There’s something intrinsically excitable about pourable products. First, we fawned over the liquid JUST Egg. Next, we flipped for Follow Your Heart’s pourable pancake batter, Rocket Cakes. Now, we’ve about lost our minds over Miyoko’s Vegan Liquid Mozzarella cheese.
It’s a new category of vegan cheese, and it’s more than piqued our curiosity—we’re completely obsessed with what to do with it. All signs point to pizza, and that’s definitely something we will try, but with a little creativity, this cheese is capable of so much more. Here are 15 gooey, melty, stretchy, and absolutely tantalizing ways to use Miyoko’s pourable mozzarella.
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How does liquid mozzarella work?
While we love a good pourable product, the term “liquid mozzarella” is a bit eyebrow-raising. The vegan cheese company already makes two variations of non-dairy mozz—an Original and Smoked—both in the form of blocks. We’ve gotten away with slicing and dolloping these cheeses on our pizzas, and while the taste was inarguably spot-on, the texture never quite melted to complete satisfaction. Liquid mozzarella solves this problem.
Founder Miyoko Schinner did more than reinvent the wheel with this product—she threw out the wheel entirely. In lieu of creating a solid cheese—which often includes anti-caking agents to prevent clumping, but suppresses meltability—the ambitious entrepreneur settled on a liquid product that thickened as it was cooked. This line of thinking isn’t too far-fetched—most vegan cheeses begin as a liquid and transform into a solid when cooked over heat. It’s the tapioca starch (or any type of starch) that triggers this reaction. Starch is a common thickener, but it is only activated by heat. So, when you pour plant-based mozzarella laced with tapioca starch on a pizza and bake it to bubbly perfection, the culinary magic occurs and the result is a thick and stretchy cheese topping—not pizza soup.
Technically, the product is called Vegan Pizza Mozzarella, but just like kitchen appliances, we like our vegan products to do more than just one thing. Based on the culinary science and our own imagination, here are seven recipes we can’t wait to try with this revolutionary pourable vegan mozzarella cheese.
Miyoko’s Creamery
1 French onion soup
Does anyone even finish French onion soup once the cheesy bread topping is gone? The strength of this dish relies upon that thick layer of broiled goodness that sits atop a deliciously soaked-through crusty bread barrier to the actual soup. In theory, Miyoko’s new mozzarella should work here. Instead of shredded or sliced vegan gruyere, drizzle the mozz over the bread topping and let it broil on low. It should result in the most epic vegan cheese pull you’ve ever experienced … at least when it comes to soup.
2 Cheese toast
Before avocado toast, there was cheese toast. In its most humble form, this breakfast staple was made with a slice of toast topped with a slice or two of cheese and broiled until melty. We’ve had mixed results replicating this classic with vegan cheese—sometimes the cheese just sweats or gets weirdly soft, but not in an appealing way. Enter Miyoko’s liquid mozzarella. Cover the toast with mozz (a bit of overhang is fine), pop it in the toaster oven or under a low broiler, and watch it closely so it doesn’t burn. Boom. Cheese toast—as it should be.
Lauren Toyota
3Jalapeño poppers
The same concept applies to these spicy appetizers. Fill a deseeded jalapeño with liquid vegan cheese, bake, and bite into a creamy-meets-spicy wonder of melty mozzarella and blistered pepper.
4
Calzone
In full transparency, we haven’t tried this, but we think it could work. A calzone is a type of pizza afterall (okay, debatable, but let’s roll with it). When assembling the calzone, spread the mozzarella directly on the circle of dough, leaving about a half-inch perimeter. On half of the dough, dollop your sauce and add your filling (spinach, plant-based pepperoni, olives, mushrooms, peppers, roasted broccoli, pineapple, have at it). Fold the other half over the filling and seal the ends together. Bake until golden, allow to cool ever-so-slightly to avoid burning off all your tastebuds, then cut in half and watch that mozzarella stretch for days.
5
Open-faced sandwich
We’re not talking about a delicate tartine. We’re talking about a sandwich you’ll need to take a knife and fork to. The combinations are endless. For a simple yet classic route, try a caprese style. Slice a baguette length-wise and layer the cut side with sliced tomatoes, seasoned with salt and pepper. Drizzle the mozzarella over the tomatoes and broil until bubbly. Top with fresh basil and a liberal drizzle of balsamic glaze. If you live by the “the more toppings the better” philosophy, take a hunking loaf of French bread, slice it in half, and layer with your favorite vegan cured meat (prosciutto, salami, ham, etc). Cover the deli slices with cheese, broil, and finish the edible monstrosity off with red chili flakes and fresh arugula.
