Creamy gooey cheesy goodness without the actual cheese! You will be amazed at how this combination of veggies and spices create this out of this world creamy vegan cheese sauce!
A good cheese sauce is a must have staple in any diet, vegan or not. I mean, what’s better than sitting down with a bag of tortilla chips and some gooey creamy salty cheesy dip? When that dip is no other than a vegan cheese sauce made out of whole foods. That’s what. Don’t think it’s possible? Plants really are magic friends.
Finding the ultimate vegan cheese sauce
Two years. That’s how long I wasted my money trying vegan cheese sauces. Some were decent, some straight up didn’t even deserve the trash. My biggest complaint? Nutritional yeast. Sorry friends, but it just does not taste cheesy to me. Which is why no yeast was harmed in the making of this vegan cheese sauce.
So what did I harm? Veggies. My goal was to create a sauce that didn’t make you bloated, puffy or gross. Basically like every dairy filled processed cheese sauce out there made me feel. But I so wanted that flavor again, so I stuck to my guns and didn’t quit until I had a cheesy like deliciousness I couldn’t stop eating.
Wait, so you’re saying veggies make cheese?
Yes. That is exactly what I am saying. I came across my idea for this through a mistake I made when trying to puree some potatoes for the pizza crust for my Thai Chickpea and Veggies Pizza. I put the potatoes into my Vitamix at full speed instead of the food processor, because frankly I was just too lazy to get it out, and the result was a gooey, stretchy, sticky mess. Which of course reminds me of cheese and the rest is history!
So veggies became the base of this crazy idea of mine, and of course my key to creaminess, the heavenly…cashew. Now if you’re reading this and think, DANG I CAN’T HAVE NUTS! I’m so very sorry. But we can, and I needed to pull all the stops to get that ultimate vegan cheese flavor. I have had a few people make this without the cashews, and they still gave it a thumbs up.
I tried a variety of combinations for this, I did after all spend years of trial and error, and cashews were what hit the nail on the head for me. Feel free to try another nut (if you can’t have cashews, I’d try macadamias or walnuts. Maybe pine nuts.) You can try the sunflower seed idea that others use to create nut free cheese sauces, but in all honesty it wasn’t for me. But if you try something different, please make sure to let me know what worked and didn’t so others can learn as well!
The key to making this the most perfect vegan cheese sauce ever
When it comes to creating magic, there are few key things to remember:
- Follow the darn recipe. Please. Unless you are trying this nut free or subbing white miso for the chickpea variety, please please try this the way it is written. And if you don’t, and it turns out awful, for the love please don’t rate this as a bad recipe when you didn’t follow directions.
- You do not need a high speed blender, like a Vitamix, to make this. If you have a regular good blender you can still get creamy awesomeness by grinding the cashews with a coffee grinder. I have had to do this and it actually works! Grind them dry and simply add to the blender with everything else. You can also soak them overnight before boiling with the veggies, but this still may not give as creamy of a result as the grinding.
- When you measure the veggies, measure them packed in not just loosely scooped up.
- You can freeze this so you can have vegan cheese sauce at your fingertips any time! When you defrost, leave it on the counter all day so it can slowly come to room temp. Then slowly heat it in the microwave and stir well. Don’t be weirded out be the firm consistency, it will become saucy again! You can heat it up on the stove if you want, but you may need a drizzle of milk to help it thin out.
How do I use this epic vegan cheese sauce?
The question really should be, how do you NOT use it! SO many things you can do, so little time. Here are some of my top faves:
- Mac and cheese of course, SO good.
- Drizzle it over veggies, okay maybe it’s more of a drench than a drizzle.
- Nacho cheese dip, I add chopped nacho jalapeño slices.
- 7 Layer Taco Dip
- Roasted Poblano Mac and Cheese
- Mexican Nacho Burger
- Eat it with a spoon…Don’t judge, just try it.
