All-Purpose Cheese Sauce

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Vegan, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free Option, Soy-Free, Grain-Free.
Advanced Prep Required, Kid-Friendly

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  • 85 mins
  • 85 mins

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup (60 mL) raw cashews
  • 1 1/4 cups (300 mL)/6 1/2 ounces/190 g)
  • diced peeled potatoes (see Tip) You can also use Sweet Potatoes
  • Heaping 1/3 cup (100 mL/2 ounces/ 55g) diced carrots (See Tip)
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons (30 to 45 mL) nutritional yeast to taste
  • 2 tablespoons (30 mL0 refined coconut oil or other neutral-tasting oil, such as grapeseed oil
  • 2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons (37 mL) water
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons (7 mL) fresh lemon juice or more to taste
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons (2 mL) plus 1/8 teaspoon (0.5 mL) fine sea salt or to taste
  • 1 medium clove garlic
  • 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon (2 to 4 mL) white wine vinegar to taste
  • Sriracha or the hot sauce (Optional)

Preparation

Step 1

Vegan "cheese" sauce that not only tastes amazing, but can be used in a wide variety of dishes! Who knew that just a few simple ingredients could create such a decadent, silky, pourable sauce? No, it isn't a dead ringer for traditional cheese sauce, but we think it's comforting in its own right. Use it in Chili Cheese Nacho dip paired with salsa or as spread on a wrap. It is also fantastic drizzled over roasted or steamed broccoli or cauliflower! Add Sriracha sauce to this to really amp up the flavors.

1. Soak the cashews in a bowl of water overnight or for at least 1 hour. Rinse and drain.

2. Put the potatoes and carrots in a medium pot and add water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce he heat to medium, and simmer uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, until fork-tender. Drain. (Alternative, you can steam the veggies.)

3. Transfer the cashews, potatoes, and carrots to a blender, add the nutritional yeast, coconut oil, water, lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon ( 2 mL) of the salt, garlic, and vinegar and blend until smooth. If it's too thick, you can add another splash of water or oil to help it along. Taste the sauce and add Sriracha and more salt, if desired. This sauce will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

TIP: It's important to dice the potatoes and carrots small before measuring (about 1/2-inch/1 cm pieces); Recommend weighting the potato and carrot for the most accurate measurement.

**For Nut-Free - Simply omit the cashews. It won't be quite as rich, but it still tastes great!

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