Vegan Cheese for Pizza

Homemade vegan mozzarella cheese is easy to make with a few simple ingredients. This vegan cheese for pizza melts and tastes creamy and delicious. 

I love pizza, but being lactose intolerant my whole life, I've always eaten vegan pizza without cheese. Over the years, however, the plant-based world changed, and vegan pizza grew in popularity, as did vegan cheese for pizza. But unfortunately, vegan cheese isn't very healthy. So, today I decided to throw my apron into the vegan cheese arena and make my vegan cheese for pizza. And, this vegan mozzarella cheese tastes divine.

Jump to:

• Vegan Pizza Cheese Ingredients
• Vegan Pizza Cheese Ingredient Substitutions
• How to Make Vegan Mozzarella Cheese
• Making Vegan Pizza
• Oil-Free Pizza Sauce Substitutions
• Pizza Topping Suggestions
• Recipe FAQs
• Tips
• Vegan Italian Recipes to Enjoy!
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Reviews

In my opinion, the best vegan cheese for pizza melts and tastes creamy. One of my favorite restaurants with the best vegan pizza, La Grande Orange, makes their cashew cheese in-house. So, one night, I sat at the counter where the chefs interacted with the guests. I tried making vegan mozzarella before, but I failed to get the texture and taste I wanted. Finally, without a lot of effort, the chef told me his secret.

I don't care for many store-bought vegan cheeses. Most vegan cheese doesn't melt, and the ones that do contain coconut oil, which I prefer not to eat. So, I decided to make vegan cheese for pizza using my newfound knowledge. Of course, the didn't give me amounts or all the ingredients, so it took a few attempts before I was happy with the results.

Vegan Pizza Cheese Ingredients

First, I made two versions of vegan pizza cheese, one with cashews and one with white beans, for people with nut allergies. Both recipes were the same, except the cashew version was slightly creamier. But both tasted the same, so the difference is in the texture only.

Cashew Vegan Cheese

• Water: The water thins the ingredients in teh pizza cheese.
• Raw Cashews: Raw cashews are a whole foods option for making creamy sauces and cheese.
• Nutritional Yeast: Nutritional yeast is full of vitamin B12 and tastes cheesy.
• Garlic: Garlic adds a savory component to cheese for pizza.
• Lemon Juice: The lemon juice provides a little acidity which enhances the flavor of the ingredients.
• White Miso Paste: White miso paste is the savory umami ingredient. It's the secret ingredient for the perfect vegan mozzarella cheese.
• Salt: The salt adds another layer of flavor.
• Arrowroot Powder: Arrowroot powder is a great thickener and can easily replace cornstarch. Even better, arrowroot powder has no taste and leaves food glossy and clear, whereas cornstarch has a slight taste and leaves food cloudy and opaque.

Nut-free Mozzarella Cheese

• Water: The water thins the ingredients in teh pizza cheese.
• White Beans: White beans are an alternative to cashews and a nut-free option.
• Nutritional Yeast: Nutritional yeast is full of vitamin B12 and tastes cheesy.
• Garlic: Garlic adds a savory component to cheese for pizza.
• Lemon Juice: The lemon juice provides a little acidity which enhances the flavor of the ingredients.
• White Miso Paste: White miso paste is the savory umami ingredient. It's the secret ingredient for the perfect vegan mozzarella cheese.
• Salt: The salt adds another layer of flavor.
• Arrowroot Powder: Arrowroot powder is a great thickener and can easily replace cornstarch. Even better, arrowroot powder has no taste and leaves food glossy and clear, whereas cornstarch has a slight taste and leaves food cloudy and opaque.

Vegan Pizza Cheese Ingredient Substitutions

• Sunflower seeds replace nuts as a seed alternative.
• Pine nuts, almonds, or blanched almonds work as well.
• Silken tofu is another option to replace nuts or white beans.
• Miso paste or soy sauce often replaces nutritional yeast in recipes. Choose Tamari or liquid aminos for a gluten-free option.
• Use bottled lemon juice when fresh lemon juice isn't available.
• Try cornstarch instead of arrowroot powder.

How to Make Vegan Mozzarella Cheese

Collect the ingredients, and then blend in a high-speed blender until smooth. As a result, the liquid is thin and resembles plant milk.

Once the liquid is exposed to heat and continuously stirred, the mixture thickens. However, the thickening process takes time and patience.

Even though the mixture begins to thicken, the more time and stirring, the thicker the substance becomes.

