Vegan Cheese Sauce (+ 5 Ways to Use It)
This is the best vegan cheese sauce that’s rich, creamy, and super cheesy thanks to nutritional yeast. I’ll show you how to make it in 15 minutes! It’s perfect as a dip, or you can use this plant-based sauce in recipes for nachos, mac and cheese, and so much more!
Growing up, I always loved cheese, and dipping my chips and fries in cheese sauce was one of the first things I missed when I went vegan! I’ve perfected the ultimate vegan cheese sauce that’s a) super creamy with great cheesy flavour and b) uncomplicated to make. Of all the versions I’ve tried, this is the BEST plant-based sauce to use in everything from nachos to mac and cheese. It literally goes with everything. You’ll see!
Why You’ll Love This Vegan Cheese Sauce Recipe
- Easy ingredients. This vegan cheese sauce is a triple threat made from nutritional yeast, carrots, and cashews. Three easy plant-based ingredients that together make a silky cheese sauce with loads of flavour.
- Quick. You can make a batch of homemade cheese sauce in 15 minutes or less. Simply saute the veggies, and add everything to the blender with soaked cashews, nutritional yeast, and a few flavourful seasonings.
- Versatile. Vegan cheese sauce is incredibly versatile. Use it for dipping, spreading, and drizzling over EVERYTHING. I share some of my favourite ways to use it further in the post!
Notes on Ingredients
This plant-based cheese sauce doesn’t need any funny ingredients, which is another thing I love about making it from scratch. Here are some notes on what you’ll need. Scroll to the recipe card for a printable list of ingredients along with the full recipe details.
- Nutritional yeast – Nutritional yeast gives plant-based recipes like my vegan parmesan cheese, homemade vegan tofu feta, and this cheese sauce their distinctly “cheesy” taste. My favourite is the nutritional yeast from Bob’s Red Mill (more on this below).
- Oil – This can be olive oil or coconut oil.
- Carrot and onion – Chopped or diced. You’ll saute the veggies with a little garlic to soften them for blending.
- Cashews – You’ll need to soak your raw cashews in water overnight, and then drain and rinse them before you blend. If needed, my vegan heavy cream substitute covers how to soak cashews if you’ve never done it before.
- Seasonings – Salt, pepper, dry ground mustard, and paprika. I also include fresh lime juice and tamari or coconut aminos (capers also work!) to enhance the umami flavours. It might sound like a weird combination, but trust the process!
- Almond Milk – Or your preferred plant-based milk. You’ll end up with a slightly thicker sauce if you use cashew milk or soy milk.
What Is Nutritional Yeast?
If you’re new to vegan cooking, you might be wondering what nutritional yeast is, and what it does exactly. I go into the nitty-gritty of nutritional yeast in my e-book, It’s That Easy. In a nutshell, nutritional yeast is an inactive yeast made from sugarcane and beet molasses. Because it’s inactive, you can’t use it in baking. However, nutritional yeast is gluten-free, vegan, and has a cheesy taste that adds flavour to all sorts of recipes, especially vegan cheeses.
For this vegan cheese sauce recipe, I used Bob’s Red Mill Nutritional Yeast. Let me count the ways I love this nutritional yeast. It’s the best quality nutritional yeast I’ve found, and the packaging makes it very easy to scoop out (thanks to the zip top). It’s just as easy to sprinkle right onto cheesy stovetop popcorn. Plus, a lot comes in the package, so it lasts quite a while.
We use our nutritional yeast aka our ‘nooch’ quite often in vegan pasta, salad dressings, and so much more, and our first bag for the year still has a little bit left.
How to Make Vegan Cheese Sauce
The key to making the best vegan cheese sauce is to take the steps to develop the flavour while making sure that the cheesy taste stands out above the rest. It takes 15 minutes and all you need is a skillet and a blender.
Start by sauteeing the onion and carrots in a pan. The vegetables help to thicken, color, and flavour the sauce. Once that’s ready, the veggies go into a blender with nutritional yeast and soaked cashews, plus the seasonings, nut milk, and lime juice. Hit blend, and enjoy!
Tips for Success
- Use good quality ingredients. The better your ingredients, the better your cheese sauce will be. This means fresh carrots, quality cashews, and fresh nutritional yeast. Keeping nutritional yeast in the fridge helps it stay fresher for longer.
- Let the cheesy flavors shine. When it comes to your “supporting ingredients”, I recommend mild yellow onions instead of sweeter red onions, and unsweetened nut milk. The sweetness takes away from the tangy cheesiness.
