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
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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!
