This vegan cheese sauce is so creamy and amazing you won't believe it's made with a healthy vegetable base! A huge hit even with dairy eaters.
This is absolutely the best vegan cheese sauce recipe. It's made in a blender and perfect for mac and cheese, baked casseroles and anything else that requires cheese sauce!
This recipe was originally published on 7/8/2015
It's pure magic how you can take vegetables and create this incredibly creamy healthy cheese sauce, without even using milk! I know you probably doubt me, but I promise you need this. I have used this strategy to make my vegan white cheese sauce and my vegan nacho cheese sauce with success!
Ingredients
The gooey base of this cheesy vegan sauce comes from potatoes. When you blend cooked potatoes at high speed, it creates a stretchy texture.
I figured this out one day when I was making the pizza crust for my Thai Chickpea and Veggies Pizza and used a blender instead of a food processor.
You will notice this vegan cheese sauce has no nutritional yeast. I am not a nutritional yeast fan, and I don't really think it tastes cheesy, but if you like it feel free to add some in!
Here is what you need to make this recipe:
- Potato
- Red pepper
- Orange carrot
- Sweet or yellow onion
- Raw cashews
- Garlic
- Lemon juice
- Chickpea miso
- Ground mustard seed
- Paprika
- Sea salt
How to Make Vegan Cheese Sauce
Thank goodness this recipe is so easy to make, because it's in our regular rotation! Here are the steps you need to follow:
- Load all ingredients into a blender.
- Blend on high until you get a creamy gooey consistency.
- Use nice and hot!
Preparation Tips
When it comes to creating the best vegan cheese sauce, there are few key things to remember:
- If you have a regular good blender instead of a high speed one you can still get creamy awesomeness by grinding the cashews with a coffee grinder first. 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.
- You can thin out the consistency of the vegetable cheese sauce with some extra liquid.
- Use either water, dairy free milk, water from the boiled veggies, or pasta water if making mac and cheese.
- When you measure the veggies, measure them packed in not just loosely scooped up.
- Start with a little salt, and once everything is blended taste the cheese sauce. Add more salt if necessary.
What to Make With This Cheesy Vegan Sauce
This plant based cheese sauce recipe is amazing with everything! Seriously there are 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.
- Enjoy as a dip with chips, crackers, or veggies, or apple slices.
- Load it onto a baked potato.
- Nacho cheese dip, I add chopped nacho jalapeño slices.
- Top your favorite tacos.
- 7 Layer Taco Dip.
- Roasted Poblano Mac and Cheese.
- Mexican Nacho Burger.
- Smother Oven Baked Fries.
- Pair with Vegan Pigs in a Blanket.
- Top Vegan Scrambled Eggs.
- Use on your favorite homemade pizza.
- Include it in your favorite dairy free cheese casseroles.
- Eat it with a spoon...Don't judge, just try it.
Substitution Suggestions
I tried a variety of combinations for this dairy free cheese sauce, I did after all spend years of trial and error, and the ingredients listed are the best for creating the correct flavor and texture. Here a few swaps you can experiment with:
- If you can't have cashews you can try other nuts such as macadamias, walnuts, or pine nuts. Just note that the flavor will be affected.
- For a completely nut free sauce try white beans or sunflower seeds. (I didn't care for the sunflower seed version but others have.)
- You can also leave out the cashews without replacing, but the texture will not be as thick and creamy.
- Red potatoes are suggested but any other starchy potato will do. Avoid sweet potatoes or other root veggies.
- Chickpea miso has the right flavor, white miso can be used but the taste will be more mild. Some have even completely left it out and still liked the flavor!
Flavor Suggestions
You can adapt this recipe to make different flavors of vegan cheese sauces. Any time you mix in an addition, start with a little and blend in more a little at a time until you get the flavor you want.
If you want chunks of the add ins, pulse them in instead of blending, or stir in with a spoon.
- Salsa
- Jalapeños - fresh or pickled
- Taco seasoning
- Chili seasoning
- Chives
- Roasted red peppers
- Sun dried tomatoes
- Broccoli (cooked and chopped)
- Caramelized onions
- Vegan sausage
- Mushroom bacon
- I prefer this vegan cheese sauce without nutritional yeast, but for those that are a fan feel free to shake some in.
