Super cheesy vegan cashew cheese sauce. This smooth and creamy sauce is wonderfully satisfying and simply delicious drizzled over almost anything!
I suddenly realized that we didn’t have a fabulous cashew cheese sauce – that you can use to drizzle over things – on the blog yet! So I had to remedy that situation quickly.
Because this is really a staple recipe. Something to drizzle on anything and everything. Pizzas, pastas, potatoes, salads, you name it, if it’s a savory dish, it would likely benefit from a drizzle of this cashew cheese sauce.
For those who don’t eat nuts, we have a vegan cheese sauce that is entirely nut free, and when it comes to cashew cheese, we have a sundried tomato cashew cheese and a sweet basil and chive cashew cream.
However, the sundried tomato cashew cheese is more of a spread or dip, it’s thick and spreads wonderfully on crackers, and the basil and chive cashew cream is a fabulous salad dressing and also great when you want something to drizzle.
But when it comes to a cashew cheese sauce that is just dying to be drizzled on a homemade vegan pizza, well, this is the stuff.
How to make cashew cheese sauce
Whipping up a batch of cashew cheese sauce is super easy, you just need a nice sturdy blender to do it.
We don’t even pre-soak the cashew nuts, it’s just too easy!
But if your blender is a less sturdy machine, then soak the nuts first. You can pour over hot water and soak them for an hour and then they’ll be easier to blend. Even 15 minutes can be enough to soften them if you put them in a bowl and pour over some boiling water.
If, however, you have something like a Vitamix then just go for it! No soaking required!
You just throw the ingredients into the blender, blend until smooth, and that’s it.
You will love this cashew cheese sauce, it is:
- Super cheesy!
- Creamy
- Smooth
- Soooo satisfying
- Super delicious drizzled on almost anything!
Make up a batch and then keep it sealed in a container in the fridge where it will last a few days.
More vegan cheese!
- Sliceable Cashew Cheese
- Vegan Cheddar Cheese
- Vegan Cream Cheese
- Vegan Nacho Cheese
- Vegan Mozzarella
- Vegan Ricotta
- Vegan Parmesan
Let us know what you think of this cashew cheese sauce in the comments and please rate the recipe too. Thank you!
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Classic Vegan Cashew Cheese Sauce
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: 4
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Super cheesy vegan cashew cheese sauce. This smooth and creamy sauce is wonderfully satisfying and simply delicious drizzled over almost anything!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (150g) Cashew Nuts (Raw)
- 2 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
- 1 Clove Garlic (crushed)
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice (freshly squeezed)
- Pinch Sea Salt
- Pinch Black Pepper
- 5 Tbsp Water
Instructions
- Add the cashew nuts, nutritional yeast, crushed garlic and lemon juice to the blender jug. Add sea salt and black pepper. Measure out the water and add it in. Blend until very smooth and creamy.
- For a thicker cheese, use less water. For a thinner salad dressing consistency, use a little more water.
- Serve drizzled over baked potatoes, vegetables, pizzas or pastas.
- Category: Savory, Sauce, Gluten-Free
- Cuisine: Vegan, Raw
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of the Recipe
- Calories: 217
- Sugar: 2.3g
- Sodium: 45mg
- Fat: 16.5g
- Saturated Fat: 2.9g
- Carbohydrates: 12.6g
- Fiber: 1.6g
- Protein: 7.8g
Keywords: cashew cheese sauce
Deidre says
November 10, 2018 at 8:50 pmThis was so awesome. Just had it drizzled over a pizza. Cant stop thinking about all the things I can do with the leftovers! I did tweak it slightly by adding mustard powder and onion powder. So yum
★★★★★
Alison Andrews says
November 13, 2018 at 12:15 pmSounds awesome Deirdre! Thanks so much for the awesome review! 🙂
Deidre says
November 16, 2018 at 2:18 pmYou’re welcome! I added the leftovers to a pot of potato broccoli soup. It was so yum
Roseanne Hutchison says
November 16, 2018 at 8:47 amI made this the night before taco night! The recipe overall really worked for me – the ratio of cashews to nutritional yeast, garlic etc. 5/5 Loved the limited number of ingredients, 4/5 The amount of water was not enough. I had to add more water. Instead of writing the measurement as 5 Tbs, I would change it to 1/3 cup – 1/2 cup depending on preferred consistency. I will def make again! I might add some jalapenos to my next batch… Thank you for sharing such a great recipe!
★★★★
Alison Andrews says
November 16, 2018 at 1:41 pmSo glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks for sharing your experience. 🙂
Léo says
December 4, 2018 at 2:46 pmCashews make a great base ingredients for many things for vegans. I gotta thank you for this recipe. I had been planning on making a sauce for pizza bites and yesterday I made it. It was just delicious. A mouthful of flavour and very creamy. I balanced seasoning my taste but the idea of the recipe is there. You only gotta play a little with it 😉
★★★★★
Shirin says
December 12, 2018 at 7:06 pmAlison, I wish to thank you so much for sharing your recipe and tips!
I joke that I am a vegan-wannabe only because I do not know how (or don’t want to) give up cheese!!!!! So, your recipe, that I just made a few minutes ago, is the thing that will probably shift me from a wannabe to an actual Vegan!
I used my vitamix, glad I did not have to soak. I wanted it thicker so I added only 4 TBS of water (not 5). I had to use a spatula to scrape the inside corners (some of the mix was crammed into the corners). It turned out creamy and delicious! I’m having it now on my blackbean burger and a small salad of spinach and broccoli. YUM!!!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!
