This simple vegan nacho cheese sauce is nut-free, made with potatoes, carrots, nutritional yeast, and spices.
It’s perfect as a dip with chips, mix in your favorite chunky salsa, spice it up with jalapeño, or drizzle on top of steamed vegetables, or a loaded baked potato!
This versatile vegan cheese sauce has endless options!
The other day I was at a loss as to what to make for dinner. I was tired from a long day, and the kids were hungry. My husband wasn’t home yet, and I was digging through the pantry and freezer looking for inspiration and trying to use my creativity since we were overly due for a trip to the grocery store.
A few moments later my husband walked into the house carrying a small bag of groceries. He unpacked the groceries which mostly consisted of snack including chips and salsa.
While I couldn’t exactly make a meal from snacks, I was able to throw together this easy vegan nacho cheese sauce for us using things I had in the pantry. Using the tortilla chips, black beans, and a variety of leftover veggies, I was able to pull together some pretty awesome nachos, if I do say so myself!
I love this recipe for vegan nacho cheese sauce because I usually always have all the ingredients on hand. So even for those nights when I’m lacking creativity and our stock is low, I’m able to whip this together. It’s perfect with chips, but I love it on top of steamed veggies like broccoli and cauliflower. It’s also an easy cheese sauce to make for your vegan mac and cheese. With a box of whole wheat or chickpea elbow pasta you can have a healthy vegan mac and cheese in minutes. The options are endless!
Why You’ll Love this Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce…
- Simple ingredients
- Nut-Free
- Oil-Free
- Whole food plant-based ingredients
- Stretchy, stringy, gooey texture
- Kid and husband approved
- Versatile (use as a dip with chips, pour over veggies, and more!)
Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce
- 1 cup of peeled and diced Yukon Gold potatoes
- ½ cup peeled and diced carrots
- ¼ cup unsweetened dairy free milk
- ¼ cup reserved cooking water (from potatoes and carrots)
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 ½ tsp tapioca flour
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp salt
Tools and Equipment You’ll Need
How to Make Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce – Step by Step
Step 1: Boil peeled and cubed potatoes and diced carrots in boiling water for 8-10 minutes or until a fork easily pierces the vegetables. Do not over cook the potatoes as they will become starchy and effect the consistency of the sauce.
Step 2: Reserve ¼ cup of the boiling water. Drain the rest of the water.
Step 3: In a high speed blender combine drained and cooked potatoes and carrots, ¼ cup of reserved water, and the rest of the ingredients. Blend until completely smooth.
Step 4: Nacho cheese sauce may be hot enough to eat immediately. If not, pour into pan and stir consistently until bubbly and heated through. The sauce will take on a creamy and stretchy consistency as it is heated.
Serve with chips, over steamed vegetables, with a loaded baked potato, or use as the cheese sauce for your vegan mac and cheese.
Tips for Making Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce
- Don’t overcook the potatoes. They will become starchy and create a thicker sauce.
- I find the carrots need a little more time than the potatoes to cook, so I’ll remove the potatoes from the bowling water with a slotted spoon a few minutes before draining the carrots.
- Don’t forget to reserve ¼ cup of the cooking water prior to draining the potatoes and carrots. If you do forget, you can add an additional ¼ cup of dairy free milk.
- Use a high speed blender for best results. If you don’t have a blender you can also use a food processor.
- After blending heat on medium until sauce begins to bubble. It will become thicker and stretchier as it heats.
Variations to Spice it Up
If you like your nacho cheese spicy, no problem! Add 1 tsp of jalapeño peppers to your sauce or more if you like more heat. You can also increase the amount of chili pepper, or add some red pepper flakes or cayenne to kick it up a notch!
How do you reheat vegan nacho cheese?
You can make this vegan cheese sauce ahead of time. As it is refrigerated it will become thicker and a little lumpy. To reheat transfer to a small pot. Add a little bit of dairy free milk to thin. Cook on low stirring continuously. It will thin as it heats. If it’s not quite as thin as you like add a bit more dairy free milk until it reaches a perfect consistency.
How do you store vegan nacho cheese sauce?
