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.
Becky Striepe
The cashews and potatoes are such a creamy combo in this sauce. YUM!
veggiesdontbite
Thank you Becky! The potatoes are certainly key to flavor and consistency, as are the cashews.
The Vegan 8
Love the thick, creamy texture of this cheese sauce! It's so versatile and can also be used on top of baked potatoes or burritos, not just mac and cheese! I love to liven up other food with it and also love it with a dash of hot sauce! So delicious! I make it exactly as written, since I know every ingredient is crucial to the result!
veggiesdontbite
Yes, it really needs to be followed as written or the flavors and texture will be off. There are many cheese sauce recipes out there so I figure if ingredients in this don't work for someone they can certainly find another recipe that does!
Susan
I tried making this AIP without nightshade (potato) and used yuca, leaving out the pepper. The yuca was very unkind in the vitamix, and it kept turning itself off. The mustard is way too much for me, if you're not sure, maybe start with a lower amount and add it to your taste. For me, it was very heavy but not satisfying since I expected more of a mac and cheese experience. Not a close substitute in my opinion.
veggiesdontbite
Hi Susan, the potato is KEY in the flavor and texture of this. It did not work for you because you didn’t use it. If you tried this recipe as written, then you’d get a much different result. Unfortunately this is not an AIP friendly recipe. It’s not fair to me or my readers to rate a recipe low when you did not follow it as written. Best of luck finding a cheese sauce that works for your needs.
Carol
Awesome response! Also, sounds like she didn't even cook the yuca first! And she apparently missed the suggestion to actually follow the recipe. (I loved that btw) Gotta try this asap
veggiesdontbite
Thanks Carol! We spend so much time, trial and error, to create recipes. While I am ALL for making things your own (I do it all the time with recipes) if it doesn't work out, it really is not a reflection of the recipe as written. That being said, there are some recipes that I love that others do not. Such is life!! Especially when it comes to things like cheese sauce, we really all do have different tastes and ideas of what is good and what is not. I personally do not think nutritional yeast tastes cheesy, but many others do. And I have had people add it to this recipe and rave about it. To each their own! I am simply here to give ideas and help others make delicious but healthy food!
Beverly
Why is the sodium so high in this recipe? I see no salt!
veggiesdontbite
Hi Beverly, there is sea salt in the ingredients if you look closely. Also miso has some salt in it as well. You can most definitely reduce the amount of sea salt to fit your tastes and needs!
Bob
If vegetable sizes matter so much, wouldn't it be nice to add amounts in ounces or grams? Would make things much easier and consistent.
veggiesdontbite
Hi Bob! To answer your question, when I developed this recipe years ago I used the size of my veggies because that’s what worked for me. It has been on my to do list to get the numbers in cups for a while now but life happens and since this blog isn’t my job but more of something I love to do it will have to wait. My kids take most of my time and I have other creations I want to get up. In the mean time, if you need something with cups/etc take a look at the cheese sauce from this recipe: https://www.veggiesdontbite.com/crispy-baked-mac-and-cheese-balls-vegan-gluten-free/
Diane
I want to made this bit only have brown rice miso. Can't find chickpea. Will this work? I never used any kind of miso before
veggiesdontbite
Hi Diane! I have never had brown rice miso so I'm not sure how strong it is. But you can definitely use it as I'm sure the flavor is similar. I'd start with half the amount I say in the recipe and slowly add more until you get the flavor you like. Let me know what you end up doing and how it works!
