Homemade Vegan Mozzarella Cheese Balls in Caprese Salad (with Balsamic Glaze)
Soft, cheesy, homemade vegan mozzarella balls are layered with ripe tomatoes and fresh basil in this scrumptious Caprese salad. Drizzled with a tangy-sweet balsamic glaze and dotted with creamy avocado, this is one satisfying salad!
Homemade Vegan Mozzarella Cheese Balls in Caprese Salad (with Balsamic Glaze)
I’ve been making Caprese salad all summer long and now that were into fall, I’m not quite ready to put summer salads on hold, especially this one. Vegan Caprese salad is a great recipe to transition gently into fall, especially when you can still find gorgeous tomatoes at the farmer’s market. I love the ones that are almost too ripe. They melt in your mouth and are so juicy and sweet.
Caprese Salad
Caprese salad (which means “Salad of Capri” in Italian) is simple to throw together. Layer tomatoes, vegan mozzarella and basil, drizzle with a balsamic glaze, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. I also add avocado to make it extra rich and filling while keeping it oil-free. If you have your homemade vegan mozzarella cheese balls and balsamic glaze prepared ahead of time, this crowd-pleasing meal comes together in about 10 minutes.
Balsamic Glaze
A decadent dressing never came easier. Simply dissolve ½ cup of balsamic vinegar with 2 tablespoons of coconut sugar over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook the mixture down until it is reduced by half. Pour into a mini-sized pitcher and set in the fridge to cool and thicken. Voila, that’s it!
You can make it sweeter and thicker by reducing the liquid to ¼ of the original volume if you like. This recipe is easily doubled.
Homemade Vegan Mozzarella Cheese Balls
But what I’m most excited to share with you is this homemade vegan mozzarella cheese recipe. It’s soft, gooey, and full of cheesy flavor. It’s super fun to make too. You’ll feel like you’re in middle school science class watching the mixture turn from a liquid into soft, elastic, stretchy cheese. To make mini mozzarella balls, scoop a teaspoon-sized dollop of warm cheese and plop it into cold water. The pillowy dollops look like poached egg whites…so cool! You can also just scoop all the warm cheese straight into a container and store it in the fridge for later use.
What’s in this Homemade Vegan Mozzarella?
Our vegan mozzarella starts with a cashew cream base. Soaked cashews are added to a high-powered blender with water, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, white miso paste, seasonings, and…tapioca flour. This is the key ingredient. Tapioca flour, also known as tapioca starch, is what gives vegan mozzarella it’s wonderful stretchy, gooey consistency. It really looks, tastes, and feels like dairy-based cheese. Other starches will not work in this recipe.
This Homemade Vegan Mozzarella Recipe is:
Soft
Stretchy
Cheesy
Dairy-Free
Delicious!
It’s so versatile you can use it to top pizza or casseroles, warm it between toasty bread in a cheese sandwich, or serve it cold in salads or appetizers. I love to just eat it plain!
Ready to make this showstopper of a salad?! Keep scrolling for step-by-step instructions with photos!
Ingredients for Homemade Vegan Mozzarella Cheese Balls
Ingredients for Homemade Vegan Mozzarella Cheese Balls
½ cup (75 grams) of raw cashew nuts
1 cup (240 ml.) of fresh cold water (plus more for cooling the mozzarella balls)
4 tablespoons (31 grams) of tapioca starch (aka tapioca flour)
2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of white miso paste (white mellow miso)
¼ teaspoon of onion powder
¼ teaspoon of garlic powder
¼ teaspoon of fine sea salt
A pinch (1/16 teaspoon) of white pepper
Makes 25-30 mini mozzarella balls or 15 “golf ball” sized balls. Click on the ingredients in bold to see what I use in this recipe.
How to Make Homemade Vegan Mozzarella Cheese Balls
Steps 1-3:
1. Start by hot soaking your cashews. Place cashews in a small heat-proof bowl. Pour boiling water, enough to generously cover, over the cashews and let soften for 10-20 minutes. When soft, drain off the soaking water and rinse the cashews. You can also cold soak your cashews in water overnight. Time-saving tip! Make the balsamic glaze while the cashews are hot soaking.
2. Add the soaked cashews, water, tapioca starch, nutritional yeast, and lemon juice to a cup-style blender container, followed by the miso paste, onion, and garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
3. Securely attach the lid to the container and blend at high speed until the mixture is completely smooth with no cashew lumps remaining. This may take a couple of minutes, or more, depending on what type of blender you are using. I’ve had the best luck blending for 90 seconds using a Nutribullet.
Steps 4-5:
4. Grab a soft spatula and pour the mixture into a medium-sized saucepan, over medium-high heat. It will be runny to start with.
5. Stir continuously, reaching into the bottom edges of the pan with the spatula, to prevent the cheese from cooking unevenly. It will form some lumps at the beginning of the thickening process. Don’t worry, just keep stirring and after about 4 minutes, it will become smooth and elastic.
Step 6:
6. Turn the heat down to medium and continue to cook, while stirring, for an additional 3-4 minutes. (7-8 minutes total) This activates the tapioca starch which creates that “cheesy” mozzarella texture.
Step 7:
7. Have a large bowl of cold water ready. Remove the mozzarella from the heat and scoop heaping teaspoon (or tablespoon for larger) sized balls, using a melon baller, tablespoon, or small ice-cream style scoop, and plop them into the cold water. The mixture will be sticky, so it may be helpful to use another spoon to remove the cheese from the scoop. They will form pillowy dollops that look like poached egg whites.
