Low Iodine Vegan Cashew Mozzarella
Stretchy, glossy, and genuinely satisfying, this cashew-based mozzarella delivers the melt and pull you'd expect from the real thing — all from a short list of plant-based pantry staples. For anyone navigating a low-iodine approach, dairy cheese is one of the trickier ingredients to work around, and most store-bought vegan alternatives can be just as unpredictable with their additive lists. This recipe keeps things clean: raw cashews, tapioca starch, coconut oil, and a few flavor boosters are all you need. The tapioca starch is the real workhorse here — it's what transforms that blended cashew cream into something stretchy and sliceable once it hits the heat. The technique is straightforward, just steady stirring over medium heat until the mixture goes glossy and starts pulling away from the pan. Once it sets in the fridge, you can slice it, shred it, or tear it over a warm dish where it'll melt right back down beautifully. It's the kind of recipe that makes a restrictive eating plan feel genuinely abundant rather than like a compromise.
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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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