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    Home » 30 Minute Meals » Vegan Cheese (5-Min Nut-Free Recipe)

    Vegan Cheese (5-Min Nut-Free Recipe)

    Published: Apr 7, 2022 · by Nico

    Jump to Recipe

    Our vegan cheese is easy, creamy, melty, stringy, spreadable, light, cheesy, and with a slightly tangy flavor. It's also made nut-free and without a blender.

    You can make it in 5 minutes, and use it on pizza, toast, and oven-baked pasta. It's perfect on food that goes in the oven, as it melts like mozzarella cheese.

    vegan cheese just made
    On this page:
    • What to expect
    • Ingredients and substitutions
    • Instructions
    • Serving Suggestions
    • Variations
    • Questions
    • Storage
    • Recipe

    Check out our best vegan Italian recipes collection!

    What to expect

    vegan cheese on toasted bread

    There are many types of plant-based cheese recipes out there, most of them are made with blended nuts. I love cheese made with nuts, however, it often doesn't really recreate that melty, stringy, cheesy texture of regular dairy cheese.

    Our dairy-free cheese does just that. Think of it as melted vegan mozzarella, or as vegan Italian stracchino or crescenza. You can use it in recipes where you expect to have melted cheese, like on pizza, in sandwiches, or on oven-baked veggies.

    Its texture is creamy and stringy at the same time, and you can melt it in the oven, with the broiler on, and it'll bubble and brown just like regular cheese.

    I think that this is the fastest, easiest, best, and closest-to-the-real deal homemade vegan cheese recipe.

    However, this vegan cheese recipe is not suitable as a dip. For that, check out our variation chapter below, where we show you how to make a quick vegan cheese dip.

    If you are looking for other amazing cheese recipes check out our vegan ricotta cheese, also made without nuts, our vegan parmesan made with almonds, and our vegan white sauce, which is technically not a cheese, but it's still crazy creamy.

    Ingredients and substitutions

    ingredients for vegan cheese
    • Soy milk: use unsweetened soy milk. Unsweetened soy milk is the best choice because it's neutral in taste and because of its nutrient composition. It will make the best, creamiest, vegan cheese.

      You can replace soy milk with unsweetened oat milk although the cheese will be slightly less stringy. I also think you could use other unsweetened non-dairy milk, like cashews milk, but I have not tried personally so can't vouch for it.
    • Tapioca starch: perfect to give a creamy, yet stringy and melty texture to this plant-based cheese.

      If you can't find tapioca starch, you can replace it with corn starch and potato starch mixed together. The corn starch makes the cheese creamy, the potato starch makes it stringy. I write the exact quantities in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
    • Olive oil: we have also tried other vegetable oils, but extra virgin olive oil produces a vegan cheese with a richer flavor.
    • Nutritional yeast: to add that cheesy flavor.
    • Salt: to add taste.
    • Soy yogurt: plain, unsweetened soy yogurt is best for this vegan cheese recipe. Soy yogurt adds a little tanginess and that sourish note present in most real cheese. It also helps with texture and creaminess, so it is a key ingredient.

      I have not tested this recipe with other types of dairy-free yogurts, so I am not sure if it works with those. My guess is that it could work, but the flavor would change slightly. If you try, do let me know in the comment section below.
    • Lemon: to add acidity. Some people don't like the tangy flavor. So go easy with it if it's the first time you do it. Start with a tablespoon and add more if you like.
    plant-based cheese on pizza
    plant-based cheese on pizza flatbread

    Instructions

    In a pot or in a saucepan off of the heat, add soy milk, tapioca starch (or potato starch + corn starch), olive oil, nutritional yeast, and salt. Stir with a whisk till there are no lumps.

    ingredients mixed in a pot

    On your stovetop, on medium heat, warm up the liquid, while stirring continuously with a whisk. Keep stirring until the liquid becomes very thick and gluey.

    Turn the heat off and keep stirring vigorously for another minute to cool it down slightly.

    thick mixture in a pot

    Now add the soy yogurt and the lemon juice and stir with the whisk. Stir gently at first, to incorporate the yogurt with the other ingredients. Once incorporated stir fast and vigorously for a minute or so, until the cheese becomes smooth, creamy, and stringy.

    Your vegan cheese is ready and you can use it straight away, put it in a cheese mold to give it more of a cheese shape, or just store it in a bowl in the fridge, with a lid on.

