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    Home » Simple Vegan Recipes

    10-Minute Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce

    Published: Mar 12, 2019 · Modified: Aug 14, 2019 by Becky Striepe · This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Recipe Print
    jar of vegan cheese sauce on a table next to The Veginner's Cookbook

    Easy Vegan Cheese sauce is soy free, nut free, and decadently delicious. Drizzle it over chips for instant nachos or use anywhere you want a little dairy-free cheesy goodness.

    Serving vegan cheese sauce with sauce dripping off of the spoon.

    Vegan Cheese Sauce Recipe Notes

    The method for making this sauce is basically the same as a bechamel. Don't let the word "bechamel" send you into a panic, though! It sounds fancy, but it's super easy to make one.

    In fact, my four-year-old helps me make the vegan bechamel we use as a base for our homemade mac and cheese. If he can do it, so can you!

    This recipe is actually a lot quicker and easier than a bechamel. You only have to whisk for a minute or so after you add ingredients, so it's a snap to make. Here's how this super easy sauce comes together (and check out the video for a visual).

    1. Melt a bit of coconut oil, then cook with flour and spices.
    2. Add nutritional yeast.
    3. Add water, and stir, stir, stir.
    Jar of vegan cheese sauce with Veginner's Cookbook and bowl of cheesy broccoli in the background. Serving spoon on the table next to it.
    If you love nutritional yeast, you are going to love this creamy, noochy Simple Vegan Cheese Sauce!

    That's it! If you can pour and stir, you can do this.

    How to Use Your Vegan Cheese Sauce

    Use this sauce anywhere you want to add a cheesy punch.

    • Drizzle it over a grain bowl.
    • Pour it over chips for instant nachos.
    • Use it as a vegan queso dip.
    • Spoon it on in place of the sriracha mayo in your avocado tacos.

    The Veginner's Cookbook Review

    Y'all, I am so excited to share this easy recipe for Vegan Cheese Sauce from my friend, Bianca Haun's cookbook: The Veginner's Cookbook. You may know Bianca from her website, Elephantastic Vegan.

    The book is a helpful guide for anyone who wants to give veganism a spin. The first section walks you through everything you need to know about going vegan:

    • kitchen tools and ingredients
    • basic grain cooking
    • vegan substitutes for non-vegan ingredients
    • how to talk to skeptics (or get them to leave you alone)

    From there, Bianca and her partner, Sascha Naderer, arm you with recipes for everything from kitchen staples and entrees to baked goods and desserts.

    Jar of easy vegan cheese sauce with cheesy broccoli and Veginner's Cookbook in the background.

    I chose their Basic Vegan Cheese Sauce to showcase, because it's so versatile. For a new vegan, I think having some go-to staples like this sauce can be a real gamechanger. I hear so often that cooking vegan food is time consuming, and having go-tos like this speed things up considerably.

    The other thing I love about this Basic Vegan Cheese Sauce is that it's nut free. We have a few friends with peanut and tree nut allergies, and now we have a cheesy sauce that we can share with them!

    📖 Recipe

    jar of vegan cheese sauce on a table next to The Veginner's Cookbook

    Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce

    Easy vegan cheese sauce is soy free, nut free, and decadently delicious. Drizzle it over chips for instant nachos or use anywhere you want a little dairy-free cheesy goodness.
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    5 from 8 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Sauces and Dressings
    Cuisine: Vegan
    Keyword: easy vegan cheese sauce, simple vegan cheese sauce, vegan cheese sauce
    Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Servings: 3
    Calories: 141kcal
    Author: Bianca Haun & Sascha Naderer

    Ingredients

    • 2 tablespoons coconut oil
    • ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • ¼ teaspoon paprika powder
    • ¼ teaspoon curry powder
    • ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
    • ½ cup water

    Instructions

    • Heat the coconut oil in a small pot on low heat.
    • Once the oil is a complete liquid, add in the flour and whisk.
    • Add the salt, paprika powder, and curry powder and whisk again.
    • Then, add the nutritional yeast and whisk again. It should be clumpy - that's normal, don't worry.
    • Add the water and whisk on the lowest heat setting for about 1 minute until the sauce thickens nicely. If it gets too thick (or if you want to reheat at a later time) you can add a little bit more water and whisk again and it should be good as new.
    • Use it as a dip, pour it over some lasagna or pizza or whatever you like, and enjoy!

    Notes

    Recipe from The Veginner's Cookbook, Copyright 2018 by Bianca Haun and Sascha Naderer, reprinted here with permission.

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Facts
    Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce
    Amount per Serving
    Calories
    141
    % Daily Value*
    Fat
     
    10
    g
    15
    %
    Saturated Fat
     
    8
    g
    40
    %
    Polyunsaturated Fat
     
    0.2
    g
    Monounsaturated Fat
     
    1
    g
    Sodium
     
    390
    mg
    16
    %
    Potassium
     
    100
    mg
    3
    %
    Carbohydrates
     
    12
    g
    4
    %
    Fiber
     
    3
    g
    12
    %
    Sugar
     
    0.5
    g
    1
    %
    Protein
     
    4
    g
    8
    %
    Vitamin A
     
    2
    IU
    0
    %
    Vitamin C
     
    0.02
    mg
    0
    %
    Calcium
     
    11
    mg
    1
    %
    Iron
     
    1
    mg
    6
    %
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Tried this recipe? Share your photo!Mention @GlueAndGlitter on Instagram or Twitter!

