My Favorite Vegan Cheese for Pizza Night at Home

Since going vegan three years ago, I’ve heard countless other vegans say they don’t miss cheese at all. Unfortunately, that is not the case for me! As a result, I have tried my fair share of vegan cheeses, ranging from soft cheeses worthy of fancy crackers to slices for grilled cheese sandwiches. And while I don’t mind being cheese-free most of the time, the craving rears its ugly head every time I see an image of a gooey, stretchy pizza slice crossing my television screen. But I couldn’t find a satisfactory pizza cheese replacement until I tried Miyoko’s Fresh VeganMozz.

Buy it: Fresh VeganMozz, $8.99 for 8 ounces at Miyoko’s Kitchen

Although I’ve been happy to see more and more pizza restaurants, local and national chains alike, adding vegan options to their menus, my cheesy dreams are usually crushed upon tasting.

At home, I began experimenting with making my own vegan cheeses, and finally found a recipe that I love. The problem is, it takes a few days to set up and dry out enough to be shredded for pizza, so there is quite a bit of forethought required. And when I need pizza, I sometimes (read: often) need it immediately.

So when I heard that Miyoko’s Creamery had a fresh mozzarella-style cheese, I ran to Whole Foods to find it. We had enjoyed several of Miyoko’s cultured nut cheeses, and I’m a devotee of founder Miyoko Schinner’s cookbook The Homemade Vegan Pantry. My expectations were pretty high, and I’m excited to say that the VeganMozz didn’t let me down.

The VeganMozz is too soft to be shreddable and doesn’t slice as easily as fresh dairy mozzarella, but the cheese melts beautifully and even browns! I just drop little blobs of the VeganMozz over my sauce and then cook my pizza like I normally would. The blobs melt and add salty, mildly sweet, gooey pockets all over the tops of my pizzas. The cheese sets up after cooling, and doesn’t remain an oil slick like other shreds. And it doesn’t have a weird or chemical taste, either, as it’s mostly made of coconut oil and cashews.

No, it doesn’t stretch like the cheeses in a pizza commercial, but it makes my pizzas taste better, and that’s what really matters. My 3-year-old eats Miyoko’s mozzarella with zeal. And even my omnivorous mother-in-law will eat it!

So while I’m still waiting on a convincing vegan version of “low-moisture, part-skim” shredded mozzarella that will give me that glorious pull of real cheese, I’ll keep happily melting this fresh mozzarella look-alike all over my pies.

Have you tried it? Do you have another vegan cheese you love for pizza? Discuss in the comments below!