Francesca Bonadonna
6
Cheesy fries
Try an Italian spin on this fast-food favorite. Create a mound of pre-cooked French fries in the center of a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with diced tomatoes, vegan Italian-seasoned sausage bits or beef crumbles, and a heavy dousing of liquid mozzarella—get that stuff in every little nook and cranny. Bake it off until the cheese is bubbly and blistered, then finish the dish with a gusto of fresh basil or oregano. A knife and fork may help, but that’s entirely up to you (and who you’re sharing with).
7
Stuffed bread
We discovered this wonderful, crowd-pleasing creation by watching Food Network star, Rachael Ray. The idea is almost as genius as vegan liquid mozzarella. Take a whole loaf of French bread and hollow out the center, leaving about an inch of bread on all sides. We’re not carb-opposed, but this step is necessary to pack in as much savory filling as possible. Stuff the carby cavern with whatever your heart desires, or try this combination: vegan ricotta, sausage crumbles, and sautéed broccoli rabe. Drizzle the mozzarella all the way to the edges of the bread, top with the other half of the bread, wrap in foil, and bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. Unwrap the bread and continue to cook for another five minutes to ensure a crusty exterior. This may be your go-to dinner party main dish from now on.
8
Stuffed vegetables
Certain veggies are made for stuffing—zucchini, acorn squash, and bell peppers are all common suspects. Whether you’re packing a wild-rice-and-vegan-sausage mixture into a fall squash or layering plant-based chorizo and Spanish rice into a hollowed-out bell pepper, all can be improved with melted cheese. Bake your filled squash until just shy of done, then pour the liquid mozzarella on top and finish cooking. Top with fresh herbs and dive in!
Simon Smith
9Baked potato
You can be as wild or contained as you want with this application. An over-the-top version would involve a loaded baked potato stuffed with Italian-seasoned cannellini beans or vegan meat, roasted or sautéed veg, marinara, and a heavy pour of vegan mozzarella. Alternatively, simply split a baked potato, drizzle with mozz, and bake until the cheese has melted. No matter which route you choose, you’ll end up with a giant cheesy potato.
10
Chile Relleño
Miyoko’s liquid mozzarella first launched in pizza shops, but we think Mexican restaurants should start placing orders, too. Imagine filling a cavernous chili to the brim with mozzarella, baking, then cutting it open to reveal a cascade of gooey vegan cheese. Try this recipe to make it at home, or take things one step further by making a chile relleño burrito like the folks at Vegan by El Zamorano do in Costa Mesa, CA.
11 Eggplant parmesan
There are two ways to go about this. The traditional method involves preparing a vegan eggplant parmesan recipe as-is, then dolloping Miyoko’s liquid mozzarella on top of the breaded eggplant slices and baking until melted. The unorthodox technique is a lot cheesier. Dip par-baked eggplant slices directly into a pool of mozz, sprinkle with breadcrumbs, and bake until golden. You’ll end up with an eggplant filet entirely encased in melted cheese.
Kirsten Nunez
12 Pasta bakes
Simple enough for kids and pre-teens, this basic dish gets far more interesting with the help of liquid mozz. Prepare any thick, short noodle (penne and rigatoni work well) just short of al dente. Place half of it in a baking dish and cover with marina followed by a generous drizzle of mozzarella. Repeat these three layers once more, then bake until the top is a blanket of blistered, molten cheese. Allow to cool for as long as you can stand it.
13 Cheesesteak
Pennsylvania residents, before you raise any objections, we know traditional vegan cheesesteaks are not made with mozzarella. We’re taking liberties, but we guarantee the result will be entirely satisfying. Granted, if you’d rather sit this one out and stick to the cheese whiz, you’re more than welcome to. For this to work, you’re going to have to fully assemble your sandwich in a split-top bun. Drizzle the vegan meat (likely you’ll use seasoned and thinly shaved seitan or mushrooms) with the mozzarella and place the sandwich under a low broil. Wait until the cheese is browned, then dig in. Need a cheesesteak recipe? Try this one.
14 Casserole
Casserole is an extremely vague term. According to Merriam-Webster, a casserole is simply “a dish in which food can be baked or served.” A pasta bake is a casserole. Lasagna is a casserole. Your Aunt Edna’s hot dish is a casserole. Even enchiladas could technically be a casserole. The uniting factor is the dish and the fact that most casseroles can only be improved by a top layer of stretchy vegan cheese. Take your most treasured casserole recipe—be it a plant-based chicken and chili combo or an Italian sausage and noodle variety—and top it off with mozz before baking.
Above Ground San Francisco
15 Pizza
No doubt, Vegan Pizza Mozzarella is excellent on pizza. We love it on every style of pie—dolloped on Neopolitan, drizzled on Sicilian, and drowned on deep-dish. This pourable vegan mozzarella has revolutionized plant-based pizza, and we’re calling all local pizzerias to get their orders in.
For more vegan cheese eats, read:
Tanya Flink is a Digital Editor at VegNews as well as a writer and runner living in Orange County, CA.