    The cheese will thicken in the fridge, that's normal. It will melt again when you heat it up.

    vegan cheese that melts
    vegan cheese put in a cheese mold overnight

    Serving Suggestions

    You can use this plant-based cheese like regular cheese that you would usually melt, like mozzarella or other melty cheese.

    vegan cheese on bread

    Melt it on bread
    That's awesome for a quick starter, or even as an easy dinner. Spread the cheese on a slice of bread, then put it in the oven with the broiler on and wait a couple of minutes until it gets all melty and slightly charred. Serve with a pinch of salt and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

    flatbread pizza with melted vegan cheese

    On pizza or flatbread
    Did you see our flatbread pizza with this vegan melted cheese and tomatoes on top? It's one of the best vegan recipes we've ever made. It's so tasty and delicious. It melts perfectly and paired with tomatoes, basil, oregano, and olive oil is just delicious.

    vegan piadina with stracchino and arugula

    In an Italian Piadina
    Piadina is an Italian flatbread similar to Mexican tortillas. It's one of the most popular street foods in Italy, especially during spring and summer, and it's usually filled with stracchino cheese and arugula. Our vegan cheese recipe is perfect for piadina with arugula. It's definitely one of our favorite quick lunches.

    • With thin Italian focaccia
      A delicacy from northern Italy in the region of Liguria, and the town of Recco. This is thin focaccia filled with stracchino, an Italian soft cheese. We made a vegan version of focaccia di Recco using our melted vegan cheese and it turned out absolutely incredible.
    • In pasta bakes
      Want a cheesy yet dairy-free pasta bake? Combine this recipe with our vegan ricotta cheese and with our vegan parmesan cheese for max flavor, perfect texture, and a pasta bake that even the most committed cheese eaters will absolutely love.
    • With oven-baked veggies
      Chopped and roasted cauliflower, oven-baked broccoli, oven-baked carrots, Brussels sprouts, and mixed veggies. You can add this cheese on top 5 minutes before they are done baking. It'll melt and char slightly on top.

    Variations

    Vegan Cheese Dip (Vegan Queso)

    vegan queso

    As I mentioned before our vegan cheese recipe is not suitable for dipping. If you want a vegan cheese dip more similar to a vegan queso that you can use with nachos and tortilla chips, then you've got to use other ingredients as follows.

    To make vegan queso that you can dip, boil 1 cup of raw cashews or raw, peeled almonds and 1 chopped carrot in water for 10 minutes. Drain them and add them to a high-speed blender. Don't worry, you won't taste the carrot. It's just for color and texture.

    Now add 1 cup of water, 1 clove of garlic cut in half lengthwise and without its core (garlic powder works too), 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice (or 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar), 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and 1 teaspoon of salt.

    Optionally, to make your vegan queso dip more interesting, you can add 1 teaspoon of chili powder or black pepper, 1 teaspoon of ground cumin, 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika, and/or 1 teaspoon of hot sauce. Adjust the quantities of these ingredients based on your taste.

    Blend at high speed until you get a smooth, silky, and creamy vegan cheese sauce. You might have to adjust the thickness by adding more liquid.

    Taste, adjust for salt, lemon, and spices, and you are done. This way you'll get a vegan cheese sauce that you can use not only with Mexican food but also with pasta and fries.

    vegan queso dip

    Questions

    Can I prepare this vegan cheese recipe in advance?

    Yes, you can prepare it in advance and store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

    Can I use another plant milk?

    Yes, you can use any unsweetened, no-flavor plant milk. However, we find that soy milk produces the best result that is most similar to real cheese.

    Can I use another yogurt?

    We have not tested other dairy-free yogurts. I believe it would work, but am not 100% sure. If you do try, make sure to get yogurt that is without sugar.

    I don't have potato starch. What can I do?

    If you don't have potato starch, then just use tapioca starch instead of potato and corn starch. Tapioca starch sometimes known as tapioca flour works well on its own. Quantities are in the recipe box below.

    Can I use coconut oil instead of olive oil?

    No, you should not use coconut oil in this recipe because it's saturated fat and it will become solid when you put it in the refrigerator compromising the texture of this cheese.

    I would stick to vegetable oils that stay liquid at room temperature. Coconut oil is great for other cheese recipes.

    Is vegan cheese gluten-free?

    Yes. Our recipe for vegan cheese is naturally gluten-free. However, if you are allergic to gluten, make sure to always check your ingredients. They should explicitly say gluten-free.

    vegan cheese in focaccia with spinach
    vegan cheese in focaccia with spinach

    Storage

    Before storing, make sure your vegan cheese has cooled down to room temperature.

    Then store in a bowl, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. We do not recommend freezing it.

    The cheese will clump together when in the refrigerator. This is fine. It will still be perfectly spreadable and delicious, and it will melt again once you warm it up.

