You’ll love this delicious vegan melting cheese on everything from pizza to sandwiches and nachos! Only a handful of ingredients and 10 minutes are needed to make it.
Missing cheese on a vegan diet? Fear not; there are so many fantastic ways to create cheesy plant-based goodness.
This healthy vegan melting cheese will take you to cheese-covered heaven and satisfy any cravings!
free 7-day vegan meal plan
Your next week of eating is planned out with these quick and delicious vegan bowls, meal prepping steps & full grocery list.
If you don’t want to rely on store-bought versions and make your own vegan cheese recipes from healthy, wholesome ingredients, try our high-protein cheese sauce, almond cheese ball or nacho cheese.
Enjoy this oil-free vegan melting cheese recipe without cashews and don’t miss out on our customization options!
Ingredients needed
- Coconut milk — our accessible, creamy base.
- Nutritional yeast — adding cheesy flavor!
- White wine vinegar — highly recommended for some zing.
- Tapioca starch — the secret ingredient to making this cheese melty and stretchy!
- Spices — the recipe calls for onion, garlic and salt.
In terms of kitchen tools, you need measuring equipment, a small saucepan, a whisk and a spoon.
How to make vegan melting cheese
- Whisk all the ingredients together in a small saucepan.
- Heat over medium-high heat and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Be sure to stir constantly!
- Turn the heat to low and let your melting cheese mixture simmer until it thickens. Don’t forget to stir!
- Once you’ve achieved the desired consistency, remove it from the heat and use your homemade vegan cheese immediately.
Serving & storage
Oh boy, where to begin! From vegan grilled cheese to vegan pizza rolls, mac and cheese, potato casserole or vegan lasagna — the possibilities are endless.
Try this vegan cheese for your 7-layer taco dip, quesadillas, nachos, with tortilla chips or veggie croquettes!
It can be stored in a lidded container in the fridge for 2-3 days and even frozen for up to 3 months! More on that below.
Tips & adjustments
Replacements
Instead of using coconut milk, this vegan melting cheese can also be made with:
- Cashews
- Almonds
- White beans
- Vegan yogurt
If using nuts for this recipe, be sure to soak them in hot water for 30 minutes. Then, drain them and blend until creamy!
Canned white beans just need to be drained and blended with the rest of the ingredients.
Replace tapioca starch with arrowroot powder or cornstarch if needed. The result will be slightly different, though!
Flavor ideas
- Dried herbs
- Liquid smoke
- Hot paprika
- Smoked paprika
- Mustard
- Miso paste
- Lemon juice
- Sauerkraut juice
If you add a pinch of turmeric powder, the cheese will turn yellowish!
Freeze to shred
Guess what: if you freeze this vegan cheese, you’ll be able to grate it! Thanks to the starch in this recipe, the cheese will turn into a compact block.
Turn it into shredded cheese by using your food processor and then add them to salads, on pizza or in any other way you wish.
It’s important to store the cheese shreds in the freezer after grating them. Otherwise, they will melt!
More tasty recipes
Try these dairy-free and oil-free recipes next!
Did you make our vegan melting cheese? We’d love to read about it, so be sure to leave a review and tell us more in the comments below. You can also Pin this recipe here!
Ingredients
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk 240 ml
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1.5-2 tablespoons tapioca starch
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Whisk all the ingredients for the melting cheese together in a saucepan, then heat it over medium heat.
- Start off with 1.5 tablespoons of tapioca starch. Add in 1 tsp increments as needed in step #3.
- Stir constantly and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Turn the heat to low and let simmer for a few minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Remove from heat and use immediately!
Notes
- Freeze this melting vegan cheese and turn it into shredded cheese once it’s frozen! It can also be sliced once it’s frozen.
- Make double batches and store in your freezer for months!
- Find delicious flavor options and replacements in the article above.
Alena Schowalter is a Certified Vegan Nutritionist who has been a vegetarian since childhood and vegan since 2012. Together with her husband, she founded nutriciously in 2015 and has been guiding thousands of people through different transition stages towards a healthy plant-based diet. She’s received training in the fields of nutrition, music therapy and social work. Alena enjoys discussions around vegan ethics, walks through nature and creating new recipes.
Recipe does not tell you amounts for replacement of coconut milk.
Hi Rose, I haven’t tested all of the replacement for the coconut milk in this recipe. Start with a 3/4 cup of any of the swaps and check out the consistency – add more if wanted or needed! When using beans, you need to add a fat source.