Diane
Thank you
Diane
I made my creamy cheese yesterday with the brown rice miso. Its very good. Not as cheesy as I would have liked but really delicious. I think that I would make it again but I don't think I would fool anybody with it. any suggestions to make it more Cheesy taste? thank you so much for posting this even if there's no improvement I love it the way it is. Had mac and cheese last night. Yummy!!!!
veggiesdontbite
Hi Diane! I personally have never had brown rice miso so I’m not sure if it’s as sharp and umami flavored as the chickpea miso so that may be one reason. I truly think cheesy is so dependent on each of us individually. My cheesy taste I was going for in this sauce is more of a velveeta cheesy sauce, if you’ve ever had that when you ate dairy. Some people think nutritional yeast gives sauces a great cheesy flavor, I personally disagree and don’t like it but you may! You can always try adding some. Another thing with this sauce is the size and proportions of the ingredients. A little difference will affect the flavor. I’m working on redoing this sauce with measurement instructions in cups but haven’t finished yet. I have a few other cheese sauces that people really love as well, so I’d suggest you try these too and compare! Here is a sharp white sauce: https://www.veggiesdontbite.com/sharp-white-cheese-sauce/ and her is my latest Mac and cheese sauce that has no miso in it: https://www.veggiesdontbite.com/crispy-baked-mac-and-cheese-balls-vegan-gluten-free/ Let me know if you try any of these! Thank you so much for getting in touch and you can always email me with questions too! veggiesdontbite@gmail.com
Diane
I will and thank you for your quick response. I really love this one. Planning on using it for part of my thanksgiving meal with family. I think they will really like it but they will know its not real cheese. But you know what, that's OK. Its better for all. Thanks again
veggiesdontbite
Awesome Diane! You'll be surprised by how much people (at least those open minded) end up liking it! I serve my creamy cheese sauces to many and they are shocked that they don't contain any dairy. And happily devour it because they feel so much better after eating my sauces versus those filled with dairy and cream. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! If you're looking for any other creamy Thanksgiving foods, I served this one last year and everyone finished the pan! https://www.veggiesdontbite.com/vegan-scalloped-cauliflower-gluten-free/
Richa
So creamy and Dreamy!!
veggiesdontbite
Thank you Richa!!
Jess
Amazing recipe! So creamy and delicious. Thanks so much for sharing this!
veggiesdontbite
Thank you so much Jess!
Amy Lyons
This cheese sauce sounds perfect! I love using veggies hidden in things ;).
veggiesdontbite
Thank you Amy!! The more hidden veggies the better!
Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day
I never knew how amazing cheese sauce made from carrots, potatoes, etc. could be. I'm totally a believer now! And I want to eat this sauce on everything!
veggiesdontbite
Thank you so much Amy! I love creating things that no one would think possible!
Kathy Patalsky
Yum!!! This looks so freaking dreamy and creamy. Can you put a little diving board on that gravy boat so I can dive right in? Thanks.
veggiesdontbite
Hahaha! Yes, I can definitely do that! Thank you Kathy!!
Nick Abell
This is the absolute creamiest vegan cheese I've ever laid my eyes on. I can't wait to give it a try! 😀
veggiesdontbite
Thank you Nick! It's pretty creamy!
Laura
Sooo creamy!
veggiesdontbite
Thanks Laura!
Sarah | Well and Full
DANG this looks insanely creamy and dreamy!! I feel like I would also love this over nachos 🙂
veggiesdontbite
Thank you Sarah! We have it over nachos a lot! I sometimes add in pickled jalapeños!
The Vegan 8
I love this recipe and have made it several times exactly as written! It is so rich, creamy and decadent and is not only great with pasta, but also great over broccoli or for dipping chips in! Honestly, just eating it with a spoon is a really great idea too, haha! Thank you for the awesome recipe!
veggiesdontbite
Awe thank you so much friend! Yes, it's so important to follow recipes as written. LOL. I am working on getting exact measurements in cups for this one, versus just size of veggie, but life comes first so hopefully I'll get it down soon!
Jennifer
Yum! I too have tried some pretty nasty "cheese sauces".
I'm trying this recipe today. Hoping to freeze flat in a zip lock to be able to break off chunks when making my boys mac and cheese. I'll let u know how it goes!
veggiesdontbite
That's a great idea! You can also freeze in ice cube trays. Just know when you defrost it'll look weird at first but warm it slowly and mix vigorously and it goes back to normal! Also when you make it, be very careful at looking at my measurements for everything. I'm working on getting exact cup sizes but haven't had time to finish that part yet. Let me know if you have questions or issues! Thank you!