    You can also give it a more traditional cheese shape by putting it in a cheese mold. You can purchase those online for a few bucks.

    For many more side dishes ideas, check out our sides category page.

    Recipe

    melty vegan cheese

    Vegan Cheese (5 Min Nut-Free Recipe)

    Author: Nico
    Our vegan cheese is easy, creamy, melty, stringy, spreadable, light, cheesy, and with a slightly tangy flavor. It's also made nut-free and without a blender.
    You can make it in 5 minutes, and use it on pizza, toast, and oven-baked pasta. It's perfect on food that goes in the oven, as it melts like mozzarella cheese.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Share Recipe
    4.71 from 24 votes
    Prep Time 4 mins
    Cook Time 1 min
    Total Time 5 mins
    Course Appetizer, Dressing & Sauces, Plant-Basics, Snack
    Cuisine Italian
    Servings 8 people
    Calories 63 kcal

    Equipment

    • Whisk
    • Small pot or saucepan

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 1 cup soy milk unsweetened
    • ¼ cup tapioca starch (or 3 tablespoons of potato starch + 1 tablespoons of corn starch)
    • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • ½ cup soy yogurt unsweetened
    • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

    Instructions
     

    • In a pot off the heat, add soy milk, tapioca starch (or potato starch + corn starch), olive oil, nutritional yeast, and salt. Stir with a whisk till there are no lumps.
      soy milk, cornstarch, potato starch, olive oil, salt and nutritional yeast in a pot
    • On medium heat, warm up the liquid while whisking continuously. Keep whisking until the liquid becomes very thick and gluey. It should take about 1 minute.
      liquid without lumps
    • Take off the heat, keep whisking vigorously for another minute, then add the soy yogurt and lemon juice.
      Stir gently at first, to combine the yogurt. Then whisk vigorously and fast for another minute.
      soy yogurt and lemon juice added to the pot
    • You should see the ingredients relax and turn into a smooth, stringy consistency.
      Your vegan cheese is ready. Store in a bowl in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
      vegan cheese is ready

    Video Recipe

    Stringy and melty vegan CHEESE - no nuts!

    Notes

    You can replace the tapioca starch with corn starch and potato starch together. In this case, you will need 3 tablespoons (30 grams) of potato starch, and 1 tablespoon (7.5 grams) of corn starch.
    The cheese will get firmer as it cools down. To make it soft and melty again, you just need to warm it up, for example, spread it on bread or add it to pizza and it will melt in the oven as it warms up. 

    Nutritional Values

    Nutrition Facts
    Vegan Cheese (5 Min Nut-Free Recipe)
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 63 Calories from Fat 27
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 3g5%
    Saturated Fat 1g6%
    Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
    Monounsaturated Fat 1g
    Cholesterol 0mg0%
    Potassium 107mg3%
    Carbohydrates 7g2%
    Dietary Fiber 1g4%
    Sugar 2g2%
    Protein 2g4%
    Vitamin A 118IU2%
    Vitamin B6 1mg50%
    Vitamin C 5mg6%
    Vitamin E 1mg7%
    Vitamin K 1µg1%
    Calcium 65mg7%
    Folate 11µg3%
    Iron 1mg6%
    Manganese 1mg50%
    Magnesium 3mg1%
    Zinc 1mg7%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Did you like this recipe?Leave us a comment below or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest. It would mean the world to us 🙂

    If you liked this recipe, you might also like:

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    Best Plant-Based Desserts | 43 recipes for any occasion »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. RK

      April 11, 2022 at 4:41 am

      5 stars
      This tastes like cheese if you have never actually had cheese before, or, are just lying to yourself.

      Reply
    2. Shamani

      December 28, 2021 at 9:04 pm

      Hi there,
      Can I substitute corn starch/flour for something else? I can't have corn unfortunately. Thanks.

      Shamani

      Reply
      • Nico

        January 09, 2022 at 7:26 am

        HI Shamani, can you have potato starch? You could try just using that. Or Tapioca starch.

        Reply
    3. Diane

      November 27, 2021 at 2:38 pm

      5 stars
      Thank you, it is absolutely delicious on pizza. Have tagged you on instagram. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes.

      Reply
      • Nico

        November 27, 2021 at 2:43 pm

        Wonderful Diana, it looks amazing!!! Thanks for your support 💕

        Reply
        • Shauna Rudy

          February 28, 2022 at 4:57 am

          I think you might want to double check your weights. I measured out 2T of tapioca starch and it weighed 15grams and 2/3T cornstarch was 6grams. I thought maybe my scale was inaccurate until my recipe made a thin sauce, at which point I added another 2T tapioca starch and 2/3T cornstarch, which thickened it up like the photos. Then I double checked the weights on a different digital scale and got the same weights as the first. I didn’t weigh the rest of the ingredients so I can’t speak to their accuracy. That said, after I doubled the starches it came together fine. I love the flavor and the kind of oozy texture like ripe crescenza. I’ll definitely be making again with potato starch next time. Thanks for sharing!