- Soak your cashews. Soaking your cashews ensures the smoothest texture possible, even with a high-powered blender. I usually soak them overnight for the best results. In a pinch though, you can soak them in hot water for at least an hour, and blend for two blend cycles.
Ways to Use Vegan Cheese Sauce
One taste of this vegan cheese sauce and you’ll see what the hype is about! This recipe makes a good 1 ¾ cups of sauce. It’s great as an appetizer dip, and we love it as an alternative to pretzel dip with pretzel bites and homemade soft pretzels! If you’re looking for more inspiration, try these easy ideas:
- Dip. Cheese sauce is great for dipping cooked vegetables, like broccoli and cauliflower. It’s also delicious with tortilla chips, corn chips, and other chips and crackers.
- Nacho cheese. Make a big platter of vegan nachos drizzled with homemade cheese sauce. Just add jalapeños, bell peppers, and any fixings you like. We also love these loaded vegan nacho fries!
- Mac and cheese. This sauce makes the best baked vegan mac and cheese ever. Or, try “cheesy” cauliflower mac and cheese for a low-carb option.
- Tex-Mex. Vegan cheese sauce makes the perfect finishing drizzle for tacos and enchiladas. I also use it as a filling in my homemade vegan crunchwrap supreme.
- Baked potatoes. Use cheese sauce as a topping for baked potatoes or loaded potato skins.
How to Store
This vegan cheese sauce lasts in the fridge for up to 5 days when stored airtight. It depends on your ingredients, of course. Using the freshest ingredients will ensure that it lasts longer. You’ll probably eat it before then anyway, since there are so many ways to use it!
Can I Freeze Vegan Cheese Sauce?
You can freeze this sauce in an airtight container or even in a zip-top bag. Thaw it in the fridge overnight. You may need to re-blend it with a little more nut milk, vegetable broth or water since it will get very thick after thawing.
More Vegan Dips and Sauces
Vegan Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ cup Bob's Red Mill Nutritional Yeast
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, or coconut oil, 12.5g
- 1 large carrot, 112g, chopped
- 1 small yellow onion, 72g, halved and chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water overnight, then drained and rinsed OR just easily boiled for 5 minutes*
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dry ground mustard
- Juice of one lime, 1 tablespoon
- ½ tablespoon tamari sauce, liquid aminos or capers
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 ½ cups unsweetened almond milk, or preferred nut milk
Instructions
- In a pan over medium heat, heat the oil add in the carrots, onions and the garlic, stirring to combine. Cover with lid and allow to steam/roast until carrots are tender, about 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
- In a large high speed blender add the carrot mixture, cashews, salt and pepper, ground mustard, lime juice, tamari, nutritional yeast, paprika, and almond milk.
- Blend together in a high powered blender for about 2 minutes on a strong speed, until sauce is completely smooth and incorporate. Taste and add more salt if necessary. Enjoy!
Notes
- *You can easily boil your cashews with just enough water covering them for 5 minutes. Drain, let cool, and proceed! This way you can make the recipe the same day.
- You can prep the ingredients while your carrots and onions are cooking down.
- Substitute almond milk for any other nut milk. Soymilk and cashew milk will yield a slightly thicker sauce.
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
This came out really well! Do you think it will freeze well? It yielded way more than I can eat on my own at at once.
Thanks so much Cassie! Yes you can!! Just ensure it’s an airtight jar, then after thawing, maybe warm it up with a little bit of extra milk if it thickens up a lot! Hope that helps!!
I love your recipes! How long can the cheese sauce stay in the freezer for? Thank you!
Hi Scott thanks so much. It keeps safely for around 10days in the fridge. I hope this helps.
Hi what can I sub for cashews? Allergic to them. Would walnuts or sunflower seeds work? Thanks
Thanks so much for reading Priya! You can definitely sub walnuts , sunflower seeds, or even tofu.
My son is vegan and he adores this sauce that I make for over veg on a roast dinner. Fabulous recipes
Awesome Gail! We’re so happy that we were able to help.
Hi Jessica! Does the carrot make this “cheese” sweet? Because I prefer savory. Thanks for all you do!
Hi Deb,
Doesn’t make it sweet!
my husband allergic to almond and cashew.. can i sub for cashew with garbanzo? and sub for almond milk with oat milk?
Hi Kiki,
Garbanzo beans may provide a specific unpleasant aftertaste here. You could also try sunflower seeds (for the closest texture) or silken tofu! Yes you can use oatmik or soy milk instead! Hope this helps.