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    Home » Recipes » Sauces

    Published: Nov 11, 2018 · Modified: Feb 3, 2021 by Melanie McDonald · This post contains affiliate links · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. · 65 Comments

    Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce (with no nuts!)

    GO TO RECIPE GO TO VIDEO PRINT RECIPE
    4.84 from 67 votes
    A silky smooth, lusciously creamy, Vegan Cheese Sauce that is nut free, gluten free and really low in fat. Whip it up in minutes in your blender!

    A silky smooth, lusciously creamy, Vegan Cheese Sauce that is nut-free, gluten-free, low in fat, high in protein and can be whipped up in your blender in minutes! It's one of my favourite super quick dinners. Toss it through freshly cooked pasta and serve alongside some veggies or a salad. Dinner done fast!

    Vegan Cheese Sauce in a small stainless steel pan

    This super easy Vegan Cheese Sauce is a gamechanger. It's seriously good and it's nut-free, gluten-free and really low in fat.

    Jump to:
    • How to make vegan cheese sauce
    • Nutritional yeast
    • Serving suggestions
    • Hungry for more?
    • 📖 Recipe
    • Comments

    There aren't many nut-free vegan cheese sauce recipes around. Cashews tend to be used on repeat for creamy sauces in the vegan world, like in my cashew cheese sauce recipe, and although they make a really tasty, glossy, yummy sauce that I love, hey, sometimes there are times when you could use a recipe without them.

    Maybe you have guests with allergies, maybe you don't want to spend an arm and a leg on a bag of nuts (cashews aren't exactly cheap!), or maybe you are trying to be good after eating your way through an entire cookbook for the past 5 or 6 months!

    vegan cheese sauce being poured from a jug onto pasta

    Whatever the reason you want a nut-free vegan cheese sauce, I've got you covered, because this recipe is just perfect for any of the above occasions.

    It's a super simple Vegan Cheese Sauce, made in seconds, and it's luscious, smooth and creamy and can be used in any recipe where you want a thick, creamy, cheesy sauce. And did I mention it's got no nuts, no gluten and no fat in it? I did but I feel the need to repeat myself.

    a bowl of vegan cheese sauce covered pasta

    Because it's made from silken or soft tofu, it is super, super velvety and smooth. So much more so than a nut-based sauce and it tastes lighter.

    How to make vegan cheese sauce

    (For detailed measurements and instructions, see the printable recipe card).

    This simple, Vegan Cheese Sauce couldn't be easier to make.

    Here's what you need:

    Ingredients for vegan cheese sauce

    And here's how it's done:

    Step 1 - Put all of the ingredients in a blender or a food processor and blend. (That is incidentally actually another good thing about this recipe. Because everything in it is super soft, you don't need a fancy pants high powered blender to make it super smooth. Any blender or food processor should be able to take care of it).

    Step 2 - Warm it gently through in a pan on the stovetop or use in any recipe calling for cheese sauce.

    That's it. It's the easiest sauce ever!

    Nutritional yeast

    Please be sure to use a good tasting nutritional yeast for this recipe. All nutritional yeasts are not created equally. Some brands taste a lot better than others.

    I personally do not like Bob's Red Mill nutritional yeast, even though I love all of their other products. I do not recommend you use it in this recipe as you won't get the intended cheesy flavour. It's ok used in small amounts but in a recipe where you use a lot like this it will make a big difference to the overall result.

    My personal favourite is Hoosier Farms and an added bonus is it's super cheap too. It comes in a massive tub that lasts ages. I get mine from Amazon. It looks like this (tap the pic to go right there):

    Vegan cheese sauce covered pasta twisted around a fork in a bowl

    Serving suggestions

    The possibilities are endless though. I'm thinking:

    • easy pasta dinners
    • as a dip
    • cauliflower cheese
    • mac and cheese
    • lasagna
    • dips
    • pasta bakes
    • cheesy soups
    • loaded nachos
    • drizzled on all the things

    You get the idea.

    Hungry for more?

    For more vegan dairy substitutes, check out these great options:

    1. Vegan Cream Cheese
    2. Vegan Ricotta
    3. Vegan Butter
    4. Vegan Feta Cheese
    5. Oat Milk
    6. Cashew Milk

    📖 Recipe

    A silky smooth, lusciously creamy, Vegan Cheese Sauce that is nut free, gluten free and virtually fat free! Whip it up in minutes in your blender!

    Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce (no nuts!)

    Author: Melanie McDonald
    4.84 from 67 votes
    A silky smooth, lusciously creamy, Vegan Cheese Sauce that is nut-free, gluten-free, low in fat, high in protein and can be whipped up in your blender in minutes! It's one of my favourite super quick dinners. Toss it through freshly cooked pasta and serve alongside some veggies or a salad. Dinner done fast!
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe SaveSaved!
    PREP TIME: 5 minutes
    TOTAL TIME: 5 minutes
    Servings: 450 mls

    Ingredients
      

    • 12 oz (340 grams) silken or soft tofu
    • ½ cup (35 grams) nutritional yeast , make sure it's a good tasting one
    • 1½ teaspoon onion powder
    • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
    • ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika , or chipotle powder
    • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
    • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • ½ cup (120 mls) unsweetened milk of choice , soy or cashew milk gives the best result tastewise
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    INSTRUCTIONS
     

    • Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until completely smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. 
    • Warm the sauce through gently in a pan on the stove top before serving. 

    NOTES

    Unused sauce will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge. 
    Every single ingredient in this recipe plays a part in giving the best flavour possible, so I do not recommend omitting any of them or subbing them. 
    Please see my notes in the post above the recipe about the brand of nutritional yeast I recommend to make this recipe. They are not all created equally!

    NUTRITION

    Serving: 112ml serving (about ¼ of entire recipe)Calories: 98kcalCarbohydrates: 6.9gProtein: 12gFat: 2gSodium: 410mgFiber: 2.3gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 150IUVitamin C: 0.8mgCalcium: 70mgIron: 1.6mg

    Nutritional information is provided for convenience & as a courtesy. The data is a computer generated estimate so should be used as a guide only.

    Tried this recipe?Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @avirtualvegan on Instagram and hashtag it #avirtualvegan
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Paula says

      May 02, 2022 at 10:48 am

      5 stars
      Best 'cheese' sauce I have tasted, right up there with your vegan ricotta! Thank you for this recipe!

      Reply
    2. Angie says

      March 26, 2022 at 7:44 pm

      5 stars
      This is amazing! Got the nutritional yeast you recommended and seriously want to put this on everything. Definitely will be making this again and again and again.

      Reply
    3. Margaret Montoya says

      February 15, 2022 at 10:24 am

      5 stars
      Hello Mel. The packs of silken tofu I use here in the UK are 300g, so adjusted the rest of the ingredients accordingly, but used Colman's English mustard instead of Dijon. I made it for me and my omnivore husband, who ate most of it and he said he would definitely have it again!

      Reply
    4. Candace says

      October 16, 2021 at 3:52 pm

      5 stars
      Such a great recipe. I'm really pleased to have one on hand that's low fat and still tastes great. I mean cashew-based sauces are lovely but the calories pile up and it can work out expensive. Thank you for the recipe.

      Reply
    5. Tam says

      October 16, 2021 at 2:10 pm

      2 stars
      Just made this..exactly..and it tastes nothing like cheese sauce. I even added garlic, onion and green chilis to make it a queso and all it tastes like is tofu and nutritional yeast.

      Reply
    6. Simon says

      July 01, 2021 at 2:35 pm

      5 stars
      Loved it!

      Reply
    7. Valerie says

      May 22, 2021 at 12:13 pm

      This looks really great! I prefer silken tofu over nuts, too. Although, a high speed blender isn’t needed, if you have one you can actually heat the sauce while blending it! Pretty cool & saves on dishes. I love my Vitamix for so many reasons.

      Reply
      • Meena says

        May 31, 2021 at 6:19 am

        Hi! I would like to know which model vitamix do you use. I would like to buy one but an confused as to which one since there are so many models! Thank you in advance.

        Reply
    8. Casey says

      May 17, 2021 at 7:27 pm

      5 stars
      Hands down the best vegan cheese sauce I’ve ever made! I subbed the vinegar for lemon juice and used stone ground mustard just cause that’s what I had, and it turned out AMAZING! And I love that this is WAY lower in fat than any other vegan cheese sauce I’ve ever tried.

      Reply
      • Melanie McDonald says

        May 17, 2021 at 7:47 pm

        Thank you so much Casey. I'm really pleased you enjoyed it so much!

        Reply
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