★★★★★
Alison Andrews says
December 13, 2018 at 9:12 amHi Shirin! I am thrilled you love the cheese! We have a few cheese recipes on the blog, even a few that are sliceable. It’s heaps of fun to experiment. Thanks so much for your awesome comment and review. 🙂
Tricia says
December 28, 2018 at 5:33 pmI made this and it was addictive! Delish
★★★★★
Tricia says
December 28, 2018 at 5:35 pmDeliciously addictive! Making this again today! It’s also very versatile you can put it on so many things
★★★★★
Alison Andrews says
December 30, 2018 at 8:29 amYes, it’s super versatile! So glad you enjoyed it, thanks so much Tricia! 🙂
Brady says
December 31, 2018 at 10:53 pmDelicious! I doubled the recipe and added some dry mustard and some smoked paprika to it. Definitely my go-to nut cheese recipe!
Alice West says
January 1, 2019 at 12:19 amFully Vegan here. I can’t wait to serve this to my “carnivore” friends. This is INCREDIBLE!!!! I used lime and added white pepper along with black pepper. I hope I can contain myself so I’ll have some left for tomorrow over roasted cabbage steak. (I rinsed and soaked raw cashew for an hour, pouring boiling water over them.)
★★★★★
Alison Andrews says
January 1, 2019 at 9:09 amAwesome! So happy to hear that Alice! Thanks so much. 🙂
Jessica says
January 9, 2019 at 4:01 pmCan I use cashew butter if it’s from say Whole Foods or MOM’s where it’s JUST the cashews that have already been blended? What would that ratio be?
Alison Andrews says
January 10, 2019 at 8:48 amI have no idea of the ratios for that. You would have to experiment.
Liza Shaw says
January 13, 2019 at 11:19 pmI love this! I’ve been eating it on everything, a tofu scramble, nachos, even spread on a sandwich 🙂 Thanks for such an easy recipe!
★★★★★
Alison Andrews says
January 14, 2019 at 12:09 pmAwesome! Thanks for the great review! 🙂
Angela says
January 23, 2019 at 2:22 pmHi my daughter can’t eat nutritional yeast, are you using it in this recipe just for flavour? Thanks.
Alison Andrews says
January 24, 2019 at 9:48 amHi Angela, yes it’s just for cheesy flavor, you can leave it out. 🙂
Nuffy says
February 1, 2019 at 4:32 amI’ve rated this sauce before even making it. Its just what I have been looking for, thanks to you Loving it Vegan..wonderful site also, and pinned for future meals…
Could be used as a Mayonnaise? And if so, how long would it last refrigerated please?
Every meal is so inviting, the photography just shows us all how pleasurable your meals are…bless you for sharing your cruelty free meals…
Nuffy…
★★★★★
Alison Andrews says
February 1, 2019 at 10:54 amHi Nuffy! It stays good for around 5 days in the fridge. It’s definitely delicious and I hope you try it. Thanks for the awesome rating! 🙂
Louise says
February 1, 2019 at 5:17 pmMade this in my food processor. Quite a nice flavour, but couldn’t change the granular consistency, no matter how much I blitzed it. A bit disappointing.
Alison Andrews says
February 2, 2019 at 11:32 amHi Louise, I have the same struggle in a food processor which is why I always use a blender if I want a smooth texture. All the best! 🙂
julie graham says
February 6, 2019 at 9:30 pmAbsolutely beautiful and super easy. Cant wait to give my boy the rest on pasta as he loves mac cheese and cant have it. Thanks.
★★★★★
Alison Andrews says
February 7, 2019 at 12:02 pmSo happy to hear that you liked the recipe and found it super easy! Thanks so much for the fab review Julie! And hope it goes great with some mac and cheese. 🙂
Sue says
March 20, 2019 at 12:15 amI am new to the vegan lifestyle and am enjoying learning the many uses of soaked cashews! This is a delicious, easy, and versatile recipe. Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Alison Andrews says
March 20, 2019 at 5:06 pmSo glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for the great review! 🙂
Ria says
March 31, 2019 at 8:49 pmWow, this recipe really tastes like cheese sauce. I added an extra garlic clove, drizzle of olive oil and a touch of miso paste. Excellent. Thank you.
★★★★★
Alison Andrews says
April 1, 2019 at 10:36 amAwesome! So glad you enjoyed it, thanks so much for the great review! 🙂
Michelle says
April 9, 2019 at 1:04 pmHow long will this last in the fridge? any idea?
Alison Andrews says
April 9, 2019 at 1:58 pmHi Michelle, it lasts a few days (3-4) in the fridge. 🙂
Meggs says
April 17, 2019 at 8:57 amHello! Do you know if you can freeze this recipe. I want to make it ahead for a busy weekend. Thanking you!
Alison Andrews says
April 17, 2019 at 2:29 pmHi Meggs, it should be fine to freeze, and then just thaw overnight in the fridge and give it a good stir. 🙂
Annette Kelley says
April 21, 2019 at 1:36 amI made this for the first time today. I was looking for a sauce to put on my Udon noodles, broccoli and tofu. It was great. I did add some more water to thin it out, but the flavor was great! I will be saving this recipe and making it again!
★★★★★
Alison Andrews says
April 21, 2019 at 11:19 amSo glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Annette. xo
Liz says
May 20, 2019 at 12:32 amMine isnt getting creamy, it’s kind of chunky, and I’m using a food processor. thoughts?
Alison Andrews says
May 20, 2019 at 3:57 pmHi Liz, I make this in a blender. My experience with food processors is that usually it doesn’t get super smooth and is more a chunky consistency. Blenders work better when you want a really smooth consistency.