Vegan Nacho Cheese

Vegan Nacho Cheese is a wonderful sauce reminiscent of anything you’d get at a ballgame or served on gameday. When compared to the dairy version, this Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce has a very similar creamy texture and the taste is really so close that’ll you’ll likely not notice any difference. This recipe contains sweet potatoes, Yukon Gold potatoes, garlic, vegan butter, and several spices.

I did a considerable amount of research when concocting this recipe. I perused many of the top recipes for Vegan Nacho Cheese and discovered that many of them include large quantities of nutritional yeast. While I love nutritional yeast and it’s cheese-like flavor, it should be (in my opinion) used sparingly. Nutritional yeast only tastes like cheese when used in moderation, otherwise it tastes like, well, nutritional yeast.

To begin with, we needed a good base which would provide both a neutral flavor, the right color, and a creamy texture. To accomplish this, we used sweet potatoes and Yukon Gold potatoes. Yukon Gold potatoes provide a silkiness to this recipe. Then we needed to dial in the flavor. For this we used only a teaspoon of nutritional yeast followed by smoked paprika, chili powder, onion powder, garlic, and melted Vegan butter. Finally, we popped a little more color into the cheese by adding just a pinch of turmeric powder. If I had to pick a couple ingredients that really set this recipe apart I’d say it’s the garlic, vegan butter, and smoked paprika. In fact, I kept adding more smoked paprika until it was just right. Trust me, you’ll love this!

You can also check out a very similar recipe, our Vegan Mac and Cheese. We use many of the same ingredients there as well so it’ll be an easy one for you to make!

Vegan Nacho Cheese Recipe

• Sweet potatoes
• Yukon Gold potatoes
• Cashew milk
• Vegan butter
• Lemon juice
• Nutritional yeast
• Smoked paprika
• Chili powder
• Garlic
• Onion powder
• Salt
• Turmeric powder

How to Make Vegan Nacho Cheese

1. Boil potatoes. Place all potatoes in a pot with water and bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for 8 to 12 minutes or until fork-tender.
2. Blend all ingredients. Place boiled potatoes into a blender with remaining ingredients and blend on high until smooth.

Tips and Variations

• Spice it up. Add either some jalapeno peppers, adobo powder, or cayenne pepper.
• Omit nutritional yeast. If you dislike the taste of nutritional yeast, you can safely omit it without greatly altering the flavors of this recipe. Or just add less nutritional yeast.
• Roasted garlic. Roast your garlic for added creaminess and depth of flavor.
• Non-dairy milk. Use any dairy free milk of your choosing. We use cashew milk because it does have a slightly cheese-friendly flavor.

Storing Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce

Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce stores well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. However, this sauce tastes so much better warm so you’ll definitely want to heat it up!

Is Vegan Nacho Cheese Healthy?

If you make it according to our recipe, I’d say yes! It’s at least much healthier than milk-based nacho cheese. Except for the Vegan butter, we are using all natural ingredients; sweet potatoes, cashew milk, garlic, lemon juice, and spices like paprika. Let’s take a closer look at some of the health benefits of these key ingredients.

• Sweet potatoes are a plentiful source of beta-carotene, converted by our bodies into vitamin A, which is crucial for a healthy immune system. (1)
• The vitamin E, beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin found in paprika are all beneficial for eye health. (2)
• Garlic may be beneficial in reducing high blood pressure. (3)

Thank you for joining us for another Vegan Plate recipe! Here are some similar recipes you might enjoy!

Vegan Dips, Sauces, and Salsas

• Fire Roasted Salsa
• Serrano Salsa
• Salsa Taquera
• Beet Hummus
• Lemon Dill Hummus
• Black Bean and Corn Salsa
• Vegan Ranch
• Chipotle Tomato Salsa
• Easy Chimichurri Sauce
• Boom Boom Sauce
• Mango Habanero Sauce
• Salsa Verde
• Guajillo Sauce

Looking for more recipes? Check out our Condiments and Sauces page.