Tapioca starch is what makes this cashew-based mozzarella stretch and melt—the same starch Brazilians use for pão de queijo.
Easy Vegan Mozzarella
Whip up this delightful vegan mozzarella in no time! Made with creamy cashews and tangy nutritional yeast, this cheese alternative is perfect for slathering on pizzas or tossing in salads—no chilling required. Get ready to elevate your dishes with this scrumptious and quick dairy-free treat!
Prep
10
min
Cook
3
min
Serves
4
people
Level
beginner
The Story
Naples never saw this coming: in 2010s vegan kitchens from Berlin to Brighton, soy milk and tapioca starch hijacked the Campania tradition of buffalo mozzarella, proving you don't need an actual Italian buffalo to fake the stretch—just a saucepan, nutritional yeast, and the audacity to call coconut oil a dairy substitute without the entire nation of Italy staging a formal protest.
Regional Twist
In Naples itself, purists would scoff, but Milanese vegan delis often swap the garlic granules for a pinch of smoked paprika and extra tapioca starch, giving this soy milk base a firmer, pizza-slice-worthy pull that holds up under a hotter oven.
📝 Ingredients
Serves 4🥬Fresh Produce(1)
- 1 small Garlic Clove or 1/2 tsp garlic granules (optional)optionalor 1/2 tsp garlic granules
🥛Dairy & Eggs(1)
- 125ml Unsweetened Soy Milk - no swaps must be soy! (4.22 fl oz)
🫙Pantry Staples(2)
- 35g Unflavoured Coconut Oil, melted (plus extra for drizzling before cooking) (1.24 oz)
- 1/2 tbsp Nutritional Yeast (7.5 ml)
🧂Spices & Seasonings(1)
- 1/4 tsp heaped, Fine Salt (or 1/2 tsp Flaky Salt) (1.25 ml)or 1/2 tsp Flaky Salt
📦Other(1)
- 10g Tapioca Starch/Flour (0.35 oz)
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
102
Protein
2g
Carbs
3g
Fat
9g
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blitz until smooth, around 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- 2
Pour the mixture into a small saucepan and cook over a medium high heat, stirring constantly. It will start to thicken and go stretchy. Keep cooking for 2-3 minutes until the cheese is thick and bubbling in the pan.
- 3
If using immediately you can pour your cheese straight on to your pizza/lasagne/pasta bake.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Use soy milk at room temperature (68-72°F) rather than cold because soy protein denatures optimally at this range, enabling the tapioca starch to gelatinize evenly and create uniform stretch without lumps.ingredient68-72°F
- ✓Heat the saucepan to 160-170°C (320-338°F) before adding the blended mixture because tapioca starch requires this temperature to fully gelatinize and release amylose, creating the characteristic stretchy texture within 2-3 minutes instead of 5-7.equipment160-170°C
- ✓Stir constantly with a heat-resistant silicone spatula in a figure-8 pattern because this prevents protein-starch clusters from settling and burning on the bottom while ensuring even heat distribution across the 10g tapioca starch for maximum viscosity.techniqueconstant figure-8 stirring
- ✓The mixture is ready when it reaches 82-85°C (180-185°C) internal temperature and pulls away from pan sides in a single mass—at this point tapioca starch has absorbed maximum soy milk moisture (reaching ~60% water content) and forms the elastic network that stretches on pizza.timing82-85°C internal temp, 60% water content
- ✓If the cheese breaks or becomes grainy mid-cooking, immediately reduce heat to medium and whisk in 5ml soy milk at a time because you've overcoagulated the soy protein; diluting reverses this by allowing starch molecules to re-gelatinize properly.technique5ml incremental additions
Share this recipe
Prep
10
min
Cook
3
min
Serves
4
people
Level
beginner
Share this recipe
Tapioca starch is what makes this cashew-based mozzarella stretch and melt—the same starch Brazilians use for pão de queijo.
Easy Vegan Mozzarella
Whip up this delightful vegan mozzarella in no time! Made with creamy cashews and tangy nutritional yeast, this cheese alternative is perfect for slathering on pizzas or tossing in salads—no chilling required. Get ready to elevate your dishes with this scrumptious and quick dairy-free treat!
The Story
Naples never saw this coming: in 2010s vegan kitchens from Berlin to Brighton, soy milk and tapioca starch hijacked the Campania tradition of buffalo mozzarella, proving you don't need an actual Italian buffalo to fake the stretch—just a saucepan, nutritional yeast, and the audacity to call coconut oil a dairy substitute without the entire nation of Italy staging a formal protest.
Regional Twist
In Naples itself, purists would scoff, but Milanese vegan delis often swap the garlic granules for a pinch of smoked paprika and extra tapioca starch, giving this soy milk base a firmer, pizza-slice-worthy pull that holds up under a hotter oven.
📝 Ingredients
Serves 4🥬Fresh Produce(1)
- 1 small Garlic Clove or 1/2 tsp garlic granules (optional)optionalor 1/2 tsp garlic granules
🥛Dairy & Eggs(1)
- 125ml Unsweetened Soy Milk - no swaps must be soy! (4.22 fl oz)
🫙Pantry Staples(2)
- 35g Unflavoured Coconut Oil, melted (plus extra for drizzling before cooking) (1.24 oz)
- 1/2 tbsp Nutritional Yeast (7.5 ml)
🧂Spices & Seasonings(1)
- 1/4 tsp heaped, Fine Salt (or 1/2 tsp Flaky Salt) (1.25 ml)or 1/2 tsp Flaky Salt
📦Other(1)
- 10g Tapioca Starch/Flour (0.35 oz)
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
102
Protein
2g
Carbs
3g
Fat
9g
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blitz until smooth, around 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- 2
Pour the mixture into a small saucepan and cook over a medium high heat, stirring constantly. It will start to thicken and go stretchy. Keep cooking for 2-3 minutes until the cheese is thick and bubbling in the pan.
- 3
If using immediately you can pour your cheese straight on to your pizza/lasagne/pasta bake.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Use soy milk at room temperature (68-72°F) rather than cold because soy protein denatures optimally at this range, enabling the tapioca starch to gelatinize evenly and create uniform stretch without lumps.ingredient68-72°F
- ✓Heat the saucepan to 160-170°C (320-338°F) before adding the blended mixture because tapioca starch requires this temperature to fully gelatinize and release amylose, creating the characteristic stretchy texture within 2-3 minutes instead of 5-7.equipment160-170°C
- ✓Stir constantly with a heat-resistant silicone spatula in a figure-8 pattern because this prevents protein-starch clusters from settling and burning on the bottom while ensuring even heat distribution across the 10g tapioca starch for maximum viscosity.techniqueconstant figure-8 stirring
- ✓The mixture is ready when it reaches 82-85°C (180-185°C) internal temperature and pulls away from pan sides in a single mass—at this point tapioca starch has absorbed maximum soy milk moisture (reaching ~60% water content) and forms the elastic network that stretches on pizza.timing82-85°C internal temp, 60% water content
- ✓If the cheese breaks or becomes grainy mid-cooking, immediately reduce heat to medium and whisk in 5ml soy milk at a time because you've overcoagulated the soy protein; diluting reverses this by allowing starch molecules to re-gelatinize properly.technique5ml incremental additions