Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce Recipe | Ready In 3 Minutes! - Elavegan (2024)

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4.93 from 427 votes

Easy vegan cheese sauce with minimal ingredients and ready in 3 minutes! A super simple and nut-free plant-based recipe which requires only a handful of ingredients. This vegan queso is perfect for pizza, nachos, Mac and Cheese, burgers, pasta bake, toast, and more savory recipes. The sauce doesn’t contain cashews!

Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce Recipe | Ready In 3 Minutes! - Elavegan (1)Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce Without Cashews!

This is probably the easiest homemade vegan cheese sauce ever! It might change your life, it changed mine, I am not kidding. Coconut milk, tapioca flour, nutritional yeast flakes, water, and salt – these are the ingredients which you will need to make this delicious sauce.

Since most people have water and salt at home, all you need to buy is coconut milk, tapioca flour, and nutritional yeast flakes. But maybe you already have these ingredients at home as well. So let’s start to make this easy recipe, it will be done in 3 minutes!

Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce Recipe | Ready In 3 Minutes! - Elavegan (2)Only A Few Ingredients

I know there are tons of vegan cheese sauce recipes out there, but most of them contain cashews + many more ingredients and require longer preparation time. This cashew-free cheese sauce contains only a handful of ingredients and is ready in 3 minutes.

How To Make Vegan Cheese Sauce

You just need to put all the ingredients into a saucepan, bring the mixture to a boil and that’s it! You don’t even need a blender or food processor. No cooking of veggies, no soaking of cashews. It seriously couldn’t be easier than that.

Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce Recipe | Ready In 3 Minutes! - Elavegan (3)Not Only For Vegans

This recipe is not only amazing for vegans. I served it also to vegetarians and meat eaters and everyone loved the taste AND texture of this vegan cheese sauce. The tapioca flour (which is also called tapioca starch) makes this recipe so special because it adds the amazing elasticity to the sauce. It makes the sauce stretchy and even reminds of real cheese. Nutritional yeast is an important ingredient for the taste because it adds a cheesy flavor. The spices are up to you, but I love to add some garlic and onion powder, and also a pinch of smoked paprika.

Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce Recipe | Ready In 3 Minutes! - Elavegan (4)Perfect For Nachos, Pizza, Gratin And More

You can use this vegan sauce for any savory recipe which requires cheese. Whether it is pizza, nachos, gratin, pasta, or any other plant-based recipe. Sometimes when I am too lazy to make my Mac and Cheese recipe I will simply make this 3-minute cheese sauce and pour it over my cooked pasta and my dinner is served in just a few minutes. I have included some pictures of different dishes which I made using this cheese sauce recipe.

Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce Recipe | Ready In 3 Minutes! - Elavegan (5)This easy vegan cheese sauce is:

  • Plant-based
  • Gluten free
  • Oil-free
  • Dairy-free
  • Nut-free (no Cashews!)
  • Paleo-friendly
  • Easy to make in a few minutes

Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce Recipe | Ready In 3 Minutes! - Elavegan (6)Make This Vegan Cheese Sauce Today

I made this cheeze sauce probably 100 times already because I use it in almost all of my savory recipes lol. I just love simple recipes which require only a few ingredients and this easy sauce recipe is one of them. So don’t wait any longer and make it NOW. I am sure you will love it as well.

Tapioca flour can be bought in every Asia shop or big supermarkets or simply ordered online. Same goes for nutritional yeast flakes. Check the Recipe Notes for a tapioca flour substitute.

Should you recreate this vegan nacho cheese sauce, please leave a comment below and don’t forget to tag me in your Instagram or Facebook post with @elaveganand #elavegan because I love to see your recreations.

Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce Recipe | Ready In 3 Minutes! - Elavegan (7)

Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce Recipe | Ready In 3 Minutes! - Elavegan (9)

Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce

Author: Michaela Vais

Easy vegan cheese sauce, ready in 3 minutes! A super simple and nut-free plant-based recipe which requires only a handful of ingredients. This vegan queso is perfect for pizza, nachos, Mac and Cheese, burgers, pasta bake, toast, and more savory recipes. The sauce doesn't contain cashews!

4.93 from 427 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course Side Dish

Cuisine vegan

Servings 3

Calories 148 kcal

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Put all ingredients into a saucepan and stir with a whisk. Once everything is combined, turn on the heat and bring the mixture to a boil while stirring constantly.

  • Let simmer on low to medium heat for about one minute until the sauce is stretchy.

  • Enjoy this vegan cheese sauce with nachos, on pizza, over pasta, and many other savory dishes! Please read the recipe notes below.

Notes

Video Of The Recipe

  • Thickness: If the cheese sauce turns out too thick, just add more coconut milk or any other plant-based milk (or water), up to 1 cup.
  • Coconut milk: I use coconut milk that contains 17% fat. In case you don't like the taste of coconut milk, you can use a different plant-based milk instead, e.g. almond milk, cashew milk, etc. The higher the fat content of the milk, the better will be the taste of the vegan cheese sauce.
  • Tapioca flour: Tapioca flour/starch can be bought in every Asia store or larger grocery stores or simply ordered online.
  • Tapioca substitute: Two readers (thanks, Brooklyn and Nichola) commented that arrowroot flour (also known as arrowroot powder or arrowroot starch) is a great substitute for tapioca flour/starch.
  • Cornstarch: You could use cornstarch instead of tapioca flour, but the result won’t be as good (stretchy) as with tapioca flour. It will still taste ok!
  • How to store: You can store the sauce in the fridge for up to 2 days, but it will change the texture. Reheat with a splash of dairy-free milk. It tastes best freshly made.
  • FAQ: "My cheese sauce didn't turn out yellow. What did I do wrong...?" Answer: Some nutritional yeast brands enrich their products with lots of B-vitamins. The nutritional yeast flakeswhich I ordered from Amazon contain B-vitamins and are therefore yellow. When I use 3 tbsp, the cheese sauce turns out pretty yellow, but when I use less (e.g. just 1 tbsp) the color is just light yellowish." You can also add a pinch of turmeric powder.

Other recipes: Check out my other "cheesy" recipes that I made with this sauce:

  • Vegan Quesadillas
  • Vegan Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
  • Vegan Pasta Bake

You might also like this Vegan Fondue. And if you prefer a firm cheese, make sure to check out my sliceable Vegan Cheese Recipe.

Nutrition Facts

Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce

Serving Size

72 g

Amount per Serving

Calories

148

% Daily Value*

Fat

10.8

g

17

%

Saturated Fat

9.3

g

47

%

Carbohydrates

10.4

g

3

%

Fiber

2.2

g

9

%

Sugar

2.3

g

3

%

Protein

3.9

g

8

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically

Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce Recipe | Ready In 3 Minutes! - Elavegan (10) Simple and Delicious Vegan Cookbook by ElaVeganCLICK HERE to order!

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Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce Recipe | Ready In 3 Minutes! - Elavegan (11)

Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce Recipe | Ready In 3 Minutes! - Elavegan (2024)

FAQs

What is vegan cheese sauce made of? ›

Easy Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce is made with soaked, raw cashews, blended with water, nutritional yeast and spices; and warmed on the stove until it reaches nacho cheese perfection! Optional but good: Add Sriracha to taste or keep it mild for kids with sensitive palates.

What is three cheese sauce made of? ›

Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste), Diced Tomatoes In Tomato Juice, Sugar, Contains Less Than 1% Of: Salt, Canola Oil, Granular Cheese (Milk, Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Ricotta Cheese (Milk, Whey, Distilled Vinegar, Salt), Spices, Citric Acid, Whey, Basil, Concentrated Parmesan Cheese Paste (Parmesan Cheese [Milk, ...

