The best ever vegan nacho cheese is ultra cheesy and rich and so easy to make. It’s perfect to pour over your nachos or serve as a dip.
This vegan nacho cheese is seriously tasty.
My mother’s non-vegan partner went nuts for this stuff when he happened to be visiting at the same time as we were testing this recipe.
So for anyone thinking this vegan cheese thing is only for vegans, think again. It’s for everyone you guys!
Whether you want to serve it as part of a fully loaded vegan nachos deal or just the super simple way with some tortilla chips is up to you. Either way is divine and we tried it both ways to make sure it was just perfect.
And if you love delicious vegan Mexican inspired recipes then you’ll also love our vegan taco meat and our jackfruit tacos.
How To Make Vegan Nacho Cheese
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.
- Add raw cashews, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, dijon mustard, smoked paprika, turmeric and sliced pickled jalapeños to the blender jug.
- Add vegetable stock and blend until very smooth.
- Transfer to a saucepan and heat, whisking regularly until hot (don’t let it boil). It will thicken as it heats. If it gets too thick, add more water to thin it out.
- Your vegan nacho cheese is ready to serve.
Serving Suggestions
If you’re serving a fully loaded nacho plate, then black beans, salsa, guacamole and cilantro are great additions. Otherwise just open a bag of tortilla chips and dig in.
Chef’s Tips
Consistency. Heating it up on the stove thickens it up quite a lot but while it’s hot it’s still pourable if you want to pour it over your nachos. If you want to serve it as a dip, then just transfer to a dish and serve.
If it’s too thick – add a little water while heating and whisk it in. It’s definitely preferable to have it a little too thick, which is easily fixed, rather than too thin, which is not. If it cools then it thickens more, so if it has cooled down and then you want to pour it over nachos, you will need to reheat it and add a little water and whisk it up so that it gets to the right consistency.
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Raw cashews – are the best option for this. If you have a nut allergy you could try something like sunflower seeds but I have not tested this.
- Nutritional yeast – provides lots of cheesy flavor but if you have to leave it out you can.
- Turmeric – is just for color and can be omitted.
- Pickled sliced jalapeño – adds a touch of spiciness and heaps of flavor. Can be omitted.
- Vegetable stock – or broth. If you’re using a low sodium option, then you may need to add salt. Taste test and see.
Storing Instructions
Keep leftovers stored in the fridge (covered) and enjoy over the next 4-5 days. It will thicken when cold so reheat it on the stove over low heat, whisking in some water as needed to get it to the right consistency.
More Vegan Mexican Recipes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Nacho Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups Raw Cashews (225g)
- 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice freshly squeezed
- ¼ cup Nutritional Yeast Flakes (15g)
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
- ½ teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- ¼ teaspoon Turmeric
- 1 Tablespoon Pickled Sliced Jalapeños
- 2 cups Vegetable Stock (480ml)
Instructions
- Add raw cashews, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder, dijon mustard, smoked paprika, turmeric and sliced pickled jalapeños to the blender jug.
- Add vegetable stock and blend until very smooth.
- Transfer to a saucepan and heat, whisking regularly until hot (don’t let it boil). It will thicken while it heats. If you think it’s getting too thick, add in a little water (be careful as if it gets too thin that is harder to fix than if it’s too thick) and whisk it in until it’s the right consistency.
- Serve as a dip for tortilla chips or pour over a plate of fully loaded nachos.
Video
Notes
- I did not soak my cashews first and it’s not necessary for this recipe.
- The turmeric is just for color, so if you don’t like it you can omit it.
- My vegetable stock is quite salty, so extra salt wasn’t needed but if you use a low sodium vegetable stock you might need to add salt to taste.
- This recipe makes around 3 cups of vegan nacho cheese.
- Store leftovers in the fridge. It will thicken when cooled, so when you reheat add in more water as needed to reach the desired consistency.
I wanted to find a go-to recipe for vegan cheese, and with this one, I hit the jackpot! Even my non-vegan daughter gave it a thumbs-up. I made a taco bowl with a couple of corn tortillas and poured this over everything. It was absolutely delicious. Thank you for this wonderful, simple, recipe!!
Yay! That’s awesome Carol! Happy to hear you and your family enjoyed the recipe!
Holy smokes! “Best ever” is not an exaggeration! This was absolutely delicious. I wimped out and skipped the Jalapeños and halved the nutritional yeast because it can taste a little too strong for my palate. I did soak the cashews and made sure I blended well. It turned out perfect. Thank you Alison, this is now one of my go-to recipes.
Glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe Arbella!
This was great!! I love how quick it was to make. Our family is Mexican so I added 4 whole jalapenos (canned) with some of the juice too. I also added a dash of nutmeg to make it extra cheesy. Thanks so much for another great recipe!
So happy you enjoyed it Gloria!
Can canned white beans be used in place of the nuts?
Hi Lynn, I’m not sure, I haven’t tried it that way.
hello, for how long can we store this in the fridge
Around 5 days in the fridge. 🙂
I am not normally a blog commenter but this stuff is amazing. I also made your seitan steaks and made cheesesteak sandwiches with them today. wow. Could not recommend a website more
Thanks so much Jake!
FINALLY I HAVE FOUND MY HOLY GRAIL VEGAN NACHO CHEESE!!! I’m sorry for yelling but I am just so excited. I have tried so many vegan cheese sauce recipes and all of them have been… nice. But none of them were ever good enough for me to use the recipe again. But this one… ooooh boy it’s amazing. I get really turned off and anxious when I see a recipe with LOADS of different ingredients, but this ingredients list I found was very basic, I had everything in the cupboard, and hardly any prep time. I ended up adding salt and extra nutritional yeast but that was just my preference. THANK YOU! And best thing is you don’t have to soak the cashews!
Thank you so much Sarah! So awesome to read your comment. 🙂
It was soooooooo good!!!! I didn’t add the mustard because I didn’t have any. I substituted the jalapeño peppers for banana peppers because that’s what I had. It was amazing! I definitely will be making this again!!!!!
Thank you for sharing!!
Now I’m interested in your other recipes….lol you’ve earned some trust points with me 🙂
Awesome! Thanks Jalessa!
Oh my goodness unbelievably delicious!
Awesome! Thanks Alison!
Question: For those of us who are spicy foods sensitive, are the jalapenos necessary? Do they make the cheese spicy?
Hi there, yes they do add a small spicy kick, it’s very mild, but you can also leave them out if you prefer. 🙂
Question for you: were you able to avoid soaking the cashews because you were using a Vitamix? Asking for a Vitamix-less friend, lol.
Hi Tara, no it’s because there is a lot of liquid included in this recipe, so it’s not hard to blend, even in a ‘regular’ blender. 🙂
Can Almonds be subbed for the cashews?
You could try slivered almonds but the texture will be different.
This was delicious and super simple to make. I followed the recipe to make the loaded nachos and it was better than my favourite restaurant vegan nachos that I never dreamed about being able to emulate let alone surpass!
Thank you for sharing!
Awesome! So happy to hear that, thank you! 🙂
Another home run! This is dangerous.I can easily sit and eat this alone. I used real garlic, not the powder but followed the rest of the recipe exactly as you stated. I didn’t add the Peppers. I dont like hot/spicy. This was wonderful. Every recipe is tasty! Thank you so much. Yes, I follow you on Twitter. Thanks for responding today!
Hi Kathy! So glad to hear it worked out well! Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂
what if I used real onions & garlic instead of the powder?
You can certainly experiment!
What can I substitute the nutritional yeast for?
There isn’t a sub, but you can leave it out.