Vegetarian Vegan Cashew Mozzarella
Stretchy, glossy, and genuinely satisfying to pull apart, this cashew-based mozzarella is the kind of plant-based cheese that actually earns its name. Soaking raw cashews softens them enough to blend into a silky, pourable cream, and the tapioca starch is the real magic here — it's what gives the finished cheese that signature stretch and melt you'd expect from the real thing. A little apple cider vinegar and lemon juice add just enough tang to keep it tasting like cheese rather than a smoothie, while garlic powder rounds out the flavor beautifully. The stovetop cooking step is where everything transforms: constant stirring coaxes the mixture from thin liquid into something glossy and elastic that practically begs to be pulled. Once chilled, it firms up enough to slice, shred, or tear over a pizza before it melts right back down under heat. It's a genuinely impressive result from eight simple pantry and produce ingredients, and it fits comfortably into any plant-forward kitchen without any specialty dairy substitutes or hard-to-find additives.
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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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