This recipe was originally published on 7/8/2015
Creamy gooey cheesy goodness without the actual cheese! You will be amazed at how this combination of veggies and spices create this out of this world creamy vegan cheese sauce!
- 2 cups starchy potato (about 3-4 potatoes, see note)
- 2 tablespoons red pepper (about 1/3 of a medium sized pepper)
- 3 tablespoons orange carrot (about 4-5 baby carrots or one medium sized)
- 5 tablespoons sweet or yellow onion (about 1/2 a small)
- 1/2 cup raw cashews (see note)
- 1 teaspoon roasted garlic (about 2-4 cloves, depending on size)
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 3/4 teaspoon chickpea miso (see note)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard seed
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt (can use less or more depending on taste preference)
- Your favorite pasta if making Mac and Cheese
Roast the garlic by peeling and wrapping it in tin foil with a splash of veggie broth. Roast at 400 F (205 C), in a regular or toaster oven, while you cook the veggies.
Put potatoes (peel if you don't want specks of skin), red pepper, carrots, onion and cashews in a pot and cover with water. If you don't have a high speed blender and are grinding the cashews, then don't boil but grind them dry and place them in the blender.
Cook over high heat until water boils, about 15 minutes if uncovered. Turn heat to medium and boil another 20 minutes, until potatoes are tender.
When done, drain water (keeping some to thin out sauce if prefer a thinner sauce), separate veggies and put the cashews in the blender. I use a fork to fish out the veggies, then drain the cashews over a pasta strainer.
Measure out the needed amount of each veggie and place each in the blender. Add the rest of the ingredients.
Blend on high until you get a creamy gooey consistency. If you have a tamper tool use it to help mix the sauce as it blends. If you don’t have one, then you will need to stop and push down the ingredients every once in a while.
If you want to thin it out, add some of the reserved cooking water, 1 tablespoon at a time until you get the desired consistency. Use nice and hot!
- Cook your pasta according to package directions.
- Drain pasta reserving about 1 cup pasta water.
- Add the pasta back into the pot and add desired amount of cheese sauce.
Then add pasta water 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing well in between additions, until you get the desired consistency for your Mac and Cheese. If your pasta is too starchy (as some gluten free pastas are) you can also use regular water or even non dairy milk to do this. Add salt if needed, it most likely will since the sauce is no longer as concentrated. Devour!
- Makes 3 1/2 cups sauce. Serving size for nutrition info is 1/2 cup.
- Nutrition info is for cheese sauce only.
- I used red potatoes but any starchy potato will work, just don’t use sweet. It also won't work to substitute with something that is not an actual potato (such as another root vegetable).
- If you are not using a high speed blender, you can grind the dry cashews into a fine powder using a coffee grinder (do not boil them for this method). You can also soak them overnight prior to boiling with the veggies.
- You can make this nut free by eliminating the nuts, however you will lose some of the thickness and creaminess. It will still be pretty good in taste, but just lacking some of those elements. You can also try subbing with another nut if you are allergic to cashews, I suggest walnuts or macadamias, however the flavor will be different. I did try it with multiple nuts and liked the taste of the cashews best.
- If you don’t have chickpea miso, you can try using a white miso although it will be a little more mild in flavor so you may need more. See the comments for others that have tried using white miso.
- I did not add any liquid to this when I made it, but depending on what you use it for, you may want to thin it out with some water, water from the boiled veggies or pasta water if making mac and cheese.
- You can reheat this in the microwave or in a pot with a splash of nondairy milk (I use cashew) and mix well. Add splashes of milk and mix until you have the right consistency. It may need more salt depending on how much milk you add.
- You can also freeze leftovers in a freezer safe container as it freezes great. Defrost slowly when ready to eat. You may think it didn't freeze well, but as you heat it up the consistency comes back!
Tips to prep ahead:
- Cook the veggies and roast the garlic. Store in the fridge in an airtight container until ready to use.
