Melty Vegan Mozzarella Cheese

Creamy, melty vegan mozzarella cheese made with just 8 simple ingredients and ready in under 15 minutes! Perfect for grilled cheese, pizza, lasagna, casseroles and more! (Gluten free + Oil free)

This. Vegan. Cheese. Oh gosh jolly– I’ve finally come down to the best vegan cheese that actually melts and browns. It’s gooey but not gluey, and just perfect over EVERYTHING.

The inspiration

I’ve just had too many bad experiences with store bought vegan cheese. And other recipes I’ve tried online just wasn’t for me– they kind of had this gluey texture that would coat the top of my mouth which I wasn’t a fan of.

This vegan mozzarella cheese was in the works for the past two months and I was desperate to perfect it for my yaki curry recipe because I wanted a good dairy free cheese that actually browns and melts. Tested over 12 times with different ingredients and ratios, I’m crazy excited to finally share this life-changing recipe. You ready?

Ingredients (+substitutions)

Most vegan cheese recipes call for tapioca starch, which thickens it and gives it a slighty stretchy texture. However, the base for this cheese recipe is rice! Specifically, both cooked rice and glutinous rice flour. Why rice? Glutinous rice is another starch, giving the ability to thicken and be stretchy, much like mochi (which is where I actually drew the inspiration from!). Mochi stretches and kind of droops and melts… like cheese.

A bit of cashews are added for a creamy texture without any added oil, although you could add about one tablespoon which I find helps the cheese get even gooey-er.

For flavour, some vinegar, nutritional yeast, mustard and salt is added. Some optional ingredients you can add to make it even more flavourful are garlic powder, onion powder, sugar and black pepper. If you wanted a spicy melty cheese, add a dash of cayenne!

How to make melty vegan cheese

Making homemade vegan cheese is incredibly easy. Simply just add all the ingredients to a high speed blender and blend until smooth and creamy. It takes about 3-5 minutes on high speed and you do want it to warm up just a bit because that will thicken up the mixture.

It can be used straight out of the blender (two top photos) for things like casseroles, lasagna, anything baked or to dip in. However, if you want to use it for something like pizza, toast or grilled cheese then I highly recommend heating it up over the stove to thicken it isn’t too loose (two photos on the bottom).

Transfer the cheese to a saucepan over medium low heat and just keep stirring with a whisk until thick. Never stop stirring or the bottom will clump relatively quickly. Once thickened, remove from the stove immediately and transfer to another bowl. Let it cool for 10-15 minutes and then scoop it onto pizza or spread it over bread for toast and grilled cheese.

Does this vegan cheese brown?

Yes! This cheese bakes and browns wonderfully. If you just toast or bake it in the oven, it will brown– but to get a rich deep golden brown I’ve found that a little oil and broiling does the trick.

After baking or toasting it until the cheese is slightly matte, spray with a little oil and then broil for 3-5 minutes. Keep on eye on it cause it can go from perfectly browned to burnt in minutes.

How to store vegan cheese

Once cooled, cover and then keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It also freezes really well! I like to pour it over a lined baking sheet, freeze and then cut them up into small chunks for easy and convenient usage. It will last for up to 2 months in the freezer.

What to use this melty vegan cheese for:

• Cauliflower Gnocchi Mac and Cheese
• Yaki Curry
• Japanese Macaroni Gratin
• Mexican Stuffed Pepper Casserole
• Instant Pot Burrito Bowls
• No Boil Baked Pasta
• Vegan Cheesy Cauliflower Casserole

SAVE IT FOR LATER! ↓

If you recreate this Melty Vegan Mozzarella Cheese recipe let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and rating below or by tagging me on Instagram @Okonomikitchen, I love seeing all of your tasty recreations!
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