This vegan cheese tastes like the real thing. It’s a delicious and healthy alternative to cheese made with 9 ingredients in 30 minutes.
Cheese is the reason why so many people are vegetarians and can’t go 100% plant-based. But I have good news for you: making delicious plant-based cheeses, like this amazing vegan cheese, is such an easy task!
I was addicted to dairy cheese before going vegan. However, I’ve found there are delicious and also healthier alternatives you can make at home with simple and easy-to-get ingredients. Sounds good, right?
This recipe is also perfect for lactose intolerants and for all those people who are just looking for healthier alternatives. Besides, it’s extremely easy to make and SO inexpensive, as well as gluten-free!
The first time I made it I couldn’t believe I was eating non-dairy cheese and I’ve fooled so many non-vegan friends and family members with it. It has such a wonderful texture and flavor!
It also has the same consistency as a classic cheese sauce and I love to dip some tortilla chips or crackers in it, but you can also serve it with pasta or anything you want.
In addition, it’s cholesterol-free, good for the planet, good for your health, lower in fat, and extremely tasty. It’s basically made with potatoes, carrots, oil, water, and some condiments, that’s all!
You really NEED to give this dairy-free cheese a try. It’s one of those life-changing recipes you can’t miss!
How to make vegan cheese – Step by step
- Boil or steam the potatoes and carrots for about 20 minutes or until they’re soft (photo 1).
- Drain them and add them to a powerful blender (photo 2).
- Add all the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth (photo 3).
- Serve your vegan cheese immediately (photo 4).
Pro tips
- I’ve made this vegan cheese recipe using different types of potatoes and it always works, so please feel free to use what you have on hand.
- It can be made with cold, hot, or room temperature water. You could even add the water you used to boil or steam the veggies. I prefer to use clean water at room temperature, though.
- Extra virgin olive oil is my favorite choice, but you could actually use any kind of vegetable oil.
- If you’re oil-free, just add more water (the same amount) or any unsweetened plant milk of your choice, such as soy milk or almond milk.
- If you can’t find nutritional yeast in your area, use debittered brewer’s yeast instead (the same amount) or you could also use beer instead of water. You may need to add a little less, though.
- Not all brands of nutritional or brewer’s yeast weigh the same, so I prefer to use a measuring cup. If you don’t have one, add 8 tablespoons or 35 grams and then add more if needed.
- If you like your cheese spicy, just add a dash of cayenne powder as well. You can also customize it with pepper, paprika, or your favorite herbs.
- To freeze your vegan cheese, just keep it in a sealed container and store it in the freezer for weeks or even months. I usually transfer the container to the fridge the night before, that way it defrosts by itself. Then I reheat it in a saucepan and add more water or even plant milk if needed.
What is vegan cheese?
Vegan cheese is a dairy-free version of regular cheese. As it is 100% plant-based, it does not contain cholesterol at all. I love making it at home to customize it with my favorite spices!
What is vegan cheese made of?
There are a lot of different vegan cheese recipes. They can be made with nuts like cashews, nutritional yeast, tofu, soy protein, tapioca starch, and even agar-agar, but this version mostly contains potatoes, carrots, and some spices.
How to use vegan cheese
You can have this vegan cheese as an appetizer or snack and serve it with tortilla chips, crudités, pita bread, or spread over a slice of vegan bread. You could also use it to make a vegan grilled cheese sandwich or a pizza!
Looking for more vegan cheese recipes?
Did you make this vegan cheese recipe?
Please leave a comment below, share it, or rate it. You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and PINTEREST. I’d love to see what you cook!
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Vegan Cheese
- Prep: 5 mins
- Cook: 25 mins
- Total: 30 mins
- 6 1x
- Appetizer
- American
- Vegan
Servings 6 1x
This vegan cheese tastes like the real thing. It’s a delicious and healthy alternative to cheese made with 9 ingredients in 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 2 cups potatoes (360 g), peeled and diced
- 1 cup carrots (135 g), peeled and diced
- 1/2 cup water (125 ml)
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast (35 g)
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (70 g)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
Instructions
- Boil or steam the potatoes and carrots for about 20 minutes or until soft.
- Drain them and add them to a blender.
- Add all the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.
- Serve your vegan cheese immediately with tortilla chips, crudités, pita bread, or spread over a slice of vegan bread. You could also use it to make a vegan grilled cheese sandwich!
