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.Â
- 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.Â
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.
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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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!
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!
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 🙂