Learn how to make homemade vegan mini mozzarella cheese balls with just 4-ingredients in this easy step-by-step recipe! It’s an amazing dairy-free mozzarella recipe that is soft, creamy, melty and tastes like real cheese! Serve it on top of pizza, pasta, burgers, nachos, toast, bread or use it for any vegan savory recipe you like!
Vegan Mini Mozzarella Recipe
I‘m actually a big fan of any vegan cheese sauce I’ve ever shared here on the blog but this best homemade mozzarella recipe is still one of my favorites! I have made it a couple of times already in different versions and just can’t get enough of it. Especially, when I form it into mini balls, the vegan mozzarella tastes even more delicious! I mean, everything that is mini-sized is a bit better or what do you think?
Anyway, this vegan mozzarella cheese recipe is not only perfect for vegans but also vegetarians and meat-eaters will love it! Honestly, this gooey, melty vegan mozzarella cheese consistency is just amazing! So if you haven’t tried it yet, you should definitely make it now!
What is vegan cheese made out of?
You need just 4 simple ingredients (+ seasonings as desired) and a few minutes to make this dairy-free cheese recipe. It’s raw cashew nuts, non-dairy yogurt, tapioca flour, agar powder, nutritional yeast flakes (optional), water, and salt – that’s all! I used soy yogurt but you can use your favorite unsweetened dairy-free yogurt you like. If you’re not familiar with agar powder, feel free to read the blog post of my no-bake mango cheesecake recipe for further information about this product.
What is tapioca?
The tapioca starch (or also called tapioca flour) gives this vegan mozzarella an amazing stretchy, melty consistency that reminds of real cheese. Any other starch can be used as a thickener but it won’t provide that real cheese stretch! So tapioca is an absolute must ingredient for this recipe and cannot be substituted with other starches.
You can buy tapioca starch in an Asian shop, organic store, big supermarket or order it online on Amazon (click here).
How to make Vegan Mini Mozzarella Balls
First of all, make sure to soak cashew nuts in water overnight or boil them for 10 minutes, until softened. Then drain the soaking water and rinse them with fresh cold water.
Place the soaked and drained cashew nuts in a highspeed blender. Add the soy yogurt, salt, lemon juice, and nutritional yeast flakes if using. Blend until smooth and creamy, stopping the blender now and then to scrape off the sides. Add the tapioca starch and mix again until everything is well combined. Finally, transfer the cashew cream mixture into a bowl and use a soft spatula to scrape out any excess cashew cream.
In a small saucepan dissolve the agar in 1/2 cup of cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring constantly (or according to the package instructions). Then add the cashew cream to the saucepan, stirring rapidly to combine. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture gets very thick, gooey and stretchy.
Prepare a large bowl of ice-cold water. Use a melon baller and scoop out mini mozzarella balls, then carefully transfer into the ice water. The mixture is very sticky, so it might be easier when using a teaspoon to remove the mozzarella ball from the melon baller. Continue until all of the vegan cashew mozzarella mixture is used up.
Let sit the mini balls in the ice water for a while until the mozzarella has set. It won’t firm up like a hard cheese but it will be as soft and creamy as real mozzarella. Then place the balls in an airtight container and cover with salted water. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Easy Tip – Make just one large Vegan Mozzarella Ball:
To keep it easier, you can also transfer the whole cashew mozzarella mixture in one bowl. Then set aside until the mozzarella has set. So you’ll have one large vegan mozzarella ball to cut into slices on top of bread or toast or to use for your favorite dish!
Serving Suggestions
You can use these vegan mini mozzarella balls for any savory recipe that you would normally serve with cheese. It tastes cold but also hot and it even melts when you heat it up! Whether on top of pizza, burger, pasta, gnocchi, lasagna, casserole (gratin), fries, baked potatoes, or any other vegan recipe – this cheese is always perfect! I also like to enjoy this vegan mozzarella just on a piece of homemade gluten-free buckwheat bread with mini tomatoes, fresh basil, and balsamic vinegar. It’s just so good when you need a quick snack for breakfast, lunch or dinner!
This Vegan Mini Mozzarella Recipe is:
- Dairy-free
- Gluten-free
- Simple
- Quick & easy to make
- Cheesy
- Soft
- Melty
- Creamy
- Stretchy
- Salty
- Perfect for any kind of meal!
Craving more Vegan Cheese?
Don’t miss my best vegan cheese sauce, pumpkin mac and cheese, broccoli pasta bake, vegan tofu feta, vegan parmesan or tortellini with almond ricotta recipe.
If you do try this easy vegan mini mozzarella cheese balls recipe, I would love to read your feedback in the comments below. And if you take a photo of your dairy-free cheese dish and share it on Instagram, please don’t forget to tag me @biancazapatka to make sure I won’t miss your post. Enjoy!
