Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce (No Nutritional Yeast!)

vegan nacho cheese served on tortilla chips with jalapenos.

Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce (No Nutritional Yeast!)

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: vegan

Keyword: vegan nacho cheese

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 0

Total Time: 5

Servings:

Calories: 125kcal

Author: Megan Gilmore

I can't bring myself to make this vegan nacho cheese sauce orange, because anything that turns it orange (like nutritional yeast or turmeric) might ruin the flavor. As written, it tastes like the kind of nacho cheese you'd get at a movie theater or baseball game. And it's made with just a handful of simple ingredients, like cashews, lemon juice, and a can of diced green chilies. With over forty 5-star reviews, you'll just have to try this one to believe it! And I hope you can get behind the white-cheese-dip color, because it tastes SOOO good this way.

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Ingredients

1 cup cashews (not roasted or salted)
6 tablespoons water
1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon juiced)
¾ teaspoon fine sea salt (I use Real Salt brand)
1 (4-ounce can) diced green chilies (I use Rio Luna organic)
6 jarred jalapeno slices (optional, but recommended)

Instructions

In a high-speed blender, combine the cashews, water, lemon juice, salt, diced chilies (along with their juices), and jalapeno slices. Secure the lid and blend until very smooth.
Serve right away with your favorite tortilla chips for dairy-free nachos, or use it as a topping for tacos, burrito bowls, and more. This nacho cheese sauce will thicken when you store it in the fridge, so add a tablespoon of water to thin it out again, if needed. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, or freeze it for up to 3 months.

Video

Notes

Nutrition information is for roughly 1/4 cup of cheese sauce, assuming you get 1 1/2 cups of sauce total from this recipe. This information is automatically calculated and is just an estimate, not a guarantee.

Soaking Note: If you don't have a high-speed blender, you may want to soak the cashews in a bowl of water for up to 2 hours to help them soften up. Drain the soaking water away before adding them to the blender. Since the cashews may retain some of the water in this case, start with only a 1/4 cup of water for blending. You can add more water, as needed, until the sauce reaches the consistency you like.

Nutrition