- Keep the leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for about 4-5 days. You can also freeze it if you want. I usually transfer the frozen container to the fridge the night before, that way it defrosts by itself. I reheat it in a saucepan and add some water or plant milk if needed.
Notes
- I’ve made this vegan cheese recipe using different types of potatoes and it always works, so please feel free to use any kind you have on hand.
- It can be made with cold, hot, or room temperature water. You could even add the water you used to boil the veggies. I prefer to use clean water at room temperature, though.
- Extra virgin olive oil is my favorite choice, but any oil will do.
- If you’re oil-free, just add more water (the same amount) or any unsweetened plant milk of your choice, such as soy milk or almond milk.
- If you can’t find nutritional yeast in your area, use debittered brewer’s yeast instead (the same amount) or you could also use beer instead of water. You may need to add a little less, though.
- Not all brands of nutritional or brewer’s yeast weigh the same, so I prefer to use a measuring cup. If you don’t have one, add 8 tablespoons or 35 grams and add more if needed.
- If you want your cheese spicy, just add a dash of cayenne powder.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 of the recipe
- Calories: 168
- Sugar: 1.5 g
- Sodium: 404 mg
- Fat: 13.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 9.1 g
- Fiber: 2.5 g
- Protein: 4.7 g
Update Notes: This post was originally published in September of 2019, but was republished with new photos, step-by-step instructions, and tips in January of 2021.
Looks amazing will try soon!
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Hi Cate! Hope you enjoy it 🙂
This is my go-to sauce for mac & cheese and nachos now! I make a big batch at least once a week. My only addition is some miso paste for some added flavour. I’ve even added garlic cloves when I cook the potatoes and carrots and blend them up. I leave out the garlic powder when I do that. Thanks for sharing such an awesome recipe!
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Hi Michelle! Sounds so good 🙂 Thanks for your kind comment!
That is good stuff!! I had to go on a vegetarian diet because of my health issues. I have not been a vegetarian ever(I am 70) and finding it really hard to find substitutes that are satisfying . Well this is close enough to cheese as I have tried so far. I stirred it in with cooked cauliflower and it was delicious. The best part was no oil added apart from the oil in the cashews. So easy to make too and all good things for your health in it.
I finally found a Nutritional Yeast I like and it has no salt in it which is another restriction issue for my health and it leaves no weird tastes in the after bite.
Thank you !!! Delicious creamy and it stays creamy and doesn’t clump up or get solid..LOVE THAT!
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Hi Kathy! Thanks for your comment 🙂
Well I’ll be … it tastes like cheese 🧀
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Hi Susan! Yes, it tastes so similar to cheese 🙂
I made the vegan cheese today but, i didn’t follow the exact recipe. I didn’t measure. It still came out good. I made nachos and i didn’t feel guilty!
Hi! So glad you liked it 🙂
I didn’t have yeast so I did not include it. How does the yeast enhance the cheesy alternative?
Jeff, yes, the nutritional yeast adds a buttery cheesy flavor. It’s good on lots of things, like fresh-made popcorn, veggies, etc. Plus, it has 8grams protein per serving (3 Tbs) and various minerals. I even sprinkle some on my 12-yr-old dog’s food.
I made this recipe today. I did not have any potatoes, so I used soy milk and tapioca starch. I also added raw garlic, in addition to garlic powder. I added more oil than this recipe used, and it came out perfect. Just like canned cheese sauce.
Thank you so much for sharing this.
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Hi Sabine! Sounds so good 🙂
Hi Sabine, I would like to try using tapioca flour and soy milk. What is the measurement for each please? Thank you 🙂
Would probably tweak it I think the taste was off I didn’t add enough carrots I believe but it made me wonder if I was eating cheese
All in all would make it again
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Hi Louise! Thanks for your honest and kind comment 🙂
Yummy!I added some chives and tamari to deepen the flavour.
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Hi Diana! Sounds so good 🙂
I have made this type of sauce so many times in the past!! Super easy & yummy. Here’s a few tips to make it even better! Make sure to NOT over cook your potatoes- cook until JUST tender.. This will make your sauce suuuuper gooey! & add some yellow mustard.. sounds weird but trust me! & for a bit more flavor, add a dash of liquid aminos. Enjoy!!
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Hi! Thanks for your kind advice Tori!
please can get a substitute for lemon as i am not supposed to have anything like lemon tamarind etc all the tangy and sour foods should be avoided for me so please could u help me
Hi! Feel free not to use lemon 🙂
Hi, I have just tried this recipe without the yeast. My sauce has a weird after taste – maybe feels raw / little pungent. (I know its not spoilt, just wondering why it tastes like that). Anyone else face this problem?
