Easy vegan cheese sauce with minimal ingredients and ready in 3 minutes! A super simple and nut-free plant-based recipe which requires only a handful of ingredients. This vegan queso is perfect for pizza, nachos, Mac and Cheese, burgers, pasta bake, toast, and more savory recipes. The sauce doesn’t contain cashews!
Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce Without Cashews!
This is probably the easiest homemade vegan cheese sauce ever! It might change your life, it changed mine, I am not kidding. Coconut milk, tapioca flour, nutritional yeast flakes, water, and salt – these are the ingredients which you will need to make this delicious sauce.
Since most people have water and salt at home, all you need to buy is coconut milk, tapioca flour, and nutritional yeast flakes. But maybe you already have these ingredients at home as well. So let’s start to make this easy recipe, it will be done in 3 minutes!
Only A Few Ingredients
I know there are tons of vegan cheese sauce recipes out there, but most of them contain cashews + many more ingredients and require longer preparation time. This cashew-free cheese sauce contains only a handful of ingredients and is ready in 3 minutes.
How To Make Vegan Cheese Sauce
You just need to put all the ingredients into a saucepan, bring the mixture to a boil and that’s it! You don’t even need a blender or food processor. No cooking of veggies, no soaking of cashews. It seriously couldn’t be easier than that.
Not Only For Vegans
This recipe is not only amazing for vegans. I served it also to vegetarians and meat eaters and everyone loved the taste AND texture of this vegan cheese sauce. The tapioca flour (which is also called tapioca starch) makes this recipe so special because it adds the amazing elasticity to the sauce. It makes the sauce stretchy and even reminds of real cheese. Nutritional yeast is an important ingredient for the taste because it adds a cheesy flavor. The spices are up to you, but I love to add some garlic and onion powder, and also a pinch of smoked paprika.
Perfect For Nachos, Pizza, Gratin And More
You can use this vegan sauce for any savory recipe which requires cheese. Whether it is pizza, nachos, gratin, pasta, or any other plant-based recipe. Sometimes when I am too lazy to make my Mac and Cheese recipe I will simply make this 3-minute cheese sauce and pour it over my cooked pasta and my dinner is served in just a few minutes. I have included some pictures of different dishes which I made using this cheese sauce recipe.
This easy vegan cheese sauce is:
- Plant-based
- Gluten free
- Oil-free
- Dairy-free
- Nut-free (no Cashews!)
- Paleo-friendly
- Easy to make in a few minutes
Make This Vegan Cheese Sauce Today
I made this cheeze sauce probably 100 times already because I use it in almost all of my savory recipes lol. I just love simple recipes which require only a few ingredients and this easy sauce recipe is one of them. So don’t wait any longer and make it NOW. I am sure you will love it as well.
Tapioca flour can be bought in every Asia shop or big supermarkets or simply ordered online. Same goes for nutritional yeast flakes. Check the Recipe Notes for a tapioca flour substitute.
Should you recreate this vegan nacho cheese sauce, please leave a comment below and don’t forget to tag me in your Instagram or Facebook post with @elavegan and #elavegan because I love to see your recreations.
Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce
Video
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (180 ml) coconut milk canned (*see notes )
- 3 tbsp (20 g) nutritional yeast flakes
- 2 tbsp (15 g) tapioca flour OR arrowroot flour/starch (*see notes)
- ½ tsp sea salt (or to taste)
- ½ tsp onion powder (optional)
- ¼ tsp garlic powder (optional)
- Pinch of smoked paprika (optional)
Instructions
- You can check out the video for visual instructions.Put all ingredients into a saucepan and stir with a whisk. Once everything is combined, turn on the heat and bring the mixture to a boil while stirring constantly.
- Let simmer on low to medium heat for about one minute until the sauce is stretchy.
- Enjoy this vegan cheese sauce with nachos, on pizza, over pasta, and many other savory dishes! Please read the recipe notes below.
Notes
- Thickness: If the cheese sauce turns out too thick, just add more coconut milk or any other plant-based milk (or water), up to 1 cup.
- Coconut milk: I use coconut milk that contains 17% fat. In case you don't like the taste of coconut milk, you can use a different plant-based milk instead, e.g. almond milk, cashew milk, etc. The higher the fat content of the milk, the better will be the taste of the vegan cheese sauce.
- Tapioca flour: Tapioca flour/starch can be bought in every Asia store or larger grocery stores or simply ordered online.
