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    Home » How To

    Creamy Vegan Cheese Sauce (Nut Free)

    Published: Mar 10, 2016 Updated: Nov 2, 2021 by Alison Andrews This post may contain affiliate links

    Jump to Recipe
    Vegan Cheese Sauce

    Simple and fabulously cheesy vegan cheese sauce. Ideal for lasagnas, pastas, vegan mac and cheese or anywhere you would usually use a cheese sauce.

    Vegan cheese sauce pouring out over a bowl of pasta.

    Making a vegan cheese sauce really couldn’t be easier.

    You start off with a basic vegan white sauce – also called bechamel sauce and then with just a few added extras, it magically turns into cheese sauce!

    Vegan cheese sauce over a bowl of pasta.

    How To Make Vegan Cheese Sauce

    You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.

    There are just 3 basic ingredients – oil, flour and plant-based milk (I used soy milk) to make your basic white sauce.

    To that you add some salt, black pepper, dijon mustard, great for adding a cheesy flavor don’t even ask me why but really it works, and some nutritional yeast.

    And that might be as far as you need to go to get your perfect cheese sauce flavor! If you want to intensify the flavors a bit more, you can add in some optional onion powder and garlic powder too. 

    Step by step process photo collage of making vegan cheese sauce.

    How To Serve Vegan Cheese Sauce

    This isn’t the kind of cheese sauce you’re going to use on a pizza.

    Have you had a white sauce (bechamel) before? It’s exactly like that, just flavored to be cheesy!

    It’s what you want when you want a cheesy version of a white sauce to use in your lasagna! It’s also great as a pasta sauce or served over vegetables. 

    It also makes a great sauce for a vegan mac and cheese. 

    If you want a cheese sauce to drizzle on your pizza, then you’re looking for a cashew cheese sauce! Or you can even grate up some hard sliceable cashew cheese and melt it on your pizza!

    Vegan cheese sauce on top of pasta in a black bowl.

    Storing and Freezing

    Keep leftovers stored in the fridge and enjoy within 4-5 days. 

    It’s also freezer friendly for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge. It may look watery and separated but simply reheat in a saucepan, whisking all the while and it will come back to its full glory.

    Vegan cheese sauce with pasta in a black bowl.

    More Delicious Vegan Sauces

    1. Vegan Mushroom Sauce
    2. Vegan Peppercorn Sauce
    3. Vegan Chipotle Sauce
    4. Vegan Teriyaki Sauce
    5. Vegan Worcestershire Sauce
    6. Vegan Buffalo Sauce
    A forkful of pasta with cheese sauce.

    Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!

    Vegan cheese sauce pouring out of a jug onto pasta.

    Vegan Cheese Sauce

    Creamy and super cheesy vegan cheese sauce recipe. Ideal for lasagnas, pastas, vegan mac and cheese or anywhere you would usually use a cheese sauce. Nut free.
    4.93 from 71 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: How To, Sauce, Savory, Side
    Cuisine: Vegan
    Diet: Vegan
    Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Servings: 4 cups
    Calories: 166kcal
    Author: Alison Andrews

    Ingredients

    • 6 Tbsp Olive Oil
    • 5 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
    • 4 cups Soy Milk (960ml)
    • 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
    • ½ cup Nutritional Yeast (30g)
    • ½ tsp Salt
    • ¼ tsp Ground Black Pepper

    Optional:

    • 1 tsp Onion Powder
    • 1 tsp Garlic Powder
    • Grated Vegan Cheese
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Add the olive oil to a pot on the stove and turn the heat to medium high.
    • When the oil begins to heat up, add the flour, stirring briskly all the time.
    • Fry the flour in the oil for a bit, stirring vigorously, and then add in all the soy milk at once. Stir vigorously. Alternate with a hand whisk and a wooden spoon while it heats up to prevent any lumps from forming.
    • Continue to stir until the sauce begins to thicken.
    • You will usually reach the right thickness a few minutes after the sauce has reached boiling point.
    • When it has reached the desired thickness remove from the heat (bear in mind that it will continue to thicken as it cools).
    • Stir in the mustard, nutritional yeast, salt and ground black pepper.
    • Taste test and see how you like it. If you want to intensify the flavors, add in the onion powder and garlic powder and stir in. Depending on what you want to use the cheese sauce for, you may prefer it plain or you may want to intensify the flavors with the onion and garlic powders.
    • Serve with pasta or use as a sauce in a vegan lasagna. Add some grated vegan cheese to the sauce as well if you like.

    Video

    Notes

    1. My favorite oil to make this with is olive oil, but canola oil or vegetable oil also work. 
    2. You can use different non-dairy milks with slightly different flavor results.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1Serve (of 8) | Calories: 166kcal | Carbohydrates: 6.9g | Protein: 5.4g | Fat: 12.3g | Saturated Fat: 1.6g | Sodium: 112mg | Fiber: 1.4g | Sugar: 3g
    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Rate it & leave your feedback in the comments section below, or tag @lovingitvegan on Instagram and hashtag #lovingitvegan
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    About the Author

    Hi I'm Alison Andrews, I'm the voice and cook behind Loving It Vegan. I love making delicious vegan food and creating vegan versions of all your old favorites, so that you’ll never feel like you’re missing out. Find out more about me here.

    Loving It Vegan is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This site may contain some of these links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through one of those links, Loving It Vegan will receive a small commission from the purchase at no additional cost to you.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Huong says

      April 08, 2023 at 12:28 pm

      Hey! any idea on how long could I store the sauce in fridge for? Thanks for sharing this great recipe!

      Reply
      • Nadine @ Loving It Vegan says

        July 14, 2023 at 9:02 am

        Keep your leftovers in the fridge for 4 -5 days! 🙂

        Reply
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