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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PrintVegan Cheese
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Cuisine: Vegan
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.
Hi! I have no garlic&onion powder. Will it work with the plants as well (maybe with reducing a little water…)
Wow. I really enjoyed this. The recipe is so simple and has really great flavor. You can definitely taste the nutritional yeast but I like the flavor of nutritional yeast so it absolutely works. Thank you for sharing.
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It turned out amazing, My husband loved it and was surprised how close it tasted to melted cheese and used it on his chips.
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This was absolutely delicious! And super cheap! The only thing that was time consuming was the boiling part, but I wonder if I could boil a bunch of potatoes and carrots and freeze them? That way I could just defrost overnight, and make it while the pasta boils (made mac & cheese). This will.be my go-to cheese sauce for veggies, queso and pasta from now on!!!
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Wow! Never heard about it before but never too late to learn something new right 😉 I think I’ll try it soon! Thank you for the share
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Hi
What brand of nutritional yeast do you use? I have tried some but don’t like the taste of my cheese.
We make something very similar all the time for our mac and cheese! I’ve tried so many different cheeses/mac and cheeses and this one is by far still our favorite 🙂 <3 I remember you had a queso recipe from awhile! Have you reshot it or is this a different one? Your recipes never disappoint, Iosune!
Holy cow! This is incredible. For the first time, I made it with the oil, but I’ll probably switch to tahini in the future. I dipped a few tortillas in it, but ultimately put it with broccoli and layered it over a baked potato.
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Hi Adam! Thanks a lot 🙂 So glad you liked it! It also works with water instead of oil.
This recipe is wonderful-can’t stop eating it. Have you ever tried to freeze it?
Hi Carol! So glad you liked it 🙂 I haven’t tried it myself, but according to some of my readers it freezes well 😉
I am on an elimination diet and can’t have nightshades, so no potatoes for me. I used cauliflower instead. It was good!!
Hi Ellen! I’m glad it worked for you 🙂
Do you think I could substitute Turnips for the Potatoes for a Lower Carb version? Maybe use less oil/water since Turnips have a bit more moisture than Potatoes?
Hi Erin! I’ve never tried this recipe using turnips, so I’m not sure. Potatoes are so healthy and good for your body, don’t be afraid of healthy carbs 🙂
Left off the oil, substituted it and the water for beer (Coors non-alcoholic as that was all I had at home). Used 1/4 cup of brewers yeast and 1/4 nutritional yeast. Added a squeeze of dijon mustard and squirt of apple cider vinegar. Absolutely delicious and the consistency is just like cheese sauce and the taste as close as I have ever been to cheese since I gave it up. Incredible that it is fat-free. (Love cashews but am trying to cut down). Thanks for the beer idea.
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Hi Bumblebee! You’re so welcome 🙂 So glad you enjoyed it!
I made this with the same ingredients in the recipe. I think it makes a very nice and tasty sauce, but it does not taste like cheese at all.
Hi Kate! My recipe tasted like real cheese and many readers think the same as you can read in the comments. I’m glad at least you enjoy it 🙂
This recipe looks great, I was just wondering if you could give an amount in grams of the nutritional yeast you used, I’ve found the amount (and therefore flavour) can vary a lot depending on how packed it is.
Hi Sara! Yes, it may vary, that’s why I don’t use grams in the recipe, but you could add 8 tbsp instead 🙂
Wow this was so good! I have been vegan since I was 14 and I am now 20 and I haven’t had cheese in 6 years! I did change the recipe up a bit, Instead of adding oil and water I replaced it with 60 calorie unsweetened almond milk, It was so rich and creamy my mom didn’t believe that it was vegan! This is a game changer, thank you.
Hi Everlae! Thanks a lot 🙂 SO happy to read that!
It’s really good
Try making it without the oil
Oil is 100% fat, and bad for our arteries.
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Hi! Thanks for your comment 🙂 This recipe works great with no oil. Have a nice day!
Delicious! I didn’t have any chips to try it on so I am eating it on the potatoes leftover from the cheese sauce. 🙂 I substituted apple cider vinegar for the lemon juice and I cooked about 1/4 cup onion with the potatoes and carrots and used that instead of onion powder.
Hi Lisa! Sounds great 🙂
Wonderful, accepted by cheese lovers in the whole family, vegan or not!
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Hi Sharon! So happy to hear that 🙂
I just made it and it was literally good<3 thanks for recipes! It's easy and flavorful!!
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Hi Hong-eun! You’re so welcome 🙂
Love it!!!!
Hi Cecelia! Thanks a lot 🙂
Can you give an estimate as to the volume of cheese this recipe makes? 2 cups? I had it last night at a party and it was fantastic. The woman that made it shared your site.
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Hi Michelle! I’m so sorry but I don’t know, maybe 3 to 4 cups…
This is delicious! I could not give up queso – until now! I like that it has no nuts and I can make it from what my garden produces. So happy!
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Hi Ruthanne! Thanks a lot 🙂 So glad you liked it so much!
I had modified the recipe to suit our taste. We thought about two tbsp of unsweetened almond milk added creamy texture to it and had to add a tsp more of salt. We had to use beer because we could not find the nutritional yeast in our area. We also added about a tbsp of jalapeno juice and about 2 tbsp of chopped pickled jalapeno to give it some spice. All in all it was an ok substitute for nacho cheese but feel there are better premade non dairy cheeses on the market. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
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Hi Shawn! This recipe works so good if you follow the recipe to the T 🙂 Have a nice day!
Wow! I just made this exactly according to the recipe, and I’m now eating it straight out of the blender like a soup! I’m a veggo looking to go all the way vegan, and giving up cheese has been my last hangup. Thanks so much for this fantastic recipe! (And for your other cheese recipes that I’m looking forward to trying, too.) And thanks to all the commenters for your great suggestions. I’m excited to play with this and see what happens!
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Hi Ashley! You’re so welcome 🙂 I’m so glad you liked it so much!
I LOVE this! My little one liked it too. I used avocado oil instead of olive oil.
My nutritional yeast flakes wound up being powder, so 1/2 cup may have been a bit too much. It gave it a slightly nutty yeast flavor.
How should I adjust nutritional yeast amount from flakes to powder?
Thank you!
Hi Divina! Thanks a lot 🙂 I’ve never made this recipe using powder, but I think you should add less next time. Have a nice day!
It was delicious. I was wondering though which type of potatoes you used? Are used russet and I have a feeling another type would have baited even yummier.
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Hi Shar! I’ve used several types of potatoes and all of them have worked for me. I live in Spain, so the types I can find here are different from the US. I usually use Agria potatoes, by the way 🙂
Made this for my wife who can’t have milk products. I had some myself and it’s not bad, butvto say it tastes like cheese it a big stretch
Hi Jim! It really tastes like cheese. My non-vegans friends and relatives think the same. Have you used the same ingredients? Have a nice day!
Hi! I’ve made a potato based “cheese” sauce before, but the somewhat grainy texture is the one thing i really don’t like. I used a high speed blender, so i know that’s not the issue, since i do the vegan-mozzarela with cashews and it comes out super creamy every time… Could you advise on what type of potato you use? Reading these comments i am going to give this one more try. And since i haven’t tried YOUR recipe, it would be the fair thing to do 🙂 thank you for any advice you might have and i wish everyone reading this a beautiful day!!!
Hi Stela! I’ve used several types of potatoes and all of them have worked for me. I live in Spain, so the types I can find here are different from the US, but as you can read in the comments, our readers (which are mostly Americans) have made this recipe successfully. I usually use Agria potatoes, by the way 🙂
Tried the dip today and it was great!
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Hi there! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