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.
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!
Print
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.
I’ve made this cheese many times..it is so yummee, and I do put the cayenne in it a lovely flavor. I have passed this on to many of my friends. I am going to make the feta next.
Thanks for sharing our recipe Vivien 🙂 Have a nice day!
Forgot to let you know that I did without the oil and used vegetable broth instead and it was still great.
★★★★★
That’s a good idea 🙂 Thanks!
Wow! I was skeptical when I saw the ingredients that this could possibly taste good. Very easy and very cheesy. Even my non vegan family member was impressed. Also your blog looks amazing. Just found you today and I’m already a fan.
★★★★★
Hi Mary! Thanks for your kind words 🙂 Nutritional yeast makes magic!
Hi Iosune!
Best vegan cheese sauce recipe: healthy, easy, inexpensive and delicious.
I’ve been making it for a year now.
I’ve used it in sandwich, pizza, lasagna, pasta bake.
★★★★★
I add more nutritional yeast than called for as well as some mustard and paprika (add a little bit at a time to taste). Something about the vinegaryness of the mustard makes it cheesier tasting to me!
Hi Amanda! Nutritional yeast is never enough 🙂 Have a nice day!
Hello! Thanks for an amazing website with great recipes…I’m trying to use less animal products to help the environment, and this website is such a great resource! I have one question about this recipe…I know it’s okay to freeze the cheese, but could I grate it while frozen and store the grated cheese in the freezer? Would this work?
Thanks again,
Addie
Hi Addie! Thanks for your kind words 🙂 I haven’t tried it myself but I think it’s better to freeze without grate it!
Excited to try this! Have you tried freezing it? How long does it stay good in the fridge? Thank you!
Hi Sarah! You can keep leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for about 4-5 days. You can also freeze it if you want 🙂 Have a nice day!
This was delicious! I made the recipe as is. I lightly salted the potatoes and carrots and used the cooking water instead of plain water. The sauce was incredibly smooth, silky, and tasty with a very nacho-like consistency. This will be my new go to cheese sauce recipe.
★★★★★
Hi Heide! So glad you liked it 🙂 Have a nice day!
Are you on Insta Gram
Hi Nina! Yes, our instagram account is: simpleveganblog (https://www.instagram.com/simpleveganblog/?hl=es)
The texture was spot on and the flavor wasn’t bad but it definitely wasn’t cheesy. I could definitely distinguish the flavor of the potatoes and lemon. Anything I can do to try and boost the “cheesy” flavor some more?
★★★★
Hi Bethanie! Have you add nutritional yeast? That’s what gives the “cheesy” flavour to the recipe 🙂 Have a nice day!
Fabulous!! Used it to add to a rather dry lasagna. This vegan cheese Sauce did it proud!! Delicious 😋
★★★★★
Hi Lola! So glad you liked it 🙂 Have a nice day!
This is such an incredible recipe . I have fed it to all my carnivore friends and they LOVE it ! I also use ave used a teaspoonish amount of apple cider vinegar in place of lemons with amazing results.
★★★★★
Hi Darla! So glad you and your friends loved it 🙂
Can this be refrigerated and made into a hard cheese that you can slice for sandwiches? I’m thinking something akin to a traditional block of cheddar cheese.
Hi Christina! That is not possible, sorry. You can try this cheese: https://simpleveganblog.com/macadamia-nut-cheese/ for your sandwiches 🙂 Have a nice day!
Hi Christina, if you add kappa carrageenan to the sauce, the cheese will harden and become sliceable
Hi!
The recipe sounds delicious and I thought about adding agar agar and tapioca starch to it to make it sliceable, but have no idea which amounts to use. Any suggestions? 😊
Hi Veronica! I have never added agar agar or tapioca starch to this recipe so I can’t help you, sorry 🙁 Have a nice day!
Thanks for your advice 🙂 Have a nice day!
Can we use this as a substitute for cheese?