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Unfortunately, you need to add nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast, unlike normal baking yeast, gives the recipe its cheesy flavor.
Hi! Don’t know what could have happened, sorry!
Excellent recipe! I have made some simple adjustments depending on my application of the sauce (ie. When I’m making it for baked potates, I use soft tofu instead of potatoes so up my protein intake and not double up on starch). I also adjust the seasoning depending of who I make it for (my husband loves garlic so I go a little heavier for him) but that’s the amazing thing about this recipe is it’s flexibility and it turns out fantastic everytime!
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Hi Angela! Thanks for your kind comment 🙂 I’m glad you like our cheese recipe!
Hello Angela, How much tofu did you use for this (instead of the potato carrot)?
Can I use onion juice n smashed garlic cloves instead of powders??
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Can I use onion juice n smashed garlic cloves instead of powders
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Hi! Feel free to use smashed garlic cloves 🙂
i love this recipe so so so much wow my whole family loved it too!!
Hi! Thanks for your kind comment 🙂 I’m so glad you all liked it!
Why can’t I see comments?
Hi! Try to refresh the page 🙂
My go to sauce I even prefer this to regular cheese sauce most times very simple recipe usually always have ingredients on hand love it
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Hi! Thanks for your kind comment 🙂 So glad you liked it!
When I first made this I made a giant batch. I think some of my measurements ended up being off but after tweaking it a bit I knew I’d finally achieved the intended result and it was amazing! I’d intended on freezing most of it but it was so yummy I ended up eating it all within a week. I was addicted! I’m not usually a potato eater and after scarfing down all of the cheese I noticed the potatoes left me feeling quite inflamed. I have numerous inflammatory conditions so I was wondering if you could recommend any soy-free substitutions. I was thinking of trying rutabagas. I noticed someone mentioned tapioca starch but I have no clue how much I’d need to use. Think you could help me out?
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I’m so excited about this cheese recipe! I added a few slices of bottled jalapeno peppers and it is soooo good.
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Hi Brigitte! Sounds so good 🙂
If you are lactose intolerant you may not be able to use nutritional yeast because it contains lactic acid. 🥲😢
Hi! Nutritional yeast is 100% vegan 🙂
I think you are confusing lactic acid with lactose. People with lactose intolerance lack lactic acid (lactase) which is an enzyme that breaks down lactose (type of milk sugar). You can definitely consume nutritional yeast!
Tons of vegan products contain lactic acid, including fermented foods. It isn’t exclusively an animal byproduct. Nevertheless, it is something that people can absolutely be allergic to even if that is much rarer than lactose intolerance. To other commenters, please never tell a stranger that something is safe for them to eat if they just told you otherwise!!!!!
Can you can the sauce instead of freezing it?
Hi! I haven’t tried it myself but I think it is possible 🙂
A lot of other vegan cheeses are somewhat grainy, but this was so creamy and smooth, just like real nacho cheese. We put it on tacos and it was SO GOOD!! I made it exactly to recipe and the whole family ate it up.
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Wow, love this cheese on tacos 🙂 So glad you liked our recipe!
I love this recipe! I’ve toyed with it over the years and it’s one of my favorites. So simple cheap and satisfying. When I have it on hand I add white miso to it making it extra tasty 😄
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So glad you liked it Amelia!
I’ve made this twice already! My husband and I are astounded this tasted so much like cheese dip! He was upset when I thought he was finished with his cheese and I washed his bowl! Haha! I had to make it again the next week. Which isn’t a bad thing, it was super good! I used it for Mac n cheese first then as a dip. Only thing I would microwave in small increments of 10 seconds and stir each time. It started to cook and harden after 20 seconds without stirring. We loved this! This will be a staple in our household. I added you to Twitter, Instagram and subsided to your emails. I am looking into your general tsos next and will continue to cook all the recipes I would love to try.Thank you!
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So glad you both liked it, Megan! Thanks for your kind comment 🙂
Hi how long can I freeze this cheese for?
Hi! Maybe a month or even more!
Do you think this would be good as a sauce for mac n cheese?
Yes! Here you have the recipe: https://simpleveganblog.com/vegan-mac-and-cheese/ 🙂
I made this and it was easy and really delicious. I was pleasantly surprised.
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Hi! I’m so glad you enjoyed it 🙂