A silky smooth, lusciously creamy, Vegan Cheese Sauce that is nut-free, gluten-free, low in fat, high in protein and can be whipped up in your blender in minutes! It's one of my favourite super quick dinners. Toss it through freshly cooked pasta and serve alongside some veggies or a salad. Dinner done fast!
This super easy Vegan Cheese Sauce is a gamechanger. It's seriously good and it's nut-free, gluten-free and really low in fat.
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There aren't many nut-free vegan cheese sauce recipes around. Cashews tend to be used on repeat for creamy sauces in the vegan world and although they make a really tasty, glossy, yummy sauce that I love, hey, sometimes there are times when you could use a recipe without them.
Maybe you have guests with allergies, maybe you don't want to spend an arm and a leg on a bag of nuts (cashews aren't exactly cheap!), or maybe you are trying to be good after eating your way through an entire cookbook for the past 5 or 6 months!
Whatever the reason you want a nut-free vegan cheese sauce, I've got you covered, because this recipe is just perfect for any of the above occasions.
It's a super simple Vegan Cheese Sauce, made in seconds, and it's luscious, smooth and creamy and can be used in any recipe where you want a thick, creamy, cheesy sauce. And did I mention it's got no nuts, no gluten and no fat in it? I did but I feel the need to repeat myself.
Because it's made from silken or soft tofu, it is super, super velvety and smooth. So much more so than a nut-based sauce and it tastes lighter.
How to make vegan cheese sauce
(For detailed measurements and instructions, see the printable recipe card).
This simple, Vegan Cheese Sauce couldn't be easier to make.
Here's what you need:
And here's how it's done:
Step 1 - Put all of the ingredients in a blender or a food processor and blend. (That is incidentally actually another good thing about this recipe. Because everything in it is super soft, you don't need a fancy pants high powered blender to make it super smooth. Any blender or food processor should be able to take care of it).
Step 2 - Warm it gently through in a pan on the stovetop or use in any recipe calling for cheese sauce.
That's it. It's the easiest sauce ever!
Nutritional yeast
Please be sure to use a good tasting nutritional yeast for this recipe. All nutritional yeasts are not created equally. Some brands taste a lot better than others.
I personally do not like Bob's Red Mill nutritional yeast, even though I love all of their other products. I do not recommend you use it in this recipe as you won't get the intended cheesy flavour. It's ok used in small amounts but in a recipe where you use a lot like this it will make a big difference to the overall result.
My personal favourite is Hoosier Farms and an added bonus is it's super cheap too. It comes in a massive tub that lasts ages. I get mine from Amazon. It looks like this (tap the pic to go right there):
Serving suggestions
The possibilities are endless though. I'm thinking:
- easy pasta dinners
- as a dip
- cauliflower cheese
- mac and cheese
- lasagna
- dips
- pasta bakes
- cheesy soups
- loaded nachos
- drizzled on all the things
You get the idea.
Hungry for more?
For more vegan dairy substitutes, check out these great options:
📖 Recipe
Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce (no nuts!)
Author:
Ingredients
- 12 oz / 340 g silken or soft tofu
- ½ cup / 35 g nutritional yeast , make sure it's a good tasting one
- 1½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika , or chipotle powder
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsweetened milk of choice , soy or cashew milk gives the best result tastewise
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until completely smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
- Warm the sauce through gently in a pan on the stove top before serving.
NOTES
NUTRITION
Nutritional information is provided for convenience & as a courtesy. The data is a computer generated estimate so should be used as a guide only.
elisabetta says
Made this today and use it both for dipping and as a base for cauliflower cheese. Texture is different once baked as mentioned but still lovely flavour! Will be making this again and again!
Jane Boden says
Does this ‘split’ if you use it in the oven e.g. in a ‘bake’ or lasagne?
A Virtual Vegan says
It doesn't split, but the texture doesn't stay as silky smooth. Lots of people still use it for baking in dishes like that though and are happy with it.
Alicia says
Love the ease of just blending soft ingredients! Question: have you made this with refrigerated tofu? I had that on hand and so used it over the silken, but I’ve had trouble with tofu based sauces having kind of a funny after taste no matter what type of tofu I use. Have you ever had trouble with this?
Thanks!!
A Virtual Vegan says
The silken tofu I use is refrigerated. Whether it's refrigerated or not won't make any difference as long as it's silken tofu. With this recipe the tofu must be really soft and silky for it to work and for the sauce to have a really great silky texture. The firmer tofus won't give anywhere near as good a texture. I also find that silken tofu tastes less like tofu if that makes sense. Sounds silly but it doesn't taste as soy like as firm or extra firm tofu for instance. If you can't get silken tofu, tofu labelled "soft" also does a great job. I wouldn't recommend going any firmer than that.
I kind of already part-answered your question on the tofu taste, but can hand on heart say that this sauce does not have any tofu taste at all as long as you follow the recipe exactly. The balance of flavourings/seasonings do a great job of covering up any very slight tofu taste that there might be.
