Simple and fabulously cheesy vegan cheese sauce. Ideal for lasagnas, pastas, vegan mac and cheese or anywhere you would usually use a cheese sauce.
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!
How to make vegan cheese sauce
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.
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 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!
You will love this vegan cheese sauce! It is:
- Ultra cheesy
- Thick and creamy
- Nut-Free
- Simple
- Versatile
Keep leftovers stored in the fridge and enjoy within 4-5 days.
More vegan sauces
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Vegan Cheese Sauce
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: 4 cups
Description
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.
Ingredients
- 6 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 5 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
- 4 cups (960ml) Soy Milk*
- 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
- 1/2 cup (30g) Nutritional Yeast
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Ground Black Pepper
Optional:
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- Grated Vegan Cheese
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.
Notes
*You can use different non-dairy milks with slightly different flavor results.
*Adapted from my basic vegan white sauce recipe.
*This recipe has recently been updated with new photos added.
- Category: Sauce
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 cup
- Calories: 166
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 112mg
- Fat: 12.3g
- Saturated Fat: 1.6g
- Carbohydrates: 6.9g
- Fiber: 1.4g
- Protein: 5.4g
Keywords: vegan cheese sauce
Hi – could I sub chick pea flour or coconut flour? Thanks!
I haven’t tried those options so I don’t know.
I made this with gluten free flour and unsweetened rice milk as we are allergic to wheat and soy too. Definitely a good recipe. I added more salt. Garlic, onion powder and pepper definitely helps and I added heaps more of that. Nutritional flakes did help with the cheesy flavour. Didnāt get to add mustard because I donāt have any but still turns out great.
★★★★
My first time making vegan cheese & it was delicious! The garlic & onion powder made it even better. I used it to make “cheesey” broccoli & rice. I’m saving this recipe!!
★★★★★
I used cashew milk and German mustard cause that’s what I had in the fridge. I like it but it’s definitely an acquired taste I think? I added in the garlic and onion powder and then also some sweet paprika for more flavour. We’re going to have it on broccoli and use the rest for pasta tomorrow. Will make again and maybe experiment with more flour for more thickness and more spices. Thanks for the recipe – I’ve been wanting to make a vegan white sauce but the recipes are usually too complicated for me. Yours was so easy!
This recipe is the best vegan cheese sauce I’ve ever tried! I had it with roasted cauliflower and broccoli and it was so good!
★★★★★
Thanks so much Jessica!
I add a dash of tumeric to make it extra yellow for my kids with extra health benefits! Yum
★★★★★
Thanks for sharing! This was incredibly easy, loved by the whole non vegan family and plenty of it to go around. I served it on salmon & spinach pasta. Will definitely be adding this to my regular rotation!
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks for posting!
I am not vegan but made this for my daughter who is, it is amazing! I adore cheese and even I am obsessed with this delicious sauce!
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks so much Clare!
Hi! I avoid all white flours and am wondering if you think this would work with a sprouted spelt flour?
I think so! If that usually would work for thickening then yes.
Does the optional grated vegan shredded cheese affect the sauce’s texture? Is there anything I should do to make it incorporate easier?
Thanks š
You really don’t need to use it if you don’t want to, the sauce is cheesy enough.
Great balance of flavors. Added some smoked paprika in lieu of garlic and onion
to make it FODMAPS friendly. Best cheez sauce I’ve ever had.
★★★★★
Wonderful! Thanks so much Jen!