Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce
Vegan nacho cheese sauce is one of the simplest and delicious dairy free queso recipes you are going to find!
Made with just 5 ingredients, this creamy vegan nacho cheese sauce is made with cashews, making it dairy free and super satisfying! You won’t believe how easy it is to make this vegan cheese sauce recipe!
Why you will love this recipe
- Who doesn’t love queso! It’s great to add to your favorite Mexican inspired dishes, to dip chips in, or to even pour over veggies or potatoes to take your dinner to the next level!
- This dairy free vegan nacho sauce recipe is made with cashews and nutritional yeast, giving it the creamy, cheesy flavor you love without any of the dairy! This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, Whole30, low carb and keto friendly!
- Never run out of queso again! You can easily double or triple this recipe and it’s so fast, you can make a new batch in under 10 minutes! This will easily become your favorite cashew queso recipe!
Ingredients
- Cashews – raw cashews are best since they will get the soft when soaked. If you can’t find raw cashews, roasted cashews will work as well. If your cashews are salted, you may want to reduce the salt you add to the blender.
- Water – you will want to use boiling water to soak the cashews and fresh water to blend the sauce.
- Nutritional Yeast – nutritional yeast helps to create that cheesy flavor in the dairy free nacho cheese sauce. Nutritional yeast can be found at most grocery stores now or you can buy it online.
- Spices: Smoked Paprika and salt – the smoked paprika helps to really make this taste like nacho cheese sauce. It adds a hint of smokiness and a depth of flavor. The salt helps to balance all the flavors (don’t skip it).
How to make vegan nacho cheese
Check out this step by step story on how to make the best vegan queso!
- Soak the cashews (see tips below) so they are soft and easy to work with.
- Drain the cashews from the soaking liquid and add them to a high speed blender.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and blend on high, one minute.
- Serve immediately.
Tips for making vegan cheese sauce
If you want your nacho cheese sauce to be hot after blending there are 2 options:
- Soak the cashews by boiling them or in the microwave (see below for details). Carefully drain off the water and blend the cashews immediately. This will create a sauce that is hot and ready to eat immediately!
- Use hot water to blend the cashews. This is an option if you are using a high speed blender like a Vitamix but not recommended if you are using a bullet style blender (like a Ninja or a Nutribullet) because the hot water will expand too much in those style blenders and could explode all over you.
Recommended kitchen tools
Other flavor mix-ins
This vegan queso recipe is fantastic just as it’s written but can also be modified to fit your tastes! Here are some great add in’s:
- Sliced jalapenos (fresh or jarred)
- Green Chili Peppers (canned)
- Salsa
- Harissa paste
- Chipotle Chili in Adobo (from a can)
- Chipotle Powder
- Hot sauce
- Roasted red peppers
- Roasted garlic (you can omit the smoked paprika to change the entire flavor profile)
What to serve with vegan nacho cheese
This vegan nacho cheese sauce is a great replacement for traditional queso and can be used in so many different dishes!
- Dip for chips or veggies
- On tacos, nachos, burritos, enchiladas or on taco bowls
- Drizzled over stuffed peppers
- Over baked potatoes
- As a sauce for broccoli or cauliflower
- In breakfast burritos
- As a sauce for roasted veggies
Vegan nacho cheese common questions
Microwave: Use a very large microwave safe container (typically I use a quart size mason jar), add just enough filtered water to cover the cashews. Microwave high for 3 minutes, allow to cool slightly. Drain off soaking water before use.
Stove: Add filtered water to a small pot on the stove and add the cashews. Allow the water to come to a boil. Boil 2 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before draining off cooking water.
Countertop: cover the raw cashews with filtered water. Allow to sit at room temperature for 6-8 hours. Drain off soaking water.
Nutritional yeast is deactivated yeast made from sugarcane and beet molasses. It is not the same as brewers yeast! This yeast is typically yellow in color and has a very nutty, cheesy flavor. It’s also packed with B-vitamins and is used in many vegan and Whole30 dishes to give the dish a cheesy flavor!
You can typically find nutritional yeast at most grocery stores now. Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and many specialty stores has it on stock if you cannot find it at the regular grocery store. Another great option is to order it online (this can save money as many stores consider it a “specialty item” and may charge more for it).
How to store vegan cheese sauce
You can store leftover vegan nacho cheese sauce in the fridge for up to 5 days. The cheese sauce will get thicker overnight in the fridge. This sauce is great cold but can also be reheated by stirring in 1-2 tablespoons of boiling water.
NOTE: Microwaving this sauce will cause it to get clumpy. You will want to add at least 1-2 tablespoons of water to the sauce before microwaving.
You can also freeze this vegan queso for up to 2 months. A great way to do this is to freeze it in ice cube molds to easily portion it out. Once frozen, pop the sauce out of the ice cube mold and store in a freezer safe container for up to 2 months. Defrost in the fridge and reheat according to the direction above.
Substitutions
Raw cashews: this recipe calls for the use of raw cashews since they are easy to blend and have a very neutral taste. However, roasted cashews can also be used!
One thing to consider if the roasted cashews have been salted, most of the salt will come off during soaking but some may remain. You might want to reduce or omit the salt and taste the queso before adding the salt recommended in the recipe.
If you cannot have cashews, you can also use hemp hearts or even raw almonds or sunflower seeds in this recipe. The hemp hearts will add a grassier flavor and don’t require soaking. Almonds and sunflower seeds will need to be soaked similar to cashews.
Nutritional yeast: This is really key to achieving that cheesy flavor. You may be able to add some dijon mustard (1/2 tablespoon) in place of the nutritional yeast but this will change the flavor substantially.
Smoked paprika: this is one of the main ways to give the smoky, sweet flavor to the vegan cheese sauce. IF you don’t have smoked paprika, you may want to add some chipotle powder, chili powder, chipotle in adobo sauce or harissa paste in place of the smoked paprika.
If you love this recipe, you should try
Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce
Guided Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup raw cashews - $1.24
- 2/3 cup water - $0.00
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast - $0.26
- 1/2 tsp sea salt - $0.03
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika - $0.05
- Additional water to soak cashews - $0.00
Instructions
- Soak the cashews using the counter, stove or microwave method (see notes below)
- After cashews are done soaking, drain off and discard the water from soaking.
- Add all the ingredients to a high speed blender and blend on high 1 minute until smooth.
- Store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Equipment
Recipe Notes
- Microwave: Use a very large microwave safe container (typically I use a quart size mason jar), add just enough filtered water to cover the cashews. Microwave high for 3 minutes, allow to cool slightly. Drain off soaking water before use.
- Stove: Add filtered water to a small pot on the stove and add the cashews. Allow the water to come to a boil. Boil 2 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before draining off cooking water.
- Countertop: cover the raw cashews with filtered water. Allow to sit at room temperature for 6-8 hours. Drain off soaking water.
- Sliced jalapenos (fresh or jarred)
- Green Chili Peppers (canned)
- Salsa
- Harissa paste
- Chipotle Chili in Adobo (from a can)
- Chipotle Chili Powder
- Hot sauce
- Roasted red peppers
- Roasted garlic
Can’t wait to try this!
You give The nutritional breakdown (thank you) but There is no serving size…or is there an assumed one? I have T2 diabetes and really appreciate a useful nutritional breakdown.
Hi there! The nutritional information is for 1/4 of the recipe.
I was wondering If I could use sunflower seeds instead of the cashews?
Hey Heidi – yes although the flavor may be a bit different. If you are looking for a nut free option, hemp hearts would be the best (they are more neutral in flavor than sunflower seeds).