Step 8:
8. After all the balls are in the water, use a slotted spoon to scoop up the mozzarella and transfer it to a plate. Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and set in the fridge to chill while you make the salad.
Storage Tips!
For soft vegan mozzarella balls store them, covered in water, in the fridge for up to 3 days. They will lose a bit of flavor while soaking so re-salt them after draining. For firmer mozzarella balls, place them in an air-tight container and refrigerate for up to a week. This recipe does not freeze well.
Ingredients for Balsamic Glaze
Balsamic Glaze for Vegan Caprese Salad
½ cup of balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons of coconut sugar
Makes ¼ cup of balsamic glaze
How to Make Balsamic Glaze
Steps 1-2:
1. Add the balsamic vinegar and sugar to a small saucepan over medium-high to high heat (depending on how hot your burner gets). Stir until the sugar dissolves.
2. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to medium (or medium-low) and reduce to a simmer. Continue to simmer the mixture down until it is reduced by half (¼ cup), stirring now and then. This will take about 10 minutes.
Step 3:
3. Pour into a small serving pitcher and set in the fridge to cool and thicken. For a sweeter, thicker glaze, reduce to ¼ of the original volume. This recipe can easily be doubled.
Ingredients for Caprese Salad with Homemade Vegan Mozzarella Cheese Balls
3 cups (600 grams, 21.3 oz.) of cherry tomatoes (or small tomatoes), sliced in half
1 recipe of homemade vegan mozzarella cheese balls
1 large avocado (or 2 small), sliced
A large handful (about 1 cup) of fresh basil leaves, torn into bite-sized pieces
1 recipe of balsamic glaze
Kosher salt for sprinkling to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
How to Make Caprese Salad with Homemade Vegan Mozzarella Cheese Balls
Arrange the tomatoes, vegan mozzarella cheese balls, avocado, and basil on a large, platter-style plate so that there is a nice variety of color and texture.
Drizzle with balsamic glaze and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Serve with a side of your favorite crusty bread to soak up all that yummy glaze!
Other hearty salads to enjoy all year long!
Homemade Vegan Mozzarella Cheese Balls in Caprese Salad (with Balsamic Glaze)
Ingredients
Instructions
- Start by hot soaking your cashews. Place cashews in a small heat-proof bowl. Pour boiling water, enough to generously cover, over the cashews and let soften for 10-20 minutes. When soft, drain off the soaking water and rinse the cashews. You can also cold soak your cashews in water overnight. Time-saving tip! Make the balsamic glaze while the cashews are hot soaking.
- Add the soaked cashews, water, tapioca starch, nutritional yeast, and lemon juice to a cup-style blender container, followed by the miso paste, onion and garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Securely attach the lid to the container and blend at high speed until the mixture is completely smooth with no cashew lumps remaining. This may take a couple of minutes, or more, depending on what type of blender you are using. I’ve had the best luck blending for 90 seconds using a Nutribullet.
- Grab a soft spatula and pour the mixture into a medium-sized saucepan, over medium-high heat. It will be runny to start with.
- Stir continuously, reaching into the bottom edges of the pan with the spatula, to prevent the cheese from cooking unevenly. It will form some lumps at the beginning of the thickening process. Don’t worry, just keep stirring and after about 4 minutes, it will become smooth and elastic.
- Turn the heat down to medium and continue to cook, while stirring, for an additional 3-4 minutes. (7-8 minutes total) This activates the tapioca starch which creates that “cheesy” mozzarella texture.
- Have a large bowl of cold water ready. Remove the mozzarella from the heat and scoop heaping teaspoon (or tablespoon for larger) sized balls, using a melon baller, tablespoon, or small ice-cream style scoop, and plop them into the cold water. The mixture will be sticky, so it may be helpful to use another spoon to remove the cheese from the scoop. They will form pillowy dollops that look like poached egg whites.
- After all the balls are in the water, use a slotted spoon to scoop up the mozzarella and transfer it to a plate. Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and set in the fridge to chill while you make the salad.
- Add the balsamic vinegar and sugar to a small saucepan over medium-high to high heat (depending on how hot your burner gets). Stir until the sugar dissolves.
- Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to medium (or medium-low) and reduce to a simmer. Continue to simmer the mixture down until it is reduced by half (¼ cup), stirring now and then. This will take about 10 minutes.
- Pour into a small serving pitcher and set in the fridge to cool and thicken. For a sweeter, thicker glaze, reduce to ¼ of the original volume. This recipe can easily be doubled.
- Arrange the tomatoes, vegan mozzarella cheese balls, avocado, and basil on a large, platter-style plate so that there is a nice variety of color and texture.
- Drizzle with balsamic glaze and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Notes
Storage Tips!
For soft vegan mozzarella balls store them, covered in water, in the fridge for up to 3 days. They will lose a bit of flavor while soaking so re-salt them after draining. For firmer mozzarella balls, place them in an air-tight container and refrigerate for up to a week. This recipe does not freeze well.
For step-by-step instructions with photos, see blog post!
Nutrition Facts
Calories
295.53Fat (grams)
15.20Sat. Fat (grams)
2.44Carbs (grams)
35.91Fiber (grams)
7.10Net carbs
28.81Sugar (grams)
16.40Protein (grams)
7.68Sodium (milligrams)
1155.80Cholesterol (grams)
0.08Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators.
