I have been experimenting with vegan mozzarellas for as long as I have been following a vegan lifestyle, so around 4 years. I’ve made some pretty decent mozzarella, but this one takes the cake!
I adapted this recipe from The School Night Vegan’s cashew based recipe, but have made a few tweaks of my own, one of which is replacing the cashews with sunflower seeds.
Sunflower seeds are more nutritious, cheaper, local (here in Spain anyway!) and just as creamy!
What makes this cheese so good? I’ve made loads of cheeses with starch and cashews beforehand, which were good, but they lacked the REALLY stringy texture of melted cheese. Psyllium husk is an ingredient used a lot in gluten-free baking for its capacity to bind things together or as a thickening agent. Adding psyllium adds to the stringy quality that the starch gives the cheese.
Agar agar is a algae based gelatine (making it 100% plant-based) and is optional in this recipe.
Starch is what really thickens this recipe and gives the cheese consistency, for this recipe I used potato starch but I regularly use cornstarch or tapioca starch interchangeably.
Nutritional yeast is a popular ingredient amongst vegans as it mimics the flavour of cheese pretty well, it is a must in any TRULY CHEESY vegan cheese recipe!
Okay lets get down to it!
Recipe
50g raw (not toasted) sunflower seeds (rinsed and then soaked in warm water for 2 hours)
300ml water
4 tbsp (10g) nutritional yeast
1 tsp psyllium husk (mixed with 1tbsp water)
3 tbsp (30g) cornstarch
2 tsp pink Himalayan salt
1 tbsp white vinegar
60g coconut oil (deodorised, to avoid coconut taste)
1 tbsp agar agar (optional)
*the agar agar will give the cheese a more firm texture when it cools down, so it can be good to allow you to cut the cheese for sandwiches, toasties etc etc.
1. Blend all the ingredients in a high speed blender until nice and smooth.
2. Pour the mix into a pan or a pot and cook on medium heat, whisking continuously to keep the texture smooth and to prevent the bottom of the pan from burning.
3. At one point (within about 3-4 minutes) the cheese will begin to thicken. When it becomes nice and stringy you know its ready.
You can put it straight onto bread and whack it under the grill or leave it to cool and put it away in the fridge. It should keep for up to 5-7 days.
Enjoy and PLEASE feel free to share your experiences below in the comments!
Un abrazo,
Mike
A MA ZI NG????
Thank you Mike!
Your’e very welcome, let me know how it goes!
Un abrazo 🙂
Do you ice agar agar powder or flakes here?
Gracias!!! I will try it out and let u know how it goes! What’s psyllium husk in Spanish?
Cheers!!
Perfecto! Let me know how it goes, I think its the same in Spanish 🙂
Un abrazo
Thanks Mike, super looking forward to making this vegan cheese, the closest to Mozzarazella, which Pizza Express use on their vegan dishes.
Can I ask how long your handmade Mozzarella will keep fresh in the fridge?
Hey Sarah,
I havent been to Pizza Express in a while as I’ve bee living in Spain for the last few years. But I have tried many and this one is definitely the most impressive in my opinion.
Good luck and let me know how you get on!
Big hug,
Mike
Was the agar agar that you used in flaked or powdered form?
Hey Rachel,
I used the powder form.
Good luck!
Mike
Just made this and had it on a toast! It toasted up so nicely that I forgot to inspect stringiness! I accidentally grabbed my unrefined coconut so it is coconut flavored but I’ll try again. Thank you!
Wohooooo! I’m so glad to hear it, Ivee. Yes, its great on toast.. its one of my go to quick breakies 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
Mike
I made it yesterday and love it
Awesome, very glad to hear that Debra.. I invite you to try some of my other recipes 😀
Mike
Do you have to use oil or can I substitute something else for it? I am oil, butter-free.
You can do it without oil.. the result is of course a bit different, but still delicious.
Good luck 😉
Any subs for the coconut oil? Am allergic:(
I have tried it without the coconut oil and its still delicious, it just won’t melt as well when heated. You can try veg or olive oil to give it a more fatty flavour.
Let me know how you get on!
Mike
I am allergic to corn. What can I use instead of cornstarch?
Instead of cornstarch you can use any other starch.. potato starch or tapioca starch are good alternatives.
Good luck 😉
I’m going to try this today, but I’m a little skeptical about the color of the sunflower seeds. How did it turn out so white? Thank you.
The sunflower seeds are RAW and not toasted. When soaked and blended they become white! 🙂 Tried and tested!
This looks great. Can I use apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar?
Yes! It will work just the same 🙂
Looks amazing.
Wondering if the coconut oil is melted before adding or just added in its solid state?
Great question, Its best to melt it first if its in a solid state, good luck with the recipe 🙂
Thanks Mike! BTW, awesome “cheese”. Made it last night and loved it. A wee bit of sunflower taste, but can deal… 🙂
Hey,
I’m glad you enjoyed it. Sunflower taste ey… sounds FANTASTIC! 😀 Thanks for sharing!
Mike
This was a total fail for me. Never developed “stringiness” and after about 8 or 9 minutes of stirring I finally gave up. And it was incredibly thick and goopy when it cane out if the blender so there’s no way to stir it with a whisk. Triple checked the recipe and found no errors on my part so I don’t know what happened. Also I think it’s not flavorful enough
Hey Cynthia,
It’s strange, because most people that make it, have success.. but there are a few that have had a bit of trouble with it. Every time I make it, following the recipe, it work perfectly.
Make sure the sunflower seeds are RAW and not toasted and salted.
Cheers