This quick and easy vegan nacho cheese is the ultimate comfort food made in just minutes! The flavor of this vegan nacho cheese is undeniably cheese-like, thanks to a simple cashew base, plus a few delightful add-ins.
So cheesy!
Dairy free nacho cheese
This nacho cheese sauce lacks absolutely nothing when it comes to the taste experience!! It is one of the easiest-to-make vegan cheese options out there.
Comfort food at its best, this rich and creamy sauce is my go-to for all things Mexican - unless you need a shreddable cheese and then you might want to check out this amazing easy vegan block cheese.
Related recipe: Vegan Cheese Dip
What is vegan nacho cheese made of?
- Raw Cashews - the queen of creamy nuts! Get some here.
- Seasoned Salt, Garlic and Onion Powder - the flavor trio.
- Nutritional Yeast Flakes - otherwise known as 'nooch'! This stuff adds amazing cheesy flavor. Most large grocery stores carry it, or get some here. Nutritional yeast is loaded with B vitamins and niacin, making this nacho cheese a little healthy.
- Cornstarch or Tapioca Flour - gluten-free thickening agents
- Vegan Butter - adds richness and buttery flavor, but totally optional if you want to skip the refined fats.
- Miso Paste - it's a hidden agent! Don't use dark Miso paste, it will over-power. Stick with light or white Miso paste and you'll be amazed!
- Apple Cider Vinegar - I know it seems weird. It's not. Just try it. You won't taste it, it just gives the right tang.
- Pimentos - lend flavor and color without being over-powering.
Ingredients to make vegan nacho cheese
Related recipe: Pico de Gallo with Mango
Steps for how to make this Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce:
First you rinse your cashews under hot water for several minutes, or soak them for 5 minutes in hot water (Photo 1).
Then put the rest of the ingredients plus just one cup of the water in your blender and process until completely smooth (Photo 2).
(If you are using a high powered blender such as a Blendtec, you can just go ahead and add both cups of water at once, without difficulty.)
Add your second cup of water (if you hadn't already done so!). Pour blender mixture into medium saucepan and whisk over medium heat until it becomes bubbly and thickened! (Photos 3 & 4)
Serve!
A few simple steps to make vegan nacho cheese
Expert tip for making vegan cheeses:
Don't skip the step of rinsing or soaking the raw cashews, this helps soften them for an ultra-smooth vegan cheese, and gets rid of the cashew taste, giving this nacho cheese a truly realistic cheese flavor.
Devour this nacho sauce with:
- make vegan nachos with homemade chipotle tortilla chips, black beans, pico de gallo, and fresh cilantro
- steamed broccoli and baked potatoes
- vegan black bean taquitos
- deluxe vegan burgers
- nachos
- pretzels
- potato wedges
- tostadas
- oven-roasted cauliflower
- almost any cheesy way you can think of, including this vegan refried bean dip!
How to re-heat this vegan nacho cheese sauce:
Re-warm this nacho cheese in a saucepan on the stove over medium heat stirring often, or microwave it!! It lasts for up to 5 days in a covered dish in the refrigerator, and freezes well for up to 4 months!
Look how rich this vegan nacho sauce is!
Add even more flavor:
Another fun way to add even more flavor (and spice!) to this nacho cheese sauce is to add a small (10 oz.) can of diced tomatoes with green chilies (Rotel) towards the end of the thickening process! Talk about a yummy nacho cheese dip! It's absolutely irresistible!
No oil option:
As an alternative to vegan margarine/butter you can add a teaspoon of Butter Flavor!
Other delicious vegan recipes:
- Vegan mozzarella cheese
- Vegan feta cheese
- Best easy blender salsa
- Vegan Pepper Jack Cheese
- Vegan smoked Gouda cheese
- Vegan herbed cheese
- Vegan cream cheese
- Black bean salad
- Vegan tofu and black bean tacos
If you’ve tried this, or any other recipe on my blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I LOVE hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and see what's keeping me busy!!
Recipe
Vegan Nacho Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 cups water, divided
- ¼ cup raw cashews
- 2 oz canned pimientos, or ¼ cup
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes
- 3 tablespoon cornstarch , may also use Tapioca Flour/Starch but increase amount by 1 Tbsp.
- 2 tablespoon vegan margarine/butter, optional (see notes)
- 1 tablespoon white or light miso paste
- 1.5 teaspoon seasoned salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- 10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies, optional (see notes)
Special equipment
Instructions
- Rinse cashews under hot running water for several minutes or soak in HOT water for 5 minutes and then rinse.
