Best Ever Vegan Cheese Sauce [UPDATED]

Jump to Recipe

One of the greatest days as a vegan is when you find the perfect cheese sauce. Mine was the day I came across the recipe for the Buzzfeed Mac & Cheese. On that day, I discovered my love for vegetable cheese.

I can already hear you – “I tried that recipe and it sucked!” And you’re right, it does suck. But take it from somebody who never follows the recipe – it’s actually a great starting point for something better. Also, don’t go hating on veggie cheese just because Buzzfeed presented it poorly.

So today, I present you with my own recipe for veggie cheese sauce; there are many recipes like it, but this one is mine. Gluten and oil-free, packed full of flavour and absolutely incredible. You don’t even need to soak your cashews! But if you’re still recovering from that Buzzfeed recipe, you might need more convincing; let me share some info with you that might change your mind.

  1. It was probably created by the founder of Wayfare Foods.

    There are so many versions of this recipe that, in preparation for this post, I decided to do my due diligence and see what I could find out about it’s origins. One of the first versions of this recipe that I discovered was on a blog called VeganYumminess. Said blog post contains the following:

    Note: This recipe was inspired/adapted from my sister Megan’s recipe, who got it from my mom, who got it from a friend from church, who got it from her son who has fairly recently founded Wayfare Foods.

    While not widely available in Canada, I’ve tried some of Wayfare’s products before and they’re BOMB, so I thought this was pretty cool.

  2. It is incredibly versatile, and can be used for Mac & Cheese, nachos, and multitude of other recipes.

    Pour it over elbow macaroni and you’ll get glorious mac & cheese; eat it on it’s own, or stuff in a sannich like that Grilled Mac & Cheese. Add some sriracha (you’ve got some in the cupboard SOMEWHERE) and it makes an excellent nacho cheese sauce. Heck, add some extra milk and it makes a wicked cheddar soup.

  3. It tastes really, really good.

    But you don’t have to take my word for it. The recipe is right here! Leave me a comment and let me know what deliciousness you created with it.

Until next time, friends!
-K

Best Ever Vegan Cheese Sauce [UPDATED}

Gluten and Oil-free!

Servings 3 cups

Ingredients

  • 2 cups diced potato
  • 2/3 cup diced carrot
  • 1/2 cup red onion, diced
  • 1/2 cup raw cashews
  • 3/4 to 1 cup soy milk
  • 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
  • 1 cube "chicken" vegetable bouillon
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

  1. In a medium saucepan, combine the potatoes and carrot, and add enough water so that they are covered by about an inch of it. Bring to a boil.

  2. Once the water boils, turn the heat down to medium, and add the onion and cashews.

  3. Continue to cook until the potatoes and carrots are soft. Drain, let it cool a little, and transfer to large blender jar. (A high speed blender is best.)

  4. Add 3/4 cup of soymilk, nutritional yeast, bouillon, lemon juice and salt to your cooked ingredients, and blend until smooth. If it seems a little thick, add the rest of the soymilk.

  5. That's it, you're done! Pour it over chips, make mac & cheese, whatever! It's all up to you now.

  6. Any leftovers keep for about a week in the fridge; store in an airtight container, and reheat in a saucepan over medium while stirring.

Variations

  1. For Nacho Cheese: Use a tablespoon (or more!) of sriracha to make it spicy. you can also stir in chopped pickled jalapenos.

  2. No Carrots? Use 1/2 cup of jarred & drained pimentos instead or some roasted red pepper.

Leave a Reply