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This Vegan Nacho Cheese is the best ever! Made ultra creamy with nutritious whole foods like sweet potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, and butter beans. No cashews needed for a dreamy, velvety vegan cheese sauce recipe!
Most people that are looking to incorporate more plant-based foods into their diet get stuck when it comes to replacing their beloved cheese. But since giving up dairy over 8 years ago, I’ve developed several vegan cheese recipes that I actually prefer over the real thing. But while I have a few mozzarella recipes (Tofu Mozzarella and Cashew Mozzarella), a few ricotta cheese recipes, and a cheesy vegan dip, I realized I was missing the most classic vegan cheese recipe: vegan nacho cheese!
This recipe checks all the boxes – it’s got the best creamy texture, is easy to make at home in a high-speed blender, and is safe for sharing because it’s free from all nuts. So get ready to make yourself a big plate of nachos with this game changing easy vegan cheese sauce!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Why You’ll Love this Nut-Free Cheese Recipe
- Great for allergies! Most of the dairy-free alternatives to nacho cheese are made using raw cashews for their natural creaminess and neutral flavor. This gooey cheese sauce is just as rich and creamy, but completely nut-free!
- It’s high in plant-based protein. In addition to the classic sweet potato and carrots, this vegan nacho cheese sauce recipe is made thick and creamy with a can of butter beans and contains 14 grams of protein per serving!
- Easy to double and freeze. We love this nacho cheese sauce so much we almost always have some stashed in the freezer for a quick and easy at-home nacho night. If you make this recipe in a high powered blender like a Vitamix, a double serving fits perfectly.
Ingredient Notes
- Sweet potato: I’ve made this recipe using hannah sweet potatoes (pictured) and regular sweet potatoes. If you want a nacho cheese that is lighter in color, use the white hannah sweet potatoes.
- Cauliflower: Either fresh or frozen cauliflower florets work well. I’ve used both and the result is the same.
- Butter beans: Also known as large lima beans (the white beans, not green!). Adds a natural creaminess as well as a boost of plant-based protein and dietary fiber. If you are cooking your beans from fresh, use 1 3/4 cups.
- Salsa: Any salsa of choice will work, but the more flavorful the salsa, the more flavorful your vega nacho cheese sauce will be.
- Nutritional yeast: Adds a natural cheesy flavor without any dairy. If you’ve never shopped for nutritional yeast before, it is usually stocked near the other spices in the grocery store and is most often sold by the brand Bragg’s.
- Tahini: An excellent, neutral tasting replacement for creamy cashews made from hulled sesame seeds.
- Miso paste: Adds saltiness as well as umami flavor and depth and complexity.
- Hot sauce: Enhances the flavor and richness of the vegan cheese. I used Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Sauce, but any sauce of choice will do.
- Jalapeño brine: Adds an acidity and tanginess that creates depth of flavor.
Substitutions
- Butter beans: I prefer the creaminess of butter beans, but you can replace these creamy beans with another type of white beans such as navy beans, cannellini beans, or Great Northern beans. Please do not use chickpeas.
- Salsa: Replace the salsa with 4 ounces of green chiles. If using, I recommend blending all of the ingredients together, except the green chiles and pulsing them in at the very end. This will prevent the sauce from being a darker color.
- Non-dairy milk: Can replace with water or vegetable broth if needed.
- Tahini: Can be omitted entirely, or replaced with 1/4 cup of cashews, if not allergic to nuts. If you use cashews, boil them with the sweet potato, cauliflower, and carrots, then drain before blending.
- Nutritional yeast: Can replace with 1/4 cup of vegan cheddar cheese shreds of choice (I do this when I have cheese I want to use up!).
- Hot sauce: Can replace with additional jalapeño brine.
- Jalapeño brine: Can replace with additional hot sauce.
How to Make Vegan Nacho Cheese without Cashews
- Boil the vegetables. Place the chopped sweet potato, cauliflower florets, and chopped carrots in a large pot. Cover the vegetables with water and place the pot on the stovetop over medium heat. Add the lid and bring the water to a boil and cook until the vegetables are easily pierced with a fork without resistance. This took about 15 minutes for me, but will depend entirely on how large you chop the vegetables and how fast your stovetop heats up.
- Add all ingredients to a high speed blender. Once soft, drain the vegetables well and transfer them to a high speed blender along with the remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth and creamy.
- Taste and adjust. Add additional oil to make creamier, additional brine or hot sauce for tanginess, or additional salt to taste.
- Serve. Serve while warm or let cool to room temperature and store for meal prep.
Tips for Success
- Do not use a ninja blender with the blade up the stem. This blender is absolutely awful for making creamy vegan sauces because it is incapable of blending anything completely smooth. Because the blades go up the stem, it is only capable of very finely chopping things and any sauce you make in this blender will always have a slight grit. Blenders with the blade at the bottom, on the other hand, create a vortex formation that ensures everything is blended into a true liquid.
- Do not use a food processor. For the same reason I do not recommend the ninja.
- Invest in a Vitamix blender. It may counterintuitive to recommend you a blender that is a few hundred dollars, but frugal cooking is not about being as cheap as possible. It’s about knowing when it makes sense to invest money and cook SMART. I purchased a Vitamix blender in 2016 for $199 from Costco and it still works perfectly. Easily one of the best investments I’ve ever made in my kitchen.
- Worst case scenario, use a single serve blender cup. You may need to blend in a couple of batches and then combine everything in a larger bowl, but this is the best option if you do not have a high speed blender (this is what my recipe photographer did for this recipe and it worked great!).
