Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce 🌱 The creamiest, dreamiest, tastiest cheese sauce made with healthy plant-based ingredients like cashews, carrots, potatoes and fresh lemon. Gluten-free and oil-free. Very vegan & very good!
Becoming vegan does not mean you have to give up the foods you love, including cheese. By using the right plant-based ingredients to replace animal products, not only can you still enjoy your favorite dishes, you can make them better than ever, like this scrumptious cheese sauce!
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The Perfect Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce
When my husband and I became vegan, the one food item we missed was cheese. There’s just something about the bright flavor and creamy texture that cheese adds to so many recipes like pasta, veggies, tacos, and of course – nachos.
Problem was, there just weren’t any great tasting vegan cheeses available in stores. There were a few products that were trying to be cheese, but to be honest, the taste and textures were more like plastic. We realized if we wanted to enjoy what we loved about cheese, we needed to figure out a way to make it ourselves.
We tried several different recipes, but couldn’t find anything quite right, so we enlisted our daughter’s creative cooking skills and uncanny knack at dialing in flavors and texture. Sure enough, she found just the right combination and balance of ingredients.
This delicious sauce has the tart bite of sharp cheddar cheese with the smoothest creamy texture. It enhances anything you pour it on: pasta, baked potatoes, meatballs, cauliflower, asparagus, fries, veggie burgers, nachos, tacos, and more. Whatever you like with cheese, this is your sauce!
How to Make Vegan Cheese Sauce
This recipe is so easy to make! With just a few basic ingredients, you can whip up the most luscious, tasty & healthy vegan cheese sauce..
Equipment you’ll need:
- High speed blender or food processor
- A colander or strainer
- Large mixing bowl
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Veggie peeler
- Citrus juicer
- Kitchen knife
- Cutting board
Ingredients:
- One cup raw cashews
- 1 cup non-dairy milk – we prefer rice milk, almond or cashew based milk
- 1 potato
- 2 carrots
- 1-½ Tbsp nutritional yeast
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 2 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
Measure ingredients Soak cashews Cut potatoes & carrots Boil until tender Blend all ingredients on high speed until smooth and creamy Enjoy!
That’s all there is to it to make this easy peasy cheesy sauce!
What is Nutritional Yeast?
One of the key ingredients in this recipe is nutritional yeast, aka “nooch“. Nutritional yeast has a cheesy, nutty, savory, umami flavor that many people enjoy sprinkled on foods like potatoes, pasta, popcorn, pizza and veggies.
Nutritional yeast is the same type of yeast used for bread baking and brewing beer – with a few differences*.
- Baker’s yeast: Baker’s yeast is purchased alive and used to leaven bread. The yeast is killed during cooking but adds an earthy, yeasty flavor to bread.
- Brewer’s yeast: Brewer’s yeast can be purchased alive and is used to brew beer. The dead yeast cells leftover from the brewing process can be consumed as a nutritional supplement but have a very bitter taste.
- Nutritional yeast: This yeast is grown specifically to be used as a food product. The yeast cells are killed during manufacturing and not alive in the final product. It is used in cooking and has a cheesy, nutty or savory flavor.
*Reprinted from healthline.com
Is Nutritional Yeast Good for You?
Yes it is! It’s super nutritious. According to this article, nutritional yeast is a great source of protein, B vitamins and trace minerals.
It is a complete protein: Nutritional yeast contains all nine essential amino acids that humans must get from food. One tablespoon contains 2 grams of protein, making it an easy way for vegans to add high-quality protein to meals.
It contains many B vitamins: One tablespoon of nutritional yeast contains 30–180% of the RDI for B vitamins. When fortified, it is especially rich in thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12.
It contains trace minerals: One tablespoon contains 2–30% of the RDI for trace minerals, such as zinc, selenium, manganese and molybdenum. Trace minerals are involved in gene regulation, metabolism, growth and immunity
Why Is Nutritional Yeast Good for You? healthline.com 11/30/2017
See the complete recipe below.
Create a festive nachos bar with a basket of fresh tortilla chips, guacamole, jalapeños, salsas, black beans, our refreshing watermelon pico de gallo, and a generous serving of this amazing vegan queso cheese!
This quick mac and cheese is irresistibly yummy with a sprinkle of smoked paprika, red pepper flakes & fresh basil.
🥕This easy vegan cheese sauce is perfect with these delish dishes!