Baby/toddler food idea:
- This can be mixed into any baby food or be used for a toddler as a dip. You could also just blend the veggies on their own for baby.
marilyn says
I made this today and it was amazing. I didn’t have raw cashews on hand so I used roasted, and it still came out wonderful. I did use a bit too much garlic but that was my mistake, not yours. Even so, I portioned it out right away to keep me from being tempted to eat all of it in one sitting. I’m new to this whole vegan thing… in fact I’m still working on getting the last of the eggs and dairy out of my diet. I’m not sure it’s exactly like cheese but it’s so rich, creamy and delicious that it works very well as a substitute for me.
veggiesdontbite says
Glad to hear you liked it!! You’re doing a great job, keep going!!
jessica.strouse@yahoo.com says
Hello, I was wondering what the point of the chickpea miso is? I have looked everywhere for it. Is it just to replace the taste of the nutritional yeast? And if so, since I can’t seem to find it anywhere..can I just use nutritional yeast instead? Also how much would you suggest? Thanks
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Jessica! The chickpea miso helps give if the sharp cheesy taste. You can also use white miso as others in the comments have stated but you’ll need more as it’s not as sharp of a flavor as the chickpea. You can also leave it out. The flavor wont be as rich or sharp but it will still be good. I’m not much of a nutritional yeast fan, as I talk about in my post but if you want to add it then go for it! However I can’t really advise you how much because I don’t use it in my sauces. Thanks!
Alli says
Hi Sophia, I can’t wait to try this!!! But I just wanted to check first – should I add the rest of the ingredients ( i.e. from the lemon juice to the sea salt) at the same time as adding the cooked veggies to the blender and blend it all up at the same time? I couldn’t see where to add the non-veggie ingredients in the recipe. Thanks!
Emily Kemp says
Hi Alli, Sophia’s on vacation at the moment until the 12th July. I’ll try and find out the answer for you in the meantime. Thank you!
Katy says
How much pasta would you use in order to make the ultimate Mac and cheese?
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Katy! So it depends on how cheesy you want it. The sauce makes about 3 1/2 cups, and if you want to use all the sauce, and make it medium cheesy, I use 24 ounces pasta.
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Alli! Sorry it took me a bit to get back to you but I just got back! Yes, you add everything in together with the veggies. I just put that back into the instructions, it must of deleted when I switched my recipe card over. Thanks so much!
Bekki Harper says
Made this last night. Taste was so nice and creamy. Everything you expect in a cheese sauce. Nice job, great recipe!
Was a little more labor intensive separating the veggies than i had patience for after a full work day and trying to get dinner on the table. Next time I think I will throw caution to the wind and measure the veggies up front as best I can and then throw them in the blender instead of trying to separate it all.. Thanks for a great cheese sauce!! 5 stars
veggiesdontbite says
So happy you liked it! Yes, you definitely could measure before hand, I needed to be precise for the recipe but I would definitely take the lazy way out for just us. LOL! Thank you for the kind words!
Deborah W. says
I made this recipe to go with your taco meat recipe. Both were delicious. I only had white miso but it still tastes fantastic. They are my ‘go to’ recipes from now on, thanks!
veggiesdontbite says
So happy to hear!! White miso definitely works, just may need a bit more. I’m glad you liked both recipes!!
Ruba says
Thanks for sharing this. I think I finally found my go to cheese sauce. It tastes really good.
veggiesdontbite says
I am so happy to hear this!! Thank you so much for making it!
Rebecca says
I have fallen in loove with a local vegan cheese sauce so have been a bit afraid to try to duplicate. But today Im trying it! I am going to beusing nutritional yeast rather than the miso as that is what I have on hand. Excited to see how this turns out! #amateurveganfoodblogger!
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Rebecca! Thanks so much for giving it a try! I hope you like it. It’s a whole food based sauce, so depending on what the sauce you currently love is made from will depend on what you think. I love that this one is based on veggies and not fake food (which I am not against once in a while but I pretty much shove cheese sauce into my mouth constantly, lol). If you like nutritional yeast, then go for it! I am not a big fan. Also, just know the miso does help give it some of that cheesy flavor, so if it’s lacking make sure to try it as written with the miso next time. Let me know!!
