This oozy, gooey vegan cheese sauce is just as good as the real thing! Versatile and easy to make, it's delicious on pasta, nachos, and more.
You don’t have to be vegan to fall for this vegan cheese recipe! It’s creamy, tangy, and rich, with a crave-worthy oozy texture just like that of dairy-based cheese sauce. Even Jack – the biggest real cheese lover I know – adores this recipe. Last time I made it, we stood at the counter, scooping it up with tortilla chips. We only got halfway through the first batch before we decided to make a second. Yep, it’s that good!
Serve this vegan cheese as a dip with tortilla chips or fresh veggies, toss it with pasta to make vegan mac and cheese, top it onto a baked potato, or drizzle it over chips to make a vegan nacho platter. Once you have it on hand, you’ll find endless ways to use it, and you won’t be able to get enough!
Vegan Cheese Recipe Ingredients
This dairy-free cheese is not only delicious – it’s good for you, too! Unlike processed vegan cheese that you might find at grocery stores, it’s made of a short list of whole foods ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Yukon gold potatoes and cashews – They’re the key ingredients for giving vegan cheese recipes oozy, creamy texture.
- Sweet potatoes – You couldn’t make a cheddar-style cheese sauce without an orange ingredient! Sweet potato gives this recipe its vibrant color, and it adds a light sweetness that’s delicious with the rich, tangy flavors here.
- Nutritional yeast – It gives this dairy-free cheese the nutty, savory flavor of the real thing!
- Garlic and onion powder – They add delicious depth of flavor.
- Apple cider vinegar – It gives this vegan cheese a bright, tangy finish. Yum!
To make this cashew cheese recipe, start by boiling the potatoes. When they’re tender, transfer them to a high-speed blender. Add the nutritional yeast, garlic, onion powder, cashews, and vinegar, along with water, extra-virgin olive oil, and a pinch of salt. Blend until the mixture is completely smooth and creamy, adding more liquid as needed. Then, enjoy!
Best Vegan Cheese Variations
Though I love this recipe as written, I also like to change it up from time to time. Here are a few of my favorite variations:
- Change the veggies. If you don’t have sweet potato on hand, swap in carrots or butternut squash.
- Make it smoky. Add 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, to taste. I love to serve this variation as a loaded queso dip with guac, pico de gallo, and black beans!
- Spice it up. For extra heat, blend a tablespoon of pickled jalapeños or a chipotle pepper from a can of chipotles in adobo into the cheese.
Let me know what variations you try!
More Plant-Based Basics
If you love this vegan cheese recipe, try one of these plant-based basics next:
- Cashew Sour Cream
- Sriracha Baked Tofu
- Coconut Whipped Cream
- Vegan Bacon
- Homemade Oat Milk
- Marinated Tempeh
Then, check out this post for more of my favorite vegan recipes!
Vegan Cheese
Ingredients
- ¾ cup peeled and diced Yukon gold potato
- ¾ cup peeled and diced sweet potato
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup raw cashews
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup water
To make your cheese spicy or smoky, try adding:
- ½ to 1 chipotle pepper from canned chipotles in adobo
- 1 tablespoon pickled jalapeños
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
Instructions
- Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cold water by about 1 inch. Add a few pinches of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until fork-tender, 8 to 12 minutes.
- Drain and transfer to a high-speed blender with the garlic, cashews, apple cider vinegar, nutritional yeast, onion powder, salt, olive oil, and water. Blend until smooth.
- For spicy vegan cheese, add the chipotle pepper or pickled jalapeños. If you’d like a smoky flavor, add the smoked paprika.
- Serve with tortilla chips for dipping or over pasta to make vegan mac & cheese.
Can this recipe freeze? If so, what’s the texture like after thawing?
Hi Laurie, this one gets gritty once it freezes and thaws so I recommend just storing it in the fridge – it stores up to about 5 days.
Hi,
Loved this cheese! Thank you!!
How long will it keep in fridge?
Hi,
can you substitute a cashew powder for the cashews? If so, how much?
I cannot wait to try this recipe!
Hmm I’ve never cooked with a cashew powder, so I can’t say for sure. I’d recommend sticking with regular cashews if you can!
Wow I love this! I added smoked paprika, pickled jalapenos, and a little bit of chili powder. I try to be oil free so I left it out and it’s great without it.
Delicious! Tried it for Thanksgiving and even our non-vegans ate it. Doing it again today for Christmas get together. Favorite recipe, hands down.
I’m so glad it was a hit!
