Silky smooth, lusciously creamy, Vegan Cheese Sauce that's 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!
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"Hands down the best vegan cheese sauce I've tried yet!!!"
- Jenna ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ More reviews →
This super-easy Vegan Cheese Sauce is a game-changer. It's seriously good, and like my Cauliflower Alfredo, it's nut-free, gluten-free, and really low in fat.
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 eat a low-fat diet. Whatever the reason you want a nut-free vegan cheese sauce, I've got you covered, because this tofu cheese sauce recipe is just perfect.
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. Stir through pasta for a quick and simple dinner, use it as a dip, drizzle it on nachos, add to casseroles and pasta dishes, or serve with vegetables. The possibilities are endless!
Mel x
Ingredients
Here is what you need at a glance, along with some important ingredient notes:
- Silken tofu - The tofu used must be silken (any firmness of silken tofu), or soft tofu. Don't use medium, firm or extra firm tofu as you won't get the intended texture or flavour. This sauce is super, super velvety and smooth. Much more so than a nut-based sauce and it tastes lighter. That's all because of the silken tofu.
- Nutritional yeast - This is what gives the sauce its cheesy flavour.
- Dairy-free milk - This must be unsweetened and unflavoured. Be sure to check the ingredients list before you use it. Many dairy-free milks have added sugar or vanilla and you don't want these in a cheese sauce recipe.
- White wine vinegar - A little acidity and sharpness is necessary and white wine vinegar does that job while also enhancing the cheesy flavour. It is the best choice however you can use apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar if you don't have any.
- Dijon, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika - This combination adds lots of flavour and enhances the cheesiness of the nutritional yeast.
Nutritional Yeast Tip!
Please be sure to use good-tasting nutritional yeast when making this recipe. All nutritional yeasts are not created equally. Some brands taste a lot better than others.
Bob's Red Mill nutritional yeast is one I don't recommend, as you won't get the intended cheesy flavour. I love most of their products, but their nooch is not great. Same with Braggs. They are both 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.
I love the brands Hoosier Farms (in the USA), or Everland (if you are in Canada).
How To Make Vegan Cheese Sauce
This simple, Vegan Cheese Sauce couldn't be easier to make:
- Put the ingredients in a blender or a food processor and blend.
- Pour into a pan and warm through gently on the stovetop or use in any recipe calling for cheese sauce.
It's the easiest vegan sauce ever, and because all of the ingredients are super soft, you don't need a fancy pants high-powered blender to make it silky smooth. Any blender or food processor should be able to take care of it.
Recipe
Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce (no nuts!)
Author:WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Ingredients
- 12 oz (340 grams) silken or soft tofu , pack sizes vary. As long as it's similar, you can use a bit more or less.
- ½ cup (35 grams) nutritional yeast
- 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 fine sea salt , adjust as necessary if using table salt
- about ½ cup (120 mls) dairy-free milk , unsweetened & unflavoured
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add all of the ingredients to a blender, starting with half of the milk. Blend until completely smooth. Add more milk to get it to the consistency you like. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
- Warm the sauce through gently in a pan on the stove top before serving, or use it in your favourite recipes.
NOTES
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Barbara Morgan says
Should you press the tofu first?
A Virtual Vegan says
If it needs pressing it will always say in the recipe. In this recipe you don't need to as its silken tofu and is just blended up in the sauce.
Vito says
Super simple, a go-to for an easy meal component, dip or spread in a burrito. I like to add in a little extra smoked paprika sometimes and a touch more vinegar for a nice 'tang'.
Amy says
The brand of nutritional yeast flakes doesn't show up when I click on the link. Any other ideas of where to buy that brand? Thank you.
