One scoop of the Best Vegan Cheese Sauce and you’ll be hooked! Made in one pot in less than 5 minutes with super simple ingredients. No nuts, potatoes, carrots or blender needed! This all purpose dairy free cheese is perfect for nachos, mac and cheese, tacos, burgers and more.
The short list of ingredients in this Vegan Cheese Sauce recipe are incredibly simple. No need for cashews, carrots, potatoes, or messy blending either. All you have to do is whisk everything together in a pot, heat it up, and dip away!
Every bite is creamy, ooey gooey, and perfect for dipping. Get creative with how you serve it! It has endless uses and is delicious on everything, from baked potatoes to pizza to nachos.
I call this the best vegan cheese sauce because it’s:
- Silky smooth
- Nut free and allergy friendly!
- Made in 1 pot
- Quick and easy
- Pourable
- Dippable
Craving more dairy free cheese sauce recipes? Be sure to try my Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce and this Vegan Cheese Sauce made from potatoes and carrots.
Ingredients needed (with substitutions)
- Plant milk – Hemp, soy, cashew, full fat coconut milk, or oat milk. Full fat coconut milk will make the sauce richer and creamier but it truly works well with any other unsweetened plant milk you like.
- Tapioca starch – The starch will help thicken the sauce and give it that signature cheesy stretch. Feel free to use cornstarch or arrowroot powder instead.
- Nutritional yeast – For cheesy flavors of course!
- Lemon juice – The acid and tang in citrus juice or apple cider vinegar will balance the savory flavors.
- Salt
- Garlic powder
- Ground mustard
- Turmeric
How to make it
This is simply an overview with photos. For the full, printable recipe, see the recipe card below.
Add all of the cheese sauce ingredients to a small pot and whisk until smooth.
Turn the heat up and bring it to a simmer while stirring frequently. Once it’s simmering, turn the heat down and stir for 1 or 2 minutes straight. This is when the sauce will start to thicken and become stretchy.
Is it too thick? Use less tapioca starch or add a little water to thin it out.
Taste and adjust the seasonings as desired. Once it’s to your liking, serve the cheese right away!
Serving suggestions
There are plenty of ways to enjoy your ooey gooey cheese sauce, but these are some of my favorites:
- Stir it into a big pot of mac and cheese or in this mac and cheese bake.
- Use it as a dipping sauce with quesadillas, tortilla chips, potato wedges, or french fries.
- Drizzle it over nachos, tacos, vegan pizza, or a loaded baked potato.
- Pour a little on your burger for cheesy bites.
- Add some on top of your steamed veggies, like broccoli, brussels sprouts, or cauliflower.
Frequently asked questions
- Does this cheese sauce melt? This recipe is better off being used as a dip or spread because it’s so loose and creamy. If you need a vegan cheese that melts, check out my vegan cheddar cheese.
- How long does vegan cheese sauce last in the fridge? The cheese sauce will keep for about 1 week when stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Can you freeze it? Sure! Keep the sauce in an airtight container or ziplock bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Let it thaw, then heat it on the stove until it’s back to its creamy texture.
Want more cheesy vegan recipes?
- Shreddable Vegan Mozzarella
- Vegan Feta Cheese
- Stretchy Vegan Mozzarella Cheese
- Vegan Parmesan Cheese
- 5 Minute Vegan Cream Cheese
Best Vegan Cheese Sauce (All Purpose, NO Cashews)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened hemp milk* or soy, cashew, oat or full fat coconut milk
- 3 tablespoons tapioca starch
- 6 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, more or less to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a small pot and whisk until smooth.
- Turn the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring frequently.
- Once simmering, turn the heat down to low-medium and stir constantly for a minute or two. The sauce should get fairly stretchy and thicken. If you want a thinner sauce, use less tapioca starch, or add additional water to thin it out.
- Taste; adjust seasonings as desired. Sometimes I add a little extra salt.
- Enjoy immediately! I use this cheese sauce everywhere: pizza, mac and cheese, baked potatoes, nachos, quesadillas, tacos, burgers, fries and more.
Notes
- For a richer, thicker cheese sauce, use canned full fat coconut milk. 1 can is just about perfect. It works well with any unsweetened, unflavored plant milk though. My favorite is hemp milk!
- Leftover cheese sauce will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator, in an airtight container. It can also be frozen if needed.
Wonderful recipe, and I love that we already had the ingredients in the pantry. Added green chilis, diced tomato, and taco seasoning this time, but this will be a very versatile recipe. For popcorn lovers, a bit of Flavacol works great in this. Thank you Nora, another stellar recipe!
