AIP, Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, No Egg, No Nuts, No Processed Sugar
If you are anything like me and have a few allergies to specific foods then this recipe is perfect for you! I Hashimoto’s Thyroid Disease and because of this, certain foods cause all sorts of issues to my immune system when I consume them. Tapioca Cheese has no gluten, no eggs, no yeast, no nuts, no dairy and no sugar, it’s the perfect AIP cheese sauce.
Most vegan cheese recipes use cashews as the base but I am allergic to these as well so creating a cheese recipe that is vegan and has no cashews was quite tricky. So if you are vegan and also have nut allergies then this recipe is perfect for you as well.
I loved cheese so much growing up, there is really nothing like it, the texture and taste but through a food allergy test I found my body could not process Casein, which is a protein found in all animal milks, meaning all dairy was now off limits for me. Finding a cheese without Casein and without cashews is impossible so creating my own recipe was the only way to go…
My other issue with a lot of recipes is yeast, specifically brewers yeast, which I am sensitive too and this is the main ingredient in nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast is amazing and can add a nice cheesy flavour to any dish but for AIP people it is probably best to avoid especially if you are still in the elimination phase.
Tapioca Cheese….
Although this recipe doesn’t have a strong cheese flavour, you could always add nutritional yeast if you are not AIP to give it a cheesy kick. It’s still really nice even without a strong cheese flavour as the texture resembles mozzarella cheese and it’s just nice to have on things like nacho’s, pizza or pasta.
Just like normal cheese, you have to eat this in moderation because of the fat content thanks to the coconut milk.
Let’s get cooking….
This recipe has only one tricky part and that is getting the right amount of tapioca flour to change the liquid into the stretchy cheese at the end. But I will explain later how to adjust and fix for issues.
Combine the coconut milk, lemon juice, salt and olive oil into a sauce pan and stir with a whisk or wooden spoon. You can use apple cider vinegar instead of the lemon juice but I would recommend using lemon juice as the end result is nicer tasting, the apple cide vinegar can leave a stronger taste.
You can also use coconut oil instead of olive oil, or any other oil you prefer as it just helps to create the thickness of the cheese. I have also used coconut cream instead of coconut milk but I would then add some extra water to balance out the extra fats and thickness.
Just stir or whisk in the saucepan for a few seconds then turn the heat on to medium-high and bring to the boil. Turn down to low immediately after it boils and start preparing the tapioca.
Get a cup and place the tapioca and water together, then stir. You should end up with a thick slurry or very close, if you have too much tapioca then it could turn hard, just add more water (only a little), becuase you still want it to come out of the cup or it can make things hard in the next step.
Don’t stress too much about the tapioca and how thick the mixture ends up, as we can adjust once we add into the saucepan.
Most important step….
This is the most important part of the recipe, adding the tapioca slurry to the saucepan. Super important: stir the mixture in the saucepan contiuously as you slowly add the tapioca and water. The heat should still be on low, once all is added then really stir quickly to combine correctly and not form any big lumps.
It should immediately thicken into a sticky and mozzarella type mixture as shown in the picture below.
If your tapioca cheese is not stretching as much as the picture above then you will need to add more tapioca. Just add another tablespoon directly into the sauce pan and stir quickly to combine. If after a few minutes it still breaks and doesn’t stretch enough then add another tablespoon. Probably stop after 3 tbsp as you don’t want to ruin the cheese.
You can use immediately on pizza, pasta, or any other dish while it’s nice a warm. You can just leave it in the pot to cool down, then if you get lazy like me, just put a lid on the saucepan and store in the fridge. Or store it properly into a glass jar so it will keep for 1-2 weeks.
I have never tried to freeze this recipe so if you try and succeed then please let me know!
If you like this recipe you will love my other recipes
If you try this recipe let me know in the comments below the post.
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 can full fat coconut milk
- ½ tsp finely ground unrefined salt
- 1.5 to 2 tsp fresh lemon juice or raw apple cider vinegar
- 1.5 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 7 tbsp tapioca flour
- 4.5 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast optional
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, whisk together the coconut milk, salt, lemon juice and olive oil and heat over medium heat until the oil melts and the mixture starts to boil. Turn down to a low heat.
- Add the nutritional yeast for an extra cheesy flavour but it's not required.
- Mix the tapioca flour and water together in a small bowl and whisk to form a slurry. Ensure that all the tapioca has dissolved.
- While stirring the mixture rapidly, pour the tapioca flour slurry into the pan and keep stirring until it thickens and starts to look like mozzarella cheese and becomes thick.
- It will look like a big pot of melted cheese, as it should, once it is done cooking.
- Transfer to a glass container with a lid. Use a spatula to help remove it from the pan. It is extremely sticky and may not pour easily. Allow it to cool in the refrigerator until set, about 2 hours
Discovering the Charm of Warburton
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