Silky smooth vegan cheese sauce that is also nut free! It’s absolutely perfect over nachos, baked potatoes, steamed broccoli and makes a delicious mac and cheese.
What’s the hardest thing for people to give up when they want to go vegan? CHEESE. I hear it over and over again; people can usually imagine going meatless but cheese? That’s a hard one! As a former cheese fanatic, I totally understand! It felt really difficult in the beginning, but now I don’t miss it at all. 9 years ago, when I went vegan, there weren’t as many delicious vegan cheeses you could buy at the store like there are today. Now I can find vegan cheese products at my local discount store. These are exciting times people!
Even though you can buy special vegan cheese products at many stores now, I still mostly prefer to make my own. Often, those products are super pricey and not all of them taste good. You can tell I love “cheese” by the fact I have several recipes for vegan cheese on my blog:
- Easy Vegan Nacho Cheese
- 5 Ingredient Vegan Queso
- Easy Stretchy Mozzarella
- 5 Minute Vegan Cream Cheese
- Vegan Mac and Cheese
🙂
All of my vegan cheese recipes to this point have included cashews, because when soaked and then blended with other ingredients, they make a really rich, thick and creamy cheese sauce. I fell in love with cashews awhile back for their ability to create such rich, creamy dishes such as the cheeses above and sour cream.
But what’s a person to do that can’t eat nuts? That’s who this recipe is for today! And anyone else who enjoys an ultra-creamy vegan cheese sauce to drizzle over EVERYTHING. Seriously, I was surprised at how good this turned out with such simple ingredients. I hope you love it, too!
How do you make vegan cheese sauce (nut free!)?
Boil some potatoes and carrots (amounts are listed below in the recipe card.)
While they boil, add everything else to a blender:
- non-dairy milk
- nutritional yeast
- olive oil (optional, but I highly recommend for richness)
- lemon juice
- salt & spices
- cornstarch
- optional for nacho cheese: can of diced green chiles
Once the potatoes and carrots are fork tender, drain and add to the blender. Blend on high until silky smooth.
You shouldn’t need to warm it on the stove, since the potatoes and carrots were hot when you blended it. But if you want, you can add it to a pot and warm, stirring frequently, until it thickens up a bit more.
This vegan cheese sauce is incredibly versatile and can be used many places, such as:
- With tortilla chips, for nachos (of course)
- On baked potatoes
- Over steamed or roasted broccoli
- With elbow noodles for Mac and Cheese
My toddler went crazy over this vegan cheese sauce; he literally could not get enough of it! My older kids were impressed, too.
Enjoy!
Vegan Cheese Sauce (Nut Free!)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups peeled and chopped russet potato (1 medium)
- 1 cup peeled and chopped carrots (about 2-3 carrots)
- 2 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- Optional for nacho cheese: 4 oz can diced green chiles, drained
Instructions
- Add the potatoes and carrots to a medium pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 10 minutes, until fork tender.
- While the vegetables are boiling, add all the other ingredients (including green chiles if using) to a blender.
- Drain the potatoes and carrots and add them directly to the blender with the other ingredients. Blend on high until silky smooth. You don't need to warm it further, but if you want you could add it to a pot to keep it warm. Stir frequently if you do this; it will thicken even more.
- Serve over tortilla chips, drizzle on baked potatoes or steamed broccoli. Mix into macaroni pasta to make mac and cheese! Store leftover vegan cheese in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, if it lasts that long.
Recipe Notes
- May also use yukon gold potatoes, you will need 2 small potatoes.
- The oil adds some richness to an otherwise low fat cheese sauce, but if you are avoiding oil you may omit it.
- You can use any unsweetened non-dairy milk that you like, I used coconut milk.
Andrea
I am excited to try this recipe! I have alot of food intolerances, which makes it difficult to find food products or recipes that taste like real thing. I was wondering if it would be okay to use plain frozen already chopped up potatoes? I have a couple of bags in the freezer, and I would like to put them to good use. I also do not have smoked paprika, but I do have regular paprika and liquid smoke. Is there any way I could combine the two together? Is there a specific ratio you suggest? Please let me know. Thank you!
Nora
I don’t think it would be a problem to use frozen potatoes, and regular paprika plus a few drops of liquid smoke should work just fine. I would use the same amount of paprika as called for, and a few drop of liquid smoke. I hope you love the sauce!
Andrea
Thank you very much for your help Nora!
I can’t wait to make it!
Have a wonderful day!
Renata
I didn’t have any potatoes, so instead, I used a drained and rinsed can of cannellini beans. It turned out wonderfully! It actually might be my favorite of the cheese sauce recipes that I have tried.
Thank you.
Nora
You’re welcome!
Krystal
Help! Mine just tastes like potatoes. What can I add to make it taste better?
Nora
I don’t think there is anything you can add to it, it is a potato based cheese after all, perhaps you just don’t care for this kind of sauce. 🙂 I much prefer my nut based Vegan Nacho Cheese, so I would suggest you make that if you can have nuts. It tastes a whole lot more like the “real thing”. Thanks!
Megan
I really enjoyed making this to be used as an allergy-friendly “queso” style dip! The first batch didn’t turn out exactly as I hoped (and it made A LOT!), so I made the following modifications:
1. CUT RECIPE IN HALF
2. omit carrots
3. approx. 1 cup peeled, chopped potato
4. 2 Tbsp oil
5. approx. 1 cup salsa in place of green chilies
It may seem runny at first but it continues to thicken as it cools. Delicious!
Jo
Says one serving… but what’s the serving size
Nora
There are 6 servings, so 1/6th of the recipe.
Natalie
I don’t have these varieties of potatoes where I’m from, are they starchy, florist or waxy potatoes?
