Vegan Mozzarella

An incredible plant-based oil-free mozzarella style cheese that shreds and melts – great on pizza, grilled cheese, and lasagna!

Cheese is the one thing my husband wasn’t sure he could give up when we decided to go on a plant-based diet three years ago. At first, he didn’t eat any vegan cheese because 1) eating plant-based was an experiment to see if his blood pressure and cholesterol would come down so he purposely only ate whole foods; and 2) there couldn’t be a suitable substitute for real cheese… right?

To reiterate, my husband absolutely loves cheese. So after a while of eating very healthy, he wanted to splurge – this initial splurge may have involved pizza at his favorite custom pizza joint. When the master pizza maker offered him vegan cheese, he couldn’t resist putting it on his pizza. And he continued to add that vegan cheese to his pizza every time we indulged in pizza for more than a year – until one fateful day when I learned that excess salt increases blood pressure. (Thank you, Dr. Greger).

So we started paying attention to how much salt was in the foods we ate all the time. After a quick google search, we learned that there were 3,880 milligrams of sodium in his one mega pizza. Game Over.

Needless to say, date nights no longer occurred at our favorite pizza joint. But it was far too late – by that point, his love affair with fake cheese had ignited. Since that doomsday discovery, we make our own pizza – check out this new Vegan Mozzarella addition on my Ultimate Supreme Plant-based Pizza.

So let’s talk cheese. I’m sure you already know this – vegan cheese is very different from dairy cheese. But you know what? My husband doesn’t care. Not one bit. Fake cheese is close enough to the real deal that he’s 100% okay with the substitution. I, on the other hand, have never truly enjoyed eating cheese – except on a grilled cheese sandwich or nestled inside my Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich. Otherwise, I really don’t want it and I certainly don’t miss it. For example, cheese on pizza? meh.

But when you love someone, you do crazy-insane things for them. And since I love my guy, I try to accommodate his love affair with fake cheese. He likes it on everything. This includes the aforementioned pizza, as well as sandwiches, veggie burgers, toast, buddha bowls, tacos, spaghetti, and so on. And normally, it’s perfectly fine when he can put a slice of cheese on his veggie burger – I don’t need to put one on mine. And all remains right in the world.

But what do you do when it’s a one dish meal, like lasagna?

So over the past year and a half, I have bought a lot of different vegan cheeses due to my husband’s affinity for the stuff. I actually don’t dislike Violife cheddar slices and Follow Your Heart’s smoked gouda. But I haven’t really found a shredded mozzarella that I myself like. I’ve heard about Miyoko’s but I’ve never been able to find it. I will buy a bunch for my husband the day I do happen upon it.

Until that day, I wanted a more affordable and oil-free option. I wanted to create a firm mozzarella cheese that shreds well, melts well enough, tastes good, and is easy to make. I didn’t want it to contain a bunch of oil and salt either. So I tried a bunch of different recipes to see what works and what doesn’t work, then played a little more.

This mozzarella uses standard cashews as its base. And since I had such success with my Mighty Cheese Sauce, I tried adding starchy potatoes with the cashews to see if it would add the much-needed depth and substantiality I was looking for in a firm shreddable cheese.

And you know what? It works like a charm. To keep things simple, I boil the cashews and potatoes at the same time – simple is best. The starch from the potatoes, along with a little tapioca starch, helps provide this mozzarella with structure and stretchiness. Once you drain the potatoes and cashews, heat up some plant milk in that same pot and… drumroll…

And finally, add everything to a high-speed blender, along with some spices, fresh lemon juice, and a little Kappa Carrageenan, which rapidly solidifies the mozzarella sauce into its sturdy and shreddable form. And voila! Like magic, I have a firm mozzarella cheese. See?

Kappa Cara what? Carrageenan is an algae with similar thickening and stabilizing properties to agar agar and is derived from red seaweed. Kappa carrageenan is the best type of carrageenan for cooking – it’s a natural hydrocolloid and can be used as a suspending and emulsifying stablizer, thickener, binder and gelling agent. 

Compared to agar, kappa carrageenan makes a better quality melting cheese. (The Elated Vegan). And since I’m specifically looking for a melting cheese, I recommend trying it. I purchased a quality non-gmo product on Amazon. A little goes a long way so this container lasts a really long time.

This mozzarella shreds quite nicely; though I do recommend shredding the mozzarella directly on top of whatever you are making right before cooking it. Otherwise, like most cheese, it starts to stick a little to the cutting board as it warms to room temperature.

And you know I had to test the melt factor. This mozzarella is mild enough and melty enough to make a mean grilled cheese sandwich that I truly enjoy eating. And let me just say, this is the first vegan cheese that I really like – and that is saying quite a bit for me. Just check out that gooey melty mozzarella cheese on my perfectly toasted grilled cheese sandwich!

And that’s not the only test did. I took my first food video to show you just how melty this vegan cheese really is. It’s finely grated on top of some leftover spaghetti and marinara (recipe coming soon, I promise). I may not have the most impressive cheese-turning-fork-skills, but you get the point. This cheese truly is melty! Disclaimer: I did heat this up in a microwave. That seems to be the best way to make sure the cheese is heated through.

I hope you enjoy this Vegan Mozzarella as much as I do.  

I’m just starting out and would love to see your results. Please leave a comment and rate it down below, tag a picture @pebblesandtoast and #pebblesandtoast on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!   Enjoy!!   

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Ingredients

• ½ cup raw cashews
• ½ cup potatoes, diced
• 1 ½ cups plant milk
• ¼ cup tapioca starch 
• 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• ¼ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp onion powder
• 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp kappa carrageenan* (optional)
• salt to taste (½ -1 tsp optional)

Instructions

1. Boil the cashews and potatoes in a saucepan until potatoes are fork tender, 5-10 minutes.  Drain and rinse well.

1. Pour the milk into the saucepan; bring to a low boil.

1. Place all of the ingredients, including the boiling milk, cooked potatoes and cashews, into a high-speed blender and blend on high speed for 1-2 minutes, until very smooth.
2. Immediately pour into a glass or plastic bowl, mold, or container – It’s going to get thick fast! So pour it into your mold very quickly.
3. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, though overnight is best.
4. Once the mozzarella is firm, you can slice or shred and use in any recipe that calls for it, though the flavor improves with time and is best the next day.
5. Store in a covered container or wrapped in a paper towel and plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.  

Notes

* Kappa Carrageenan is necessary for shreddable and sliceable cheese.  If you omit, the mozzarella cheese will remain in a soft sauce state.  It’s still delicious but will need to be spooned or poured onto your pizza or lasagna.  You may also substitute with 2-3 tablespoons agar agar, if desired, but it may result in a softer less melty cheese.

A friend recommended adding a teeny bit of liquid smoke to make a smoked gouda-type cheese. I have not tried this yet. Please let me know if you do and what you think.

Disclaimer: Due to a misconception and heated political discussions, kappa carrageenan isn’t always well received. I really enjoyed reading The Gentle Chef’s post explaining the misconception and issues (The Gentle Chef). I personally believe the product and quantity I use is safe. However, if you aren’t comfortable using kappa carrageenan or can’t find it, feel free to use 2-3 tablespoons of agar agar or simply omit it altogether. Please note (like the first note above) that if you choose to omit it, the mozzarella will not solidify; but it will be a very good cheese sauce – basically a white version of my Mighty Cheez Sauce since there aren’t any orange carrots to add color.

This Vegan Mozzarella is the best of three recipes: It doesn’t taste like chicken, the vegan blueberry, and my very own Mighty Cheez Sauce.