Rebecca says
The one I love so much is also all whole food and plant based sauce. I made this and it is delicious! I dont measure things when I cook, never really have so my flavors were a bit off. But once I made some adjustments, this was so good! We’ve been snacking on it all weekend! I will definitely look for the miso paste next time around. yum!
veggiesdontbite says
So happy to hear!!! I am not one who naturally measures either so it took me some adjustment to post my recipes, lol. Especially this one! I worked hard on getting it just right. I so appreciate you giving it a chance and making it!! Thank you!
Jina says
AMAZING! I have made so many vegan cheese sauce recipe and they’re all meh. But this cheese sauce is so delicious!! I’m making it now for the second time this week. First time was served over broccoli and potatoes, tonight I’m serving with noodles. Wondering if it’s enough sauce for a pound of pasta??
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Jina!! I am so happy to hear this!! We use it in so many ways too. I think it would be enough for a pound of pasta, depends on how saucy you want it but it should cover the past pretty well.
Maureen says
This veggie based cheese sauce is wonderful I did make a couple of substitutional changes because our son cannot have either soy or chickpeas, so the miso was a negative. Instead though, I used a soy sauce substitute (recipe from Cookng God’s Way), It really is a great soy sauce sub! That gave the sauce the extra umami for the cheese taste, Next time I will male the sauce with white carrot, golden yellow bell pepper along with the potato so the sauce can be used on a pizza, and look more similar to mozzarella. So glad there is no nutritional yeast in the recipe! I find nutritional yeast makes all cheese recipes taste the same no matter what type I am attempting to make! So this is a real taste blessing without it! The sauce should easily pour or drizzle over a dressed pizza, just not thinned much for a melted cheese consistency.
veggiesdontbite says
I am so happy you liked it! It is definitely very versatile. I’m happy to provide a tried and true cheese sauce without the yeast!
Jeanne says
This sounds good. But..I have to watch my sodium intake very carefully. I THINK miso of any kind is very high in sodium? Would you know of anything else I could use instead, and have this still come out really good? Thank you.
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Jeanne! Yes, there is sodium in miso. I would leave out the salt in the recipe and adjust the amount of miso to match the amount of sodium you can have. That way you still get some of the cheesy flavor. Let me know how it goes!
Mallory Crisp says
Sophia you have done it again. You are one amazing cook. My anti-vegan husband told me he could eat this all day! I used gold potatoes because that’s all I had on hand and I used white miso because I can’t find chickpea miso. Next time will probably use red taters because i think the gold leave just a touch of potato taste (my husband could not detect it though). I also love the beautiful color of this sauce. I can’t believe it’s such a gorgeous cheesey color without dyes.
veggiesdontbite says
Oh thank you SO much Mallory! I am so happy you and your husband loved it! It’s one of our favorites too!
Sharon Bies says
I have NEVER gone back to review a recipe before. This one rocked my world! I love cheese sauce but it doesn’t love me. And since I’ve gone to a vegan diet, i miss that cheese. Well, today I made this! I love it. I kept some out and added jalapeno powder and red pepper flakes to it! It was fantastic! I can’t wait for my honey to come home from work so he can try it! Thank you Thank you Thank you!
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Sharon! You totally made my day! I am so thrilled you like it!! I have other cheese sauce versions on my site too, one that is a Mexican white cheese and really yummy! Thank you so much for being here and please keep in touch with any questions!
Cheri says
It’s a really good sauce, but I wonder how long it’s been since many of you ate actual cheese. I often cook for people who don’t do dairy but I myself am a real cheese lover and this just doesn’t taste like real cheese. It’s good, very good, kid friendly, and i’ll likely make it again, but it’s not anything like cheese.
