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
This sauce is SOOO yummy! I’m not vegan but I make this on the regular because it’s so easy and tasty.
I used all nutritional yeast, added more ‘butter’ than called for, and added a pinch of cayenne pepper for some heat. It was AMAZING and so easy! THANKS!!!!!!!!!!
Can this cheese be frozen / made ahead?
Sorry we have never tried! If you experiment, be sure to report back with results!
Jason (media relations)
This is so freaking good. I made it twice now, once with white beans and once with garbanzo beans, both times were great. For the second time with garbanzo beans, I made some changes to thwart any potential garbanzo bean taste, but I think I’ll keep the changes from now on because the resulting cheese had a sharper/stronger flavor which I liked. I doubled the salt, used 2 oz shredded cheese (sorry don’t know the cups), and added the nutritional yeast and vinegar anyway. And for the seasonings, I added 1/8 tsp each. Anyway, I love this recipe. It’s so awesome.
Oh and it stands up in the oven. I baked it as a topping (with sun-dried tomatoes and spinch mixed in) for 40 minutes at 350°F and mine didn’t burn or have any negative side effects. Was extremely delicious.
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 🙂