Vegan Cheese Sauce (Made with Potatoes & Carrots)
Make this creamy, nut-free vegan cheese sauce with potatoes and carrots — no cashews needed! Perfect for mac and cheese, nachos, baked potatoes, and more!
When I first went vegan, cheese was the hardest thing for me to let go of… until I learned you can make a creamy dairy-free cheese sauce from… vegetables!
This vegan cheese sauce is made with simple ingredients like potatoes and carrots. No cashews, no nuts, and no complicated steps. Just whole-food ingredients blended into the dreamiest, velvety cheesy sauce.
Use it as a dip with tortilla chips, toss it with pasta for vegan mac and cheese, drizzle it over a baked potato, or spoon it onto chips for the ultimate vegan nacho platter. Once you make this, you’ll find endless ways to use it (maybe even spooning it like me).
Why You’ll Love This Vegan Cheese Sauce
- Secretly made from vegetables: Just potatoes and carrots (no nuts needed!).
- Easy to make: Just steam the veggies, blend, and pour.
- Ultra creamy: Blends into a smooth, velvety sauce that feels like queso.
- Perfect for everything: Use it for vegan mac and cheese, nachos, baked potatoes, grain bowls, veggie burgers, and more.
Ingredients You’ll Need
You only need a handful of simple, whole-food ingredients to make this creamy vegan cheese sauce!
- Gold Potato: You just need one gold potato to help create a creamy, starchy base.
- Carrots: Provides that classic cheesy color.
- Non-Dairy Milk: Make sure you use an unsweetened, unflavored non-dairy milk.
- Nutritional Yeast: For that savory, cheesy flavor.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: Just a little to brighten all the flavors.
- Spices: A mixture of salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
Scroll down to the recipe card to get the full recipe with measurements!
How to Make Nut-Free Vegan Cheese Sauce
It’s as easy as steam, blend, pour!
- Steam the vegetables: Add the chopped potatoes and carrots to a steamer basket over boiling water. Cover and steam until fork-tender, about 12–15 minutes.
- Transfer to blender: Transfer the warm vegetables to a high-speed blender along with the non-dairy milk, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, and spices.
- Blend: Blend on high until creamy, scraping down the sides as needed. If needed, add more milk one tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired thickness. Just note that it will thickens slightly as it cools.
- Serve warm: Pour over pasta for vegan mac and cheese, drizzle over nachos or baked potatoes, or use as a dip for tortilla chips.
Megan’s Tips
- Use a high-speed blender. It makes a big difference in how creamy your cheese sauce turns out. I use a Vitamix.
- Taste and adjust for seasoning. Add more salt or spices depending on your preference.
- Spice it up. For a spicier queso-style dip, blend in a pinch of smoked paprika, a tiny splash of hot sauce, a few pickled jalapenos, or a chipotle pepper from a can of chipotles in adobo.
Ways to Use This Vegan Cheese Sauce
Lately, I’ve been drizzling this vegan cheese sauce on these burrito bowls and spreading it on my homemade veggie burgers. It’s truly SO delicious. Here are some more of my favorite ways to use it:
- Toss it with pasta for a vegan mac and cheese
- Drizzle it over tortilla chips for a vegan nacho situation
- Spoon it over a baked potato
- Use it as a creamy sauce for grain bowls
- Spread it on homemade veggie burgers
- Serve warm with tortilla chips as a vegan queso dip
How to Store & Reheat
Let the sauce cool completely, then transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4–5 days.
To reheat, simply warm in a saucepan over low heat or in the microwave in 30-second intervals until warmed through. Note: The sauce will thicken in the fridge — that’s totally normal! If needed, add a splash of non-dairy milk to loosen it up.
If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and ★★★★★ star rating below letting me know how you liked it! xo, Megan
Vegan Cheese Sauce (Made with Potatoes & Carrots)
Ingredients
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 medium gold potato, peeled and chopped
- ¾ cup non-dairy milk, unsweetened
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Steam the vegetables: Add the chopped potatoes and carrots to a steamer basket over boiling water. Cover and steam until fork-tender, about 12–15 minutes.
- Transfer to blender: Transfer the warm vegetables to a high-speed blender along with the non-dairy milk, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, and spices.
- Blend: Blend on high until creamy, scraping down the sides as needed. If needed, add more milk one tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired thickness. Just note that it will thickens slightly as it cools.
- Serve warm: Pour over pasta for vegan mac and cheese, drizzle over nachos or baked potatoes, or use as a dip for tortilla chips.
This is genuinely the best vegan cheese sauce! It’s soooo creamy, can’t believe it’s dairy-free.