Vegan Mozzarella Sticks with Cashew Mozzarella – Baked or Fried

Level up your snack game with these incredibly delicious, crunchy, creamy, melty vegan mozzarella sticks! Made with homemade Cashew mozzarella! They’re perfect with some marinara for dipping. This post was originally published on Jan 29, 2014.

The homemade vegan mozzarella for these vegan mozzarella sticks is cashew-based with a little oil and starches to help with the stringy melty-ness. Once set, you slice the mozzarella, coat it in this delicious breading, and either pan fry or bake it!

Depending on your preference of cheese texture you might prefer the pan fried or fried version or baked for these sticks. Apart from the usual addictiveness of fried anything, the frying cooks up the breading quickly enough so the cheese inside is more melty and gooey when you serve the sticks. Sometimes, you just have to indulge!

If you don’t care about cheese being not as stringy and just want the delicious gooey cheesy flavor, then baking is a great option. That reduces active time as you can bake many sticks together. If you don’t want to make the cashew mozzarella, you can use any vegan mozzarella block cheese instead.

There is just a bit of oil and starch in the cheese, so the cheese sticks inside these vegan mozzarella sticks cool to a soft, not-as-stringy state fairly quickly. That means that you should try to serve these right out of the fryer or the oven for the meaty stringyness. For extra meltyness you’d need to add more oil and starch.

The original recipe called for cashews and no tofu, i also had used some agar to help set the cheese, and added some Indian black salt (Kala Namak) for a deeper flavor and some pepper flakes for heat. The recipe now uses Miso for the deeper complex flavor, a bit more starch for thickening and setting and I added in some tofu to make it a heartier cheese. Tofu however makes the cheese more chunky and less stringy, you can use extra cashews instead for stringier. Pepper flakes add a nice spice to the cheese, they are optional.

Stringy or not, this is one delicious addition to the game day line up. Make some!

Why You’ll Love Vegan Mozzarella Sticks

• creamy cashew mozzarella coated in flavorful breadcrumbs
• perfect finger food for game day, parties, or movie night
• flexible recipe is easily made gluten-free, soy-free, and/or nut-free if needed

Ingredients and Substitutions

• cashews – This is part of the mozzarella base. You can use a mix of hemp seeds and pumpkin seeds instead of the cashews, and blend the mixture a bit longer. The mozzarella will have a little bit of color from the pumpkin seeds.
• tofu – No need to press the tofu for these vegan mozzarella sticks. Use more cashews as a substitute for soyfree
• water – Adds moisture to the cheese mixture.
• extra virgin olive oil – A little bit of oil is important for getting the right texture.
• ground spices – For the mozzarella, we are using garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and nutritional yeast. For the breading mixtures, you will need garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and Italian herb blend.
• yellow miso – Adds more cheesy flavor to the mozzarella. You can use chickpea miso instead, if you prefer.
• lemon juice – For tang.
• tapioca starch – Gives the cheese a great texture!
• all-purpose flour – Helps the cheese thicken. You can use more tapioca starch instead for a gluten-free version. You’ll also be dredging the vegan mozzarella sticks in flour, and you can use rice or oat flour for gluten-free.
• non-dairy milk – Helps the breading stick to the mozzarella cheese sticks.
• flax meal – Also helps the breading stick.
• panko – For crunch! Use gluten-free, if you prefer.
• vegan butter – Helps the breading get crisp and golden. You can use oil, if you prefer.

How to Make Vegan Mozzarella Sticks

Blend all of the mozzarella ingredients until really creamy. Blend for 1 minute, then let the mixture sit for 5 minutes for the mixture to rehydrate. Then, blend again for 30 seconds. Repeat 2 to 3 times until very creamy.

Transfer the mixture to a skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently to avoid lumps. Initially the mixture will thicken unevenly, but it will even out after a few minutes of boiling and stirring. Cook until homogeneously thickened and starting to set up and stiffen

Switch off the heat, and immediately transfer the mixture to a parchment-lined or greased loaf pan. Even out with a spatula, and let it cool for 10 minutes, then put it into the freezer to set.

Check on the mozzarella after half an hour to see if it’s set or easy to slice, otherwise let it chill for a bit longer. When it’s set, remove from the freezer and tap to release it from the loaf pan or use the parchment paper to remove it. If the cheese is still somewhat soft, freeze for a bit longer. When it’s nice and firm, slice into 1/2” or less thick slices and get them ready to dredge. Depending on the temperature of your kitchen, you may want to slice and freeze again before or after dredging. You want the cheese to be cold before cooking the mozzarella sticks.

Place the flour in a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, mix the non-dairy milk, flax meal, garlic powder, and smoked paprika. In a third bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, Italian herbs, and melted butter or oil, mixing well.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Coat each stick in flour, then the milk mixture, then use a new fork to transfer to the breadcrumb mixture and coat well. Arrange them on a lined baking sheet. You can store these breaded sticks in the fridge or freezer.

To bake: Bake at 425° F (218° C) for 6-8 minutes, then broil for 1 to 2 minutes until golden brown.
To pan fry: Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the mozzarella sticks without crowding the pan, Pan fry for a minute then flip and continue until golden. Another half a minute or more. Remove from the skillet.

Serve these warm and fresh with marinara sauce or dipping sauce of choice. 

What to Serve with Vegan Mozzarella Sticks

Of course, you want to serve these with tomato sauce/ marinara for dipping. If you’re making this as part of a party spread, it goes great with my vegan pizza dip, cauliflower bites, spinach pinwheels, or your favorite vegan party food.