Vegan Mini Mozzarella Cheese Balls
Author:Ingredients
- 1 cup (150 g) raw cashews
- 1 cup (250 g) dairy-free yogurt or silken tofu e.g. unsweetened soy or coconut yogurt (*see notes)
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp lemon juice optional
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes optional
- 3 tbsp tapioca starch
- 1 tbsp 100% agar powder
- ½ cup (120 ml) water
Instructions
*Please watch the recipe video + check out the step-by-step photos above!
- Boil the cashews for 10 minutes until softened (or soak them in water overnight). Then drain and rinse them with fresh water.
- Add the drained cashew nuts, dairy-free yogurt, salt, lemon juice, and yeast flakes (if using) to a highspeed blender. Blend the mixture until creamy, stopping now and then to scrape off the sides. Add the tapioca starch and blend again until well combined. Then, transfer the mixture into a bowl and use a silicone spatula to scrape out any excess cashew cream. Set aside.
- Pour the ½ cup of water into a saucepan. Add the agar and stir until the agar is completely dissolved. Then bring it to the boil and simmer for 2 minutes (or according to the package instructions), stirring constantly.
- Add the cashew cream to the saucepan and stir to combine rapidly. Cook the mixture for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until it gets very thick and stretchy.
- Prepare a large bowl of ice-cold water. Use a melon baller to scoop out mini mozzarella balls, then carefully transfer them into the ice water. (The mixture is very sticky, so I suggest using a teaspoon to remove each mozzarella ball from the melon baller).
- Let sit the mini balls in the ice water for a while until the mozzarella has set. Then place the balls in an airtight container and cover with salted water. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Notes
- The tapioca starch provides a stretchy and melty consistency (like real cheese), so this ingredient is a must in this recipe and cannot be substituted with other starches!
- I used unsweetened soy yogurt but you can use your favorite dairy-free yogurt or silken tofu. I recommend measuring the yogurt in grams. Simply click on the word "metric" right above the ingredient list.
- If you're not familiar with agar powder, feel free to read the blog post of my no-bake mango cheesecake recipe for further information about this product.
- The preparation time does not include soaking time.
- Please make sure to check out the step-by-step photos in the blog post above!
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NIce recipe. Do you think is it possible to freeze them?
I haven’t tried this yet but feel free to try it out! 😀
Next time I won’t add the lemon or maybe just 1 tsp. A tablespoon makes it a bit too sour for my taste.
I only mixed the cashews with the yoghurt because it would have been too difficult to get the mixture out of the blender if I had added the tapioca starch. It’s almost too thick to blend.
I found out that I could form the mixture into balls with wet hands (when it got less hot).
All in all the taste and shape is nice. I’m going to use it for pizza today. I’m curious to see if it is good on it.
Thank you for sharing this recipe 😉
Awesome! Glad it turned out great! Thank you 🙂
HI, any idea what the weight in grams of the cup of cashews you use is?. I often buy raw cashew pieces from Trader Joes rather than whole.. I made this recipe exactly word for word but while it’s not bad it really did end up tasting off. Not like mozzarella to me. I’m a really good cook and vegan and very open minded. Wanted to love this . So perhaps the measurement is off on my end by volume. Grams would help maybe?
Also…do you use the optional nutritional yeast yourself? I did use it and Wondered if that played a part in the odd taste?
Hi, the metric measurements (weight in grams) are written in the recipe card, too.
I cannot find the video….
The video player pops up automatically. However, you can only see it when you accept all cookies on this website. Also make sure to not using an ad blocker. Greetings!
I’m disappointed because it really seemed like it would be good but the taste was not like mozzarella at all. I followed the recipe perfectly except for the agar, which I substituted for a converted amount of gelatin, and I added a little psyllium husk powder for stringiness, but the result was just a gelatinous wheel (I put it in a mould instead of the balls) that softened to a ‘cheese’ spread but tasted more like a nutty hummus. Not sure where I could have gone wrong, as the reviews had given me such hope!
Hello. That sounds as if your blender wasn’t able to really purree the nuts.
Made these mozza balls today and they are outstanding!! Also, I’ve become obsessed with the saucepan used in your video of the process (white ceramic interior); could you provide a link for purchasing it? (I used my stainless steel pan and it did stick a little bit.) Thanks for this delicious recipe!!
Thank you so much, I’m very glad you like them. 🙂
I’m sorry but I don’t remember where I bought this saucepan. 🙁
Great recipe that I cannot wait to try! Is the salt just for taste or is it a necessary component?
Thank you!
Hi Penny,
the salt in the cheese mixture is just for taste. But the cheese should be stored in salted water.
Hey, Is it possible to replace the yogurt with soy milk or water? if so will it be still the same amounts?
No, sorry… but you can use silken tofu instead. 😉