I tried Daiya cheese when I first found out that I had a dairy sensitivity, but it has a very strong flavor that I didn’t like. I was sad that I would never have a tasty mac n’ cheese or a lasagna again. I had never heard of cashew cheese, until I went to this brick stove vegetarian pizza place in St. Louis called Pizzoli’s; the pizza was amazing, and you would have never known that the cheese was vegan! It tricked my husband, and my kids said it was their favorite pizza.

Then, I started thinking about making my own cashew cheese. I saw Sunwarrior post a DIY cashew mozzarella cheese on Facebook, but I adapted it by adding Redmond Real Salt, and garlic; I wanted a little more flavor.

Let’s talk salt for a minute. People think that salt is bad for them and it is! “Regular table salts have been heat processed and stripped of their natural trace minerals.” However, I specifically use Redmond Real Salt, because it is unrefined and full of  60+ natural minerals. You can read about it on their website: http://www.realsalt.com. Our bodies need these minerals, and it’s especially beneficial for people like me with thyroid issues to take a 1/2 – 1 teaspoon in warm water a day. Ditch your table salt and buy Real Salt! Back to cheese…

Here are the things that I learned while making this cheese:

1. Tapioca starch is the same as tapioca flour. I stood in the aisle searching for a while until I realized that I wasn’t reading the fine print on the bag. #mombrain
2. Nutritional yeast is not the same as active yeast or baking yeast. It is actually a protein that give the cheese a nice flavor too! It’s not located near the normal spices and yeast in the baking aisle. I found it in the bulk section at Fresh Thyme. 
3. You have to soak your cashews. It makes them soft, and also helps them to release enzymes so that they are easier to digest. Let’s be honest, many of us are giving up dairy because of the gas and other stomach issues it causes, and we don’t need it from nuts too! You want to soak them at least 4 hours. I soaked them for 11 hours. 
4. You can add basil for added flavor, and it tastes great on pizza or lasagna.

Cashew Mozzarella Cheese

• 2 cups cashews
• 2 tablespoons lemon (~½ a lemon)
• 5 tablespoons tapioca starch
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 tsp Redmond Real Salt (add according to your taste)

Directions

1. Soak your cashews, for at least 4 hours.
2. Pour out the water and rinse the cashews until the water is clear.
3. Put all  ingredients in your blender and mix until smooth. I used my Vitamix, and the result was creamy. 
4. Heat on medium heat on the stove in a large pot and have a rubber spatula ready. Constantly stir and scrape the sides until the cheese is thickened.
5. Salt to taste, but you can wait depending on how you are going to use the cheese. I added additional flavor to the cheese by using it in a sauce with a variety of spices.
6. Options: (1) If you aren’t going to use the cheese right away or you want it to be pretty and smooth in appearance – pour the mixture into a metal pan and freeze it for an hour. Then you cut it into cubes, and place the cubes on pizza for example. (2) Use it immediately – I was not worried about the appearance of the cheese and I didn’t need it in perfect squares, so I scooped the cheese right out of the pot and made a lasagna; I’ll post my recipe for that next!