- If you are making a double batch, blend a little at a time. All of the ingredients fit in a 64 ounce Vitamix blender canister, but it is quite heavy on the motor. I like to add the ingredients a little at a time. This makes it way easier to blend without getting stuck.
Serving Suggestions
This creamy cheese sauce is as versatile as it is delicious. Here are a few of my favorite ways to use it:
- Homemade vegan nachos. Layer on your favorite tortilla chips, black beans, vegan taco meat or vegan beef, vegan sour cream, salsa, guacamole, and of course tons of vegan nacho cheesse!
- Serve it up with tortilla chips or soft pretzels – a great, easy dip to enjoy on a plant-based diet.
- Drizzle it on baked potatoes or oven roasted potatoes.
- Dollop it on tacos, burritos, burrito bowls, or quesadillas!
Storage Instructions
Leftover vegan nacho cheese will keep for up to 5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer. I like to freeze it in 2 cup individual servings using my Souper Cubes or in 16 ounce wide mouth mason jars.
If freezing in mason jars, use straight-sided wide mouth jars and keep the cheese well below the freeze line to prevent the jar from cracking.
How to Make this Recipe Cheaper
- Cook your own beans from scratch! At my local Walmart, 1 pound of dried large lima beans costs $2.12 and 1 can of pre-cooked beans costs $1.43. 1 pound of dried beans will make enough beans to fill about 4 cans of cooked beans, meaning cooking your own beans is almost 3x cheaper.
- Use frozen cauliflower. Frozen cauliflower is almost always cheaper than fresh and works really well here. Or, if you prefer fresh, shop at a grocery store that sells cauliflower heads per item, NOT per pound. In the United States, Trader Joe’s sells almost all of their produce per item and can be quite affordable.
Best Vegan Nacho Cheese Recipe
Cost: $5.16 per recipe / $1.29 per serving
This Vegan Nacho Cheese is the best ever! Made ultra creamy with nutritious whole foods like sweet potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, and butter beans. No cashews needed for a dreamy, velvety vegan cheese sauce recipe!
Equipment
- Large pot
Ingredients
- 175 grams sweet potato peeled and diced (about 1 heaping cup) ($0.72)
- 175 grams cauliflower florets (about 1 heaping cup) ($0.48)
- 160 grams carrots peeled and chopped (about 1 heaping cup) ($0.36)
- 1 (16 ounce) can butter beans drained and rinsed ($1.42)
- 1/3 cup non-dairy milk plus more as needed to reach desired consistency ($0.20)
- ¼ cup salsa ($0.20)
- 2-4 tablespoons avocado oil ($0.38)
- 2 tablespoons jalapeño brine ($0.15)
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast ($0.46)
- 1 tablespoon tahini ($0.18)
- 1 tablespoon miso paste ($0.46)
- 1 tablespoon Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Sauce ($0.15)
Instructions
- Add the sweet potato, cauliflower florets, and carrots to a large pot. Cover with water and place over medium heat. Cover the pot with the lid and bring the water to a boil and cook until the vegetables are easily pierced with a fork.
- Drain the vegetables well and transfer to a high speed blender along with remaining ingredients. Blend until the nacho cheese is smooth and creamy.
- Add additional oil, brine, salt, or hot sauce to taste. Serve while warm and creamy. Enjoy!
- Butter beans: I prefer the creaminess of butter beans, but you can replace these creamy beans with another type of white beans such as navy beans, cannellini beans, or Great Northern beans. Please do not use chickpeas.
- Salsa: Replace the salsa with 4 ounces of green chiles. If using, I recommend blending all of the ingredients together, except the green chiles and pulsing them in at the very end. This will prevent the sauce from being a darker color.
- Non-dairy milk: Can replace with water or vegetable broth if needed.
- Tahini: Can be omitted entirely, or replaced with 1/4 cup of cashews, if not allergic to nuts. If you use cashews, boil them with the sweet potato, cauliflower, and carrots, then drain before blending.
- Nutritional yeast: Can replace with 1/4 cup of vegan cheddar cheese shreds of choice (I do this when I have cheese I want to use up!).
- Hot sauce: Can replace with additional jalapeño brine.
- Jalapeño brine: Can replace with additional hot sauce.
Notes
- Do not use a ninja blender with the blade up the stem. This blender is absolutely awful for making creamy vegan sauces because it is incapable of blending anything completely smooth. Because the blades go up the stem, it is only capable of very finely chopping things and any sauce you make in this blender will always have a slight grit. Blenders with the blade at the bottom, on the other hand, create a vortex formation that ensures everything is blended into a true liquid.
- Do not use a food processor. For the same reason I do not recommend the ninja.
- Invest in a Vitamix blender. It may counterintuitive to recommend you a blender that is a few hundred dollars, but frugal cooking is not about being as cheap as possible. It’s about knowing when it makes sense to invest money and cook SMART. I purchased a Vitamix blender in 2016 for $199 from Costco and it still works perfectly. Easily one of the best investments I’ve ever made in my kitchen.
- Worst case scenario, use a single serve blender cup. You may need to blend in a couple of batches and then combine everything in a larger bowl, but this is the best option if you do not have a high speed blender (this is what my recipe photographer did for this recipe and it worked great!).
- If you are making a double batch, blend a little at a time. All of the ingredients fit in a 64 ounce Vitamix blender canister, but it is quite heavy on the motor. I like to add the ingredients a little at a time. This makes it way easier to blend without getting stuck.
Nutrition
Calories: 311kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 10g | Sodium: 559mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 9g
Disclaimer: The Nutritional Information provided for this recipe is only an estimate. The accuracy of the facts listed is not and cannot be guaranteed.
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Photography by: Your Home, Made Healthy
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