will become soft.
Once it’s frozen and shredded, it has to stay frozen and can’t be refrigerated.
Make it sliceable
*Update- I was recently messing around with trying to find a way to make my Vegan Cheese Sauce Recipe sliceable, and it was a success. Now that same concept can be used with this mozzarella cheese as well.
- Beginning at step #5 in the original instructions, simply leave the mozzarella in the blender while you prepare the thickener that will make it sliceable.
- In a small or medium saucepan, add 3/4 cup water plus a little over 1 tablespoon agar powder and bring it to a boil. It is important not to leave it at this point because it will thicken pretty quickly.
- Turn down the heat to low and whisk continually until the mixture thickens to a molasses-like consistency.
- Next, quickly pour it into the blender with the prepared mozzarella and blend for approximately 30 seconds to mix it well.
- Now, it’s time to pour the cheese into containers that are the shape that you would like your hard cheese in. Personally, I use mini loaf pans and round souffle dishes. Another good option would be mini loaf nonstick silicone molds.
- Smooth out the top of each one with a spoon or spatula so that when they are flipped out onto a plate, the bottom will be flat.
- Place the molds into the refrigerator for a at least couple of hours or longer. As it chills, the harder the cheese becomes, so the longer the better. Carefully turn out the cheese blocks onto a plate or serving platter with crackers.
Other amazing vegan cheese recipes
- Best Vegan Cheese Sauce
- Cashew Vegan Mozzarella
- Nacho Cheese
- Vegan Ricotta
- Vegan Parmesan Cheese
- Easy Vegan Cream Cheese
Frequently Asked Questions
Somewhat, when made with starches like cornstarch or arrowroot, it can become stretchy, making it ideal for pizzas, casseroles, or any dish where you want that gooey cheese effect. It doesn’t melt just like regular mozzarella though.
Yes, vegan cashew mozzarella cheese is naturally gluten-free as it doesn’t contain wheat or gluten-based ingredients, especially if you use gluten-free starches like cornstarch or arrowroot.
Homemade cashew mozzarella cheese can last up to 5-7 days when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Be sure to refrigerate it promptly to maintain its freshness.
Recipes That Use Vegan Mozzarella
If you try this recipe, please let us know how you like it by rating it and leaving a comment. We love to hear from you!
Cashew Cheese Mozzarella
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup raw cashews or white beans
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch arrowroot powder, , or other thickener
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Begin by deciding whether you would like to use raw cashews or white beans for the base. Personally, I love the cashew version because the flavor is out of this world. However, I understand completely that some folks have nut allergies or heart disease and are staying away from nuts.
- If you are using cashews, you'll need to soak them in very hot water for 1 hour or overnight or at least 6 hours in cool water.
- If you're using white beans, they will need to be cooked first unless they are from a can. If they are from a can, remember to drain the liquid and rinse them well.
- Once the cashews have soaked and become softened, add all of the ingredients to a blender and process on high until smooth.
- Next, simply pour the blended cheese ingredients from the blender or food processor into a saucepan. Begin slowly heating and whisking together as it warms. This will happen quite quickly. Do not leave it unattended because it needs to be stirred nearly constantly until it reaches the desired thickness and stretchiness.
- At this point, the cheese is ready to be used in other recipes like grilled cheese sandwiches, lasagna, quesadillas, veggie pizza, no-meat balls, French onion soup, or anything else that comes to mind.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Disclaimer
To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
About Terri Edwards
Hi guys! I am the content creator behind EatPlant-Based and a licensed Food for Life instructor with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. I am passionate about sharing healthy recipes and tips to empower others to get healthy. I’m so glad you’re here! Read More…
I just made this yesterday and it tastes good. I did add some miso paste to make it taste more cheesy. I am going to blend some agar agar into it as I want it to firm up.
Great texture and super easy to make! I added a few seasoning to give it some extra flavor. The vinegar was a bit too much much for me, so next time I will use a half tablespoon.
Brilliant recipe. I have experimented with different flavouring. My favourite is smoked paprika. Add 3 tsp of smoked paprika to the ingredients
Can the salt be reduced or eliminated? I
Hi Mike- It can be. Since regular cheese is high in salt, leaving it out of this recipe will make it taste less like cheese, but it will still be good.
made a batch of this, used half for a big veggie lasagna with spinach, mushrooms, spaghetti sauce. damn it was good
Can this be grated and melted if you make it sliceable? Also, if you have leftovers of the non-sliceable version, can it be reheated and does it resume its more gooey consistency?
Lorna, I have frozen and grated or sliced. I haven’t tried freezing it and then getting it to resume the gooey consistency. The cornstarch would likely mess with the texture a little, but you might be able to thin it out with more water.
Terri I made this as written, the sliceable, altho after having made the sliceable cheese sauce recipe I used less agar. It turned out well altho I’m not thrilled with the gelatinous texture. I have to tell myself I’m eating Brie and even that is a stretch. However, warmed on slices of French bread and all good.
A question please… is the white wine vinegar necessary for anything other than flavor? I find there to be too much “tang” in the recipe as written and would gladly cut back the amount of white wine vinegar.
Thanks Terri!
Frank- The white wine vinegar is just for flavor, so it can definetly be reduced. Having the recipe warmed on sliced French bread sounds yummy!
@Terri Edwards, thanks for the reply Terri! I made another batch with half the amount of white wine vinegar and for me it tasted great and so simple to make. It’s a fun recipe to experiment with.
And yes, warmed slices on French bread are fantastic. I also just made some seitan salami that worked out very well. you can imagine how delicious your mozzarella on salami on crusty French bread warmed is.
Thanks again for your help and this excellent recipe!
Do you use the water that the cashews were soaked in?
Hi Joan- Yes, I do use the same water.
Absolutely delicious! I’ve only started this WFPB eating 2 weeks ago and I’m so glad I stumbled on your website. Your recipes are so amazing and I don’t feel like I’m missing any of the foods I used to eat. Thank you so much Terri for making this so simple and providing all of us with such delicious recipes. Thanks for doing all the hard work for all of us that don’t really know what we’re doing yet. Now I’m off to making another one of your delicious recipes. I can’t say enough thanks!!
Hi Janet- That’s so awesome! I’m thrilled that you’re enjoying the recipes and welcome to the WFPB community. Your kind and encouraging words mean SO MUCH. Thank you!!
I have followed instructions to the point of having it all blended in my Vitamix. For making cheese, it says to use 3/4c water and agar agar. Is this an additional 3/4c water? So this will make a larger quantity of sliceable cheese?
Hi Gerri- Yes, you’ll need to add another 3/4 cups water to make the agar mixture.
Hello, I want to try this and don’t have arrowroot powder. Would almond flour substitute well for it?
Hi Carrie- It really needs to be a thickener. Not sure at all that almond flour would work. Cornstarch would be a great option though.