A Virtual Vegan says
I actually emailed them this morning because I noticed Amazon didn't have it in stock anymore. They are getting some to them ASAP. You can buy direct from their website in the meantime. I believe they ship worldwide. Here's their website https://hoosierhillfarm.com/
Amy says
Thank you so much! I can't wait to try this! And I'm glad to know that this brand is "cheesier" than others as sometimes think I'm doing something wrong with some recipes as I can't taste the "cheesiness". :)
Megan Borders says
Hello,
Your sauce sounds amazing. I am trying to find a vegan, nut free, gluten free cheese sauce to make for my daughter. An additional allergy she was recently diagnosed with is Soy. In your instructions you state that soy milk has the best results and that no substitutions should occur for best results. Can I use bolthouse pea milk? It is the only milk she can drink. She really wants to eat Mac and cheese and I’d love to make it for her. Thank you for your thoughts. All the best, Megan B.
A Virtual Vegan says
Hi Megan. This sauce is tofu based so even if you used the pea milk it would still have soy in it.
I do have this Mac and Cheese recipe though: https://avirtualvegan.com/baked-vegan-mac-and-cheese/ .
It is NOT gluten-free in it's entirety but the cheese sauce itself is and it's super delicious. You could make the sauce part and mix it with gluten-free macaroni. The pea milk will be fine to use as long as it is unsweetened.
Also check out the website Allergylicious. I think most of the recipes there would be suitable for your daughter. https://allergylicious.com/
Hope that helps!
Beth says
Hello. This looks yummy. In the recipe you state to just add all the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth, then to warm the sauce on stove top before serving. You also state that the unused sauce will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge.
Just seeking some clarification: After blending up the sauce, it is best to just portion out the amount of sauce I need to heat up each day during the 5 day period? Or is it okay that the entire batch of sauce gets heated up on day one and then (perhaps smaller portions) get reheated during the next 5 days?
A Virtual Vegan says
Food safety wise it's probably best to portion it out and warm up just what you want at the time rather than keep repeatedly warming and cooling it. When I make pasta with it though, I don't warm the sauce separately. I just cook the pasta, drain it, return it to the pan on a low heat then pour over some sauce (enough to coat) and stir it in. In less than a minute it's warm enough to serve. Saves dirtying another pan!
I hope that helps!
Beth says
Well I can only dream about this sauce now. I have a brand new soy allergy and now cannot make what I'm sure would have been an absolutely amazing sauce.
Thanks for the info. I'll know what to do if I find any other soy-free, nut-free, gluten-free cheese sauces on your blog.
Sarah says
Great texture, great flavor. Not an exact replica of cheese per se, but it worked well on pasta and gave me the same satisfaction as Mac and cheese. I used Bob’s red mill nooch (all I had) so maybe it’d be a closer match to the real deal if I’d used the recommended brands. I’ll be making again for sure!
elisabetta says
Made this today and use it both for dipping and as a base for cauliflower cheese. Texture is different once baked as mentioned but still lovely flavour! Will be making this again and again!
Alicia says
Love the ease of just blending soft ingredients! Question: have you made this with refrigerated tofu? I had that on hand and so used it over the silken, but I’ve had trouble with tofu based sauces having kind of a funny after taste no matter what type of tofu I use. Have you ever had trouble with this?
Thanks!!
Ashley says
Thanks for idea of using silken tofu as a base for cream sauces! I also used the recipe as more of a base with my own ingredients since my own personal tastebuds get overwhelmed by this amount of nutritional yeast, so mine turned out as more of a tangy cream sauce for potatoes, which was delicious. Thanks for a versatile base recipe!
Melanie McDonald says
I'm glad you were able to adapt it to meet your needs!
HBradz says
I made this for mac n cheese and it was lovely! Added some corn, onions and peas into the mix and nom nom nom. I'm no vegan but I love cooking and experimenting and I was happily surprised by how good this tasted. Thanks Mel!
Melanie McDonald says
That's awesome Hannah, especially as you aren't vegan. Thanks so much for stopping by to leave feedback too. I really appreciate it!
Maren says
Fantastic recipe! The texture is perfect. I used it more as a base since I added a few more ingredients that I found amp up the cheesiness/queso quality: ~1 TBS yellow miso paste, a dash of cumin, 1.5 tsp of turmeric, and 1 tsp of vegetable bouillon.