Keep the sauce refrigerated in an air tight container. It will keep for 2-3 days after preparing. You can also freeze this sauce. If you freeze, allow the sauce to thaw completely before reheating it on the stove.
What is vegan nacho cheese made of?
This vegan nacho cheese sauce is made with a base of vegetables, including potatoes and carrots. Other nacho cheese sauces are made with cashews. This vegan and nut-free version is perfect for those that have a nut-allergy. It still comes out creamy and delicious thanks to the potatoes!
Is Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce healthy?
- Low in Calories and Fat-Made with vegetables, dairy free milk, no oil or nuts, this sauce is low in calories and fat.
- Rich in Vitamins and Nutrients-Potatoes and carrots are full of vitamins and nutrients including vitamin C and B6, manganese, phosphorus, niacin and pantothenic acid.
- High in Fiber and Low in Cholesterol-Unlike dairy cheese this vegan nacho cheese sauce is high in fiber and does not contain any cholesterol. It’s a heart healthy option.
- Whole Food Plant-Based Ingredients-This vegan cheese sauce uses all whole food natural ingredients. Unlike dairy free cheese bought at the grocery store there aren’t any preservatives or processed ingredients.
What do you serve with Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce?
- Serve with tortilla chips or make nachos.
- Pour over steamed veggies such as broccoli and cauliflower.
- Make a loaded baked potato with broccoli, cheese sauce, and salsa.
- Create a spicy jalapeño dip by stirring in your favorite chunky salsa and sliced jalapeño peppers.
- Make a Vegan Mac and Cheese with this sauce.
- Serve with tacos or enchiladas.
Check out these other Vegan Sauce Recipes!
If you’ve tried this Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce, please rate the recipe and let me know how they turned out. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for more plant-based family recipes your whole family will enjoy!
Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup Yukon Gold Potatoes peeled and cubed
- ½ cup carrots diced
- ¼ cup unsweetened almond milk or other unsweetened dairy free milk
- ¼ cup reserved water from boiling vegetables
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 ½ tsp tapioca flour
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Boil peeled and cubed potatoes and diced carrots in boiling water for 8-10 minutes or until a fork easily pierces the vegetables. Do not over cook the potatoes as they will become starchy and effect the consistency of the sauce.
- Reserve ¼ cup of the boiling water. Drain the rest of the water.
- In a high speed blender combine drained and cooked potatoes and carrots, ¼ cup of reserved water, and the rest of the ingredients. Blend until completely smooth.
- Nacho cheese sauce may be hot enough to eat immediately. If not, pour into pan and stir consistently until bubbly and heated through. The sauce will take on a creamy and stretchy consistency as it is heated.
Notes
- Don’t overcook the potatoes. They will become starchy and create a thicker sauce.
- I find the carrots need a little more time than the potatoes to cook, so I’ll remove the potatoes from the bowling water with a slotted spoon a few minutes before draining the carrots.
- Don’t forget to reserve ¼ cup of the cooking water prior to draining the potatoes and carrots. If you do forget, you can add an additional ¼ cup of dairy free milk.
- Use a high speed blender for best results. If you don’t have a blender you can also use a food processor.
- After blending heat on medium until sauce begins to bubble. It will become thicker and stretchier as it heats.
- To reheat transfer to a pan, add a little more dairy free milk, and heat on low stirring continuously.
- Will keep refrigerated for 2-3 days.
Nutrition
This looks so delicious! I love it when you create a meal with things you have on hand already- those are happy days! Thanks for sharing:)
My family loved it! Such a healthy comforting meal!
So easy to make in a blender! Delicious
I don’t need a chip, just give me a spoon to dip into this fabulous nacho cheese sauce! Yum!
I want to put this on everything! It sounds so good!
This vegan nacho sauce sounds amazing and super easy to make!
Thank you for sharing. One quick question if we may…can we omit the milk. Perhaps use more potato water instead.? What do you think? Thank you doo[ much.
Hi! I would recommend using a dairy free milk if possible. It will result in a creamier texture. However, you could try subbing it for additional potato water. It will likely just have a slightly different consistency.