This vegan cheese tastes like real cheese. It’s a delicious and healthy alternative to cheese, made with inexpensive and easy to get ingredients.
Cheese is the reason why so many people are vegetarians and can’t go 100% plant-based, but I have good news for you: you can make delicious plant-based cheeses, like this amazing vegan cheese.
I was addicted to 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.
The first time I made it I couldn’t believe it wasn’t real cheese and I’ve fooled so many non-vegan friends and family members with it.
It has the same consistency than a classic cheese sauce and it’s so good with some regular or baked tortilla chips, but you can serve it with anything you want or use it to make all kind of recipes.
In addition, it’s cholesterol-free, good for the planet, good for your health, lower in fat (especially if you omit the oil) and extremely tasty. It’s basically made with potatoes, carrots, oil, water, and some condiments, that’s all!
You really NEED to give this vegan 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 immediately (photo 4) or keep leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for about 4-5 days. You can also freeze it if you want.
Pro tips
- I’ve made this recipe using different types of potatoes and it always work, 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 or steam 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.
- Oil is optional. If you’re oil-free just add more water (the same amount) or any unsweetened milk of your choice.
- 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 weight the same, so I prefer to use a measuring cup. If you don’t have one, add 8 tablespoons or just add 35 grams and then add more if needed.
- If you like your cheese spicy, just add a dash of cayenne powder as well.
How to eat vegan cheese
- You can have this vegan cheese as an appetizer or even a snack and serve it with tortilla chips, crudités, pita bread or whatever you want.
- It can also be used as a cheese sauce to make mac and cheese or any recipe that calls for a cheese sauce.
- It’s also a good alternative to real cheese to make pizza, lasagna, or pretty much anything that is made with cheese. I also add it to my burgers sometimes instead of sliced cheese.
Can you freeze vegan cheese?
Yes, of course! Just keep it in a sealed container and store it in your 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 milk if needed.
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Vegan Cheese
- Prep: 5 mins
- Cook: 25 mins
- Total: 30 mins
- 6 1x
- Appetizer
- Vegan, American
Servings 6 1x
This vegan cheese tastes like real cheese. It’s a delicious and healthy alternative to cheese, made with inexpensive and easy to get ingredients.
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 immediately with tortilla chips, crudités or use it to make pizza, lasagna, mac and cheese or any other recipe that calls for cheese. Keep 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 milk if needed.
Notes
- I’ve made this recipe using different types of potatoes and it always work, 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.
- Oil is optional if you’re oil-free just add more water (the same amount) or any unsweetened milk of your choice.
- 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 weight the same, so I prefer to use a measuring cup. If you don’t have one, add 8 tablespoons or just add 35 grams and add more if needed.
- If you want your cheese spicy, just add a dash of cayenne powder.
- Recipe adapted from Veggie on a Penny.
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 February of 2014, but was republished with new photos, step by step instructions and tips in September of 2019.
This was by far the best vegan cheese I have ever tried!!
I make this recipe all the time! It’s absolutely delicious!
Maybe a bit less salt would be better for me. I just made it. Next time I will salt to taste. I also used regular olive oil because it tastes buttery. I used canned carrots and Idaho spuds potato flakes in my Magic Bullet small cup and only made 1/4 of the recipe. (so 1/3 cup flakes) and added a couple teaspoons more water.
★★★★
Hi! Sounds so good 🙂 I’m so glad you liked it!
amazing recipe! sooo good. the simplest recipe. the other ones are too complicated.
great job!
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Hi Matt! Which recipes you find complicated? I recommend you to start making recipes that are ready in 15 min or less: https://simpleveganblog.com/10-vegan-recipes-ready-15-minutes-less/ 🙂
amazing recipe! sooo good. the simplest recipe
★★★★★
Hi! Thank you so much 🙂
This is by far the best vegan cheese sauce I’ve tried. The consistency was spot on! I added salsa to make it more of a queso and my cheese loving son had no idea and said he loved it! Thank you!
★★★★★
Hi Kelly! I’m so glad you both liked it 🙂
This was really pretty good! I added a little bit of apple cider vinegar to it as well. I subbed sweet potato for some of the potato as well.I have tried other recipes and was prepped to be disappointed but not at all!! I might add some added seasonings also but pleasantly pleased!
★★★★★
Hi Jan! Thanks for your kind comment 🙂 Have a nice day!
This is incredible. I’m doing vegan February, and this sauce is a revelation. I added way more onion powder and a bunch of hot sauce to add some more depth of flavor, and WOW.
I’ve never tried any of your other recipes and now, I am excited to give them a shot. Well done.
★★★★★
Hi! Thanks for your kind words 🙂 Hope you enjoy them!
I NEVER review the recipes I try, but gosh this was good! My family is trying to eat healthier and slowly go vegan and this was so good! My children loved it too and thought it was nacho sauce!
Hi! I’m so glad you all liked it 🙂
Going on our Super Bowl snack table. This is really, really good. Serving it for the game with homemade pretzels, the throughout the week with steamed veggies and as a topping for baked potatoes.
Sounds so good! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂
hi! i would like to ask if i could replcae the potatoes with sweet potato instead?
Hi! The recipe will change completely but will be amazing too 🙂
Looks excellent but can’t have oil of anykind.
Hi! Feel free to make it without oil 🙂
This is soooo good. Thank you for creating and sharing a recipe that has the taste and texture of nacho cheese. Yum!
★★★★★
Thanks for your kind words Caroline 🙂 Have a nice day!