How do you make cheese sauce that doesn't split? ›

For Smooth, Stable Cheese Sauces, Cornstarch and Evaporated Milk Are Your Friends. How to make a stable emulsion of melted cheese using two basic pantry staples.

How to make a Delia cheese sauce? ›

Method. When you're ready to make the sauce, put the milk in a saucepan. Then simply add the sauce flour, butter and seasoning and bring everything gradually up to simmering point over a medium heat, whisking continuously with a balloon whisk, until the sauce has thickened and becomes smooth and glossy.

What is the main ingredient in vegan cheese? ›

Vegan cheese is usually made from soy, nuts, vegetable oils, and various other natural ingredients like peas or arrowroot. Vegan cheese is seen as a healthier alternative to cheese by some, and may reduce your risk of heart disease due to its lower content of fat.

How do they make vegan cheese taste like cheese? ›

Nuts, such as cashews or almonds, are often used as they contain a lot of natural fat that gives a creamy texture once blended. Many brands also use a vegan lactic acid to add the tang and umami that gives that quintessential cheese flavour.

Why is my cheese not melting in my cheese sauce? ›

One of the most common ways to help cheese melt smoothly is to add starch: this is a process that works in sauces like mornay, or nacho cheese sauce. Starches and other thickeners will physically impede fat molecules from joining up into larger droplets, as well as making the water phase of the cheese more viscous.

Can I use evaporated milk to make cheese? ›

I've made mozzarella from scratch using dried milk (using rennet) in the past and I've made ricotta cheese using evaporated milk. (And yes, I also have freeze dried mozzarella cheese in my storage.)

How to thin out cheese dip without milk? ›

If you're going thick and cheesy, use about 2 cups of cheese with ¼ cup milk alternative or water. For a thinner creamy sauce, use the same amount of cheese but add an extra ¼ cup of liquid (½ cup total).

What is a broken cheese sauce? ›

A broken sauce is generally caused by the separation of sauces into two components: a watery liquid and an oily film on top. This happens when there's too much fat or liquid in the mixture. This can happen when there are not enough emulsifiers (which help keep your ingredients together).

How to make non grainy cheese sauce? ›

My #1 tip for creating a non grainy, smooth cheese sauce is to not boil the milk. Keep the heat at a consistent medium during the entire cooking process, being ready to turn it down if the milk starts to boil. Cheese sauce becomes grainy when the cheese breaks down because the liquid was too hot.

What thickens cheese sauce? ›

Egg yolk. Grated cheese. Grated cheese, such as cheddar or parmesan, can also act as a thickener in a cheese sauce and becomes a great binding agent in the cooking process. Try, for example, incorporating it into crustless quiches and cauli-pizza dough.

Does vegan cheese melt like regular cheese? ›

Does dairy-free cheese melt? Of course it does! But not the same way as its moo moo counterpart. The first thing you might notice when melting dairy-free cheese is that it doesn't brown like traditional cheese.

Is vegan cheese made out of milk? ›

Vegan cheeses range from soft fresh cheeses to aged and cultured hard grateable cheeses like plant-based Parmesan. The defining characteristic of vegan cheese is the exclusion of all animal products. Vegan cheese can be made with components derived from vegetables, such as proteins, fats and milks (plant milks).

What is the difference between vegan cheese and plant-based cheese? ›

Vegan cheese, which is alternately referred to as dairy-free cheese or plant-based cheese, is a product that mimics some of the properties of cheese. These include its texture, its flavor, and to some extent its melting ability, even though vegan cheese is made without using any animal-based ingredients whatsoever.

Why is vegan cheese so creamy? ›

Nut milk or finely ground nuts are inoculated with cultures to kickstart fermentation (a key step that lends flavor, complexity, and character), and then the nutcheese is aged anywhere from a few days to a few months. Cashew is the most common nut in nutcheese because of its creamy mouthfeel and neutral flavor.

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