Next, all the mixture to cool. If cooled at room temperature, the mixture thickens; however, once refrigerated, it hardens. Because I made pizza while I made the vegan mozzarella cheese, I used the cheese at room temperature.

But, if refrigerated overnight, the cheese thickens further, requiring shredding.

Either way, it melts when heated in the oven.

Making Vegan Pizza

Since I prefer to make my oil-free pizza sauce and dough, I always make batches of dough and sauce and freeze them when making pizza or pizza pinwheels.

Oil-Free Pizza Dough Ingredients

• Warm water (run the tap until warm)
• Dry active yeast
• Vegan raw sugar
• Whole wheat flour
• Vital wheat gluten (optional) or replaced with more wheat flour
• Flaxseed meal
• Maple syrup or date syrup
• Salt
• Cornmeal for the bottom of the pizza stone

Oil-Free Pizza Sauce

• Tomato Puree: I used Muir Glen Organic or POMI crushed tomatoes.
• Onion Powder: Although dried onion is just the onion flesh, onion powder can also include dehydrated skin and roots.
• Garlic Powder: Garlic powder is the dried and finely ground form of garlic.
• Dried Oregano: Fresh oregano, for example, is sharper and more peppery fresh, while the dried stuff is flavorful but mild.
• Fresh Basil: I love fresh basil on everything, especially pizza.
• Crushed Red Pepper: Crushed red pepper gives
• Ground Black Pepper: I prefer fresh ground black pepper.
• Pure Maple Syrup: I love using maple syrup to sweeten the sauce lightly.
• Smoked Salt: Smoked salt is created when rock salt or sea salt is smoked over a wood fire. The salt is either hot or cold smoked, but both methods impart a rich smoky flavor and aroma.

Oil-Free Pizza Sauce Substitutions

• Try a canned or jarred vegan pizza sauce for a shortcut. But, if you follow an oil-free plant-based diet, make sure to check the label. A lot of jarred or canned pizza sauce also has a lot of added sugar.
• Many substitutes for tomato puree include marinara sauce, crushed tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, and Rotel tomatoes. However, it is essential to keep in mind that each of these substitutes will change the flavor and consistency of your dish slightly.
• Date syrup is an excellent substitute for maple syrup.
• Onion powder is three times more potent than dried onion, so for 1 cup of fresh onion, you would substitute only 1 tablespoon of onion powder.
• To substitute garlic powder in recipes, use equal amounts of freshly minced garlic. Or, use one medium-sized fresh garlic clove for every ⅛ teaspoon needed. OR - Equal amounts of granulated garlic. Alternatively, use chopped shallots or onion.
• Dried herbs can be more potent than fresh herbs (unless they've been sitting in your spice drawer for 5 years). This means you need fewer dried herbs than fresh ones when substituting one for the other. A good rule of thumb is 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs = 1 teaspoon of dried herbs.
• If you don't have smoked salt, add ¼ teaspoon of liquid smoke instead.

Once the dough is rolled out and shaped to fit the pizza stone, cover the entire surface of the dough with sauce. Then, spread the vegan cheese for pizza over the top of the sauce evenly.

Nest, choose your toppings.

Pizza Topping Suggestions

For my vegan pizza, I chose to include various vegetables.

• Mushrooms
• Onions
• Tomatoes
• Spinach

Other Great Vegan Pizza Toppings

• Jalapenos
• Mild banana peppers
• Red bell peppers
• Red onions
• Olives
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Eggplant
• Artichokes
• Red pepper flakes
• Vegan Parmesan Cheese

Recipe FAQs

Tips

• Sprinkle cornmeal on the surface of a pizza stone to prevent the dough from sticking to the pizza stone.
• Once the dough is rolled out, place it on top of the cornmeal-covered pizza stone and shape it into a perfect circle.
• Evenly add the sauce to the top of the dough before adding the vegan cheese for pizza.
• For a spicier sauce, add more crushed red pepper flakes.
• If sensitive to spice, I suggest adding the crushed red pepper flakes in smaller amounts, taste, and adjust for personal preference.
• For a gluten-free pizza crust, choose gluten-free flour, and skip the vital wheat gluten.
• For quick and easy pizza, buy a vegan pizza crust and sauce at the grocery store instead of making your own sauce and crust.
• Instead of making one large pizza, make mini pizzas, and have a pizza bar where guests or family make their pizzas with selected toppings and vegan mozzarella cheese.
• Use this cheese grilled cheese sandwich, a panini, or cheese bread.

If you love pizza, give vegan mozzarella cheese a try! You will love how vegan cheesy it is!

Vegan Italian Recipes to Enjoy!

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