Vegan Cheese Sauce
A good vegan cheese sauce is the key to dairy-free versions of mac and cheese, nachos, cauliflower cheese and pasta bakes. The trick is getting both the flavour and the melt without dairy fat — and it is entirely doable with a blender and a pan.
Two approaches
- Blender cashew sauce — creamy and rich, made in a blender; the most convincing for mac and cheese
- Potato and carrot sauce — lighter and lower in fat, and cheaper; the classic “no-nut” option
Ingredients (cashew version)
- 150 g raw cashews, soaked
- 1.5 tablespoons tapioca or cornflour
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus garlic and onion powder to taste
- 400 ml plant milk
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice or a splash of vinegar
Method
- Blend everything until completely smooth.
- Pour into a pan and heat gently, stirring constantly, until it thickens into a glossy sauce. The tapioca helps it stretch; do not let it boil hard.
- Taste and adjust: more nutritional yeast and mustard for a sharper, more cheesy flavour, more salt to lift it, more lemon for tang.
Getting the “cheesy” flavour
Without dairy, the savoury note comes from elsewhere. The most useful tool is nutritional yeast, which brings a nutty, cheesy umami. Supporting it:
- Mustard — Dijon or powder, for sharpness
- Lemon or vinegar — for the tang dairy cheese gets from fermentation
- Garlic and onion powder — for depth
- A pinch of turmeric — purely for colour, if you want the orange look
Using it
Pour over cooked pasta for vegan mac and cheese, over roasted cauliflower, or use as a nacho dip. It keeps in the fridge for four or five days and reheats gently with a splash of plant milk.
See our vegan cheese guide and cashew cheese recipe for more.
