Easiest Stretchy Vegan Mozzarella (perfect for pizza, lasagna, etc!)

 

EASY Stretchy Vegan Mozzarella Cheese

servings: 8 SERVINGS

prep time: 5 MINUTES

cook time: 10 MINUTES

The Stretchy Vegan Mozzarella Cheese of your dreams, made with just 5 ingredients and in 15 minutes! Perfect for grilled cheese, lasagna, pizza and more!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup raw cashew, soaked
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice, fresh from about 1/2 lemon
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons tapioca starch/flour 
• 1Tbsp Nutritional Yeast (optional, Crissie's favorite way)
• 1 tsp italian seasoning (optional, for an exciting flavor)

Instructions

• Boil 2 cups of water (I just heat up water in my tea kettle). Pour the water over the cashews and let soak for 5 minutes and up to an hour.
• Drain the cashews, and add them to a blender along with 1 1/3 cups fresh water (not the water you soaked the cashews in), lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, salt and tapioca starch. Blend until very smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed. It will be very watery at this point.
• Now pour the watery mixture into a small saucepan and bring the heat to medium. Begin to stir with a spatula or spoon.
• After a few minutes, it will begin to get clumpy. Keep stirring constantly until suddenly it will become super gooey, stretchy, thick and smooth. It will become one big mass of stretchy vegan cheese. Remove from heat as soon as this happens!!
• Use immediately, or store in a covered container in the refrigerator. It is easiest to use immediately, because it will thicken up more in the fridge and be less stretchy. So if possible, especially for using on pizza or lasagna, make right before using.
• For pizza, drop 1-2 tablespoon sized balls onto the crust and pat down a little bit. Or spread it all over. It will brown in the oven. For lasagna, drop dollops of the cheese all over the top towards the end of cooking time. Or place between bread and grill for grilled cheese.

Notes

1. Tapioca starch/flour is essential in this recipe, cornstarch will not create the same "stretchy" quality.
2. If you want the cheese to brown in the oven (like it looks on the bread in the post above), simply spray with a little oil and broil for 5-10 minutes, watching carefully. This is wonderful for lasagna, pizza, or just atop bread for cheesy bread. 
3. This cheese definitely tastes best fresh. It will keep in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. But again, it will be the most stretchy and easy to work with immediately.