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 ♥
You Might Also Like: Keto Cheesecake – Just 5 Ingredients
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.)
Trending Right Now: Avocado Smoothie Recipe
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
Current Popular Recipes:
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars
Oh my gosh, thank you so much for this! Because of IBS I can’t really have cashews, I’m so glad I can find a nut-free one!
Can this sauce be used on pizza in place of the cheese?
Sure that sounds delicious! It’s not really mozzarella flavored or stretchy, but why not?
This is an old recipe so I doubt you are still responding to comments, but here goes: if using nutritional yeast, what purpose does the 1/2 tsp of vinegar serve? Just curious! BTW: I love your SpaghettiOs recipe, it has become a staple for my daughter who is allergic to both egg and dairy.
Would Lima beans work for this recipe? I don’t care about the color but would it taste good?
Wow! I’ve tried a few vegan cheese sauce recipes and this is by far the best I’ve tried! Love it. I did the version with nutritional yeast and vinegar, and added a teaspoon of miso, a touch more salt and some onion powder and turmeric powder. 10/10 would recommend
Katie– Daiya products are NOT vegan;i.e., ingredients include palm oil and/or derivatives thereof. I do realize you did allow for an alternative, but please reconsider suggesting Daiya as a potential/viable ingredient for any vegan recipe. Thank you.
I’m confused. Daiya is definitely certified vegan. It says it right on their website.
I’ve made this recipe about five time I’m excited making it again for a friend who isn’t vegan he loves my vegan food
I made this last night and it was SO good! The only thing I changed was adding in a couple of spoonfuls of coconut cream. I always have a can of coconut milk chilling in the fridge. Adding in the cream gave it a, well, creamier consistency. I put this on top of chickpea macaroni and it was very filling. THANK YOU!
I need help with this one. I just made it and it didn’t work so I’m assuming I missed something with all these rave reviews. I only had white kidney beans so that’s what I used. I used nutritional yeast and apple cider vinegar, earth balance and almond milk. In the pot, it was creamy and smooth. Not what I’d call cheesy, but an interesting beany sauce. The moment it touched my pasta it solidified into a sticky paste. The pasta is just a lump with white stuff stuck to it and I’m not going to eat it because it’s a very unappetizing texture and almost no taste. What did I do wrong?
Hmmmm that’s so weird and never happened to me before, and I always use almond milk!
What kind of pasta did you use? Can you add more milk to make it creamy again?
Hi. I’m new to trying out vegan dishes. I don’t have a blender or food processor, I’f I just used extra of the vegan cheese and omitted the beans, would it taste the same? Or, maybe did a combination of the yeast and cheese together?
I think that would be fine to just use extra cheese, and maybe scale back the liquid and salt. Be sure to report back if you try!