Why You're Having Trouble Melting Vegan Cheese (And How To Fix It)

Vegan cheese is one of those foods that is slowly improving over time, but its meltability remains its biggest issue. Thankfully, Guy Vaknin, owner and chef at City Roots Hospitality, has some helpful information about why it's so hard to melt and tips on how to melt it properly.

"Because a lot of vegan cheese uses starches, the best way to melt [it] is in a liquid (for example in a sauce)," Vaknin says. "Many need moisture to be melted properly." Vegan cheeses use a milk substitute, such as almond or coconut milk, as a base but still rely on starches to bind, thicken, and texturize them. Since they lack the dairy proteins found in regular cheese, heat won't cause their proteins, typically sourced from nuts or soy, to separate or, in this case, melt.

Heated moisture, however, is excellent at melting starches. It's the same principle as making the best béchamel sauce, one of the five French mother sauces and the key ingredient in many melted cheese dishes like macaroni and cheese. Once you understand the basic science behind starches and hot liquid, you'll be ready to make your own vegan dishes from queso to pizza!

When starches encounter a hot liquid, an interesting bit of science starts to happen. "Starches require moisture to break down and melt properly, creating a smooth and creamy texture," chef Guy Vaknin tells us. Their crystalline structure breaks down from the heat, leaving room for water to enter and swell their size in a process called gelatinization.

"By melting vegan cheese in a liquid medium, you ensure it integrates well into the dish and avoid a grainy or clumpy result," Vaknin says. "You should also use low and slow heat, cover the dish to trap steam, and frequently stir to assist the melting process and create the best results." To melt your vegan cheese on the stove, warm enough liquid in a pot to cover the bottom, shred your cheese, then throw it in. Stir continuously until it's smooth, then feel free to add more liquid if the sauce is too thick.

If you're adamant about melting vegan cheese in the oven, try wrapping your dish in tin foil before putting it in. This traps steam, providing moisture that can help gelatinize your cheese's starches. If this still isn't enough moisture, there's a trick to melting cheese for nachos without burning them that should help — just use low heat and stir constantly. With vegan cheese, just whip up a batch of vegan béchamel sauce, and mix in your shredded cheese for extra moisture, extra cheese, and extra melty results.