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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I tried this recipe and really liked it. It was super easy and quick to make. It was extra creamy. The original recipe was a little too thick for my taste so I added a little bit extra oat milk until it reached my desired consistency. The flavor was outstanding. I opted for nutritional yeast over a vegan cheese alternative. Thanks for the recipe! My non vegan mother also enjoyed it.
Hi, Katie!
First of all, you are amazing!
I have a question about this recipe: what if you cannot do nutritional yeast or vegan cheeses.. could you still make this sauce with something else?? I really hope so..
I made the version with the nutritional yeast. All I had was Spaghetti noodles, so I substituted those for the noodles. I followed everything in the recipe to point except I added more almond milk to try to make it creamier and more salt and garlic powder. It was ok, but I just found out that I have a dairy allergy and remember what real cheese takes like. This is somewhat close in flavor, but the smell and texture was different. I had a hard time getting over those differences. I am not sure if it just I miss real cheese too much or if the version with vegan cheese is better. Any suggestions?
For recipes using more than a sprinkle of nutritional yeast, I recommend people try UNFORTIFIED nutritional yeast because the added (often synthetic) vitamins in the fortified brands can leave a weird after taste…or just taste strange in general. For recipes that use it more than just a seasoning, I use the SARI brand…its non gmo, unfortified and tastes great! I got it on Amazon…not sure what stores carry it.
Could I use ghee for the butter spread?
Sure, as long as you don’t mind it wouldn’t be vegan. Pretty much any butter will do.
What kind of Daiya shreds are suggested? Could you use mozzarella style for a white sauce or cheddar style for a more traditional Mac & cheese? I’m wondering is some of the Field Roast/Chao or Follow Your Heart cheeses would be good too – they have a smoked gruyere and provolone that could be mixed up for a multi-cheese blend.
Sure! You can definitely use any flavor 🙂
So I commented earlier with a question about using cheese in this but I went ahead & made it anyway last night. I had a can of butter beans on hand so I used those & went with the cheese option. The can of beans was about 2 cups so I doubled the recipe & used 1/3c of mozzarella Daiya and 1/3c of cheddar Daiya. Served this over some leftover pasta/peas/kale I had. Now, I wouldn’t call this a cheese sauce, per se, but more like a cheese flavored sauce or cheese style sauce. It’s good but don’t expect this to be a true vegan sub for cheese sauce. Was it good, though? Yeah! My leftovers were even better today with the sauce. This was super easy to make and I’ll probably always have the ingredients on hand so it’s a good recipe to keep handy.
I just made and YUM!!!! I used nutritional yeast because I’ve been eating it on popcorn for 40 years! Thank you!
Although this doesn’t taste all that much like a traditional cheese sauce, (vegan cheese sauces just don’t) it is very good; and I will make it again.
I used my high speed blender on soup setting and skipped dirtying up a pot…the lazy cook. Turned out smooth and creamy. It was a little on the thick side, so added a little extra milk. Great as a cheese dip with veggies and steamed potatoes.
I just made 2 batches of this cheese sauce. Turned out delish! Hubs had it with salsa and tortilla chips. Can it be frozen? Or can it be stored in fridge in a jar for a day or two?
Hmm not sure about freezing but you can definitely refrigerate for a few days!
Absolutely delicious!
I’ve made this twice! The first time, I really liked it but it tasted very “beanie” and texture because my blender kind of sucks. So this last time I made it I doubled the recipe and replaced half the beans with a sweet potato. It was so delicious!! Thank you so much for this recipe, because I never would’ve thought of using beans as part of a mac & cheese!
Can I use chickpeas instead of cannelini beans?
You can!
SO GOOD 😱😱❤️❤️ use vegan CHAO original cheese and just rip it up before melting. I used a little extra butter and cheese because I wasn’t worried about calories, it’s amazing! It’s great over shell pasta 😍
I haven’t tried it yet, but this recipe looks amazing! I just have a few questions about it.
1. Could l replace the milk with water?
2. Do chickpeas work in place of the white beans, and will the sauce taste like hummus if l use them?
3. Does this sauce bake well (i.e. in pasta bakes or lasagne)?