          Reply
          • Chef Nico

            April 07, 2022 at 12:30 pm

            Hi Shauna, thanks so much for taking the time to write us and let us know about the measurements. We finally had the time to improve the recipe and double-checked the measurements. Yes, the tablespoons were off, sorry about that. I have now updated the recipe with the correct measurements, both in grams and tablespoons/cups. I am super happy you liked the texture and flavor, it does remind us of crescenza too 🙂

            Reply
    4. Corrado

      October 30, 2021 at 2:35 pm

      Can I use substitute the potato start with corn starch and soy milk with other? Thanks

      Reply
      • Nico

        November 10, 2021 at 4:46 pm

        Ciao Corrado, you can certainly substitute the soy milk for any plant milk that you like (just make sure they are neutral in taste and without added sugar). As for the potato starch, I tried and tested without but it does not turn out well without it. Hope this helps! Have a great rest of your day!
        Nico

        Reply
    5. Laura

      August 27, 2021 at 3:32 pm

      5 stars
      My stracchino had a strong taste of flour even though I followed the recipe precisely. How long must the liquid boil before adding the yogurt? Probably I didn't boil it enough. Any suggestions before trying again?
      Anyway, your recipes are fantastic and I love them all.
      Laura

      Reply
      • Nico

        August 30, 2021 at 11:17 am

        Hi Laura, thanks! Happy you liked the recipes. Do you mean taste of flour or cornstarch? Because there is no flour in this recipe 🙂

        Reply
    6. Ann

      August 18, 2021 at 7:55 pm

      This looks wonderful. Is it possible to omit the oil? We avoid due to health issues. Thank you!

      Reply
      • Nico

        August 21, 2021 at 7:28 pm

        Yes. You can omit the oil in this one 👍

        Reply
    7. Sian

      July 12, 2021 at 3:28 pm

      The cheese tasted great, but I didn't manage to make it melt like in the photos above. I put it under the grill on some toast, and it sort of formed a skin rather than melting. I'm pretty sure it was something I did, rather than the recipe. Do have any idea what I might have done wrong?
      Thanks!

      Reply
    8. Samara Lynn

      May 28, 2021 at 4:28 pm

      5 stars
      Absolutely amazong recipe. I made the piadina with this cheese with argula and with broccoli rabe. The ricotta recipie is also incredible. I'm going to try every single recipe on this site and will definitely be following your social media. Giving up dairy was the hardest thing about becoming vegan and these cheeses really satisfy, better than any store-bought vegan cheese I've ever had. Thank you for your work!

      Reply
      • Nico

        May 29, 2021 at 10:16 am

        Thank you sooo much for your kind message Samara. We are so happy you like the cheeses and the recipes. ❤️🙏 And welcome to our little community 😄

        Reply
    9. Beatrice

      April 25, 2021 at 2:36 pm

      5 stars
      Since there are no reviews yet I'll post mine in both English and Italian, so both readers will know how great it is!

      This recipe is truly amazing! I just finished making it and I can't stop eating it! The cheese is soft, velvety and stringy just like real stracchino. And the taste becomes even more like real cheese as it cools down. I have been looking for a simple and tasty cheese spread recipe ever since I went vegan, as I sometimes desperately miss cheese, and I think I found it!

      Questa ricetta è fantastica! La ho appena preparata e non riesco a smettere di mangiare questo stracchino! È morbido, vellutato e filante proprio come lo stracchino originale. E il sapore diventa ancora più simile al formaggio man mano che si raffredda. È da quando sono diventata vegana che cerco una ricetta semplice e gustosa per un formaggio spalmabile, perché a volte il formaggio mi manca da matti, e penso proprio di averla trovata!

      Nico e Louise, il sito e il canale YouTube sono entrambi di super qualità e un piacere da leggere e guardare. Complimenti davvero, mi è capitato raramente di trovare canali così ben fatti! Vi auguro di raggiungere tutto il successo che vi meritate!

      Reply
      • Nico

        April 26, 2021 at 6:24 am

        Ciao Beatrice, your message makes us sooo happy! Thank you so much for the kind words 🙂
        We are very happy you liked the stracchino, as we also sometimes desperately miss cheese.
        Grazie di cuore ❤️
        Nico e Louise

        Reply

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