    About Becky Striepe

    Headshot of Becky Striepe in front of a teal wall

    Hi there! I'm Becky Striepe (rhymes with sleepy), and I love using gadgets and shortcuts to create easy vegan comfort food recipes for busy people. Whether you love your Instant Pot, your air fryer, or just love delicious plant-based meals, stick around. You'll like it here.

    Learn more about me >>>

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Elsie

      August 05, 2022 at 5:01 pm

      This looks delicious. Would an oil other than coconut work? Thanks.

      Reply
      • Becky Striepe

        August 08, 2022 at 2:58 pm

        You can try, but I haven't made this with any other oil.

        Reply
    2. Heidi

      April 06, 2021 at 10:47 pm

      5 stars
      Would whole wheat flour or a gluten free flour work with this recipe? It looks delicious and thanks for sharing!!

      Reply
      • Becky Striepe

        April 07, 2021 at 10:38 am

        I have not tested it with either, but I believe that whole wheat would work. You may need to up the liquid a bit, since whole wheat flour is thirstier than white.

        Reply
    3. Jernika

      November 02, 2019 at 9:32 pm

      Soooo good and easy af to make. Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
      • Becky Striepe

        November 04, 2019 at 7:26 am

        Thank you, Jernika! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

        Reply
    4. Ashley

      April 11, 2019 at 1:25 pm

      This actually looks a ton like normal nacho sauce, so intriguing! The curry powder sounds unsettling, but there's so many positive comments about it, I just have to give it a shot. Has anyone tried it with any gluten-free flours? Do you know if I would need to make any adjustments?

      Reply
      • Becky Striepe

        April 12, 2019 at 8:49 am

        I hear ya - I wasn't sure about the curry at first either, but it's delightful. I haven't tried with gluten-free flour, but Serious Eats says that you can make a roux with rice flour, so that might work!

        Reply
      • Tash

        May 11, 2020 at 5:03 pm

        I loved this ! The curry made me think twice but definitely worth it ! Also I added some Goya Adobo con pimenta to give it more depth to

        Reply
        • Becky Striepe

          May 12, 2020 at 10:38 am

          Right? I was hesitant about the curry, too, but it works so well!

          Reply
    5. Jaime woodruff

      January 14, 2019 at 5:54 pm

      5 stars
      So good!! At first I didn't think the curry was going to work, but I was wrong!! Best vegan cheese sauce recipe I have ever tried!!

      Reply
      • Becky Striepe

        January 15, 2019 at 9:33 am

        I went through that exact experience! Curry in cheese sauce seemed odd, but it is shockingly good!

        Reply
    6. jenna

      March 15, 2018 at 5:56 pm

      5 stars
      This stuff is so good! I admit I had doubts... I was expecting it to just be gravy, but it is seriously cheesy! The curry powder really kicks it off! Loving it!

      Reply
      • Becky Striepe

        March 15, 2018 at 6:01 pm

        Yes I was so intrigued by the curry powder and am so glad I chose this recipe to share. It’s a delight!

        Reply
    7. Bianca / Elephantastic Vegan

      March 15, 2018 at 11:57 am

      5 stars
      Thank you so much for the amazing review, Becky!
      I'm so glad you enjoyed the vegan cheese sauce! It's really good on pizza and lasagna too :)

      Reply
      • Becky Striepe

        March 15, 2018 at 12:36 pm

        You are so welcome!

        Reply
    8. Katie

      March 13, 2018 at 8:03 pm

      5 stars
      This was very easy to make and was great on tacos. Thank you for posting! Very very good!

      Reply
      • Becky Striepe

        March 13, 2018 at 8:09 pm

        Awesome! Glad that you enjoyed it.

        Reply
    9. Sarah

      February 27, 2018 at 5:32 pm

      5 stars
      I need to check out this book. And that cheese sauce looks incredible!

      Reply
      • Becky Striepe

        February 27, 2018 at 6:27 pm

        You’ll love it!

        Reply
    10. Sarah De la Cruz

      February 27, 2018 at 1:11 am

      Love a simple queso sauce!!!

      Reply
      • Becky Striepe

        February 27, 2018 at 6:42 am

        Me too!

        Reply
    11. Amy Katz from Veggies Save The Day

      February 27, 2018 at 12:36 am

      5 stars
      This is such a fun cookbook! I'll definitely need to try this sauce!

      Reply
      • Becky Striepe

        February 27, 2018 at 6:42 am

        You will love it!

        Reply
    12. Dianne

      February 26, 2018 at 11:53 am

      I love this book! I haven't made this recipe yet, but now I want to. I want to drizzle this cheesy sauce all over everything!

      Reply
      • Becky Striepe

        February 26, 2018 at 1:35 pm

        When it’s cold, it’s even spreadable! I used it on toast.

        Reply
    13. Mary Ellen | VNutrition

      February 26, 2018 at 8:45 am

      5 stars
      I love trying all new cheesy sauces! This one looks gooood! Totally going to check out The Veginner’s Cookbook!

      Reply
      • Becky Striepe

        February 26, 2018 at 8:52 am

        It’s a great book!

        Reply

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    About Me

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    Hi! My name is Becky Striepe (rhymes with “sleepy”). I love using gadgets and shortcuts to create easy vegan comfort food recipes for busy people. Whether you love your Instant Pot, your air fryer, or just love delicious plant-based meals, stick around. You'll like it here. → READ MORE

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