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Vegan All-Purpose Cheese Sauce

Vegan Cheese Sauce recipe
Ashely McLaughlin / Oh She Glows Every Day
Cook Time:
15 mins
Prep Time:
10 mins
Yields:
1 cup
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(61)

Chef notes

Here it is: my favorite vegan "cheese" sauce that not only tastes amazing, but can be used in a wide variety of dishes! Who knew that just a few simple ingredients could create such a decadent, silky, pourable sauce?

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup raw cashews
  • 1 1/4 cups diced peeled potatoes
  • 1/3 cup diced carrots
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 2 tablespoons refined coconut oil or other neutral-tasting oil, such as grapeseed oil
  • 2 tablespoons plus 1½ teaspoons water
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) plus 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 medium clove garlic
  • "0.5 to .75" is not a number. teaspoon white wine vinegar
  • Sriracha or other hot sauce (optional)

Preparation

1.

Soak the cashews in a bowl of water overnight or for at least 1 hour. Rinse and drain.

2.

Put the potatoes and carrots in a medium pot and add water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, until fork-tender. Drain. (Alternatively, you can steam the veggies.)

3.

Transfer the cashews, potatoes, and carrots to a blender, add the nutritional yeast, coconut oil, water, lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) of the salt, garlic, and vinegar and blend until smooth. If using a Vitamix, use the tamper to help it blend. If it’s too thick, you can add another splash of water or oil to help it along. Taste the sauce and add sriracha and more salt, if desired. The sauce will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Tip: It’s important to dice the potatoes and carrots small before measuring (about 1/2-inch/1 cm pieces); I recommend weighing the potato and carrot for the most accurate measurement.

Make it nut-free: Simply omit the cashews. It won’t be quite as rich, but it still tastes great!

Reprinted from Oh She Glows Every Day by arrangement with Avery, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin Random House Company. Copyright © 2016, Angela Liddon