Make Ahead and Storage Tips
- Prep this vegan cheese sauce recipe in advance by cooking the veggies and roast the garlic. Store in the fridge in an airtight container until ready to use.
- Store the prepared cheese sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- You can freeze this for up to 3 months 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.
- Feel free to return the defrosted sauce to the blender
- 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.
How to Make Vegan Cheese Sauce in an Instant Pot
Instead of boiling the vegetables, you can use your pressure cooker.
- Put all the ingredients (except for roasted garlic and lemon juice) into an instant pot with 2 cups of water.
- Set it to manual high pressure for 5 minutes.
- Let it naturally release.
- Blend in a high speed blender until smooth.
Common Questions
There are a number of recipes out there that all use different methods for creating cheese sauces with only plant-based items. This recipes uses potatoes, veggies, cashews, and seasonings to create a thick and creamy sauce.
There are some plant-based store bought cheeses available, but it's best to make your own with whole foods!
Many use dairy free milk and nutritional yeast to capture the cheese flavor, but I've had better luck with veggies and chickpea miso.
This sauce for one! Vegan Parmesan is also really easy to make and tastes so good!
More Vegan Cheese Recipes
Now that you know how easy it is to make your own homemade vegan cheese sauce, you need more varieties to try! Here are more plant based cheese recipes I know you'll love:
Best Vegan Cheese Sauce Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked potato (about 3-4 potatoes, see note)
- 2 tablespoons cooked red pepper (about ⅓ of a medium sized pepper)
- 3 tablespoons cooked orange carrot (about 4-5 baby carrots or one medium sized)
- 5 tablespoons cooked sweet or yellow onion (about ½ a small)
- ½ cup raw cashews (see note)
- 1 teaspoon roasted garlic (about 2-4 cloves, depending on size)
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- ¾ teaspoon chickpea miso (see note)
- ½ teaspoon ground mustard seed
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt (can use less or more depending on taste preference)
- Your favorite pasta if making Mac and Cheese
Instructions
- 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!
To make the ultimate Mac and Cheese:
- 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!
Notes
- Makes 3 ½ cups sauce. Serving size for nutrition info is ½ 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!
- Cook the veggies and roast the garlic. Store in the fridge in an airtight container until ready to use.
- 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.
Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.
Nutrition
Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.
Sammy
Ive discovered i cannot have peppers, will this recipe still work without it?
Sophia DeSantis
Hi Sammy! Every ingredient definitely contributes to the end flavor, but you can try removing it and maybe add a little roasted tomatoes and up the carrots?? Try half and half for the pepper. I have not tried this so don't hold me to the end result but it may be worth a try!! Let me know what you do!
Kevin
What do you think of substituting white beans for the nuts?
Sophia DeSantis
Hi Kevin! As I have mentioned a few times, the nuts really are the key to a true creamy cheesy result. That being said I have had people make it without and enjoy it. If you look through the comments you can find a few ideas. My suggestion is to replace with a combo of things. I do use white beans in a few of my sauce recipes (however they also have cashews) so they are a good sub but I would be careful of using too many as it can become more hummus like. If you want to keep this very low fat, and not use any nuts or seeds, then maybe try the white beans, or a combo of that, a touch more potato and some cauliflower. You may have to adjust the other flavorings to get the end result you're looking for. Some people have also used sunflower seeds! Let me know what you do and how it turns out!
Missy
To any looking for GREAT cheese sauce - this is the one. Look no further. 🙂 I know it's slightly ridiculous to care about cheese to this extent, but it was one of my New Year's Resolutions to try cheeses until I found one for my family. Sophia - you helped me reach my goal by January 5th! I have the rest of the year to try your other recipes. 😉
Sophia DeSantis
Ah!!! I am so happy you love it Missy! I totally think it's ok to care about cheese this much! Ha!