Nora
Starchy or waxy should both work. Not sure what a florist potato is?
Marsha Lynn
Can you use sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes?
Nora
I don’t see why not, though I haven’t tried it! It will change the flavor and perhaps the texture a bit, but I think it will work.
Tricia
For the question on replacement of carrots, you can use a small jar of pimentos. Works great as well.
riley lipps
I made this out of desperation for a good sauce to use for nachos and mac and cheese. And sadly I can’t use cashews because I found out from violently getting ill that I’m actually super allergic to them. I’m the only one who is vegan and not only do I love it, but so does my family! I made a few personal modifications of my own to it because you can really taste the nutritional yeast. I put a little of a vegan cheese alternative for a stronger cheddar taste and a couple tablespoons of mustard ( which helped lessen the yeast taste a bit). It’s absolutely amazing! My little sister even liked it and she hates vegan cheese. I HIGHLY recommend this to someone who is vegan but can’t find a cheese sauce they like. It’s very easy to cook to!
Nora
Thank you so much, and I’m so happy that you loved this cheese sauce with no nuts!
SHANA KLEIN
What kind of mustard did you use?
Emily
what vegan cheese alternative did you use?
JJ
The recipe here IS the vegan cheese alternative. If you follow the recipe, you’ll have vegan cheese. Did I misunderstand this question?
Mads
Is this freezable? I know it’s refridgeratable but I was wondering about freezing it for meal prep.
Nora
Yes, it is freezeable. Would be great for meal prep! Thanks.
Sarah
Absolutely Divine! I made this cheese sauce along with a crunchwrap recipe and I can’t get enough! I will definitely be using this recipe again.
Melody
Thank you so much for this! My 1 year old grandson is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts and all things dairy. We’re trying hard to find alternatives so he can enjoy the occasional kid-foods like mac & cheese, peanut butter, ice cream, etc.
Caroline
As with all your recipes, this too is a winner! I was looking for a cheese with no nuts to make for a (non-vegan) potluck, where one child attending has a severe cashew allergy. I tested this out tonight and date I say it, I like it more than cashew cheese! My son ate it on macaroni and we had it with tortilla chips. Delicious!
Nora
I’m so happy you liked the nut free cheese sauce! I was surprised at how delicious it was, too, because I sure love cashew based sauces. 🙂 Thank you!
jenn
Hello Nora
This sounds great as I have a tree nut allergy.
Did you use canned coconut milk or the refrigerated one? Are they interchangeable?
Thanks!
Nora
I used the refrigerated one, not the canned. You could use any unsweetened non-dairy milk (of course not a nut based one if you have an allergy!). You probably could use canned coconut milk but I think the coconut flavor would come through the cheese. Thanks!
jenn
Awesome, thanks for the quick reply!
eileen
is there any possible substitutions for the carrots? just found out my son is allergic 🙁
Nora
How about sweet potatoes, or even just more regular potatoes? That would probably work. You will lose some of the orange color though with regular potatoes. Thanks!
Pam
Could you add tumeric for color? Or would that make it to orange
Nora
You could add a little pinch, yes. It’s already quite yellow from the carrots and nutritional yeast though. Thanks!
Esther
This is an amazing cheese sauce! Love it and had lots of compliments on it! I used runny tahini for the oil. I also added a spoon of yellow miso. Texture is perfect and not globby as so many sauces. Thanks for the wonderful.recipe!
Nora
Yay! Glad you and others have enjoyed the cheese sauce. Love how you subbed tahini for the oil, very creative. And the miso. Sounds yummy! Thank you.
voldylox
I’m new to vegan cuisine so this is probably a dumb question. 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast? Based on the packaging at 4.5 oz, 1/2 cup seems like a lot. I know the yeast is supposed to provide that cheesy flavor though. Am I reading this right? Thanksnin advance 🙂
Nora
Yes, you are reading it right. It does provide the cheesy flavor. Thanks!
Kerri
Do you have any nutritional breakdown for all of your recipes?
Nora
Hi Kerri! For now, I only include the calories estimate. I am considering including a full breakdown for all recipes, but it will be quite the project. 🙂 Would you find it helpful? Thank you!
Valerie
I made this yesterday for haystacks and the flavor was great but I couldn’t get it to thicken up. I even heated it up in a saucepan but no success.
Nora
Oh strange. If that happens, you could always mix a little water with a few tablespoons of cornstarch, and then mix it in on the stovetop. It will thicken right up. But I have found it plenty thick the way the recipe is written. Thank you!
Ashley
I actually had the same issue. I followed the recipe exactly, but excluded the oil, as per the recipe notes. Since cornstarch usually needs warmth to thicken, I heated it on the stove over very low heat, stirring continuously for at least 10 minutes. It started to thicken then, but I still needed to add 1 T of oil and stir for another 5 minutes to get the final thickening effect. This surprised me since I’ve made other potato-based cheese sauces like this one without oil, and didn’t have the issue. I’m not sure if it’s the recipe, though, or if it’s an altitude, weather, type of potato, or how-hot-are-your-carrots/potatoes-when-they-hit-the-cornstarch thing. As some other posters mentioned, I also added a little dijon mustard and apple cider vinegar to cut through the yeast taste. The end result was spicy and tangy, perfect for the bean and rice burritos I plan to cook. Once thickened up, it was actually so good that I ate a small bowl of it as if it were cheddar soup! 🙂
Andrew
Thank you so much for this!! I’ve been looking for a good nut free vegan cheese sauce and this is a Winner!! Will be making it often.
Sarah
I am so excited to see this post!! As a vegan who has a son with extreme tree nut allergies I am very often frustrated as the majority of vegan recipes for cheese and dressings call for treenuts. Thanks for making this moms life easier!! I will definitely be trying this ❤️