When I had my (dairy-eating) friends try this Vegan Cheese Sauce, they were eating it by the spoonful. This cheese sauce is creamy with a real cheese flavor and a little kick. It's perfect for nachos, tacos, burgers, pizza, and so much more!
Variations of this recipe have been floating around on the internet for years. I found it on YouTube from Jill McKeever, and adapted it by adding jalapeños and jalapeño juice from the jar. Wherever it originally came from, one thing is certain; it's delicious!
The limit basically doesn't exist when it comes to what you can put this vegan cheese sauce on. But I do recommend making dairy-free nachos with all of your favorite toppings!
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❤️Why You'll Love this Recipe
- It tastes like cheese: Using ingredients like nutritional yeast and lemon juice result in a naturally tangy and cheesy flavor. And the addition of jarred jalapeños gives it that nacho cheese flavor!
- Eat it with anything: You can practically add cheese to anything, and that's also the case with this vegan cheese sauce.
- Quick and easy: This recipe takes just a few minutes to prep and 10 minutes of cook time. You can have it ready in about 15 minutes!
🍋Ingredient Notes
- Potatoes: I use russet potatoes. They give this sauce the perfect nacho cheese consistency.
- Carrots: The carrots give the sauce its beautiful color.
- Cashews: There's only a little bit of cashews and you really can't taste them. The cashews are also there for consistency.
- Lemon juice: Be sure to use fresh. Lemon juice is what gives it that bright, tangy, cheese-like flavor.
- Almond milk: I like to use homemade almond milk or cashew milk. They have a pure flavor without any weird aftertaste.
- Jalapeños: This ingredient is optional. Jalapeños add a nice flavor and a little kick. You can omit this if you don't want it spicy.
- Dijon mustard: Any will do, but I suggest using a good-quality one.
- Spices: The spices include nutritional yeast (which gives it that cheesy flavor), salt, paprika (I use smoked paprika), and chipotle chili pepper seasoning. If you like it REALLY spicy, you could even add a pinch of cayenne pepper.
🥣Equipment
High-speed blender
🔪How to Make Vegan Cheese Sauce
- Dice the potatoes, onion, and carrots. Add them to a pot along with the cashews and almond milk.
2. Boil until the potatoes are soft. The milk should be thick and creamy.
3. Let it cool down some. Then carefully transfer the contents into a high-speed blender, and add the remaining ingredients.
4. Blend until completely smooth and no lumps remain.
Enjoy!
🧊Storing
Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
✅Pro Tips
- Chop the potatoes and carrots into small pieces: This helps them take less time to soften.
- Make your own almond or cashew milk: I don't just make my own milk for the fun of it. It really does make a recipe better. If you want a quick and easy, less cleanup method, make the cashew milk. You just have to soak the cashews and the blender takes care of the rest.
- Only use jalapeños if you want it spicy.
⁉️Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. This sauce is naturally gluten-free. However, if you are really sensitive, it's a good idea to always check labels on store-bought products.
Yes. Once it's cooled down, place it in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to two months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
If the ratios of the almond milk, potatoes, and cashews are thrown off, or if the potato and almond milk mixture wasn't boiled long enough, this can happen. To fix it, just pour the sauce into a skillet and bring it to a gentle boil while continuously whisking. This will prevent scorching. If the sauce gets scorched on the bottom of the pan, it can get lumpy.
🧀Serving Ideas
- Veggies: Dip with your favorite raw veggies, or cook them and pour the sauce on top. It's especially delicious over steamed broccoli!
- Chips
- Dairy-Free Pizza
- Tacos
- Nachos
- Soft pretzels
- Hamburgers and hot dogs
⭐️Before you go! If you enjoyed this recipe for my Vegan Cheese Sauce, leave a review and share it with me! I love to hear from you.
📖 Recipe
Vegan Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups potatoes cubed
- 1 cup carrots chopped
- 1 cup yellow onions chopped
- ½ cup cashews
- 2 ¼ cup almond milk
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon chipotle chili pepper powder see notes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 to 2 small slices jarred jalapeno slices optional, see notes
- 1 tablespoon juice from jalapeno jar
Instructions
- Dice the potatoes, onion, and carrots. Add them to a pot along with the cashews and almond milk.
- Boil until the potatoes are soft. The milk should be thick and creamy.
- Let it cool down some, then carefully transfer the contents into a high-speed blender.
- Add the remaining ingredients and blend until completely smooth.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- If you don't want it spicy, omit the jalapeños.
- While chipotle chili pepper powder is preferred, you can use regular chili powder.
- If your sauce is a little runny, you can fix it by heating it up over the stove. Let it come to a gentle boil while stirring constantly to prevent scorching on the bottom of the pan.
- I use roasted cashews (preferably unsalted), but you can use raw.
- You can use your favorite non-dairy milk, but I prefer homemade almond or cashew milk.
Nutrition
Note: The nutrition label is only an estimate. Amounts may vary.
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