This vegan mozzarella cheese is a great way to have a tasty pizza without dairy.
My husband, Matt, loooves pizza, so much so that he eats it a few times a week. This routine is not the best thing for his health though so he’s trying to cut down a bit.
I wanted to create something that could be reminiscent of his beloved pizza without all the dairy. There are many vegan mozzarella cheese alternatives that can be purchased at grocery stores, however, I wanted to something homemade that is less processed for Matt’s snack.
We travel to Germany sometimes so I was looking at vegan German sites when I came across this blog that had a recipe for a vegan mozzarella cheese. I’m happy that I know a bit of German* so I understood what most of the ingredients in the recipe were. It’s a nice bit of luck that I happened upon that site so I thought I’d try to add my own spin to the recipe, make it my own, and try it out on Matt.
*And by a bit of German I mean names of some foods, how to order beer/wine, basic colors and numbers, how to say I’m hungry, cold, and/or vegan, and “where is the bathroom”.
Vegan Mozzarella Cheese
I was pleasantly surprised with the consistency and taste of the vegan mozzarella cheese alternative when melted. It reminds me most of fresh mozzarella, and it kind of stretches in the same way.
I’ve had it on “parm” sandwiches and pizza and it has impressed me on both. I won’t go as far as to say it’s just like cheese but it’s a great alternative for those that are plant-based or lactose intolerant.
The cheese isn’t too bad on its own either. I could see some people liking it in a salad, like a caprese, but I prefer it melted and gooey. I also like to eat it right after it has been heated as it seems to have the best consistency then.
The base of my vegan mozzarella cheese alternative is made with psyllium husks. You might be wondering what psyllium is; I wondered the same thing.
Psyllium husks are basically the seeds of a plant which offers dietary fiber and is often used as a food thickener. I think it works really well for this recipe to keep the cheese a bit “gooey” when first heated.
To make a matzo pizza as seen in the pictures, preheat oven/toaster oven to 350. Take 1 piece matzo bread, add 2 Tb tomato sauce and arrange some sliced vegan mozzarella on top (recipe below). Bake for 3-5 minutes.
If you make this vegan mozzarella cheese recipe, let me know what you think by ★ star rating it and leaving a comment below.
Vegan Mozzarella Cheese Alternative
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup water
- 1-2 Tb lemon juice
- 1 Tb psyllium husks
- Pinch of salt
- 1 Tb nutritional yeast
- 1/4 tsp garlic
- 1/4 cup raw cashews, soaked in enough water to cover them for a few hours (then discard water)
Instructions
- Mix the water, lemon juice, and psyllium husks and let them sit for at least 2-3 hours or overnight.
- Add the psyllium mixture and the rest of the ingredients into a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.
- Put mixture into a bowl and into the fridge for 30 mins to an hour for the cheese to set. The final consistency is that of a fresh mozzarella (it will not be hard to the touch).
- Slice the cheese to serve.
- Keep in fridge for 3-4 days.
- Please Note: When heating on pizza or sandwiches, the cheese only needs to be heated for about 3-5 minutes.
Nutrition
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Mary Ellen Valverde MS, CNS, LDN is a Licensed Nutritionist and Certified Nutrition Specialist helping people thrive on a plant-powered diet. Mary Ellen offers a completely holistic and science-based approach to designing a healthy, plant-based life.
When she’s not working with clients or creating new meals for her blog, you can find Mary Ellen doting on her two rescue shih tzus, creating the perfect vegan mac & cheese, or exploring the world with her husband.
Kyra says
Oh my gosh Mary! This “mozzarella” looks amazing, so creative with the psyllium husks! I’m definitely going to try this out <3
That's so cool that you can speak a bit of German too (and that you're going to Germany over the summer, how fun!) – I can speak about the same amount of French, haha. Well, read…if I was to have a conversation with a French person, I don't think I could keep up, but reading French is no problem haha 😀
Mary Ellen says
I agree that reading other languages is so much easier than understanding someone speaking the language. I’m very good at reading Spanish but when my Ecuadorian family members talk to me I have to ask them to repeat themselves about 5 times and even then I sometimes have no idea what’s going on lol.
fitfoodiemama says
This actually looks amazing! I pinned it for later so I can give it a try- what a great alternative to dairy cheese!! Thanks for sharing and linking up 🙂
Mary Ellen says
Thanks so much Annmarie! I’ve been playing around with different dairy cheese alternatives and I’ll post them if they turn out well. 🙂
Margaret Carroll says
Matzo Pizzas are so delicious & that cheese looks amazing!
Mary Ellen says
Thanks so much Margaret! And thanks for the matzos!
Christine (Run Plant Based) says
This looks wonderful, such a creative version. I’ve never added psyllium husks to vegan cheese, perfect idea. Thanks!
Mary Ellen says
Thanks Christine! I was surprised how well the psyllium worked!
Farrah says
I’ve never tried making an alternative for mozzarella, but as that’s my favorite type of cheese, it sounds like it’d be fun to try! Thanks for this recipe! :]!
Mary Ellen says
I’ve just started making my own non-dairy cheeses so I don’t eat as much of the processed ones. It’s fun trying to see which ones work the best.
kimmythevegan says
Woah! Look at the melty awesomeness! Psyllium husks, eh? I suppose that’s what makes it all gooey and awesome. I will definitely have to try this.