I have a feeling I will be craving this often.
Mary Gunn says
Hi Mel,
Where do you buy your silken tofu in Victoria. I've been trying to find it but not having any luck.
Thanks,
Mary
Melanie McDonald says
Country Grocer, Thrifty, Lifestyle Markets,The Market on Yates/Millstream, Fairways and I think I might have picked it up in Superstore and Save On too. It's in a tetra type pack, not plastic like the other tofus. I think the brand is called Mori-Nu or something like that. I don't have any in the fridge to check.
Soyganic soft tofu is pretty common too and that will work instead of silken in this recipe. It's pretty similar in texture.
Lesley says
I just made this and it’s absolutely divine. So delicious!!! I’m veggie not vegan (but trying) and this is an absolute game changer! Thank you for sharing! Xx
Melanie McDonald says
That's awesome Leslie! I'm really pleased you enjoyed it. Thank you for stopping by to leave feedback. It's much appreciated!
Ellie says
I was excited to try your recipe. For allergy reasons, I can't eat the nut-based vegan recipes that are plentiful across the internet. As much I would love to eat fully vegan, tree-nut allergies make life much harder.
I made this recipe exactly as written and found it to be just okay. The texture is great and creamy but the flavor to me is bland. I added in some juice from pickled jalapenos as well as some slices and it added a bit to the flavor. For me, something is still missing.
Cap'n Dave says
Ellie, try adding a vinegar-based hot sauce like Frank's RedHot (not just a few "splorps", but even up to 2-3 tablespoons of the stuff), or the cayenne pepper Mel suggested and ramp up the vineger. I don't know what it is about hot peppers, but they really give a sauce like this some extra cheddar-y ZING!
Also, maybe switch out your nooch with some other brand? I've found that the nooch usually purchased by the pound in the bulk aisle section (if you have one at your grocer) seems to have the best flavor, or use the link that Mel suggested.
Hayley says
So unbelievably good! I can’t believe tofu goes into it. Will be our new go to!
Sophie says
Hi,
I was wondering if the Trader Joe's nutritional yeast would work with this recipe? (If you ever tried it) i think its the best kind I've tasted so far.
A Virtual Vegan says
We don't have Trader Joe's here so I have never tried it. If it's nice and cheesy tasting, and you like it, it should be fine though!
June says
Trying this very soon. Thanks
Bonnie says
I can't wait to try this! I made vegan ricotta for the first time and it was delicious. I miss my broccoli mac and cheese!
A Virtual Vegan says
Hope you enjoy it. I highly recommend you try this mac and cheese recipe too if you like broccoli in yours. https://avirtualvegan.com/dairy-free-mac-and-cheese-black-pepper/
Clare says
Can you freeze the leftover cheese sauce ?
A Virtual Vegan says
I haven't tried freezing it, but I think the texture would probably change a bit because of the tofu. It might go a bit grainy. It will keep in the fridge for 4 -5 days though.
Carol says
Dear Mel, hi..
This looks super yummy... and a wonderful change from all the cashews! Mel, you mention the Hoosier Hill brand of nutritional yeast that you enjoy using... wanted to ask you your thoughts on using Bragg's nutritional yeast. I've also tried the NOW brand, which I love all of their nuts, but found their nutritional yeast to be not as 'cheezy' tasting as Braggs. Do you recommend Hoosier over Braggs?
Thank you for your good help... i'm looking forward to making your great recipe soon!
Thanks too Mel for all the delicious cruelty-free recipes you share with us... very grateful.
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Carol and you're welcome! I personally am not a fan of Bragg's NY either, although it is better than Bob's Red Mill. The Bragg's one comes in a tiny pot too and works out really expensive if you use a lot like me. The Hoosier Farms one is great in taste and is super cheap compared to any others too.It comes in an absolutely massive container. I haven't actually tried the Now Foods one though so can't compare it to that one.