mozzarella sticks

,

Vegan Mozzarella Cheese Sticks

,
IMG_0067.jpg

Who doesn’t miss cheese sticks?! Half of my kids had never even had one, so I knew I needed to try and create a vegan cheese stick recipe so I could share this snack joy with them!.

These dairy free, vegan mozzarella cheese sticks are super simple to whip together.

They are made with coconut milk, making them more allergen friendly for kids to pack in their school lunches, because the last thing we want to do is exclude anyone with a nut allergy from this tasty treat!!!

They are also made with a vegan/plant based gelatin called agar agar powder. You can find agar at Asian markets or online at amazon. I prefer Living Jin brand but use whatever brand you can find or like.

Agar is activated when heated and will solidify pretty quickly once it begins to cool. So the result is a quick set vegan cheese. It only takes minutes for the mixture to come together, and a few hours for your cheese to set.

I am often asked if the oil can be left out, and in this recipe it can not. Agar solidifies and tends to have a gelatinous texture on its own. The filtered coconut oil helps get you a firmer cheese with a more palatable and cheese like texture. There are recipes out there for agar cheese without coconut oil, but they include extra starches and typically xanthan gum to help thicken and set the cheese.

If you are not into cheese sticks, you can mold this cheese in some small bowls and slice it for sandwiches or shred it for pizza.

So don’t be afraid to try and make your own vegan cheese at home. Its super easy, and really affordable. You know every ingredient that is going into it and can feel good about what you or your family is eating!

Happy cheese snacking, y'all!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 1/2 cups of full fat coconut milk or cream in a can (make sure it's at room temp, and shake the can very well first. You need the liquid as well as the creamy part, and since they tend to separate, a good shake will help mix it back up)

  • 1/3 cup vegan plain yogurt

  • 2 tablespoon of lemon juice

  • 2 teaspoons miso paste

  • 1 teaspoons of salt

  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast

  • 1/4 melted cup triple refined coconut oil

  • 2 tablespoons agar powder

  • 1 teaspoon onion powder

  • 3 tablespoons tapioca starch

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. In a food processor or high speed blender, add all of the ingredients EXCEPT the milk, and agar.

  2. Pulse a few times to mix it all up.

  3. Now add the milk, and agar to a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until mixture thickens to the constancy of a thin pudding.

  4. Add the milk mixture to the ingredients in the food processor, and mix for about a minute. The mixture will quickly begin to thicken as agar begins to solidify at room temperature.

  5. Transfer the mixture to an 8x8 pan.

  6. Allow the cheese to harden in the refrigerator uncovered for about 2 hours.

  7. Once the cheese is set, remove from the pan and cut into sticks. Store in an air tight container for up to week.

*You can also pour the mixture into small bowls to mold if you just want a shreddable, sliceable mozzarella that will melt!

,

Fried Vegan Mozzarella Bites

,
IMG_8067.jpg

Oh mozzarella cheese, how I loved you in all of your many forms.

Soft, shredded, on pizza, in a caprese salad, in lasagna, any way at all. But most of all FRIED and dipped in marinara.

So once going vegan I had to, HAD TO, find a way to mimic soft mozzarella. It is the cheese I missed the very most and could not imagine a world where I would not longer eat mozzarella!

Honestly, hard cheeses are really easy, and coming up with a shreddable mozzarella wasn’t too hard, but what stumped me was a soft vegan mozzarella, one that I could make my favorite salad with!

This may not be my easiest cheese recipe, but it is certainly not difficult. Just a little more time consuming than some agar quick set cheeses. This cheese cooks up like a regular agar cheese, but instead of pouring it into a mold, you scoop the mixture and drop it into ice cold water, causing it to quickly set into soft vegan mozzarella cheese balls!

It’s brilliant really! Agar agar will begin to set at room temperature, so dropping this cheese mixture into ice cold water will have it set into a ball almost instantly! It still needs some time in the fridge to completely set, but over all, this recipe is really easy, quick, and pretty straightforward.

Now, before you glance at the ingredients and gawk at addition of sauerkraut, hear me out. It works! It adds a fermented briny-ness (is that a word, if not it is now on this blog if nowhere else) that a lot of vegan cheese recipes are missing. You will never even be able to taste it in the cheese, but I adds a kick that you would miss if you didn’t add it! You gotta trust me here!

So don’t be intimidated and try your hand at making this soft mozzarella!! I think you will be surprised at how easy it is and how close it mimics the real deal! And trust me when I tell you, you want to fry it up and dip it in your favorite marinara sauce ( or my fave is vegan honey mustard..sounds weird maybe but its soooo good)

Use 1/2 a batch of vegan mozzarella, or a whole batch if you are extra hungry. Just double the following recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1/2 batch vegan soft mozzarella

  • 3/4 cup all purpose flour

  • 2 flax eggs

  • 1/2 cup dairy free milk (I use unsweetened almond)

  • 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs

  • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder

  • Oil for frying

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Cut 4 - 5 mozzarella balls into quarters.

  2. Add flour to a shallow dish.

  3. In a deeper dish, whisk together 2 flax eggs and 1/2 cup of non-dairy milk.

  4. In another dish mix Italian seasoning, garlic powder and panko.

  5. Start by dredging the mozzarella pieces first in flour, completely covering the pieces.

  6. Next, dip the bites in the flax egg mix, letting the excess drip off a little.

  7. Now, lay the pieces in the panko, gently pressing in the crumbs so they stick to all sides.

  8. Lay coated mozzarella on a plate.

  9. Fill a medium size skillet halfway with oil and heat on medium/high heat until nice and hot.

  10. Once oil is hot, add the mozzarella in batches. Just be careful not to over crowd the pan.

  11. Let the cheese bites fry on each side until brown and crispy before turning.

  12. Take a cooling rack, and place it on top of a paper towel line cookie sheet. Place finished mozzarella bites on the rack while you finish frying the rest.

  13. Serve with a side of marinara sauce.

Any leftovers can be reheated in a 350 degree oven for 10 - 15 minutes or until heated through.