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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Hello 🙂 Been wanting to try this recipe for a long time, I just have one question: do you add the nutritional yeast to the blender or to the pot? Thank you 🙂
I’ve done both ways and either works 🙂
Thank you very much! 🙂
How much pasta would you recommend with this recipe?
This recipe is NOT vegan. it is calling for SHREDDED CHEESE… okay you can your MILK of “choice” but in no way does it suggest that you use any other milk other than cows milk because it doens’t state that using a almond, or coconut etc will result in a good Product. If you are going to label this recipe it needs to be labeled VEGETARIAN.
The recipe clearly states “such as Daiya vegan, OR 5 tbsp nutritional yeast” for the cheese shreds. And Katie has been vegan for over a decade. Every recipe on her site is tested with nondairy milk.
I made this last night with Daiya smoked Gouda vegan cheese and it was really good! I used way more than 1/3 cup…almost the whole block…just to accentuate the smoky flavor. I’m going to try this with vegan mozzarella or just nutritional yeast in lasagna.
I just made this last night with Daiya vegan smoked Gouda and it was really good. I used the whole block though. I used soy milk and more cheese covered up that taste and was extra smokey! I’m go to try this with vegan mozzarella or just nutritional yeast in lasagna.
Oh wow I need to try that smoked Gouda!
Made this for my vegan daughter who ate it with tortilla chips. She missed cheese since becoming vegan, and it was gone in minutes! I used nutritional yeast instead of vegan cheese shreds, because that’s what I had on hand. This will become a staple recipe!
Hi can I use this as a white sauce for my lasagna? 🙂 also how much sauce is this? Will it cover a lasagna or do I need to double it . thanks !
SO GOOD!! I am not vegan, but I used this recipe with sharp cheddar cheese (instead of vegan cheese, same amount) to make a lightened-up cheese sauce to go with broccoli and chicken for my weekly meal prep. Amazing!! It still tastes rich even though it is significantly lighter than regular cheese sauce. It feels like eating a big bowl of comfort food!!
This recipe was just what I was looking for. I used it instead of a real cheese sauce in a chicken cassarole. Awesome.
This is amazing! I used nutritional yeast and added lemon juice, pepper and garlic salt. This is my new go-to for pasta sauce.