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.
WOW! This is truly amazing!! I did not add the oil and used salsa in it’s place! This is a definite keeper!
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Hi Heide, that sounds great 🙂 Have a nice day!
Best vegan cheese sauce I have made! Thank you for the great recipe.
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Hi Lori, thanks for your words 🙂 Have a nice day!
Hello!
Is there an substitute for the potatoes we are unable to have these right now. Thanks!
Hi Maria! It is not possible to substitute the potatoes in this recipe, sorry 🙂 But, you can try our cashew cheese: https://simpleveganblog.com/cashew-cheese/. Hope you like it 🙂 Have a nice day!
Made it – wow it was really yummy. I cut the amount of oil (tying to keep calories down) and just a bit of a sweet potatoe. I will make it again
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Hi Kim 🙂 Sounds great! Have a nice day!
Great recipe! Well written, easy to find ingredients, easy to make, and tastes great. Thank you!
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Hi Joe, thanks for your comment 🙂 So glad you liked it!
Have you tried this recipe with sweet potatoes?
Have you ever used sweet potato in cheese sauce recipe?
This was amazing! My kids and my meat loving husband loved it, too. I divided it in two and added smoked paprika, cumin, and ground anchor pepper to one half to make nacho cheese. I plan to use the rest for Mac and Cheese tonight. Thanks for an easy, healthy, and delicious creamy cheese alternative!
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I certainly love this recipe I’m definitely going to to make this the ladies at my church make this cheese sauce all the time and I’ve been wanting to know how to make this recipe and I’m going to use it on my Taco salad that we call haystacks.
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Hello Consuelo. Sounds so good 🙂 I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I’ve tried a lot of vegan mac&cheese recipes and this one is my favourite!!!! Not only is it delicious but I get the bonus of eating vegetables AND it’s not full of expensive ingredients! Wow! What a winner!!!
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Hi Michelle. So proud that you liked our recipe!
I skipped the oil and added leftover potato/carrot water to replace it… still tasted absolutely fantastic!
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Hi Blair! That sounds pretty good!!! Thank you!
I didn’t have lemon and I didn’t sub it either, tasted amazing! Thank you for this easy and cheap recipe 🙂
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Thank you so much Abilene!!:)
I’d love to know if this would work without carrots? I don’t have any left on hand and it isn’t very practical for me to run out just for carrots in these current events! Can’t wait to try this, thanks!
I’m wondering this as well. I’m allergic to carrots but I really need a good vegan cheese that isn’t expensive!
Hi Ashton, feel free to do it without carrots 🙂 The only difference will be the cheese color. Hope you like it!
Well you will probaly need a vegetable that’s orange or yellow to replace it because of the color
Thanks for your help 🙂 Have a nice day!
First vegan cheese I’ve made and I love it, I’m not vegan so I’ve had real cheese pizza just yesterday and i cant taste the difference once all the ingredients of a pizza are involved, thanks for the recipe!
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This made more than I needed. How do I keep it and for how long?
Hi Leasha!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. Have a nice day
Hi there, just found this recipe, and I’m glad there are Vegan alternatives for cheese. My husband and I are just starting to transition to vegan for health reasons, and we are still experimenting with recipes. I was wondering, do you think you could use sweet potatoes? You mentioned any kind of potato, but I heard sweet potatoes aren’t technically in the potato family. Also, is the yeast a necessary part of the recipe? Would it work without it? Thanks so much!
Hi Arriana!!! You can use sweet potato in this recipe. It will be a bit sweeter but that is not negative at all! The yeast has a kinda cheesy flavor, that is why we recommend it. You can make the cheese without it and get the same color and texture but the flavor probably won´t be as great as it is when using yeast. Have a great day!!!
This was amazing!! I did decrease the olive oil to 2 tbsp and added a bit of miso paste.
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Hi Lisa!!! That sounds yummy!!! Thank you for sharing your experience!!!!
Yes and it was AMAZING! and I am new to vegan eating so I was shocked. Thanks so much.
Hi Jeannine!!It is great to know you like it!!!! Thanks to you. Have a good day!
Hi, I’m not vegan but very interested in making this to control our cholesterol. Will any kind of beer work? I’m thinking on adding the non alcoholic because it will be hard to find nutritional yeast here.
Hi Dani! Try to find yeast in the herbal shop, you can use either nutritional or beer yeast, but not beer. Have a nice day!
You can order nutritional yeast online from lots of places. I just placed an order for some from amazon. Have never made vegan cheese but 3/4 of us in the house have milk allergies so can’t wait! Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Hi Bridie! Thanks for your help 🙂 Have a nice day!
I’m trying to replace my dad’s daily cheese slices on bread at breakfast time. Can this slice nicely when frozen or cooled? Any ideas otherwise?
Thanks!!
Hi Evan!If you are looking for a cheese to slice you can find other options that work better. You can check some of them on our blog. it is better to use thicker cheese like our almond cheese. Have a nice day.
Obsessed!! My vegan-optional family loves this cheese sauce as do I. It’s so easy to make and tastes so darn great that they actually love when I make it. I might just convert them, yet! I have the best success with Yukon Gold potatoes.
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Hi Dana! So glad you like it 🙂
This has become my favourite cheese recipe for Mac and cheese. I was looking for a nut free option and I found this recipe online. My kids love it too.
Hi Suein! Thanks a lot 🙂 So glad you guys liked it!
Do you have any advice on making the cheese without any type of yeast or beer? I’m trying to figure out alternatives that will give the cheese a “cheesy” flavor.
Hi Kacie! I’m so sorry, but I don’t. Yeast is what makes it cheesy.
I use this recipe AAALLLLL the time but with parsnips instead of potatoes. I’m addicted.
Hi Courtney! So glad you like it 🙂
Hi! Thanks for this vegan cheese recipe!
I haven’t tried it yet (but will), and I was wondering if this cheese solidifies and can be grated?
Thanks in advance :).
Hi Jocelyne! You’re so welcome 🙂 No, it doesn’t, sorry!
Dear Teacher, Can I skip garlic and onion powder? 🙂
Hi Judy! If you omit them this is not going to taste like real cheese, sorry!
Can you use onion instead of onion powder?
Hoping to make this for lunch today! 🙂
Hi Ravina! It’s not the same, but you can 🙂
I just made this….absolutely incredible! Far superior to the sauces made with cashews as a base. And so easy and affordable! Thank you so much!
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Hi Tracy! Thank YOU so much 🙂
amazing, thanks for sharing:)
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Hi JJ! Thank YOU 🙂
Oh my god, this is amazing! It has a little to much nutritional yeast but it is still so good.
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Hi Tayah! So glad you liked it 🙂
AWESOME! I was so tired of paying for expensive vegan cheese full of garbage. I feel good eating this, and it’s delicious. Thanks so much!
Hi Ramae! Thank YOU so much 🙂
Good for a quick and simple vegan cheese recipe. Enjoyed!
Hi KB! Thanks 🙂 So glad you enjoyed it!
This is amazing…it has the cheese taste and no headache that follows when I eat cheese made with animal. This also covers eating my vegetables too. Since I’ve started a more plant base diet this recipe is used almost daily. Thank you for sharing!
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Hi Valerie! Thanks a lot 🙂 So glad you liked it!
How do i make mine not so grainy cause i followed the recipe and it doesn’t look like cheese.
Hi Triniti. Have you tried to add more water or more oil? I think that could be the key! Have a nice day 🙂