This smooth and velvety vegan cheese sauce recipe is deliciously cheesy, ultra creamy, and super low in fat and calories.
You’re going to want to put this luxurious vegan cheese sauce over everything.
And the best part is that it is allergy-friendly – no dairy, no tofu, no gluten, and NO cashews!
This was one of those weeknight throw-a-bunch-of-ingredients-together-and-see-what-happens recipes.
I hadn’t prepared anything for dinner and arrived home feeling super hungry after being out all day. Pasta is one of my go-to meals on those types of days, and this quick vegan white sauce was the result of looking through my kitchen cabinets to see what could go with the pasta.
The entire meal was done in barely more time than it takes to boil water!
My favorite comfort food is comfort food that takes longer to eat than to make ♥
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Ways To Use Vegan Cheese Sauce
- Poured over steamed broccoli
- Stirred into rice or quinoa
- On top of baked potatoes or tator tots
- As a dip for these Buffalo Cauliflower Wings
- Over pasta or spaghetti squash (here’s How To Cook Spaghetti Squash)
Or you could serve yourself a giant bowl of this creamy and ultra velvety vegan cheese sauce and eat it with a spoon.
Am I the only one who does this with cheese sauce???
You know how much I love giving options in my recipes.
This vegan cheese sauce is no exception, and you have a few options here.
I developed variations both with and without nutritional yeast, because I know the ingredient isn’t always easy to find and that not everyone is a fan.
If you’ve never heard of nutritional yeast, it’s something used quite often in vegan cooking because of its addictively cheesy taste.
To be clear, nutritional yeast does not taste exactly like cheese; it just has that same umami flavor.
(Umami—or savory—is one of the five basic tastes, along with sweet, sour, salty, and bitter.)
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If you try this recipe, I’d love to see!
Also make this creamy Vegan Alfredo Sauce or my favorite Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce.
Vegan Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked white beans, such as cannelini
- 1/2 cup milk of choice, preferably unsweetened
- 5 tbsp nutritional yeast OR 1/3 cup vegan shredded cheese
- salt – I like 1/2 tsp
- 1/8 tsp garlic powder
- If using nutritional yeast, add optional 1/2 tsp white or apple cider vinegar
- optional 2 tsp buttery spread or olive oil – I really like the rich depth of flavor this adds, especially if not using the cheese version
- optional pinch turmeric, thyme, rosemary, onion powder, etc.
Instructions
- Drain and rinse beans if they are canned. Blend together all ingredients except cheese, either in a blender or with a hand blender. Transfer to a pot, and add the cheese, if using. Heat on low, stirring occasionally, until desired serving temperature is reached and optional cheese is melted. If serving with pasta, stir in cooked pasta at this time. Add more milk of choice if a thinner sauce is desired.Instant Pot Version: Instead of transferring to a pot on the stove, put the blended mixture in your instant pot and heat on manual for 5 minutes. Thanks to reader Emma who created this version and left a comment to let us know it can be made in an instant pot!View Nutrition Facts
Notes
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Oh my goodness, this sauce looks AMAZING Katie!! Absolutely amazing! 😀
I love that this can be food storage friendly, with milk of course that doesn’t have to be in the fridge
I’m so glad you posted this–I have a whole bag of nutritional yeast from another recipe I made, and I had NO idea what I was going to do with it all! Answer: mac and cheese. So good.
My husband and I use nutritional yeast on popcorn. Mix it in the margarine, it’s delicious!!
Its the only way to eat popcorn. Been doing it that way since the 70’s.
Have you tried Pop Zest? It’s a seasoned nutritional yeast line! Artisan cheese, Olive Oil & Herb and Butter…all delicious on popcorn, grilled veggies, pasta & avocado toast!
Don’t forget the garlic powder …. Amazing.
Beans can be used for everything!!
Oh my god this recipe looks incredible! My boyfriend’s allergic to nuts so it’s so frustrating every time I come across any vegan cheese recipe. I’ve totally saved this for later
Steph – http://nourishmeclean.blogspot.com
This looks delicious! I was wondering how many days it would last in the fridge and also if I could freeze part of the recipe? Thanks!
This type of recipe should freeze well. As far as I can see, there’s nothing in it that would go “funky” – weird taste or texture, from being frozen. I’ve frozen similar recipes that were not vegan and they tasted great when reheated.
How is this a vegan recipe if it calls for condensed milk?
Not sure what recipe you are looking at, but nowhere in this recipe does it call for condensed milk…
The second ingredient is milk
susie it says milk of your choice.. so that could be oat, rice, soy, almond, cashew, macadamia, rice… the list goes on there are so many delicious plant based milks where no one is forcibly impregnated to produce ??
You’re an idiot.
Where does it say condensed? Nowhere.
It doesn’t say condensed milk it says milk of choice and she means like almond, rice, cashew milk etc
I agree (me too)!!! It is absolutely frustrating! I’m so glad I found this.
This was lunch Delicious. I used the cheese option and canned beans.
I’m going to have to try this soon. Sounds delicious! I have used white beans to make a creamy vegan gravy to serve on quinoa.
Loving this vegan recipe girlie. Great blog post!
XO, Jessi
mywhiteT.com
finally a cheesy recipe without using cashews etc! i always thought beans might work because of their texture and taste.. im not a big experimenter though so i enjoy having at least a base recipe to play around with 🙂 thank you katie!
I have some white navy beans cooked up in the fridge (leftover from another recipe). Do you think they would work?
They would!
Would golden potatoes work in place of white beans?
I would think so! I’ve made several “cheese” sauces with a potato base before. Just peel them and boil until fork tender, drain, and blend them with everything else.
Cooking some carrots and adding them in adds a nice golden color if you do this.
Will great northern beans work?
yes!
Any idea if garbanzo beans would work for the white beans?
It will give the recipe somewhat of a hummus taste, but they will work if you don’t mind that.