Easy cheesy cashew sauce! You won’t believe how creamy and cheesy this sauce is when it is made from just cashews and a few other simple ingredients. Great for vegans, those avoiding dairy and paleo-dieters.
This recipe has been a long time coming. I make this cashew cheese sauce all the time and have done for years – I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to blog it!
I love to use this sauce on pasta, on pizzas, in risottos, drizzled over potatoes or vegetables, burritos and more. It’s SO delicious.
I remember when I first tried it years ago, before I was vegan, I wasn’t expecting to like it at all.
I was a very fussy eater and was only just starting to experiment with free-from foods so wasn’t expecting something made from cashews to be a good substitute for cheese.
But I was shocked at how delicious and cheesy it was! I remember I said “oh my god” out loud and proceeded to eat it by the spoonful.
So definitely don’t knock it before you try it!
And don’t be put off if you’ve not heard of a couple of these ingredients because I promise you they’re not that expensive or hard to find.
Your local health food shop will more than likely stock nutritional yeast and you can find miso paste in your local Asian supermarket or the world food aisle at the general supermarket.
The rest can be found at any supermarket!
This cheesy sauce is:
- Dairy-free & vegan
- Gluten-free & paleo-friendly
- Healthy
- Versatile (can be used for so many different recipes)
- Easy to make (you just need a blender!)
Use this cheese sauce on your pasta, on your toast or on a pizza!
Use this vegan cheese sauce to make:
Store-cupboard Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo
Vegan Creamy Leeks & Butter Beans
📖 Recipe
Cashew Cheese Sauce
A delicious dairy-free cheese sauce, perfect for pastas, pizzas and more! Feel free to halve the recipe if you want a smaller portion.
Ingredients
- 150g / 1 cup raw cashew nuts, soaked overnight in water
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes*
- 2 tsp miso paste or 1 tsp marmite*
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- (optional) ½ tsp mustard powder*
- ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 240ml / 1 cup unsweetened dairy-free milk (I use roasted almond)
Instructions
- Drain the cashews and discard the water they were soaked in.
- Add to a high-powered blender along with the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth. Add more almond milk, if needed to create the desired consistency. I like it when it's thick but runs off the spoon.
- Use straight away or add to a container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Notes
*Nutritional yeast is a deactivated yeast with a natural cheesy flavour. You can find it in most health food shops or online and it's not expensive. If you want to use powder, halve the amount.
**White or red miso paste really helps give that fermented cheese flavour. It can be found in health food shops or Asian supermarkets. I buy mine from my local supermarket in the Asian food aisle. Marmite gives the same effect but is more intense so you need to use less.
***You can use a pinch of ground paprika instead. It just gives a subtle kick.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 8 Serving Size Approx 2-3 tbspAmount Per Serving Calories 123Total Fat 8gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 3mgSodium 135mgCarbohydrates 9gFiber 2gSugar 3gProtein 6g
Pam says
I attempted to replicate the old velvetta/rotel dip and it tasted great with the texture gained by having the tomatoes in it. This whole recipe tastes great in general regardless of what additions you make I am very sure. I strained 2 cans of rotel to get the fluid instead of milk. I strained it well so that I could add the tomatoes and chili’s back in after it was blended and I didn’t want too much fluid still left in the tomatoes when I added them.
The only other changes I made was that I used chickpea miso instead of white miso because we are trying to not eat soy where we can. Also, I only had the powdered granulated nutritional yeast and not the flakes so I lowered it to 1/3 cup since she said to put a little less since I wasn’t sure what a “little less” was. I do think the miso is probably a must in my opinion in order to give it that “cheesy” taste. My Whole Foods has all the various types. But honestly I have not tried it without.
Furthermore, I haven’t tasted it yet with the milk like the recipe calls but I know I will eventually when I happen to not have any canned rotel on hand. But either way, my son, who is now 90% vegan, loved this and ate a single recipe in one day so next time I will double it lol.
Pam says
I want to make this as a part of a group of snacks on Sunday is why I ask? I haven’t tasted cashew cheese by itself before so I didn’t know if I could simulate the rotel dip or not?