Made this the first time this past weekend. Was nice! Can I substitute anything in place of the olive oil? Trying to use less oil in my cooking! Thanks for the recipe, keep up the great work.
Mike
Hi Mike, you can use water in place of it.
Used this for Mac n “cheese” for my kiddo with aloha gal syndrome. Of all the safe Mac n cheese recipes we’ve tried, this is the closest to real Mac n cheese. He ate it! And he’s a selective eater.
After mixing it up, I added more salt and nutritional yeast to taste. I also added some plant based milk for a little more creaminess (we use Ripple unsweetened).
In the future, I will probably use light tasting olive oil instead of EVOO (I don’t really like the taste of olive oil). And I will use 1/2 the amount of ACV. Probably also top with bread crumbs and bake for a few minutes.
My niece is allergic to sweet potatoes but I’d still like to make a variety of this could sweet potato be exchanged with either taro or carrots?
Hi Jen, you could use carrot!
This is amazing, thank you! I doubled it but then figured I should ask– how well does this freeze? I now have an exorbitant amount of vegan cheese….
Hi Julie. I’m loving your site and recipes. Just another reader asked, I too was wondering if you ever tried to freeze the sauce as a stand alone or if you’ve ever tried to freeze it when it’s used in a dish, such as your Mac-n-Cheese….. Thanks in advance!
Hi Korri, the creamy texture changes in the freezer, the potatoes cause it to be lumpy when it thaws.
Do you know the nutritional breakdown? This looks delicious!
I’m sorry, we don’t calculate nutrition facts but you can plug the ingredients into a site like my fitness pal.
What nutritional yeast would you recommend? Thanks
Hi Christy, any type that’s at your store should be fine (often, there’s just one choice). I’ve used Frontier Coop, Bob’s Red Mill, and Trader Joe’s brand and they’re all pretty much the same. Hope that helps!
What can I replace cashews with?
Hi Bee, blanched slivered almonds (almonds without skins) will work.
Anything else that can be substituted? Tree nut allergy here.
Hi Cleo, you could skip the nuts entirely here and add a little more olive oil (1-2 tablespoons) for richness.
Sometimes I replace cashews with white beans in creamy pasta sauce recipes and they turn out great! Haven’t tried it with this recipe, but it could be worth a try.
a great idea! I love using white beans for creamy sauces too.
I used red potatoes instead of yukons and this came out AMAZING! Finally a chees sauce that tastes delicious. Thank you!!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Is the sweet potato mainly for color? I ask because I have a Yukon gold on hand but no sweet potato and thought I’d try Yukon gold as a sweet potato sub.
Hi Lisa, I think the texture might be a little too gluey with all yukon gold potato.
Good to know – thank you!
Do you think I can use all sweet potatoes for this (instead of the Yukon gold)? Thanks!
Hi Irina, you can, the cheese will be just a bit less gooey.
This cheese sauce looks so velvety smooth! I was wondering if roasted cashews would work in place of the raw ones as they are a little cheaper on the wallet? Thanks for the great recipe!!
Hi Heidi, I’m glad you loved it! Roasted cashews will make it taste like cashews where raw ones have a neutral flavor.
This was very tasty! I poured it over roasted veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, sweet potato) and baked it with some breadcrumbs on top. Side of rice, nice meal. Thanks!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Wow just wow! I wasn’t sure how this was going to turn it but it is very tasty. I spread it on toast to enjoy with soup for lunch and saved some for pretzels for a snack tomorrow. If you’re curious just make it!!
I’m so glad you loved it!
How long does this last in fridge?
It should keep for about 4 days. It will thicken in the fridge, so you might need to stir a little water into leftovers before serving.
We made this tonight. Delicious! First time ever for vegan mac & cheese. Do you by any chance know the nutritional value for this recipe? Would love to know if any cholesterol, saturated fat & fiber content as my husband went off statins, and we watch what we eat.
Thanks so much!
I’m so glad you loved it! I’m sorry, I don’t post nutrition facts, but you can type the ingredients into a site like my fitness pal.
My son is allergic to nuts what can I substitute with
Hi Gloria, you can leave them out if you use less water. Omit the water and use just 1 tablespoon at a time if the mixture is too thick to blend.
Made this today for Super Bowl tomorrow. Added fresh Serrano peppers to give it a kick. How does this store in the fridge and do you have reheat recommendations?
Hi Sean, it keeps 3-5 days in the fridge. It’ll thicken, so stir in a little water to bring it back to a drizzleable consistency. You could try heating it up a little in a small saucepan, but I would stop as soon as it’s warmed through or the texture might change. Hope that helps!