I mean in every recipe which use cheese
Hi! Well, not in every recipe but yes in some of them! It depends 🙂
Yes! It’s a substitute for cheese 🙂 Try to add it to your pizzas!
Have you ever tried sweet potatoes or yuca?
Hi Jessica! I have never tried it, sorry 🙁 Have a nice day!
this is my favorite no nonsense vegan cheese recipe, I can’t believe how easy it is! I’ve added a bit of miso to mine sometimes when I need more cheesy funk. Thanks for this awesome recipe!
★★★★★
Hi Chloe! So glad you liked it 🙂 Have a nice day!
I added 1/4 tsp ground mustard and used plant milk instead of oil. It was the ONLY vegan cheese style sauce that I have ever made and liked. This is going to be something I make often!
★★★★★
Hi Sandi! So glad you enjoyed our vegan cheese 🙂 Have a nice day!
This was amazing. We used it as a topper for Frito Pie, so needed some spicy flavor. Added a can of Rotel chiles, about a tsp. each of cumin and chile powder, and it was nearly indistinguishable from ordinary queso. We are still awestruck! It was even great reheated the next day. We’ve tried many a vegan cheese (hello, cashew queso) and this is hands down the best.
★★★★★
Wow! Thank you so much for your kind words 🙂 So glad you liked it!!
Hi. Can I use this to make my pizza instead of mozzarella cheese ?
I’ve been vegan for 4 months now and been disappointed by every cheese sauce until this one. It’s amazing. Completely cheesy and delicious. I’m so excited. I’ll be using this recipe all the time! Thank you.
★★★★★
hello from singapore!!! am a new vegan and can i just say that this was SO AMAZING.
I poured it over broccoli and mushrooms, topped with breadcrumbs+paprika and more nutritional yeast, topped with daiya mozzarella cheese and put it in the oven to bake for about 10-15mins and it was an INCREDIBLE lunch
★★★★★
I tried this and I just didn’t like it, what did I do wrong? It just tasted sweet for some reason
★★★★
Hi Kelly! Sounds so good 🙂 So glad you liked it!
Yummy and simple!! Thank you
★★★★★
Hi Bea! So glad you liked it 🙂 Have a nice day!
I am so glad to have found this site … what a world it has opened for me!!! I look forward to visiting you often. THANK YOU.
So glad you liked it Mary 🙂 Thanks for your words!
I have just made it. All the way from Brazil (I am becoming a vegan). It tastes spetacular! Thank you for the recipe. Cheers.
★★★★★
Holy catfight! This is a game changer!! I wanted to make nachos, with a cheese sauce. (I used to love Taco Bell’s nacho cheese sauce). I made one recipe, what a disaster! Found this made it the same day, WINNER!! I some Sita has to it since it was going on nachos, even my non cheese sauce husband loved it!! Left over went to make Mac and cheese!!! OMG!! really? Perfect!! You can’t even call it junk food!
★★★★★
Hi! Thank you so much for your kind words 🙂 Have a nice day!
Deeeeelish! And so easy to make!
★★★★★
Thanks for your kind comment Karla 🙂
Want to try the vegan cheese. Is the yeast for nutrition value or necessary for texture/ flavour?
Hi Kathy! The taste of nutritional yeast is usually described as cheesy, which is why we often use it 🙂 If you don´t have it, feel free to use debittered brewer’s yeast instead (the same amount) or you could also use beer instead of water.
Hope I have helped you! Have a nice day!
Hi,
I’m uppi, my wife dimple is vegan, I tried to make the vegan cheese. All went well, I left the blender jar lid shut for about 5mins and the cheese started to overflow, I guess this happened due to the yeast.( In case this doesn’t happen due to yeast do let me know why it could have happened)i wanted to know can I make it a bit thicker .
Thank you
Hi! Have you used nutritional yeast or baking powder? If you have used nutritional yeast, maybe it was in bad conditions.
If you want it a bit thicker try to add less water 🙂 Hope I have helped you! Have a nice day!