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Cheri! I live a 90% plant based life and am not one of those people that hasn’t had cheese in many years. I personally created this to taste like a velveeta like cheese sauce, the kind that’s more fake cheese and bad for you but now I have made it plant based and not bad for you. I have brought it to gatherings full of non vegan friends and they all have loved it and thought it tasted very much like that. So I think it depends on the type of cheese sauce you are talking about. It is not meant to be a real cheddar artisan type cheese. I have a few other cheese sauces too, one that’s a creamy sharp white artisan like cheese sauce you may like!
Leigh says
Would you consider posting measurements by weight rather than by tsp/tbsp? It’s more accurate and it’s pretty dang hard to try to measure out 2 tsp of bell pepper unless I dice it into oblivion first… Weight measurements are 100% accurate and then wouldn’t require fine dicing and packing into a small measurement unit… it would work every time!
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Leigh! Thanks so much for your comment. So, I personally do not do weight, I use measurements. Because my blog is an extension of my life, and most of my audience doesn’t use weight either, I stick with measurements. I do however have a plugin that auto calculates weight for me. Most of the time it is right, but I do have a disclaimer at the bottom of every post. If you click on the word “metric” under the ingredients you will see it. Once in a while I will weigh stuff to spot check it or because of a reader request (which I don’t mind doing from time to time) but it isn’t something I do with every recipe because it takes me a lot longer. For this recipe, the tricky thing is that you measure the veggies after they are cooked. So the weight may be off. This is why I include about how many of each thing, then say in the directions to measure after cooked. Next time I make it I will try and weigh and see what I get and compare to what is listed!
Kelly Q says
Finally! I’ve been on the hunt for a vegan cheese sauce without nutritional yeast and this will end the search! This recipe is DA BOMB! My non-vegan husband and son loved it too!
veggiesdontbite says
I’m so happy to hear Kelly!! You made my night!!
Tina says
Omg, you are a genius!!! I’m also not a big nutritional yeast person so I was excited to try this recipe.
It is so good, my husband ( who misses cheese quite a bit) is honestly in heaven eating this nacho cheese right now.
I also absolutely love your cookbook!!!
Tina
veggiesdontbite says
Awe! Thank you so much Tina!! I am not a fan either and wanted to create something healthy and not processed either. I am so so happy you liked it!
Dianne says
I am firm believer in following a new recipe to the letter the first time I make it, then tweaking it as necessary the next time. This one can’t be improved on. The taste, texture, and mouth feel are the closest thing to dairy cheese I have ever had. Thank you!!!!!
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Dianne! I so appreciate someone that follows a recipe once before making it their own. I love to see personal takes on my recipes but I too often get messages on how it didn’t work out only to find out the recipe wasn’t followed. LOL! But I am SO SO happy you loved this! You can definitely do a lot to it though, I like to pulse in some pickled jalapeños for nachos, or even some Fieldroast sausage for a Mexican dip. So many yummy ideas! Thank you so much for leaving a review!!
Nikki says
Just wondering if you’d tried using the instapot with this recipe, and if so, how long did you cook the veggies. The recipe looks delicious and I can’t wait to try it!
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Nikki! Ah the instapot. I am embarrassed to say that I have had one for over a year and have yet to tackle it. Hahaha. I swear it’s on my list! I have used it as a rice cooker if that matters. LOL
Debbie Nall says
What happens if I leave out the peppers? They just tear up my stomach when I eat them. Do you think it will still be as good?
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Debbie! Every ingredient contributes to the final flavor of this cheese sauce. If peppers bother you, I’d try it without and maybe upper the carrots a tad? You can add more miso as well to try and gain back some of that pepper flavor. Let me know what you try!
Jennifer Bishop says
This was amazing! Have made it 3x!
The first time i made it I used hemp seeds as thats all i had on hand. This made it a better “cheese” for nacho cheese. Stronger flavour. Cashews add a bit of a sweetness i find.
