Easy Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce

Easy Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce is made with soaked, raw cashews, blended with water, nutritional yeast and spices; and warmed on the stove until it reaches nacho cheese perfection! Optional but good: Add Sriracha to taste or keep it mild for kids with sensitive palates. Serve nacho cheese sauce with chips, or even drizzle on steamed broccoli or baked potatoes!

Last week, we ate at the Veggie Grill near us. Oh my goodness, I could eat there every day! Unfortunately (or fortunately, for the budget!), it’s a good 25 minutes away, so we really don’t get there often enough. We do live near Portland, THE Mecca for vegan food, but it’s far enough that with 3 kids and traffic, we rarely make it to the city for good vegan eats.

Anyhow, we got the nacho appetizer to share, and that’s when I started thinking about the fact that I really needed to up my nacho game. I was anxious to come home and try to re-create the nacho cheese sauce they had. It was SO good. And mild enough that I knew my kids would totally go for it.

I do have a tried and true recipe on the blog for Vegan Queso Dip with Cashews that is somewhat similar to this one. It’s amazing and a real crowd pleaser, but it is quite spicy and has chunky tomatoes and green chiles in it, which my kids aren’t crazy about. It’s also thicker, and makes for a better dip with chips than a pourable sauce.

I hope you love this Easy Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce! It’s:

• Creamy and rich
• Mild, but spice adjustable
• Pourable; not too thick
• Kid-friendly
• Easy and Quick to prepare
• Versatile: Enjoy with chips, on a baked potato or drizzle on steamed vegetables!

Want more delicious vegan Mexican recipes? Try any of these:

Ultimate Fully Loaded Vegan Nachos

Cauliflower Walnut Mushroom Taco Meat

Sheet Pan Cauliflower Fajitas

Vegan Queso Dip with Cashews

Roasted Vegetable Enchilada Casserole

Instant Pot Spanish Rice

Instant Pot Refried Beans

If you make this recipe, let me know how it goes! Rate it, leave a comment and tag a photo @noracooksvegan on Instagram or find me on Facebook. Enjoy!

Easy Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce

This Easy Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce is made from raw cashews, nutritional yeast and dried spices. It is quick to make, kid-friendly and perfect on chips, or even drizzled over steamed broccoli or a baked potato!

4.82 from 16 votes

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Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 5 mins

Total Time: 25 mins

Servings: 12 servings

Author: Nora Taylor

Ingredients

• 2 cups raw cashews
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice (from about 1 large lemon)
• 4 cups water, divided, plus more as needed to thin
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
• 1-2 teaspoons Sriracha, optional

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Instructions

• Soak the cashews: You can either do a quick soak, or soak the cashews for several hours or overnight. To quick soak, simply boil water in a tea kettle or on the stovetop, cover the cashews with the boiling water and set aside for 10-15 minutes. Drain.
• Blend: In a blender (high powered preferred, a food processor will also work), add the cashews, lemon juice, 3 cups of the water, nutritional yeast, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, and the salt.
• Warm: In a medium saucepan, add the cheese sauce from the blender. Using a whisk, warm over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it begins to bubble and thicken. Add the last cup of water, depending on how thick or thin you want the sauce to be.
• Add salt to taste, and Sriracha if using, depending on your spice preference. If the cheese sauce sits for a while, or you refrigerate the leftovers, it will thicken. Simply warm it again on the stove, adding water as needed to thin.

NUTRITION INFORMATION

Serving: 1serving Calories: 128kcal Carbohydrates: 8g Protein: 5g Fat: 10g Saturated Fat: 2g Sodium: 405mg Potassium: 185mg Fiber: 1g Sugar: 1g Vitamin A: 66IU Vitamin C: 2mg Calcium: 10mg Iron: 2mg

Did you make this recipe?Mention @nora_cooks_vegan_ or tag #noracooks!