This is the best vegan cheese sauce! It's thick, and creamy and has the most amazing flavour. This recipe is made without nuts, but is plant based and made with cauliflower, nutritional yeast and coconut milk. It's perfect for making pasta or Mac and cheese!
Why you will love this recipe:
- This is the best vegan cheese sauce recipe! It's so thick and creamy and is perfect for making Mac and cheese or pasta.
- It's made with no cashews and no nuts and is made with cauliflower, carrots, nutritional yeast and coconut milk to give it that amazing flavour and beautiful orange colour.
- It's so quick and easy to make and is ready in less than 30 minutes.
- This healthy cheese sauce is dairy free, gluten free, Whole30 compliant, paleo, vegetarian, plant based, low carb and keto, and is made with no tofu, no yogurt, no beans, no butternut squash and no potatoes.
- This sauce is made with simple ingredients and is great for meal prep because it stores really well and can be frozen.
- You can use this sauce in so many ways! It can be used as a sauce for vegetables, as a dip for nachos, or even for making pasta and macaroni and cheese.
Taste and texture:
This tasty vegetarian cheese sauce is vegetable based, but you'd never know it! It's basically like liquid gold. It's delicious, thick, creamy and a game changer when it comes to making the best gooey Mac n cheese or the most epic cheese sauce for broccoli.
Key ingredients and substitutions:
- Cauliflower - steamed cauliflower forms the base of this rich and creamy veggie cheese sauce. I recommend using fresh cauliflower, but if you do want to use frozen cauliflower that will work too!
- Carrots - carrots are what add that beautiful orange color to this sauce. Most vegan cheese sauces are made with butternut squash for this purpose, but not this one.
- Coconut milk - coconut milk is what makes this sauce so thick and creamy. I recommend using full fat coconut milk, rather than low fat coconut milk which is too watery. If you can't have coconut milk, I recommend using cashew milk instead. I don't recommend using almond milk as it will change the flavour and isn't as thick.
- Nutritional yeast - nutritional yeast is the secret to making dairy free cheese sauce with no cheese and no dairy. I don't recommend trying to make this recipe without nutritional yeast.
- Garlic - just a bit of powdered garlic is added to add depth and flavour to this cheesy sauce.
How to make:
Step one:
Peel the carrots and rinse the cauliflower, then cut all the vegetables into pieces. Next, steam both the carrots and cauliflower until they are tender.
Step two :
Transfer the steamed vegetables to a blender and add the remaining ingredients.
Step three:
Blend everything well until you have a smooth sauce.
Tips and variations:
- This life changing cheese sauce freezes really well so feel free to make a double or triple batch and freeze some for later.
- I recommend using full fat coconut milk for this recipe.
- If you want the sauce to be even thicker, reduce the amount of coconut milk or water that you add, or add more cauliflower.
- To make this sauce organic, be sure to use all organic ingredients.
- To make this sauce oil free, omit the avocado oil and replace it with more water.
How to use:
You can use this homemade lactose free cheese sauce in so many ways including:
- For broccoli or for cauliflower.
- As a dip for nachos, chips or crackers.
- For making pasta or macaroni and cheese.
- As a dip for raw vegetables.
- For enchilladas.
- For topping baked potatoes.
- For pizza or lasagna.
Nutrition info:
This cheese sauce has approximately 107 calories per serving with 5 grams of total carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 3 grams of net carbs, 2 grams of protein and 10 grams of fat. This recipe is low carb, keto, low calorie, paleo, Whole30, low sugar, healthy, vegan and vegetarian. It is not considered low fat.
How to store:
Store any leftover sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days.
This cheese sauce also freezes really well.
Frequently asked questions:
Yes! This cheese sauce freezes really well.
No this cheese sauce is not low fat. It has approximately 19 grams of fat per serving, from both coconut milk and avocado oil.
Compared to cheese sauce made with dairy or nuts, this sauce is lower in calories since it is vegetable based.
Yes you can. If you are avoiding oil you can use extra water instead of the oil to make it, just note that it won't turn out quite as creamy or thick.
What a plant based cheese sauce tastes like will depend on the ingredients used to make it. This homemade cheese sauce recipe is thick, creamy and has a cheesy flavour from the nutritional yeast.
To thicken this cheese sauce you could add less water, oil or milk or add extra cauliflower.
Other recipes you will love:
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Nut Free Vegan Cheese Sauce with Cauliflower
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 head cauliflower, chopped into florets (approximately 500 grams)
- 4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into pieces (approximately 2 cups chopped carrots)
- 2 cups full fat coconut milk
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/4 cup avocado oil
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sea salt (more or less to taste)
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (more or less to taste)
Instructions
- Wash and cut the carrots and cauliflower and then cut them into pieces.
- Steam the cauliflower and carrots for approximately 10 minutes (until tender).
- Transfer the vegetables to a blender and add the remaining ingredients.
- Blend everything well until you have a smooth sauce.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- I like this sauce to be pretty thick. If you want it to be a bit thinner feel free to add a bit more water or avocado oil.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days.Â
- Feel free to make a double or triple batch and freeze some for later.Â
Pearl
Can I freeze this? It looks amazing,....
Erin Carter
Hey Pearl! I've honestly never tried frozen this. I imagine it would be okay. If anything when you re-heat it you might just have to blend it again. Let us know if you try it!
Easy Prep Ahead Meal Plans @ 20 Dishes
Looks great!
Erin Carter
Thanks ladies!
Brian
Isn't there a concern about this much nutritional yeast?
Erin Carter
I have no concerns... you aren't eating the whole batch in one sitting (the recipe yields multiple servings) so you aren't actually eating that much nutritional yeast at one time.