Debbie Christy
I made this sauce and it was delicious. I added nutritional yeast for an extra cheesy flavor. I mixed it with my pasta and then put in a casserole dish, topped with some crushed almonds and baked for 15 mins, then grilled the top for 5 minutes. It was a huge hit
Sophia DeSantis
So glad you liked it Debbie! Love the baked mac!
Martha
The ONLY vegan cheese sauce I like, when I found it over over a year ago I had all but given up hope for a healthy cheese sauce alternative. It is SO good. I usually make it exactly by the recipe but today I used it as the base for Broccoli "Cheese" soup (by thinning it out quite a bit) with caramelized shallots and YUM! What a wonderfully versatile recipe. Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful recipes, I really appreciate it.
Sophia DeSantis
Wow Martha! I am so thrilled you like it!! I actually use it in my broccoli cheese soup recipe as well! It's a family favorite. Thank you so much for the awesome review!
Stacey
SO much better than any vegan cheese with nutritional yeast! So glad I found this!
Ang
hands down this is the best cheesy sauce I have ever made!! And belive me I have made many. Almost gave up! This can be used on nachos too!!! I didnt have the miso and it was still amazing
Sophia DeSantis
So happy you like it!! Thank you!!
Thom Spengler
This is the week I discovered what I now call “Cash Sauce”
I have a Blendtec, with a strong motor like your Vitamix. One possible improvement to your recipe would be to pre-soak the cashews by pouring boiling water over them and letting them soak overnight, like the chickpeas. This will “plump them up” so they’re ever creamier when blended.
BTW, discard the soaking water, as it will contain “anti-nutrients” like phytic acid. Same with the garbanzos… if you want to truly take this to the nutritious limit, try sprouting the chickpeas.
After two years of experimenting, what’s a couple more days to try it?
veggiesdontbite
Thanks for the idea Thom!!
Sarah
I am so excited I found this recipe! I'm obsessed with all things cheese but need more veggies, win win!
Jill
I recently discovered I don't do well with nutritional yeast. And I thought I'd never have vegan cheese sauce again. Cheesy sauce without nooch? Impossible! ... Until I made this recipe. It's delicious, my husband loved it! Happy Dance! Thank you!
I didn't even measure after cooking the veggies. I just cooked what I judged to be the right amount and then put everything into the Vitamix with the other ingredients. I used some small red potatoes, skins and all, and a piece of red pepper from a jar of roasted red peppers. I changed the miso/salt ratio, using more miso and less salt.
veggiesdontbite
I'm so happy you like it!! Thank you so much for letting me know!
Jovana
This is so so good. Tastes like liquid cheddar. I swapped out chickpea miso with homemade tahini.
veggiesdontbite
Thrilled you liked it Jovana!
Rebeccah Hazel
I'm so grateful for this recipe! We followed it as close to exactly the first time as possible, using white beans in place of cashews (can't have nuts) and not being able to find chickpea miso (so we used yellow miso instead). Since then we've experimented plenty from the base, adding jalapeno, salsa, more or less of the flavorings, different beans, etc. We've never been disappointed! We use the pressure cooker variation. Thank you for posting this recipe!!
veggiesdontbite
I am so happy you love it even without the cashews! Such great info for others looking!
Shannon
Hi! Did you use the same amount of beans when you swapped them out for the cashews? I love cashews but found out raw cashews are bad for people with kidney issues. I want to make this cheese sauce soon
Sophia DeSantis
Shannon, I am going to guess she used the same amount based on her comment! But that's just a guess.
Mary
Wow! I made this tonight and it was absolutely incredible. I have been wanting to make it for quite awhile, but was a bit intimidated with all of the ingredients. I didn’t have everything— no bell pepper or miso and did not roast the garlic (left it raw)— and it was AMAZING! Tasted better than the best *real* Mac and Cheese I have ever had. And!! My very, very, very, very picky toddler DEVOURED it. Will definitely be a staple in our house. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your research and recipes. They have been such a help getting my family on board with being plant based. I have also made the Nacho Dip, Ranch and Alfredo and they are all so perfect and truly better than the *real* versions. Whole food, plant based for the win!!! Thank you 🙏🏻
veggiesdontbite
Wow! What a great review! So happy you liked it Mary! Thanks so much!