- Tapioca substitute: Two readers (thanks, Brooklyn and Nichola) commented that arrowroot flour (also known as arrowroot powder or arrowroot starch) is a great substitute for tapioca flour/starch.
- Cornstarch: You could use cornstarch instead of tapioca flour, but the result won’t be as good (stretchy) as with tapioca flour. It will still taste ok!
- How to store: You can store the sauce in the fridge for up to 2 days, but it will change the texture. Reheat with a splash of dairy-free milk. It tastes best freshly made.
- FAQ: "My cheese sauce didn't turn out yellow. What did I do wrong...?" Answer: Some nutritional yeast brands enrich their products with lots of B-vitamins. The nutritional yeast flakes which I ordered from Amazon contain B-vitamins and are therefore yellow. When I use 3 tbsp, the cheese sauce turns out pretty yellow, but when I use less (e.g. just 1 tbsp) the color is just light yellowish." You can also add a pinch of turmeric powder.
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
„Simple and Delicious Vegan“ Cookbook by ElaVeganCLICK HERE to order!If you are using Pinterest, feel free to pin the following photo:
Lovely flavour, first time I made it. But I did get a few lumps and had to sieve it. Apart from that it was great.
It’s important to add the tapioca flour while the milk is still cold and then whisk continuously. I am glad you liked it though! 🙂
I literally just finished eating a slice of pizza that I used this sauce on and it was superb. Easy peasy and delicious.. The only change I made with substituting corn starch for the tapioca starch and it worked well. Thank you for posting.
Sounds awesome! Glad you liked the recipe. 🙂
Absolutly incredible ! Thank you !
So glad you liked it, Helene! 🙂
You have no idea how much this recipe and others i have found on your page have been DELICIOUS!!!!!! Thank you so much for such amazing recipes, as a new vegan it’s helped so much!!! <3
Makes me so happy! Thanks for your kind feedback, Jolette! 🙂
This looks amazing!! Ive not yet tried any vegan cheese recipes since they all look so difficult and nutty. I see it says 3 servings, but about how much does the recipe yield? A couple cups or so? Thank you!
It yields about a cup. 🙂
Hi Ela, thank-you so much for creating and sharing this recipe. It is so easy and so delicious. I have made it a number of times now, and am at the moment using it in experimenting to get mushroom, leek and spinach mac’n’cheese. This cheese sauce will be definitely a very regular make in our house – in many different dishes and meals for sure. I used tapioca flour until I ran out and now am using up my arrowroot – both work great! So YUMMY!!! 🙂
Amazing! Thank you so much for your incredible feedback. 🙂
Hi Ela!Just stumbled across this recipe and i instantly went to the kitchen to make it.This is my first time making vegan cheese sauce and i have to say its quite delicious even though im not a vegan myself!Thanks!
Great! I am glad you liked the recipe. 🙂
Made this Easy Vegan Cheese Sauce and topped my veggie lasagna , then more tomato sauce. It soaked through coating everything , making it very rich tasting and creamy. Used half tapioca flour and half arrowroot flour as I have both. Came out wonderful.
Used 1 pack precooked lasagna noodles, 2 jars pre-made spaghetti sauce, layered it with fresh lightly steamed spinach, lightly steamed frozen mixed veggies. Threw on Chorizo flavored meat sub. for added interest. Next time I’ll use mushrooms and broccoli and cauliflower or whatever I have.
Thanks, Carol
That’s great, Carol! I am glad you liked this vegan cheese sauce. Veggie lasagna sounds amazing. 🙂
Hi, Ela. I made this last night to go with your buffalo chickpea taquitos, and I thought it was really tasty. Mine didn’t come out as yellow as yours, it was also super gloopy. While I did wonder why that was (I followed the recipe exactly), it wasn’t a problem. I may have cooked it a bit too high, and the color might have been due to the cashew milk I used. Anyway, I’ll definitely be making this again to try with other things like pasta, over fries, etc. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks a lot for your feedback! 🙂
I tried the vegan cheese sauce yesterday and it did not turn at any good. It tasted too much nutritional yeast- which I dont think taste too good. Could the taste from nutritional yeast very from brand to brand?
Hey Kristine, I am sorry you didn’t like the taste. Which brand of nutritional yeast did you use? I have used two different ones so far and loved both. One is from KAL (which is also linked in the recipe) and the other one was from Anthony’s.
