This easy vegan cheese sauce is a go-to! It's tangy, lusciously creamy, and requires no cooking. No potatoes, carrots, or other veggies here! Just 10 carefully chosen ingredients that create a purely savory and cheesy sauce.
Pair this vegan cheese sauce with everything from veggie bowls and baked potatoes, to nachos, burritos, and pasta. Made without oil, gluten, coconut, or soy.
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What makes this vegan cheese sauce different?
I have a favorite low-calorie vegan queso recipe that I whip up when I'm in the mood for maximum cheesy vibes with a lighter feel.
But recently I decided the blog really needs an all-purpose vegan cheese sauce, one that gets its flavor from other cheesy ingredients and omits the Mexican-inspired spices of the queso recipe.
This cashew cheese sauce is also oil-free, and to make it no-cook, we're ditching the tapioca starch and increasing the cashews for added richness and creaminess.
We also have a secret ingredient! A small amount of rolled oats lends even more creaminess to this no-cook vegan cheese sauce.
Ingredients
- raw cashews - the naturally occurring starch in cashews helps thicken this cheese sauce and gives it a velvety smooth consistency.
- nutritional yeast - even if you think you don't like cheeses made with nutritional yeast, I encourage you to give this a try. Also, I highly recommend this non-fortified nutritional yeast by Sari. Its flavor is much better than the ones fortified with B12 and folate.
- roasted red pepper - you want roasted red peppers in a jar similar to the product in that link. The ingredients should be red peppers, water, salt, and citric acid. Tip! Avoid ones that contain sugar because the sweetness interferes with the cheese flavor.
- rolled oats - as mentioned above, oats help make the sauce extra creamy since we're not using any additional starch like tapioca or potato.
- miso - miso, or fermented soybean paste, gives the cheese sauce a subtle, cheesy, fermented quality. I really like chickpea miso for vegan cheese recipes, but white miso also works.
- hot sauce - this is totally optional and you'll probably want to omit it for most uses. Include hot sauce only if you want more of a nacho cheese vibe.
Can I make it without cashews?
Cashews not only added richness to the sauce, their natural starch content also makes it creamy (in addition to the oats). So if you replace the cashews with a different nut or seed, the consistency may be a bit different.
I often make my Oil-Free Vegan Queso with soaked, raw sunflower seeds instead of cashews, and it works really well!
The extra flavor from chipotle, cumin, salsa, etc, covers up the mild sunflower seed taste. Since that recipe is written to use a smaller amount of cashews, it's easier to replace them. But as I always say, feel free to experiment!
UPDATE: Check out this new Nut-Free Vegan Mac and Cheese. It uses raw sunflower seeds, is based off of this cheese sauce recipe, and it's amazing!
Adjusting the Flavors
It's easy to slightly tweak the ingredients so that this sauce suits your needs. For example:
- Adjust the amount of cashews to make the sauce milder and thicker or tangier and thinner.
- Bump up the amount of roasted red pepper and hot sauce (if using) for a nacho cheese flavor.
- Tweak the amount of salt and miso to get the saltiness just right for your palate.
- Tweak the lemon juice and rice vinegar for the desired level of tanginess.
Ways to Use Vegan Cheese Sauce
- potatoes - pour this velvety sauce on baked potatoes, and dip fries and wedges in it. And don't forget cheesy mashed potatoes!
- pasta - cheesy orzo? Vegan mac and cheese? Lasagna? Enough said.
- tofu/tempeh - fold this sauce into your next tofu scramble for an epic vegan brunch, or simply drizzle it onto baked tofu and tempeh.
- vegetables - from steamed broccoli and air fryer cauliflower to sautés and roasted veggies, this cheese sauce never met a vegetable it didn't like!
- And of course, there's always nachos!
How to Store
Store leftover vegan cheese sauce in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Or freeze for up to one month. Thaw and briefly heat the sauce to restore to its original creamy consistency.
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I hope you enjoy the flavor and versatility of this vegan cheese sauce as much as we do. If you try the recipe I would love to hear from you!
Leave a comment and star rating below to let us know!
Recipe Video
Tap to play the video and see how quick and easy it is to make vegan cheese sauce!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Cheese Sauce (No-Cook)
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¾ cup water
- 1 cup raw cashews - Decrease to ¾ cup for a tangier, slightly less rich sauce. See Notes re: soaking.
- ¼ cup rolled oats - Ensure certified gluten-free, if needed.
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 ounces roasted red pepper from a jar (about 1 small pepper) - Make sure they don't contain sugar. Sweetness ruins the cheesy flavor.
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons chickpea or white miso (I'm a fan of Miso Masters brand) - Chickpea miso is soy-free, if needed. If you don't have miso, increase salt to taste.
- ¾ to 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 to 2 teaspoons hot sauce, optional - This creates more of a nacho cheese flavor.
Instructions
- If using a standard blender, about 1 hour before you plan to make cheese sauce, place cashews in a bowl, cover with boiling water, soak for an hour, then drain and proceed.Combine all ingredients in a high-speed blender, and blend on high for 1 to 2 minutes or until completely smooth.
