Creamy cashew cheese is breaded, pan-fried to golden, crispy deliciousness, and served with zesty marinara sauce to make these mouth-watering vegan mozzarella sticks.
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water 4-8 hours and drained
- 1 cup unflavored and unsweetened soy or almond milk
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil (use refined if you want to avoid any coconut flavor)
- 3 tablespoons tapioca starch
- 2 tablespoons white miso paste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unflavored soy or almond milk
- 3 tablespoons ground flaxseed
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs (I used whole wheat)
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Canola oil (or another high heat oil)
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Place all ingredients for the mozzarella into a food processor and blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
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Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan and place it over medium heat. Heat while whisking constantly. The mixture will become thinner at first, and then begin to thicken up. Keep heating until it become elastic and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 5 minutes.
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Line a small box or container with parchment paper (I used a 6 inch x 6 inch square leftovers container). Distribute the cashew mixture in the container, smoothing out the top with a spatula, and chill for at least 4 hours, or until fully set.
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Transfer the mozzarella to the freezer while you prep the remaining ingredients. Stir the ingredient for the batter together in a shallow bowl, and stir the ingredients for the breading together in another shallow bowl.
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Remove the mozzarella from the freezer. Transfer it from the container to a cutting board, and cut into 12-16 strips (1 inch by 3 inches is a good size).
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Very generously coat the bottom of a large skillet with oil (at least ⅛ inch high) and place it over medium heat. When the oil is hot, place a cheese stick into the batter to coat, then transfer it to the breading, carefully rolling it around to coat. Place it in the skillet. Repeat for as many sticks will fit in the pan without crowding (leave a good 1 ½ inches between them). Cook until browned and crisp on the bottoms, about 5 minutes, gently flip and repeat on the other side. Transfer the cooked mozzarella sticks to a paper-towel lined plate to drain.
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Serve with marinara sauce.
Prep time includes 4 hours of soak time and 4 hours of chill time.
You can bake these, but the'll flatten out quite a bit. If you're okay with that, bake then on a parchment-lined baking sheet at 425° for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through.
You could probably also deep fry them, but I wasn't brave enough to try. Please let me know how it works out if you give it a go!