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 made this on the fly for dinner tonight and it was delicious! i added some smoked paprika and a little more smoked salt and it was really satisfying- thanks for the recipe!
I made this today using lite canned coconut milk , the nutritional yeast, no oil , salt pepper cayenne and adding some of the liquid from a pickled jalapeño can and 3-4 of the jalapeños! This is the best vegan quest dip I’ve ever made!!! Thank you so very much for this recipe!!!
Queso….. darn auto correct!!
That sounds SO amazing!
Unfortunately I can’t even read the entire recipe without the ridiculous Walmart ad taking over the screen. Tried multiple times. Sorry you’ve lost a potential follower here :/
Hi, there should not be any takeover ads on Katie’s blog. If you’re seeing one, we absolutely want to know about it so we can contact her ad network and stop it. Can you send a screenshot to chocolatecoveredmedia at gmail? Sorry for the trouble – this is definitely not something we are running on our end!
Jason (media relations)
Thank you
I am really gonna try this my husband is vegan but the children and i are veggie . Usually uses cashew but will try the beans. . Leba from Trinidad.
This is a a delicious recipe! Thanks a lot, Katie for the many that you share!!
Katie. I love your site. I have learned so much. Bet your kitchen always smells wonderful. With the cheese sauce I substituted tahini instead of the oil. And also substituted 1/2 c pumpkin and 1/2 c cooked beans. It was a brute cheesy looking sauce believe me. But really yummy. Thanks for being such a great mentor
Tahini sounds amazing here! I love your idea 🙂
I got so excited when I saw a cheese recipe that uses BEANS. Thank you, Katie, for posting. I tested your recipe with nutritional yeast, lite coconut milk, and a dab of Earth Balance buttery spread.
Before transferring to the saucepan, I blended in 1 tbsp tapioca flour to make the cheese thick and stretchy (since I wasn’t using cheesy shreds). It turned out beautifully. The tapioca flour definitely changed the flavor a bit, so I added a few pinches more nooch, vinegar, and about 1 tsp white miso. So all in all, I think I used 1 tbsp tapioca flour, 6 tbsp nooch, 1 tsp vinegar, and 1 tsp white miso. The flavor and consistency are AMAZING (the miso really brightens things up). I poured the sauce over a veggie/rice/bean stir-fry and it was quickly devoured. This cheese sauce is a game-changer for vegan cooking!!!
Hello! Thank you so much for the recipe! I tried making it the other day and the taste and texture turned out more like hummus than creamy or cheesey, although I am quite certain I followed the recipe – it was still quite delicious and I’ve been eating it all week, but I think I must have done something wrong. Do you have any tips? If anyone knows what I did wrong, please let me know! Thank you so much!
Hmm, maybe just add more liquid to thin it out, and blend longer?
Can this sauce be put over potatoes and baked in the oven
Sure!