I think it is a swedish brand- “carls bergh pharma ab”. Maybe if I add less nutritional yeast into the recipe it would taste better?
Yes, maybe. You can give it a try. 🙂
Did it yesterday along with the Potatoe bake with pumkin and lentils. Thank you Ela 😉 it was delicious!!! First of many I’ll surely cook.
Yay, that’s great! Thanks a lot for your amazing feedback. 🙂
That looks amazing, I will give this a go with the chickpea gnocchi! If it’s not yellow enough I can always add some turmeric for colour and health benefits ????
Awesome! And yes, turmeric will add a nice yellow color. 🙂
Do you think this could be frozen & shredded then spread on pizza etc? I may experiment ????
Good question! I never tried it out but it could work. Let me know if you give it a try. 🙂
Hi Ela. So excited to try this recipe. Can I use lite coconut milk? Or does it need to be full fat?
Thanks,
Janet
Yes, you can use lite coconut milk. 🙂
Thanks for the quick response, Ela! You Rock!
❤️
This cheese sauce is the BEST!!! So easy! I’ve used other flours I’ve had on hand, different coconut milk s and everything has worked… EVERYTIME. Thank you for making my life easy in the corner????
Awesome!! Thanks for your feedback. 🙂
Can you use regular flour or almond flour?
No, that won’t work. You’ll need tapioca flour or arrowroot flour.
Wow! This cheese sauce is amazing. I used almond milk instead of coconut being as I have MS and must keep my fats as low as possible. I will be making this quite often. Thanks
Awesome! Thanks so much for your fantastic feedback, Pam! 🙂
Can you post a recipe of the pizza you posted on this page? It looks amazing on the pizza.
Hey, the base is my gluten-free pizza dough. You can find the recipe here: https://elavegan.com/best-gluten-free-pizza-crust-vegan/
And the topping is just tomato sauce, a couple of spices (onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, salt, pepper) and the vegan cheese sauce. 🙂
Thanks for the quick reply!
Do we put this cheese on before or after it goes in the oven?
Before it goes in the oven. 🙂
Thanks for the recipe! Finally a vegan cheese that’s easy to prepare! I’ll try it tomorrow! ????
Do you know if this can go to the fridge and be reheated later, or will it lose its texture?
Vielen Dank!
Hi Liv, the texture will be different after you put it in the fridge. You will need to reheat it, add a splash of plant-based milk and whisk it to make it pourable again. 🙂
Happy Holidays Ela, I just made this cheese sauce and I loved it. I used the coconut almond milk I aleady had on hand, I didn’t have smoked paprika, but I added some cayenne to spice it up. I really loved the taste. Even my mom, who is slowly but surely embracing more vegan dishes, thought it was delicious. Thank you for the great recipe and have a Merry Christmas.
Yay, that’s awesome! So happy you and your mom liked my recipe. Merry Christmas! 🙂
I have made this cheese sauce the days in a row. It is amazing. Easy and delicious, I love it! I served it with chopped sun-dried tomatoes on pasta, and added some turmeric (just for color) when I served it on burritos.
I made it with coconut milk the first time, and the next two times I made it with cashew milk and 1.5 tbsp of grapeseed oil. It worked just as well both ways.
I have a question- do you think it would work in a casserole? I would like to make a cheesy quinoa- broccoli bake with it.
Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Thanks so much! I am happy you love my vegan cheese sauce.
And yes, you can totally use it in a casserole. Please check out the following recipes: PASTA BAKE and POTATO BAKE
Holy crap I’ve made this a few times now and this is seriously life changing. I like it even better than the more time consuming cashew cheese. Yesterday I mixed this in with some rice for a quick bite and it was soooo good. Thank you!
Yay! I am so glad that you love my vegan cheese sauce. Thanks for your amazing feedback, Jeff! 🙂
Hi Ela- I don’t like to use anything from a can can I use unsweetened almond milk from the carton .or coconut milk from the carton instead ?
Hi Jessica, as mentioned in the recipe notes, you can use any other plant-based milk instead. However, boxed almond milk or coconut milk is most of the time just water with a tiny bit of fat, flavor, and preservatives, that’s why the taste won’t be as good (there is just not enough fat). So I recommend canned coconut milk or homemade nut milk of choice, or plant-based cream.
Ok now I understand thank you I do make homemade almond milk so it’s the fat content thanks so much so if I use cans just for this I’ll live ????
Awesome, Jessica! Homemade almond milk sounds lovely. 🙂