- Vegan Easy Cheesy Broccoli Pot Pie
- Cuban Crushed Potatoes
- Easy Vegan Mac & Cheese
- Vegan Lemon Roasted Potatoes
- Best Vegan Homemade Soft Pretzels
very vegan 🌱 very good
If you’ve enjoyed this recipe, please consider rating it using stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ in the comments below. It helps other readers and allows more people to find it online. I love hearing from you! Let’s keep in touch!
Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce
Equipment
- High speed blender or food processor
- mixing bowl
- large strainer or colander
- Vegetable peeler
Ingredients
Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce
- 1 cup raw cashews soaked overnight – see notes below
- 1 cup non-dairy milk we use rice milk, almond or cashew based milk
- 1 large potato cut into large pieces and boiled until tender
- 2 whole carrots cut into large pieces and boiled until tender
- 1-½ tbsp nutritional yeast this our favorite brand
- ¼ cup lemon juiced – approx one whole lemon
- 2 tsp salt fine
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Soak cashews covered in room temperature water overnight or cover in boiling water and allow to soak for 2 hours. Drain in strainer and rinse with fresh water.
- Peel potatoes and carrots and cut into large pieces. Place in 4 qt or larger stovetop pot, cover with water (about 2" over veggies) and cover with lid. Bring to a rolling boil over medium high heat for 10-15 minutes until tender. Remove from heat and drain in colander or strainer.
- Place cashews, potatoes, carrots, and remaining ingredients into blender or food processor. Run at high speed until thoroughly pureed and creamy.
- Sauce can be used heated or cold, depending on how you like it. To heat, pour amount needed into a stove top pan over low heat, stirring frequently until desired temperature.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you’ve enjoyed this recipe, please rate it in the comments below. Sharing your experience helps others decide if they should give it a try too. Thanks a bunch!🥕
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This simply delicious and nutritious plant-based cheese sauce has become a staple in our kitchen. It’s quick & easy to prepare & even easier to devour! Try it on veggies, potatoes, pasta, nachos – it’s so good!
Both taste and texture are excellent! Make sure to follow the measurements carefully,,. when I changed them a bit the result didn’t turn out as perfect as the original.
Marti – I’m so happy you enjoy the cheese sauce recipe. It took us awhile to dial in the ingredients & proportions to achieve just the right balance in flavor & texture, so thanks for the reminder about careful measuring. Some recipes just aren’t as flexible as others. Thanks for sharing your comments!💚🥕
A point to note here: yeast is not naturally a source of B12. Nutritional yeast is sometimes fortified with b12, but it’s best to be sure of that before one might start relying on it as a source. Unfortunately, we vegans must get our B12 from supplementation.
You make a good point Rylin. As vegans, many of us are avid label-readers on the lookout for animal-derived ingredients, but may not be as careful to watch for essential nutrients, including B12.
Love the cheesy sauce!!!!!! Cheese makes everything better😃
You said it Sister! So glad you love the sauce – it’s a staple in our kitchen! 💚🥕 Thank you Coe!
My main concern is how much do it cost to make I would love to use it in some of my dishes
Hi Mike! That is a good question. The cost of ingredients vary greatly depending on where you are located. Where I live, raw cashews are the highest priced item in this recipe. The rest of the ingredients are relatively inexpensive, including the nutritional yeast, since the recipe only requires 1.5 tbsp. I would say that on average, I spend about $10 US to make a batch of cheese sauce. This recipe yields at least 1-1/2 pints of sauce (depending on the size of your potatoes & carrots), enough to make a mac & cheese casserole, a big plate of nachos and extra for whatever else you might want with cheese sauce. Love to hear what you think if you decide to give it a try!🥕
I love this stuff! its quick and easy. I made it late tonight so I will pour it over some brown rice pasta in the morning and let my lady friend’s 10 year old try it. Thank you for making this recipe available! I will send an update on how he likes it.
Thanks Tony! I’m happy you love the cheese sauce. Waiting on pins & needles to hear the review from the young foodie!😊
This was delicious! I’m wondering if you know if it freezes well?
Hi Amanda! I haven’t tried freezing the sauce but imagine it would work well. If I did, I would put it in a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge and then reheat over low heat in a saucepan on the stovetop, stirring so it doesn’t burn. Please let me know if you try freezing it. I’d love to hear how it turns out. Thanks so much for sharing. I’m happy you enjoyed the recipe!🥕