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!
I love sneaking cauliflower into unexpected recipes like my cauliflower Alfredo sauce, cilantro lime caulirice and cherry cheesecake smoothie, and the hidden veggie sauce I am sharing with you today is another example of a sneaky cauliflower recipe that I can't wait for you to try.
Table of Contents
Why you will love this recipe:
- The flavour! 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 quick and easy to make and is ready in under 30 minutes.
- 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.
- 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 great for meal prep because it stores really well and can be frozen to use at a later date.
- 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.
If you love vegan sauces and dips you need to try my vegan buffalo sauce, vegan sriracha mayo and vegan walnut pesto.
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.
- Water - to help thin out the sauce when you blend it.
- Avocado oil - this helps make this dairy-free cheese sauce even more creamy!
- Apple cider vinegar - to add just the perfect amount of tartness to balance out the sweetness of the carrots. You can swap this for lemon juice.
- 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.
- Seasonings and spices - garlic powder, mustard powder, and salt blend perfectly to add depth and flavour to this cheesy sauce.
Recipe variations and add ins:
- To make this sauce oil free, omit the avocado oil and replace it with more water.
- This dairy free cheese sauce freezes really well so feel free to make a double or triple batch and freeze some for later.
- If you want the sauce to be even thicker, reduce the amount of coconut milk or water that you add, or add more cauliflower.
How to make vegan cheese sauce:
Step 1
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 2
Transfer the steamed vegetables to a blender and add the remaining ingredients.
Step 3
Blend everything well until you have a smooth sauce.
Top tip:
You will need a high speed blender to blend the sauce. If you don't have one you can use a food processor instead.
How to serve:
You can use this homemade lactose free cheese sauce in so many ways including:
- For topping 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 making vegan pizza!
How to store:
Store any leftover vegan cheese sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days.
This cheese sauce also freezes really well in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months.
Vegan cheese sauce FAQs:
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.
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.
Other vegan recipes you will love:
Recipe
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.
- Nutritional values are an estimate and will vary depending on the exact ingredients used.
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.
Easy Prep Ahead Meal Plans @ 20 Dishes
Looks great!
Erin Carter
Thanks ladies!
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!