- After blending, taste and adjust salt/acid balance, as desired. Even the slightest tweaks in salt, lemon, rice vinegar, cashews, or water can "fix" the flavor if it's too tangy or salty for your preference.
- The sauce will get warm during blending. It can be used right away, or refrigerated until ready to use. The cheese sauce will thicken as it cools.
Notes
Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and specific products and ingredients used. We calculate this information using the online calculator cronometer.com.
Patricia
I made this as a dip and the first taste brought back childhood cheese memories - it's really clever. Thanks
MMOm09
Yes!!! Finally!!! I’m his one actually does taste like Mac and cheese sauce! 🙌
Shannon
I am blown away at how satisfyingly great this “cheese” sauce is. Honestly, I’ve put off making it as I expected to be disappointed. But - to my great delight I am enjoying every bite! If you’re on-the-fence, as I was, - make it and see. Enjoy everyone!
Lawrence Kellie
I have tried several vegan "cheese" and/or "cheese sauce" recipes in the last 12 months; including one from the mid to late '80s which I used to love! This recipe, at the moment, is the "hands-down" winner. Whether it resembles any real cheese variety is not that important to me. (Yes, I would be unhappy if a vegan "cheese" tasted like broccoli!) But this one is close enough to be considered as a recipe substitute. I believe that one could make this a sliceable cheese if you added some thickener to it. I won't try today, but I might later. This is the first of your recipes I have actually tried...out of the 9 that I have saved. If the rest are as good as this one....
Lawrence
Jennifer
This sauce is amazing. I call it ‘Insanity Sauce’ because it is just so incredibly good. I followed the recipe exactly, including a bit of sriracha sauce and I didn’t think it made it so much ‘nacho-y’ as just gave the flavor some depth. I think this would be incredible on pasta or really anything. Maybe steamed broccoli? But frankly just eaten with a spoon is pretty fantastic. Thanks for your incredible recipes. Also really appreciate your videos.
Lori
Haha I love the nickname. What great feedback! Thanks so much, Jennifer!
Jane
What can be used in place of cashews? Or will this sauce turn out the same without cashews?
Lori
Hi Jane,
The natural starch in cashews does add to the creaminess, but there's also starch from the oats to help with that. I often have luck substituting raw sunflower seeds for cashews. The consistency will be slightly different, but it's just cheese sauce after all! So I definitely think it's worth experimenting. You can taste and adjust flavors as needed in the blender. Hope that helps!
Beth
Wow, so excited to have a no cook version- this is wonderful! Tasty, easy, another winning recipe. Thanks!
Glenn Schentag
I love this recipe!
I've made twice so far and agree it can see how it can be taken in sooo many directions. My second batch had a few drops of liquid smoke and a 1/4tsp of strong horse radish.
After 2min in the vita-mix on high the oats thicken like they do in oatmeal, giving this sauce a great texture. I put it in a squeeze bottle and put it on whatever.
Next I'm going to try a Lemon based version.
Like an earlier comment, I'll have no problem serving this to anyone.
And I would not tell people it is a substitute anything, it's a creation.
Thanks Lori.
Laura
Superb. Thanks not big enough.
Cindy
Can this cheese be frozen? Thanks!
Lori
Yes, definitely!
Heidi
I was a little skeptical about trying this cheese sauce but then I made it and it is wonderful. I have been looking for this recipe for a while now!! I like that it can used in so many different ways. I was wondering if used white beans in the place of cashews and kept the other ingredients the same if the recipe would still work? This recipe is definitely a keeper and one of the best vegan cheese recipes that I have tried so far! Thank you for sharing!!
Karen Ricketts
Excited to discover this perfect sauce, first time we've made macaroni and "cheese" in over a year. Love all the different flavors you used, so tasty! It was easy to make too. It thickened up in the fridge; itwas easy to make a runnier consistency with a bit more water.
Lori
Awesome! Thanks for the feedback, Karen. And that cheese sauce pour shot you shared on insta looked soooooo good!
Theresa Sam Houghton
I had no idea this recipe existed until this moment, but I’ve clearly needed it MY WHOLE VEGAN LIFE. 😋
Bob in Tennessee
Finally got around to making this simple sauce and it is delicious! I'm steaming some rice and green beans and will use this sauce when eating! Yum. I also plan to try your sunflower based cheese sauce in order to cut back on the fat from the cashews. Thank you for this recipe!
Lori
Well, that just makes my day, Bob. So glad you enjoyed it!
Kim Giovacco
This sauce is a game changer and couldn't be easier. I've tried many other recipes that were okay but not great. I wouldn't hesitate to give this to a non-vegan. I'm so happy to have one spectacular sauce now, instead of having to rifle through all the other recipes trying to remember if they were passable. Not only is it delicious, but all the ingredients should be found in any vegan kitchen. Thanks Lori!
Lori
Wow! 😀 Thank you, Kim! What a lovely review.