This is so danged good! I followed the recipe exactly, and it came out perfectly. I could just eat it by the spoonful, it’s so tasty! But I used it in a vegan enchilada casserole and it’s perfect – melty and cheesy. Thanks so much for the recipe!
★★★★★
Thanks for your kind comment Valerie 🙂 Have a nice day!
question: how long does it last? If I make a batch and refrigerate, will it be good the following week?
Hi Lore! 4-5 days, approx. 🙂
By far the easiest, healthiest, tastiest cheeze receipe out there! Thank you for this! I have been making it for years but last night decided to make mac-n-cheese with it for my kids and they actually ate it! It’s such a healthy alternative!
★★★★★
Thanks for your kind comment, Susan 🙂
I’ve made this recipie a couple times, but when I made it as a Mac and cheese sauce I used the pasta water as the water for the cheese sauce and it was a game changer! The starchiness of the pasta water really helped give the it that stretchy texture, it was soooo good. By far my favourite vegan Mac and cheese I’ve ever made
Hi Ali! Thank you so much 🙂
I only have sweet potatoes on hand – am I getting cheese tonight or no?
Hi Eileen! Maybe you can try to make it with sweet potatoes but the taste will be different!
OMG! So healthy, easy, and quick to make. It’s delicious 😀
Thank you for sharing your recipe <3
Hi Paula 🙂 I’m so glad you liked it 🙂 Thanks for your comment 🙂
This has become the go-to vegan cheese for nachos in my home. It’s so easy to prepare and do delicious. Sometimes I add smoked paprika for a Smokey flavor. Love this recipe so much.
★★★★★
Love it! Sounds so good your nachos!
Thank you for this recipe! I will make it again for sure, haha
I don’t have a powerful blender but It worked!
It tastes like «tostitos cheese», I added some salt :p
★★★★★
Hi! I’m so glad you liked it ☺️
I have tried soooooo many “vegan cheese” recipes. I absolutely love cheese, and there are so many variations of this recipe it there. However, most of them do NOT taste anything like cheese at all, and most don’t even taste good to me at all. Plus, so many of them use a list of about a hundred ingredients, some of which can be hard to find.
I honestly tried this recipe out of desperation, as a last effort to give something a try because the shirt ingredient list caught my eye.
Not only is it edible, but it tastes so GOOD!! I love it and have already made three more batches. I typically add less nutritional yeast than called for here, just because I’ve learned that I don’t really like the flavor. So it is exactly to my and my family’s taste, and we love it so much.
I’m so glad I found this recipe! We are still transitioning to fully vegan. Our favorite way to use this is to just cook up some regular shell or elbow pasta, melt in just a quarter cup or so of shredded mozzarella, and then this amazing mixture. It all mixes together so beautifully, and is the most amazing texture. It’s as silky as the velveeta macaroni from days past, but with an infinitely better flavor, and much more natural finish without any of the weird plastic taste. I dunno, I apologise if describing it like this is a deterrent for anyone, but it’s the best way I can describe how perfectly smooth and creamy this is.
We usually go through maybe 4 boxes of mac and cheese each week, and we are honestly never going back to the box. using this “cheese” in noodles is so much healthier, a lot cheaper, and many times tastier too. This recipe is a life changer. Thank you!
★★★★★
Thanks for our kind comment Kathryn 🙂 I’m so glad you liked our vegan cheese recipe!
This was absolutely perfect, thank you for the recipe! It turned out great I did not use oil but used unsweetened almond milk and added a little extra.
★★★★★
Wow, sounds so good! I’m glad you liked it 🙂
Delicious and it is easy on the budget as well! I’ve had it with the oil and with homemade almond milk. Both are good, like the fact you have an oil free option. I used this in a veggie breakfast casserole with black beans and another day I made twice baked potatoes with spinach. Yum! Casserole was a hit, though I did get weird looks when I told them it was vegan. I should have just said “Enjoy!” LOVE the recipe about falafel in the waffle iron, trying that one tomorrow.
Laura
★★★★★
Thanks for your kind comment, Laura 🙂 Un abrazo!
I made this because I’m doing a project on vegan cheese for college, and tbh I was sceptical, but I’m impressed! It’s surprisingly cheese-like in flavour and the oil really makes the mouthfeel cheesier too, plus it’s delicious. Ofc it’s not 100% like cheese- cheese doesn’t have a potato texture and doesn’ smell like nutritional yeast, but it’s great anyway, thanks for sharing!
I’m so glad you liked it! Have a nice day 🙂
Loved this cheese alternative. So easy to make and turned out very creamy.
Yes! It’s just amazing 🙂
Delicious! I’m lactose intolerant and have been struggling to leave cheese behind, this is SUCH a game changer. I put it over ravioli and added some pasta water, it became the perfect sauce! Thank you for this recipe!
Hi Kiara! I’m so glad you enjoyed our vegan cheese 🙂
This recipe is a game changer! I’ve been vegetarian for 30+ years and have searched for a vegan mac & cheese for a really long time! We tried lots and lots of different recipes and they were good but just not great. THIS ONE IS AMAZING! At first I couldn’t imagine how potatoes and carrots could possibly be the answer… but they are! My only addition is 1/2 tsp of light miso paste to add just a bit more flavour. And as mentioned, this is AWESOME as a dip for corn chips. WOW WOW WOW! Thanks so much for this!
★★★★★
Hi Michelle! I’m so glad you liked our vegan cheese 🙂 Thanks for your kind comment!
Incredible. Put in a mac and cheese, on nachos and a bean burrito. Will be using this recipe everytime.
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Sounds soooo god Alex 🙂