Ashley says
Thanks for idea of using silken tofu as a base for cream sauces! I also used the recipe as more of a base with my own ingredients since my own personal tastebuds get overwhelmed by this amount of nutritional yeast, so mine turned out as more of a tangy cream sauce for potatoes, which was delicious. Thanks for a versatile base recipe!
Melanie McDonald says
I'm glad you were able to adapt it to meet your needs!
HBradz says
I made this for mac n cheese and it was lovely! Added some corn, onions and peas into the mix and nom nom nom. I'm no vegan but I love cooking and experimenting and I was happily surprised by how good this tasted. Thanks Mel!
Melanie McDonald says
That's awesome Hannah, especially as you aren't vegan. Thanks so much for stopping by to leave feedback too. I really appreciate it!
Maren says
Fantastic recipe! The texture is perfect. I used it more as a base since I added a few more ingredients that I found amp up the cheesiness/queso quality: ~1 TBS yellow miso paste, a dash of cumin, 1.5 tsp of turmeric, and 1 tsp of vegetable bouillon.
I have a feeling I will be craving this often.
Mary Gunn says
Hi Mel,
Where do you buy your silken tofu in Victoria. I've been trying to find it but not having any luck.
Thanks,
Mary
Melanie McDonald says
Country Grocer, Thrifty, Lifestyle Markets,The Market on Yates/Millstream, Fairways and I think I might have picked it up in Superstore and Save On too. It's in a tetra type pack, not plastic like the other tofus. I think the brand is called Mori-Nu or something like that. I don't have any in the fridge to check.
Soyganic soft tofu is pretty common too and that will work instead of silken in this recipe. It's pretty similar in texture.
Lesley says
I just made this and it’s absolutely divine. So delicious!!! I’m veggie not vegan (but trying) and this is an absolute game changer! Thank you for sharing! Xx
Melanie McDonald says
That's awesome Leslie! I'm really pleased you enjoyed it. Thank you for stopping by to leave feedback. It's much appreciated!
Ellie says
I was excited to try your recipe. For allergy reasons, I can't eat the nut-based vegan recipes that are plentiful across the internet. As much I would love to eat fully vegan, tree-nut allergies make life much harder.
I made this recipe exactly as written and found it to be just okay. The texture is great and creamy but the flavor to me is bland. I added in some juice from pickled jalapenos as well as some slices and it added a bit to the flavor. For me, something is still missing.
Cap'n Dave says
Ellie, try adding a vinegar-based hot sauce like Frank's RedHot (not just a few "splorps", but even up to 2-3 tablespoons of the stuff), or the cayenne pepper Mel suggested and ramp up the vineger. I don't know what it is about hot peppers, but they really give a sauce like this some extra cheddar-y ZING!
Also, maybe switch out your nooch with some other brand? I've found that the nooch usually purchased by the pound in the bulk aisle section (if you have one at your grocer) seems to have the best flavor, or use the link that Mel suggested.
Hayley says
So unbelievably good! I can’t believe tofu goes into it. Will be our new go to!
Sophie says
Hi,
I was wondering if the Trader Joe's nutritional yeast would work with this recipe? (If you ever tried it) i think its the best kind I've tasted so far.
A Virtual Vegan says
We don't have Trader Joe's here so I have never tried it. If it's nice and cheesy tasting, and you like it, it should be fine though!
June says
Trying this very soon. Thanks
Bonnie says
I can't wait to try this! I made vegan ricotta for the first time and it was delicious. I miss my broccoli mac and cheese!
A Virtual Vegan says
Hope you enjoy it. I highly recommend you try this mac and cheese recipe too if you like broccoli in yours. https://avirtualvegan.com/dairy-free-mac-and-cheese-black-pepper/
Clare says
Can you freeze the leftover cheese sauce ?
A Virtual Vegan says
I haven't tried freezing it, but I think the texture would probably change a bit because of the tofu. It might go a bit grainy. It will keep in the fridge for 4 -5 days though.
Carol says
Dear Mel, hi..
This looks super yummy... and a wonderful change from all the cashews! Mel, you mention the Hoosier Hill brand of nutritional yeast that you enjoy using... wanted to ask you your thoughts on using Bragg's nutritional yeast. I've also tried the NOW brand, which I love all of their nuts, but found their nutritional yeast to be not as 'cheezy' tasting as Braggs. Do you recommend Hoosier over Braggs?
Thank you for your good help... i'm looking forward to making your great recipe soon!
Thanks too Mel for all the delicious cruelty-free recipes you share with us... very grateful.
A Virtual Vegan says
Thank you Carol and you're welcome! I personally am not a fan of Bragg's NY either, although it is better than Bob's Red Mill. The Bragg's one comes in a tiny pot too and works out really expensive if you use a lot like me. The Hoosier Farms one is great in taste and is super cheap compared to any others too.It comes in an absolutely massive container. I haven't actually tried the Now Foods one though so can't compare it to that one.