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–+ servings
pouring yellow cashew cheese sauce over a large bowl of cooked pasta.
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5 stars (5 ratings)

Cashew Cheese

Learn how to make the BEST cashew cheese sauce! This easy recipe blends cashews, jalapenos, and simple spices to give you an ultra-creamy vegan cheese sauce to pour over nachos, enchiladas, pasta, and more. 
Prep Time10 minutes
Total Time10 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Sauce, Snack
Cuisine: Mexican-inspired
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 141kcal
Author: Nora Taylor

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups raw cashews
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1 medium jalapeño pepper stem cut off
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Soak the cashews: Bring 3-4 cups of water to a boil (I use my tea kettle). Pour the hot water over the cashews and let soak for 5 minutes or up to an hour.
  • Blend: Drain the cashews, discard the soaking water and add to a high powered blender. Add the water, jalapeño, lemon or lime juice, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric, salt, pepper and blend until very smooth. Scrape down the sides of the blender if needed.
  • The cheese sauce should be quite thick. If you want it more loose for pasta or nachos, add a little water and blend until you have reached your desired consistency. Taste; add more salt or seasonings as desired.
  • If serving with pasta, there is no need to warm it on the stove. Just add to warm, drained and cooked noodles and stir. For serving with chips, I suggest warming it in a pot on the stovetop over medium heat, whisking until thick and warm.
  • Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for 5-6 days. It can also be frozen, simply re-blend or whisk well once thawed.

Notes

  1. If you don't want this spicy at all, leave out the jalapeño or at least removed the seeds. It's not very spicy even with the whole jalapeño, seeds and all, but if you are serving those sensitive to spice, I would at least remove the seeds.
  2. It may work with raw sunflower seeds or raw slivered almonds, but I haven't tested it. For a nut free cheese, check out this Vegan Cheese Sauce (Nut Free).

Nutrition

Serving: 1of 8 servings | Calories: 141kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Sodium: 150mg | Potassium: 195mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 0.3IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 2mg