You bet, Savannah! I’m really glad that you are loving the recipe! Thank you for sharing your recipe experience and ideas, as well as you are awesome review! Happy cooking to you!
No cashews, potatoes or carrots! Delicious and I didn’t have to buy extra ingredients.
I had some leftover so I put it in a covered jar in the fridge and, the next day, it had gotten very thin.
Any suggestions?
Thanks
Perhaps you just need to stir it up good? I wonder if it just separated a little bit. If you want it thicker, try using a thicker milk like full fat coconut milk. I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I was out of tapioca starch so I used corn starch and I used creamy oat milk – this is delicious and super easy !! I love your recipes.
Hi Lisa. Thank you for your awesome review, and for loving my recipes! Wishing you so much happy cooking!
Is 3T tapioca correct or should it be tsp. This tastes very starchy. I have cheeze recipes that have two cups of ingredients that only call for 2T of starch.
Thanks for clarifying.
I use 3 tablespoons, that is correct. You can use less if you want, but I can’t taste it at all once it’s heated and thickened up.
This sauce is easy and delicious! I love how it uses pantry staples and I don’t need to worry about soaking my cashews in time. I feel like cashews make the creamiest, tastiest vegan cheeses/sauces but they cost more too so I like knowing I can make a cheese like sauce without them when need be. Doubled the recipe and froze half which will be used for mac n cheese in the near tasty future!
Hello! I really appreciate your awesome support and stellar review! So glad you are loving my recipes! Wishing you lots of happy cooking!
Can this vegan cheese sauce be canned in either pressure or water bath canner?
I honestly don’t know, I have zero experience canning foods, sorry! I don’t know if it would be safe or not.
Would this cheese recipe work for a vegan Philly steak sandwich and can you refrigerate and reheat leftovers?
Yes, it would work for the Philly Cheesesteaks and the leftovers can be refrigerated and then reheated.
I made this today I have little grandsons that are lactose intolerant. Let me tell you “Wow” what a easy awesome recipe for mac & cheese ! I mixed everything up in a 2cup measuring cup then added it to a small pot and cooked as directed. I used cornstarch. Towards the end I splash some water in. I can’t wait for the boys taste
this! Thank you for easy on the budget
solution!
Is almond milk an option for this? Thanks!
Yes, almond should work as well. Thank you!
Nora,
This is by far the very best vegan cheese sauce that I have tried.
It is so creamy and has a great cheesy taste and consistency.
Thank you so very much for this outstanding delectable recipe.
You bet, Johnny! I’m thrilled that you love the sauce! I really appreciate your stellar review and feedback! Wishing you happy cooking!
What if it’s not thickening?
Did you use tapioca starch? This is what thickens it as it heats.
I did. Will probably just make a slurry
I just love all of your recipes. You are amazing!!
You’ve made my day, Christine! Thanks for using my recipes! I’m glad you are loving them! Thanks for sharing your glowing review! Wishing you happy cooking!
Hi Nora!
Would cornstarch work for this? I don’t have tapioca starch and don’t want to have to buy a whole bag of it!
Hi Michelle. Cornstarch or arrowroot powder can be used instead of tapioca. Enjoy!
Hi. I used corn starch and no Matt what I do, I can’t get the lumps out. Suggestions?
If you have an immersion blender, use that to get any lumps out, or blend the sauce in a blender perhaps, if you can.
BTW, 5 stars
Thanks David!
Very nice. I made some oat milk for this, then customized it by adding 1 teaspoon acv, 1/4 teaspoon onion powder and 1 teaspoon cayenne. Made some delicious pbwf nachos and mac & cheese w steamed broccoli. Thanks Nora!
Hi David. I’m so glad you loved the cheese sauce! I sure do appreciate you sharing your ideas! Happy cooking!
I wanted to use up my leftover coconut milk so this was the perfect pizza topping!! (BTW, I only use Native Forest Coconut Milk – no cruel monkey labor!!!) and instead of lemon juice, I always use lime juice. It gives a good flavor. I usually add a bit of corn starch as well, that seems to give a nice texture to sauces and baked goods too. Thank you Nora, for being my first go-to when I need a recipe!!
I’m giving this recipe a 5 star. Super fast, lacks the fat from nuts, which is good. The flavor I would say is just okay. But hear me out when I say that, finding a substitute for real cheese is a struggle. When I make these vegan cheese sauce recipes, I’ve stopped calling them cheese sauce, I usually say here is my pasta and yellow sauce. So when I say the flavor was okay, I truly mean that as a compliment. Thank for creating a recipe that is quick and does not taste like potatoes and carrots. I added some sriracha sauce and it took the recipe to another level. This will be a go to for me.