I also added a teaspoon of vegan becel each time i made it. So delicious!!!!
veggiesdontbite says
I’m so happy you liked it!! The added lemon, miso and ground mustard help cut any sweetness in the cashews, but I loved that you used hemp seeds with success! Did you add the same amount of hemp seeds? Thank you so much for the great review!
Mrs. Johns says
I just made this cheese and let me tell you, I cut every possible corner and it still came out amazing.
Frozen roasted red bell peppers (0.25 c), frozen carrots (0.25 c), frozen onion (0.33 c) jarred whole garlic (4 cloves), plain condiment mustard (1.5 tbsp) soybean miso (2 tablespoons), and… potato flour. The only thing true to the recipe was the raw cashews and lemon juice, unless you’re using fresh. I was shocked at how amazing this turned out. I couldn’t have been lazier. I put everything but the potato flour in the blender with a cup of water, blended it, poured it out into a bowl and mixed in the potato flour (1 c) with more water (1.5 c). Next time, I will just blend the potato flour in the blender (after everything is puréed first) instead of stirring it in by hand.
I couldn’t stop tasting it. This recipe is, in my opinion fool proof. I was acting on desperation and was beyond satisfied. I can’t say I’m going to follow directions any better given how PHENOMENAL the lazy method turned out. Thank you so much for sharing this genius recipe!!!!! Absolutely delicious!
veggiesdontbite says
I am crying laughing, this is the best review I have ever read! I am SO happy you loved the recipe! And for sharing what you did to help others who may also need the lazy route! Heck, I may need the lazy route next time! Thank you SO SO much for the awesome review!
Sheila says
I’ve tried similar recipes, and they were merely edible. I think the chickpea miso was the secret. Excellent! I think I will use the leftover sauce, add a few other seasonings, and make nacho cheese for dipping. However, my processor vapor locks if the ingredients are warm, so I had to wait over an hour for the veggies to cool enough to blend. I would recommend cooking the veggies the night before if you have the same issue.
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Sheila! Thank you so much for the great review! I am so happy you like it. One trick to try with the veggies is to drain them then run cold water over them That should cool them down!
Kata says
Hi! I really really want to try this- it looks so easy and healthy! My onl hang up is I can’t eat miso or chickpea :(. Do you think I could substitute with something else?
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Kata! So the miso here just adds some extra umami like flavor to the sauce. It helps deepen the cheesy flavor but you can totally leave it out. You may have to adjust the salt, or even try adding more of the paprika or ground mustard, but it will still be good. Let me know what you try!
Chava says
Question about the potato: White starchy potatoes are Russets and Idahos….low in moisture so the cooked consistency is fluffy and flaky—without fats/cream to make them stick together, they are granular and dry. A-laa baked potato.
Low starch (waxy) potatoes are generally the reds, white skinned varieties, as well as true new potatoes. These naturally contain a lot of water between cells preventing them from absorbing more water…. so when cooked they will retain their shape better: good in potato salad.
Yukon Gold, Red Gold and Kennebec fall somewhere in-between the two.
Which kind of potato are you recommending? “High starch red” is a bit of an oxymoron. I want to try the recipe, but really want to do it exactly! Have made and tasted many vegan cheeses that could only be labeled “FAIL” to the point of giving up and declaring that anything non-dairy is also just plain not-cheese! AND, recommending that if you really have a craving to taste cheese, just go out and buy yourself some cheese!
Thanks… willing to try one more time!
veggiesdontbite says
Hi Chava! When I say starchy, I am more referring to not using a sweet potato or yucca root or something like that. I have had people do that and it fails. I use a red potato or white one! I don’t think I called it high starch, just starchy to emphasize not subbing for something that is not. Let me know what you think!
Alecia Carter says
Excellent recipe. We are a non vegan family who are fasting for 21 days. We all love this sauce. I will make it again even when we are not fasting. I used canned chickpeas instead of the miso sauce and frozen peppers. Thanks for this recipe.
veggiesdontbite says
Wow! What an amazing message! Thank you so so much for your awesome review!