Dairy Free Vegan Cashew Mozzarella
Stretchy, glossy, and genuinely satisfying to pull apart, this cashew-based mozzarella delivers the kind of melt you'd expect from the real thing — without a drop of dairy in sight. Soaking raw cashews before blending is the key move here: it creates an ultra-smooth base that, once cooked with tapioca starch, transforms into something remarkably elastic and cheese-like. Watching the mixture go from thin, pourable cream to a glossy, stretchy mass in the saucepan is one of those kitchen moments that feels almost like magic. After a couple of hours in the fridge, it firms up beautifully and can be sliced, shredded, or torn just like a fresh ball of mozzarella. It re-melts on a hot pizza or warm dish, making it genuinely versatile rather than just a novelty. Apple cider vinegar and lemon juice add just enough tang to keep it from tasting flat, while garlic powder rounds out the flavor in a subtle, savory way. If you've been skeptical about dairy-free cheese alternatives, this one is worth making before you write off the whole category.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in cold water for at least 2 hours, then drained and rinsed
- ¾ cup water
- 3 tbsp tapioca starch
- 1 tbsp refined coconut oil
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- 1
Drain and rinse the soaked cashews, then add them to a high-speed blender along with the water, tapioca starch, coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and garlic powder. Blend on high for 60–90 seconds until completely smooth with no visible cashew pieces — the mixture should look like thin, pourable cream.
- 2
Pour the blended mixture into a medium saucepan and set over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula, for 5–8 minutes until the mixture thickens dramatically, pulls away from the sides of the pan, and becomes glossy and stretchy — it will look like melted mozzarella and stretch when you lift the spatula.
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