And I’m with Matt! I love pizza so much. I’ve managed to cut it down to once a week and have it on tortillas, which is slightly healthier… I like your idea though!
kimmythevegan says
Oh! And how fun that you’re going to Germany =) Can’t wait for you to go so we can check out your pictures and see what awesome food you eat!
Mary Ellen says
The psyllium husks surprised me with how melty they made the cheese.
Thanks! I’ll definitely post on what I’m eating on my trip. We’re going on a river cruise so I informed the company and the chef is supposed to help me out. They did on my last trip so hopefully they can do so again!
Lee says
Hi Mary Ellen, saw this on Healthy Vegan Fridays and just pinned it to my Whole-Food, Plant-Based Recipes board. Love that it’s oil free and can’t wait to try it!
Mary Ellen says
Thanks so much Lee! Let me know if you try it out!
Deborah @ Confessions of a mother runner says
How interesting this looks like real cheese for sure! I may try that matzo pizza this week too. Thanks for linking up for meatless Monday great to have you
Mary Ellen says
Thanks Deborah! Let me know if you try it! I love linking up with Meatless Monday!
awhiskandtwowands says
This is interesting and I have everything to make this! I will have to give it a try for sure. I had one of the best pizzas this weekend in Boulder, a crunchy gluten free crust veggie pizza with a creamy dairy free cheese melted and big spoonfuls of almond milk ricotta!
Thank you for linking up with us for Meatless Monday!
Mary Ellen says
Oooh, almond milk ricotta sounds amazing! I’m jealous!
katalysthealth says
OH MY GOSH! What a fabulous idea. I don’t think my husband would touch this stuff [he has a keen sense of what’s good for him and what’s not lol] but I would totally love this!
Mary Ellen says
Thanks! I was actually surprised my husband liked it so much!
Rachel says
Heck to the yeah for matzah pizza! One of my faves. 🙂 Thanks for linking up!
Mary Ellen says
Thanks Rachel!
onesonicbite says
I have tons of psyllium husks that I bought awhile ago so I should give this recipe a try. I never think to use it since most vegans don’t have a fiber problem.
Mary Ellen says
Let me know if you try it Jennifer. I was pleasantly surprised with how it came out.
holisticfitfam says
Oh yum!! This looks like a great alternative to reg mozzarella…..pinning!
Mary Ellen says
Thanks so much Lauren!
Vicki says
This looks great! Have been searching for an mozzarella alternative .
Mary Ellen says
Thanks Vicki! Let me know if you try it!
Deborah Smikle-Davis (@debsmikdav1) says
I would love to serve these for my next book club meeting.The ladies would love them! I am so delighted to see your healthy and delicious Mozzarella Alternative & Matzo Pizza recipes at the Healthy Happy Green Natural Party! I’m Pinning and sharing this!
Mary Ellen says
Thanks Deborah! Let me know if you try it at the book club!
Melissa @ Vegan Huggs says
This pizza looks delicious with that gooey cheese! Perfection!
Mary Ellen says
Thanks Melissa!
Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day says
I’m not sure how I missed this recipe before. It looks amazing! And I so wish there were vegan gluten-free matzoh. I miss matzoh so much!
Mary Ellen says
Thanks Amy! I didn’t realize there wasn’t gf matzoh, that’s such a shame!
Carla Ulrych says
Sounds interesting! I don’t think my regular grocery store would carry psyllium husks. Do you think someplace like Whole Foods would carry it?
Mary Ellen says
Carla, I did a quick search and I saw that Whole Foods has some of their own 365 Brand. I’m not sure they have it at every store but most likely they do.
Stephanie H says
I’m buying mine from amazon. Can’t wait to try out this recipe this weekend!!! 😀
Tammy says
I’m curious about the recipe when it says to let the psyllium husk wit in the liquid, did you mean the cashews, or is it written properly? I may need to soak my cashews because my blender is not a high powered one. What do you think?
Mary Ellen says
The psyllium husks should sit with the 1/2 cup of water and lemon juice as in the directions.
Definitely soak the cashews in water. You need to have enough water to cover the cashews (that half a cup of water in the ingredients isn’t for the soaking). Maybe that’s confusing so I’ll change that in the directions. Thanks for letting me know and let me know if you had any more questions!
Tammy says
Ya, definitely. Thanks for the reply!
James Middleton says
The nutrition facts listed show scary amounts of fat.
Mary Ellen says
Oh my goodness. Thank you for letting me know! I added a few zero on there by accident! 700 grams of fat would have been outrageous!
James Middleton says
I thought it was simply a typo, my wife and children (and I) are recently eating vegan and this is the first mockarella cheese recipe I’ve found and hope to try it this weekend, thanks for sharing!.
Mary Ellen says
Yes, totally a typo! I hope you enjoyed if you got to try it. 🙂
Theresa says
DO I use whole Psyllium or do I grind it up?
Mary Ellen says
Hi Theresa, it’s the husks of the psyllium (not the seeds) that I use in the recipe. So it’s basically ground into like a powder-ish kind of thing already when you buy it.