This rich and creamy, sharp cheddar-style Vegan Cheese Sauce is gluten-free, nut-free, oil-free and soy-free. Pour this dairy-free cheese sauce on all your favorite veggies, tacos, nachos or even French fries. You can also use it as a dip for your favorite chips!
First, I’d like to share a little ditty I call The Day I Gave Up Cheese.
♪ Not so long long ago
I can still remember how
That che-ese used to make me smile
And I knew if I had my cheese
It would make me feel at ease
And then I would be happy for a while
But Veganuary made me consider
Giving up dairy cheese forever
I knew that as I wept
I’d just take it step by step
I tried and tried and tried and tried
To let it go with all my might
Something brought me to my knees
The day I gave up cheese
So…
Bye, bye cheddar cheese-laden fries
Now my cheese is made from carrots and potatoes, oh my!
And those good ole cows are letting out a big sigh
Singin’, “this is a cheese you gotta try…
This is a cheese you gotta try.” ♫
Prize winning song parody?
Maybe.
A winning vegan cheese sauce recipe?
Heck yeah!
And, while I won’t be enjoying “cheddar cheese-laden” fries anytime soon, I will be enjoying vegan cheese-laden fries instead.
So, let's get to some cheese making, shall we?
Ingredients you'll need
- Raw Pumpkin Seeds - I opted to use pumpkin seeds instead of cashews since they worked so well in my Vegan Parmesan Cheese and allowed this sauce to be nut-free, so those with nut allergies can enjoy it. Personally, I think they make the sauce a little more tangy, along the lines of a sharp cheddar.
- Carrots
- Potatoes - I find yellow or gold to work best, but have also used Russets before successfully.
- Nutritional Yeast
- Lemon Juice
- Water
- Salt
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
- Turmeric
How to make this vegan cheese sauce - step by step
Step 1 - Soften the pumpkin seeds
Cover the pumpkin seeds with boiling water and set them aside for 20 minutes.
I like to use an electric kettle to boil water because it does the job much faster than on the stovetop.
Step 2 - Prepare the potatoes and carrots
While the pumpkin seeds are soaking, peel and cut the potatoes and carrots into small chunks.
Add the potatoes and carrots to a 2-quart pot.
Cover with water, and bring to a boil and cook until soft (approximately 15 minutes).
Step 3 - Blend the ingredients
Add nutritional yeast, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric, lemon juice and water to a high-powered blender.
Drain pumpkin seeds along with the potatoes and carrots in a mesh strainer and add to the blender.
Secure the lid and blend on high.
Stop to scrape down the sides as needed, and keep blending until the ingredients are well-incorporated and the sauce is smooth and creamy (approximately 2 minutes).
Please note that this recipe makes a pretty thick sauce.
Therefore, if you like your cheese sauce a little thinner, you can add 1-3 tablespoons more water.
What can this "cheese" be used for?
This creamy cheese sauce is perfect to serve over veggies such as broccoli or cauliflower or as a dip for tortilla chips, French fries or these air fryer frozen sweet potato fries.
It's also great on our pinto bean tacos, vegan nachos, sweet potato black bean burgers and chili stuffed sweet potatoes.
Whether you pour it on or dip into it, the options are endless!
And if you like mac and cheese, I've also got a plant-based mac and cheese using a modified version of this sauce.
Can I use sunflower seeds instead of pumpkin seeds?
Yes, but the overall flavor of the cheese sauce will be a little more mild.
Can I use sweet potatoes instead of yellow or gold potatoes?
Yes, but doing so will result in a sweeter taste.
And, the measurements will be a little different. Instead of 1 ¾ cups chopped Yukon Gold potatoes, use 1 ½ cups chopped sweet potatoes.
You will also have to add more water. Start with ¾ cup water and add more as needed in 1-tablespoon increments.
Can I use cauliflower instead of potatoes?
Yes, but you will be able to taste the cauliflower in it and the final product will be a little more sharp.
If using cauliflower, replace the potatoes with the same amount of chopped cauliflower (1 ¾ cups). Boil the cauliflower along with the carrots just as the directions note for the potatoes.
Instead of ½ cup water, start with ¾ cup and add 1-2 more tablespoons after blending if needed to thin out.
Storing and reheating
Cheese sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Reheat leftovers in a microwave safe dish in 15-second intervals, stirring in between.
You can also reheat in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until heated throughout.
For a nacho version of this recipe, check out our Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce next.
If you're not nut-free, you might also enjoy our Cashew Cheese Sauce.
Vegan Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- ¼ cup raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
- 1 ¾ cup peeled and chopped yellow or gold potatoes (cubes or chunks about ¾" to 1" thick)
- 1 cup peeled and diced carrots (medium dice, about ½" thick)
- ½ cup filtered water (plus more if needed)
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- 2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tsp fine sea salt or kosher salt
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- ⅛ tsp turmeric
Instructions
- Cover pumpkin seeds with boiling water and set aside for 20 minutes
- Add the potatoes and carrots to a 2-quart pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until soft (approximately 10-15 minutes once boiling).
- Add ½ cup water, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, salt, garlic powder, onion powder and turmeric to a high-powered blender.
- Drain pumpkin seeds along with the potatoes and carrots in a mesh strainer (5 ½" or 7 ⅞" size) and add to the blender.
- Secure the lid and blend on high, scraping down the sides as needed, until the ingredients are well-incorporated and the sauce is smooth and creamy (approximately 2 minutes). Please note this recipe makes a thick sauce. If the sauce is too thick for your liking after you've used ½ cup water, you can add 1-3 tablespoons more water and blend again.
(Please refer to the post above for instructional photographs for this recipe)
Suggested Equipment/Tools
Notes
Nutrition
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Angie
what if you can't have yeast (brewers or baking ) so I am guessing I can't have nutritional yeast either. Do you need this? I am new to this who restricted diet thing.
Sherri Hall
Hi Angie! I would definitely check with your health care professional about the nutritional yeast as I know it is different from those other two but I wouldn't want you to eat something you shouldn't. I have not tested this recipe without the nutritional yeast as it is largely responsible for the "cheesy" flavor in this sauce. However, I did find two other recipes using carrot and potato that don't call for it so perhaps one of those would work better for you. Here they are: https://www.veggiesdontbite.com/ultimate-cheese-sauce/ and https://eathealthyeathappy.com/life-changing-vegan-cheese-sauce-clean-glutenfree/. Hope that helps and best of luck to you! 🙂