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
This 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
★★★★★
Sounds awesome Deirdre! Thanks so much for the awesome review! 🙂
You’re welcome! I added the leftovers to a pot of potato broccoli soup. It was so yum
I 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!
★★★★
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks for sharing your experience. 🙂
Cashews 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 😉
★★★★★
Alison, 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!!!!!!
★★★★★
Hi 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. 🙂
I made this and it was addictive! Delish
★★★★★
Deliciously addictive! Making this again today! It’s also very versatile you can put it on so many things
★★★★★
Yes, it’s super versatile! So glad you enjoyed it, thanks so much Tricia! 🙂
Delicious! I doubled the recipe and added some dry mustard and some smoked paprika to it. Definitely my go-to nut cheese recipe!
Fully 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.)
★★★★★
Awesome! So happy to hear that Alice! Thanks so much. 🙂
Can 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?
I have no idea of the ratios for that. You would have to experiment.
I love this! I’ve been eating it on everything, a tofu scramble, nachos, even spread on a sandwich 🙂 Thanks for such an easy recipe!
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks for the great review! 🙂
Hi my daughter can’t eat nutritional yeast, are you using it in this recipe just for flavour? Thanks.
Hi Angela, yes it’s just for cheesy flavor, you can leave it out. 🙂
I’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…
★★★★★
Hi 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! 🙂
Made 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.
Hi 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! 🙂
Absolutely beautiful and super easy. Cant wait to give my boy the rest on pasta as he loves mac cheese and cant have it. Thanks.
★★★★★
So 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. 🙂
I 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!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for the great review! 🙂
Wow, 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.
★★★★★
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed it, thanks so much for the great review! 🙂
How long will this last in the fridge? any idea?
Hi Michelle, it lasts a few days (3-4) in the fridge. 🙂
Hello! Do you know if you can freeze this recipe. I want to make it ahead for a busy weekend. Thanking you!
Hi Meggs, it should be fine to freeze, and then just thaw overnight in the fridge and give it a good stir. 🙂
I 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!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Annette. xo