Vegan Nacho Cheese

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Ultra cheesy vegan nacho cheese. Creamy, rich and super simple to make, this is ideal as a dip for your tortilla chips or poured over nachos! It’s also gluten-free.

You will absolutely love this vegan nacho cheese! It’s super creamy, rich, and slightly spicy. And it’s just bursting with flavor! We simply can’t get enough of it around here!

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.

Now we have already made a vegan queso that was made very differently to this one.

I think both recipes are great options, and of course either one can be used for nachos, but if anything this version is even easier than our vegan queso, so there’s that.

And after making this one I think it’s a better option for fully loaded vegan nachos.

I’ll have to do a recipe for fully loaded vegan nachos sometime too because I have all sorts of ideas for vegan taco meat that can go on top and our black bean mix is too divine.

But let’s stick to the topic at hand which is this truly divine vegan nacho cheese.

SO HOW DO YOU MAKE VEGAN NACHO CHEESE?

The recipe is crazy simple and is really a case of throwing everything into the blender, blending until smooth and then transferring to the stovetop to heat up.

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!

You can also just play it by ear and if you think it’s a little on the thick side, then 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 is the right consistency.

If you’re serving a fully loaded nacho plate, then some black beans, salsa, guacamole and cilantro are great additions to your vegan nacho cheese for a super delicious dish.

Just in case you’re not convinced that this nacho cheese is a must to try, here are 6 reasons you will love it! It is:

• Ultra cheesy
• Simple
• Creamy
• Rich
• Perfect as a dip or poured over fully loaded nachos!
• Gluten-Free

Keep leftovers in the fridge and enjoy over the next few days. It will thicken when cold so reheat on the stove if you want it to be pourable, whisking in some water as needed to get to the right consistency.

Print Recipe

Vegan Nacho Cheese

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

10 minutes

Servings

lovers

Ingredients

• 2.5 cup uncooked cubed potatoes
• 1.5 cup uncooked cubed carrots
• 5 pickled jalapeños
• 1 tbls tomato paste
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tbls yellow miso paste
• 1/2 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk almond or soy milk
• 1/4 cup cashews unsalted and not roasted
• 1 tbls onion powder
• 1 tbls garlic powder
• 1/4 cup canola oil or olive oil
• 1/2 tbls hot sauce
• 1/4 tbls salt
• 1 tbls lemon juice
• 1/2 tbls smoked paprika powder

Prep Time 10 minutes Cook Time 10 minutes Servings lovers Ingredients 2.5 cup uncooked cubed potatoes 1.5 cup uncooked cubed carrots 5 pickled jalapeños 1 tbls tomato paste 1/2 cup nutritional yeast 1 tbls yellow miso paste 1/2 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk almond or soy milk 1/4 cup cashews unsalted and not roasted 1 tbls onion powder 1 tbls garlic powder 1/4 cup canola oil or olive oil 1/2 tbls hot sauce 1/4 tbls salt 1 tbls lemon juice 1/2 tbls smoked paprika powder

Instructions

1. Peel the potatoes and the carrots. Cut them into small cubes. Cook until soft. I usually use my Instant Pot to cook them.
2. Once the potatoes and the carrots are soft, transfer them to a high speed blender together with the remaining ingredients.
3. Process until smooth. This will take about a minute.
4. Transfer to a small pot and cook for a minute. The vegan nacho sauce will thicken up when being heated.
5. Serve with nachos and sprinkle with chopped jalapeños. I also added a bit of salsa in the middle of the bowl. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

• It's very important that you use a high-speed blender for this recipe. Otherwise the vegan nacho cheese won't become as creamy. I used a Vitamix, which I absolutely love.
• If you want to make it a bit easier for your blender, you can soak the cashews overnight in cold water or 30 minutes in boiling water. This step is, however, not necessary if you use a Vitamix like I did.
• Please don't leave out any of the ingredients. I often list ingredients as optional, but in this recipe you need all of them for the right consistency and the right taste. It took me a while to perfect my vegan nacho cheese recipe.
• I like to serve my vegan nacho cheese with a bit of salsa on top. I think it's a great combination, but of course, that's totally optional.
• You could also use the nacho cheese sauce for burritos, vegan quesadillas, or even baked potatoes.
• If you want to make it less spicy, reduce the number of jalapeños and leave out the hot sauce.