- Place rinsed cashews in blender. Add 1 cup of the water and all other remaining ingredients and blend on high until completely smooth.
- Add second cup of water and pour mixture into a med size pot.
- Whisk over med heat until thickened, about 8 minutes. Watch closely to avoid burning.
- Voila! Dip chips, serve as a side for baked potatoes, drizzle over maxi-bowls etc!
Laura Lincoln
This is absolutely the best! Thank you so much for sharing!
Rebecca
Thx so much for letting me know you like it! Made my day!
Kelly Norman
Is there anything you could sub for the cashews? This recipe looks fabulous, but I need nut free too. 🙁 Do you think cauliflower or potatoes might work? Thank you so much!
Rebecca
There are some really good recipes out there for cheese sauce with cauliflower or carrots and potatoes. I can't say for sure what the subs would be in this recipe. However, some of my readers have tried subbing the cashews with soaked and rinsed sunflower seeds and they report great success! Hope that helps!
Leanne
My local grocery store does not carry miso paste, so I was forced to omit it. It was still really good, but was missing something. I assume the paste. I mixed in a bit of salsa and that did the trick. Is there anything that could replace the miso paste? Either way it was really yummy. My family is new to dairy free and we were missing cheese. This cured our craving! My two year old son loved it so much he kept asking for more! Thanks for sharing. I will be trying your other vegan cheese recipes soon!
Rebecca
Thanks so much for your comment and so glad that you enjoyed it! The miso paste does add a unique taste, hopefully you can find it to try it sometime. However, the addition of salsa was a great idea! I often add a can of diced tomatoes w/green chilis (aka Rotel) and that is a favorite too!
Jennifer
Question: do you add the liquid that the pimientos come in or strain them out? Can't wait to try this!
Rebecca
You can add the liquid! No need to strain! Hope you love it!
Kristina
I know this is an older post. I found it on Pinterest. Let me start off by saying I am NOT a vegan. Never had any interest in vegan food or recipes until I discovered my now 16 month old daughter is allergic to dairy and eggs among other things. She threw up and broke out in hives every time she nursed after I had eaten certain foods. I found it was easier to make sure those ingredients weren't hidden in our food by looking for vegan foods and recipes. I have been very disappointed in the store bought "alternative" cheeses. They all taste like chemicals or flavorless rubber. I decided to try this recipe because it was quick, easy and I had all the ingredients on hand except miso paste...love Amazon Prime and 2 day shipping! I don't want to sound too dramatic but this stuff is seriously dangerous. It is super quick and easy to make AND it's DELICIOUS!! It reminds me of ball park nachos. I'm not going to lie....after not having "cheese" for over a year, I ate nachos every day for a week....and it is just as delicious reheated. Thank you so very much for this recipe, I can't wait to try some of your others!
Rebecca
Thank you so much for commenting on this recipe and sharing a little about your food journey! I'm so glad that you've enjoyed making and eating it, and your little girl is so blessed to have caring Mama willing to take time to make yummy and healthy food for her!!
Alanna Randall Beckwith
I made this tonight (without cayenne or pimientos) and put it on steamed broccoli and rotini noodles... Mac and Cheeze! so good!
Rebecca
Awesome! Sounds yummy!!
Rebecca
Just a thought, check out my most recent mac and cheese recipe too! It's got a bit of a smoky flavor and is super yum too! Thx again for your comment!
Ashley
Can this be done without the miso paste?
Rebecca
Definitely! If you don't have miso paste, just leave it out. It adds to the 'cheesy' flavor but this is still SUPER yummy without it!
Jenny Sigler
Just tried this with our baked potatoes today. The whole family liked it. 🙂
Rebecca
Mmmm.... Baked potatoes!!!! That sounds really yummy!! Glad everyone enjoyed it!!
Kris
What “butter flavoring” do you recommend?
Rebecca
Hi! I put an Amazon link for butter flavoring in the article above, but honestly I've bought butter flavor in my local grocery store in the seasoning/flavor aisle before. Just check first to make sure it's vegan. And if you don't have butter flavor on hand, you can add a bit of your favorite vegan butter/margarine with a similar result! Hope that helps!!
shamabeltz
Can't wait to try this! Looks SOOO good & healthy!
Rebecca
😉 It's yummy!!! You're going to LOVE it!!