How to Make Vegan Cheese (Step by Step)
This recipe for vegan cheese is mostly hands-off: soak, blend, then about 10 minutes of stirring on the stove until it turns into one glossy, stretchy mass.
- 1Soak the Cashews
Choose one soaking method, then drain and rinse the cashews. Quick method: cover with just-boiled water and soak for 20 minutes. Overnight method: cover with cold water and soak for 4 hours or overnight. Soaking is what keeps the cheese smooth and not gritty.
Soak 20 minutes (hot water) or 4+ hours (cold water) - 2Blend Until Silky
Add the drained cashews, water, tapioca starch, melted coconut oil, lemon juice, vinegar, nutritional yeast, miso, salt and garlic powder to a high-speed blender. Blend for 1–2 minutes until completely smooth, with no grit at all.
- 3Cook & Whisk
Pour the mixture into a medium non-stick saucepan over medium heat. Whisk constantly, scraping the bottom and corners. After a few minutes it will thicken and form clumps — this is the tapioca starch activating.
- 4Stir Until Stretchy
Switch to a silicone spatula and keep stirring and folding until the clumps melt back together into one glossy mass that pulls away from the pan and stretches when lifted. If it stays loose or isn't stretchy, keep cooking a little longer before adding anything else.
Cook 5–10 minutes total - 5Taste & Adjust
While it's still hot, taste and adjust: a pinch more salt for savoriness, a squeeze of lemon for tang, or a little more nutritional yeast for a cheesier flavour. Real mozzarella is mildly salty and gently tangy, so aim for that.
- 6Use Warm or Shape
For pizza, lasagna or grilled cheese, spoon it on while warm. To make mozzarella balls, scoop with oiled or wet hands into a bowl of ice-cold salted brine and chill until set. Balls made this way are soft and stretchy — for a firmer, sliceable block, see the agar variation below.
Chill 30–60 minutes for balls - 7Bake or Broil
Dollop onto pizza and bake at your usual temperature. For light browning on top, finish under the broiler (grill) for the last 1–2 minutes, watching closely.
Tips for the Best Vegan Cheese
Little tricks to get the best flavour and texture from your homemade vegan cheese.
Vegan Cheese FAQs
Common questions about how to make vegan cheese with this recipe.
Soak raw cashews, blend them with water, tapioca starch, coconut oil, lemon juice, vinegar, nutritional yeast, miso and salt, then cook the mixture on the stove, stirring constantly, for 5–10 minutes until it turns glossy and stretchy. Use it warm or chill it to firm up.
Vegan cheese is made from plant ingredients such as nuts, soy, starches and oils instead of milk. This recipe for vegan cheese uses cashews for creaminess, tapioca starch for stretch, coconut oil for richness, and lemon, vinegar, miso and nutritional yeast for a cheesy, tangy flavour.
Usually it needs more cooking time or more heat. Keep stirring until it forms one glossy mass. If it's still loose, dissolve 1 tablespoon of tapioca starch in 2 tablespoons of water and stir it in while cooking.
It gets soft, gooey and stretchy and can brown lightly under the broiler, but it doesn't melt identically to dairy mozzarella. It works best warm, straight from the pan.
Tapioca starch (tapioca flour) is stocked by many baking and health-food stores and online. Nutritional yeast is easiest to find online. Agar powder is sold as china grass. Look for refined coconut oil so the cheese doesn't taste of coconut.
You can, but the cheese will taste milder. Try a little extra white miso and a touch more salt instead.
Cashews have a mild, slightly sweet flavour and blend into a very smooth, creamy base, which is why most tested vegan mozzarella recipes use them. Their neutral taste lets the lemon, vinegar, miso and nutritional yeast come through.
Yes, other published versions use silken tofu, or soy milk with soy yogurt, or potato and cooked rice instead of cashews. They taste and feel a little different (usually lighter), and I haven't tested them for this page, so this recipe stays cashew-based. Anyone with a nut allergy should use a dedicated nut-free recipe.
Raw, unsalted cashews are best. Roasted ones have a much stronger flavour that can overpower the cheese and make it taste nutty rather than cheesy.
Arrowroot may work but is usually less stretchy. Cornstarch will thicken the mixture but won't give the same stretch. For the best result, stick with tapioca starch.
Not automatically. Most white miso is made from soy, and some miso contains barley, so check the label. For a soy-free version, use chickpea miso or leave the miso out and add a pinch more salt. Tapioca starch, cashews and the other ingredients are naturally gluten-free.
Yes. Oil-free versions exist and still turn stretchy, thanks to the tapioca. Expect a slightly less rich result. If you do use oil, choose refined coconut oil so the cheese doesn't taste of coconut.