Easy Vegan Mozzarella "Cheese"

Step 1

Soak cashews in very hot water for 1 hour or overnight or at least 6 hours in cool water. Drain thoroughly.

Step 2

Add cashews to a high-speed blender, along with coconut yogurt (see notes for substitutions), lemon juice, almond or rice milk, salt, nutritional yeast, and tapioca starch, and blend on high until creamy and smooth, scraping down sides as needed.

Step 3

Taste and adjust flavor as needed, adding more nutritional yeast for cheesiness, salt for saltiness, lemon juice for acidity, or coconut yogurt for more creaminess or tang. The texture should be creamy, smooth, and pourable.

Step 4

Transfer to a small saucepan or skillet, heat over medium-low heat, and begin whisking. It should start to bubble and thicken and look a little clumpy - this is OK. Keep whisking and the mixture will come together in a ball-like shape within 4-5 minutes. Lower heat if cooking too quickly. It’s also normal for the cheese to stick to the bottom of the pan a little. Don’t panic.

Step 5

Lower heat to the lowest setting and switch to a wooden mixing spoon. Continue stirring until a loose “ball” is formed (see photo). Then transfer to a small mixing bowl.

Step 6

At this point, it’s cheese that’s ready to be used! I prefer covering, letting it cool in the refrigerator, and then scooping into 1 Tbsp amounts for “curds” or 3 Tbsp amounts for “mozzarella-like balls.”

Step 7

Optional: Make a salt water brine by adding 1 1/2 Tbsp sea salt to 2 cups (480 ml) hot water and stirring to dissolve. Then add plenty of ice to chill. Add your mozzarella balls or curds to the bath to add a bit more salty flavor. However, I found that this caused the cheese to take on more liquid and become too moist, so I’d personally recommend skipping this step.