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 or just boil them 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.
UPDATE 2/2019:
I had a reader make this with success using her instapot for the veggies. She threw all the ingredients into the instant pot with 2 cups of water (she put the garlic in raw). Set it to manual high pressure for 5 minutes, let it naturally release then blended in a high speed blender until smooth.
Brittany says
Where did you get the chickpea miso?
veggiesdontbite says
I get mine at Whole Foods. But you can use another kind of miso too! If you look through the comments a lot of people have used others!
Jaime says
This is my first time EVER commenting on any blog, and I’ve been reading blogs and scouring the internet for recipes and other info for years. I just had to comment because this sauce is DELICIOUS and I am so grateful for you sharing it. My favorite thing about this recipe is my non vegan, queso loving, skeptical husband LOVES it. He told me if he hadn’t seen what was in the blender prior to blending, he wouldn’t believe it was healthy. So thank you, thank you, thank you, for helping me to provide yummy food for my husband (and me!) that is also healthy. I plan to make “Mac ‘n cheese” with this sauce and my husband will also be eating it on top of broccoli in his lunches this week. I’ll look forward to trying more of your recipes. Thank you again! 😊
~ Jaime from California
veggiesdontbite says
Oh my gosh Jaime! Thank you so much for such an amazing review! I am thrilled you guys like it as much as we do!! I hope to be able to wow you with more recipes in the future!
McKinlay says
This is AMAZING. I literally made this two days in a row because I was SO stoked about it. I used it over brown rice pasta for mac and cheese and YAY YAY YAY. Finally a delicious whole food cheese that does NOT use nutritional yeast!!! This is a gem. It totally feels like you are eating decedent homemade mac and cheese…because you ARE. But it has all sorts of benefits because of the veggies! I also only had smoked paprika and used that and it was literally delish. THANK YOU.
veggiesdontbite says
Hi McKinlay! I am so so happy you love this cheese sauce as much as we do! I love the idea of adding smoked paprika too. I bet it was amazing!! Thank you so much for being here and your amazing review.
Bea says
Wow this is fantastic…really has a lovely savoury flavour and I love the texturex. The only problem is, it will all be gone before it gets to the macaroni..
veggiesdontbite says
Haha!! Thank you so much! I’m thrilled you loved it!
Jeannette says
This is the first nacho cheez sauce I found that was perfect! I only had yellow miso and used one teaspoon because I think chickpea is a little stronger. Anyway, I used it for our quesadilla and taco salad lunch today. Im so happy i found this recipe, and so glad its good, because I cannot stand nooch! Tomorrow I’ll use some of the leftovers for pasta and see if that quenches the mac and cheese desires!
veggiesdontbite says
Thank you SO much Jeannette! I am so happy you liked it! I so appreciate you leaving a comment and rating!
Paul says
You know he said that it doesn’t have a taste advantage, right? You put a few things in completely opposite of what was written in the original post.. I’m all for defending your recipe and giving the reason you make it the way you do. However, if you are going to reply at least actually pay attention to what was written in the comment
veggiesdontbite says
So, I’m not quite sure what you are referring to but yes. This is exactly what I said. I thanked him for saying it tasted JUST like the vegan cheeses out there without veggies because to me that is a complement. That I can create a veggie filled whole food based cheese that doesn’t taste like it has veggies. Not every recipe is for everyone, I do not like those with nutritional yeast at all, and some people do. To each their own. I have many many people that rave about this recipe so clearly it’s a hit for them.
David Fisher says
Full marks on color and texture, but does not have a taste advantage over far simpler and less costly recipes using cashews, lemon juice, and nutritional yeast.
veggiesdontbite says
Hi David, I’m happy you like the texture of the cheese sauce. I will have to disagree on the advantages however. This recipe doesn’t use as many cashews as others, and it is filled with healthy vegetables. My goal for this cheese sauce (as I talk about in the post itself) is I wanted something whole foods based and healthy that could taste amazing as well. So while I’m glad you think it tastes like the others out there that have no veggies, I do believe this one is a better choice based on all the healthy goodness it has inside. Also cost wise, veggies are cheaper than cashews and since this relies on the veggies for a bulk of the recipe, I’d be surprised if it is more expensive to make considering most cheese sauces out there are mostly cashews. I’d like to point out too, as I said in my post, I am actually not a nutritional yeast fan when it comes to cheese sauces. I do not think it tastes cheesy at all. So for me, this was a big no. I wanted to create a cheesy flavor without it. So overall, it comes down to what you want. I think the people that love this recipe, love that it has a health benefit along with amazing flavor. Thanks again for giving it a try!
Angel says
I don’t normally leave comments or feedback, but I just had to! This is definitely the best cheese sauce for Mac and cheese! I’ve tried multiple recipes and they all tasted good or okay but not cheesy. This is spot on! Especially when all together with pasta and for me- a lot of ground pepper, it tastes just like the real thing. I couldn’t find chickpea miso or even regular miso paste at local store, I did find miso broth concentrate and it came out great! Thank you for this recipe! I plan on sharing it with everyone!
veggiesdontbite says
I’m so happy to hear you liked it Angel! Thank you so much for your support!
Cheryl W says
This sauce is excellent! It isn’t difficult to put together and the consistency and taste are just right.
I only had brown rice miso but it didn’t effect color . Definitely a keeper! Thank you for your work developing these recipes.
veggiesdontbite says
I’m so happy you liked it!! And thank you for the great review!
Lindsay Shreeve says
Best cheese sauce I’ve ever made!!! I have 6 kids so I doubled the recipe and threw all the ingredients into the instant pot with 2 cups of water (I put the garlic in raw). Set it to manual high pressure for 5 minutes, let it naturally release them blended in a high speed blender till smooth. So thick and creamy and delicious. I ate multiple spoonfuls straight out of the blender and my toddler licked it clean after that. Can’t stop thinking about it, it was that good!
veggiesdontbite says
Thank you SO SO much Lindsay! I love that you let me know how it worked in the instapot! I will add this to my notes! I am so happy you love this as much as we do!
Kevin G says
WOW! Best cheesy recipe ever! I’ve tried several others, but this is by far the best! Good work on perfecting the recipe! It seemed complicated and I wasn’t sure about getting the amounts correct, but it was just delicious! I did deviate a little – I didn’t have regular paprika, so I used smoked paprika and I thought it added a nice mild smokey flavor that was very enjoyable. I also could not find chickpea miso, so I used some Light Sweet Miso. Still the best cheesy sauce. Thank you. and my mac & cheese loving kids thank you too!
veggiesdontbite says
I’m so happy you liked it Kevin! And thrilled your kids did too! Thank you so much for being here!