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
Can you skip the flour?
No, it’s what causes it to thicken. If you need it to be gluten-free though you can use a gluten-free all purpose blend.
hi, we dont use any oils, can we use water instead of oil? Or anything else?
Hi Ronda, yes I think so, either water or vegetable stock should be fine.
Can we opt out of the Dijon Mustard? Currently don’t have any and I wanna try this ASAP tomorrow because of all the yummy reviews!
Yes, you can leave it out!
It’s good the witch trials are over, because you’re a sorceress! I had low expectations, because I’ve been so disappointed with cheesy vegan recipes in the past. So imagine my shock when I tasted this sauce – it was actually cheesy! It had kind of an ‘aged cheese’ flavour, like parmesan or bitey cheddar. It wasn’t weird like vegan substitutes often are. It was just good.
We used it in a zucchini lasagne. Had to resist eating the whole pan, because I’m having it again for lunch tomorrow. Thank you for this very legit recipe!
★★★★★
Hahaha that is amazing! So happy to hear that! Thanks a million. 🙂
This is great! Been desperate to find a way of making cauliflower and broccoli cheese for my toddler and 5 yr old who are dairy intolerant, They ate it all up and loved it! (Even though the 5 year old is a fuss pot)! Thank you so much
That’s awesome Helen! Thanks so much for sharing!
What can I use instead of nutritional yeast?
There isn’t a sub for it but you can leave it out.
I have been really struggling wth vegan cheese alternatives. This is the best cheese sauce recipe I have seen to date!
★★★★★
Yay! Thanks so much Gary! 🙂
Hi lovely sauce, thank you! can this be frozen?
Sure!
Is Nutritional Yeast Flakes the same thing?
Yes! That’s exactly what we use. 🙂
hey can i freeze this? or how long would it last in a fridge? if at all?
4-5 days in the fridge and yes you can also freeze it.
This was AMAZING! So easy and yet it’s the best vegan white sauce I’ve made.
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks Megan!
in love !!!
★★★★★
Thanks Mariana!
Hi there. I only have whole meal wheat flour. Is this okay to use in the sauce?
Hi Trinity, it should be fine! 🙂
hi! can water be used instead of non dairy milks? i’m allergic to all options…
Hi Sarah, yes I think you can! But vegetable stock/broth might work even better. Let us know how it goes! 🙂
Rice milk might be useable for someone allergic to other milks containing nuts and soy.
Just starting out on my vegetarian/vegan journey and was looking for ways to use the nutritional yeast I had purchased. This recipe was so easy to follow and I was tempted to eat just the cheese sauce right out of the pot. Thanks for this,
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed it Liz! Thanks for posting! 🙂
I didn’t measure anything and I used vanilla almond milk and it STILL came out good! That’s a fool proof recipe. Can’t wait to make it the right way! Hahaha
★★★★★
So happy to hear that Daniel! Thanks for the wonderful review. 🙂
How long can this be stored? Sounds delicious!
4-5 days in the fridge. 🙂
Hi can this be frozen if I use it in a lasagna?
Yes! 🙂
Hi all, I am really keen to try your recipes, however, I am allergic to wheat and soy, and am wondering if any of your recipes cater for or suggest substitutes for wheat and soy? I am new to the plant based way of eating, so thank you for all your efforts. I look forward to your response.
Many thanks, Coralie
Hi Coralie, this recipe can be made gluten-free/wheat-free by using a gluten-free all purpose flour blend and you can use an alternate non-dairy milk. Many of our recipes can be adapted the same way. You can also check out our gluten free recipes section.
Can i bake this to make macaroni pie? any suggestions. it is for my daughter and I don’t want to flop it and waste ingredients too
This bakes very well in a mac and cheese type recipe so I am sure it would work very well for what you have in mind. 🙂
My pot pie worked amazingly. I used your recipe to jazz it up. Really enjoy your recipes.
Fantastic! So happy to hear that, thank you!