Makes about 2 cups / Time: 15 minutes
Photos by Hannah Kaminsky
This oil free vegan cheese sauce is creamy, tangy, silky, and ready in about fifteen minutes using simple staples you already have. It’s also a nut free vegan cheese sauce, no blender required. Whisk > Heat > Cheese sauce. It’s that simple!
I’m still excited about this sauce, even after all these years. It started as the back-of-the-book sauce in Appetite for Reduction, originally paired with Tempeh Helper and used in Mac and Trees (a vegan mac & cheese recipe). I ate oil-free and low fat for a long time and definitely figured how to make things taste great with little to no oil. I don’t eat that way anymore very much, but I still make this sauce all the time.
Most of the oil-free nut-free vegan cheese recipes out there depend on cooking down vegetables (boiled potatoes, steamed carrots, roasted cauliflower, etc) to get that thick, pourable texture. This one skips all of it. No nuts, no tofu, no blender, no veggie prep. Just pantry staples, a whisk, and a small saucepan. Truly the best vegan cheese sauce out there, at least I think so!
This is an easy recipe for those times you just want to space out at the stove, listen to the mixtape your sister made for you, and have a creamy pot of cheesy goodness not-so-magically appear.
The original recipe used flour as the thickener. Over the years readers worked out a cornstarch swap that makes it gluten-free, and that’s the version I make now. Both are below.
An oil-free vegan cheese sauce made without nuts? HOW.
The whole recipe comes together with just seven pantry staples and a small saucepan. Here’s what each ingredient is doing and if there are any substitutions for them:
Nutritional yeast. Yes, this is a nooch sauce to be sure. The cheesy foundation and the reigning queen of vegan cheesiness. She will not be taking any questions.
Frontier chicken-style broth powder. The umami right hand. It brings the savory depth that makes this taste like real cheese sauce instead of seasoned starch. It also thickens a bit. But bouillon (about 2 teaspoons) covers for it in a pinch.
Yellow mustard. We loved our mustard in cheese sauces back in the 1900s. Just bringing a little squirt into the modern world. It brings out the cheesy flavor. Dijon is fine, too.
Granulated garlic and onion powder. You can’t have a spice blend without these two. They round out the savory base and keep things yummy.
Turmeric. Just a pinch for that cheddar-yellow color. More is not better, since too much turns earthy and can make the color off.
Salt. You know, it’s salt. Case closed.
Cornstarch. To thicken in a smooth and silky way. The original recipe used flour, which works just as well. See the notes.
Black pepper. Absent from the actual recipe, but know that I end up using copious amounts in my mac and cheese. Just thought I would mention it.
Great, I made it, now how do I use this vegan cheese sauce?
Pretty much anything that wants cheese can use this on it. A few of my favorite ways:
Vegan mac and cheese. Toss with about 8 ounces of cooked pasta (elbows, shells, whatever you have). Add steamed broccoli and you’ve got Mac and Trees, the way it lives in Appetite for Reduction.
Nachos. Pour over a pile of tortilla chips with beans, jalapeños, and salsa. Stays creamy as it cools, which is half the battle with a nacho cheese.
Queso dip. Pour into a bowl, swirl in some salsa or a can of diced green chiles, grab the chips. Done.
Baked potatoes. Ladle generously over a fluffy baked potato or roasted sweet potato. Top with chives or scallions. It’s also great on other potatoes, like roasted or even on fries.
Steamed or roasted veggies. Who doesn’t love cheesy broccoli, brussels, and cauliflower? This is the cheese for all your favorite veggies.
Burritos and bowls. Spoon into a burrito for a Cheez Whiz-style melt, or drizzle over a rice and bean bowl.
Cheesesteaks. Slather over sautéed seitan or soy curls with peppers and onions, tucked into a hoagie roll. Vegan Philly territory. I also love it as a cheesesteak bowl with quinoa.
Tips for the greatest cheese sauce that ever lived
Dissolve the cornstarch first. That’s why step one has you mixing it into cold water with a fork before anything else hits the pot. Cornstarch dropped into hot liquid clumps fast and you’ll be chasing those lumps the rest of the cook. Cold water dissolves it cleanly.
Whisk often once it heats up. This sauce thickens quickly when it hits a boil. Stirring almost constantly keeps the bottom from scorching and the texture smooth.
Let it thicken. It will keep thickening as it sits, which is exactly what you want. That’s how you get melted-cheese consistency. If it thickens too much, no worries, whisk in a splash of water.
Doubles beautifully. Make a double batch and stash half in the fridge. Future you will be glad.
Storage. Keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for 5 to 7 days. It thickens a lot as it chills, which is normal and not a defect.
Reheating. Pop it back in a small saucepan over low heat, or in the microwave. Whisk in a splash of water or plant-based milk, broth or water and it returns to silky, pourable form in a minute or two.
Easy Breezy Cheesy Sauce FAQ
Can I freeze it? Not really, no. Cornstarch and flour-based sauces tend to break and get grainy when frozen and thawed. It keeps a week in the fridge, which is usually plenty.
Can I make it spicier? Hells yeah. Add a pinch of chili powder, smoked paprika, or cayenne with the dry ingredients. Or stir in a few dashes of hot sauce at the end with the mustard. A tablespoon of pickled jalapeño juice straight from the jar gives it that stadium-nacho vibe.
What if I don’t have Frontier broth powder? Two teaspoons of bouillon (paste or crumbled cube) works great. Vegetable broth powder also subs in nicely. Frontier just brings a little extra umami. Just keep an eye on salt; bouillon can be saltier, so taste before adding more.
No broth powder, no bouillon, anything else? A teaspoon of miso paste whisked into the cold water works great. Use chickpea miso if you’re keeping it soy-free, or any light miso if you eat soy. A couple dashes of soy sauce or liquid aminos also work for that fermented umami depth.
Is this kid-friendly? From my experience, yup yup yup. Kids tend to love this one. It’s mild, creamy, and tastes like the cheese sauce they already know. Great over pasta, broccoli, or just for dipping veggies they otherwise wouldn’t touch. Bonus: it’s nut-free and school-safe.
Easy Breezy Cheesy Sauce (oil-free + nut-free)
Notes
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 cups cold water divided
- 3/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons granulated garlic or garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2 tablespoons Frontier chicken-style broth powder
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
Instructions
- In a smallish (2 quart or so) saucepan, mix the cornstarch into 1/2 cup cold water with a fork and stir until dissolved as much as possible.
- Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups cold water and stir.
- Into the pot, whisk in the nutritional yeast, granulated garlic, onion powder, salt, turmeric, and broth powder. Keep whisking to dissolve as many lumps as possible.
- Turn heat up to medium-high and stir often for about 5 minutes. Once it comes to a boil, bring it down to medium heat or a low boil. It should start bubbling and thickening.
- Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring almost constantly, until it has a thick, smooth melted-cheese consistency.
- Mix in the mustard and taste for salt. Serve hot or warm.
- Original flour version: This recipe started with 1/4 cup all-purpose flour as the thickener, the way it appears in Appetite for Reduction. The cornstarch swap makes it gluten-free and is the version I make now. Both work great. Pick your thickener and you’re set.
