NUT-FREE VEGAN CHEESE SAUCE | 1 sauce, 3 recipes

A creamy vegan cheese sauce that is nut-free, soy-free, oil-free, and Paleo! Plus, three delicious recipes to make with this Nut-Free Vegan Cheese Sauce!

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*MY KITCHEN ESSENTIALS*

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MY COOKBOOK: The Vegan Instant Pot Cookbook: Wholesome, Indulgent Plant-Based Recipes!

*90+ delicious vegan recipes made in the Instant Pot*
*With tons of gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, and refined-sugar-free options
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Key Moments
0:00 Introduction
0:40 How to make vegan cheese sauce
2:36 How to make buffalo Jackfruit Grilled Cheese
4:55 How to make Creamy Cheesy Pasta
5:44 Tex-Mex Tempeh Quesadillas

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NUT-FREE CHEESE SAUCE

*Note: 1 batch of this Nut-Free Vegan Cheese Sauce makes enough for all of these recipes (4 grilled cheese sandwiches, 12-16 ounces of pasta, and 4 large quesadillas).

RECIPE #2: CREAMY CHEESY PASTA
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta of your choice until al dente. Drain the water and add as much vegan cheese sauce to the pasta, toss to combine, and heat through.

RECIPE #3: TEX-MEX TEMPEH QUESADILLAS

*1 TBSP oil
1 8-ounce block tempeh
1 small onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno pepper, diced (remove seeds if sensitive to spicy food)
14-16 ounces mushrooms, sliced
2 tsps chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp kosher salt + more to taste
3 TBSP tomato paste
1 TBSP lime juice
2-3 tbsp water, as needed
1 - 1½ cups Nut-Free Vegan Cheese Sauce
8 extra large tortillas

1. Grate the tempeh using a box grater.
2. Heat a large deep skillet over medium heat with the oil. Once hot, add the onions and cook for 3-4 minutes until starting to soften. Add the garlic and jalapeno and cook for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
3. Add the grated tempeh, mushrooms, and the Tex-Mex spices (chili powder, cumin, oregano, paprika), and cook for 4-6 minutes, stirring often. Add the salt during the last minute of cooking. Add a bit of water as needed, to prevent burning or sticking.
4. Stir in the tomato paste and lime juice and stir to combine well. Cook for another 3-5 minutes. If the mixture starts to dry out, add 2-3 TBSP water as needed.
5. Remove the filling from the skillet and set aside in a bowl. Wipe down the skillet and return it to medium heat.
6. Spread one tortilla with several tablespoons of the Nut-Free Vegan Cheese Sauce. Spoon 1/4 of the tempeh-mushroom filling on top. Drizzle a few more spoons of the cheese sauce on top of that. Top with a second tortilla.
7. Add the quesadilla to the large skillet over medium heat. Place a smaller skillet on top of the quesadilla so that it presses down on the quesadilla. Cook the quesadilla for 3 minutes, then flip and cook another 1-2 minutes, or until both sides are crispy and nicely browned. Repeat with the remaining sauce, filling, and tortillas.
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WANT MORE DELICIOUS VEGAN RECIPES & INSPIRATION?

[drdluv]

Made this cheese...it was EPIC. And it made SO MUCH. My son and I had nachos and cheese tonite. Perhaps quesadillas tomorrow 🤔

[ktjovander]

I can’t believe how good this is!! Coming from a skeptic! My adjustment: only cooked it with one and a half cups of vegetable broth in my instant pot and ended up reserving a lot of that liquid before blending because I didn’t want my cheese sauce to be too thin. It turned out amazing! This will be the thing that saves me from my cheese addiction as I pursue a whole foods plant-based diet.

[griffinrose]

Okay so I made the cheese sauce and I was like it's pretty good but it doesn't taste very cheesy to me. It'll make a yummy soup. So I let it sit in the refrigerator for a clue of days and OMG. I think the flavors had a chance to merge or something. I'm new to this whole plant based but I am not going to find a better vegan cheese sauce than that. Delicious!!! I like the idea of the lady who made nachos out of them. Now that it is fall I think I'm going to add a little bit of broth and some cooked broccoli to it and make a nice broccoli cheddar soup with it. I can not believe that is made out of cauliflower and butternut squash. That tempeh filling was my first time making tempeh. It was delicious. Next time I make I'm going to add some tomato sauce to it and I will make some spaghetti.

[MandyRoy]

This rivals any cashew based sauce I’ve ever had. Hands down, this is my new favourite.

I used frozen butternut squash and frozen cauliflower to save time and it was amazing.

I will be making this over and over again.

[pokelynke]

I recently went dairy free. I also don't eat most meats (Pescetarian), and nuts are not in my budget (only peanuts really), so it's nice to find cheese sauce recipes without nuts. Thanks for this.

[thatnicejewishgirl]

Really love this vegan cheese recipe using vegetables for creaminess instead of nuts. I hadn't seen that before -- thanks for sharing this recipe!

[amybradley]

i just made a vegan casserole with this cheese sauce...and it was the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. thank you😭

[TourPace]

I just made your cashew based cheese sauce over the weekend and my carnivores LOVED it. I can't wait to try this one too and it's the perfect time of year with an abundance of squash in the garden!

[niijigod]

I'm allergic to tree nuts so I really appreciate this video🤤

[animalhelper]

I just became a vegan a week ago, and the bad thing is that I’m allergic to nuts, so I was so glad I found this!

[Ismella]

Do not hesitate to make it guys! This recipe is amazing! Thank you ever so much Nisha:-)

[philipeick-vocalmusic]

incredible how you get once basic and three easy recipes in a 7 minute video, while others use 15 minutes for one dish. Smooth!

[elenagomez]

This cheese sauce did in fact... BLOW. MY. MIND!!!! Thank you for this recipe! This makes going vegan so much easier!

[tosca...]

Love the look of this cheese sauce. I made a cashew and spinach cheese sauce earlier this week using just a quarter of the cashews in the recipe. It was so rich I wasn't able to get through my greens, broccoli, brown rice and a few other ingredients of the "bowl". Nuts just make me feel so full. This sauce is on my menu this Saturday! Thanks Nisha :)

[NM-vpql]

I just made this cheese and it blows my mind. My husband ate it and said he would never notice that it wasn't real cheese- and he's hyper aware of any "fake" recipes I make. Made a Mac and cheese casserole and it's the bomb.
I've been so sad trying to find dairy subs as they're usually expensive/they suck.

[jp]

Oh, man. I'm excited to try this. Going corn, rice, and dairy free due to allergies has drastically decimated the number of things I can eat. It's easier to list the things I can than cannot, but this seems so simple and I can probably find corn-free options to actually make something for once! Big thanks.

[nzchick]

I made this sauce today and it was so yum! I also made some chilli beans and had it in a spinach wrap with the cheese sauce and avocado, my children also loved it. Thank you for this quick and easy recipe!

[bloomsobrightphotography]

Made this today and had pasta with it. DELICIOUS! can't thank you enough for sharing this recipe. Love all your videos!!!

[Sarah-unvk]

Genius! I've assumed a cheese sauce without cashews would be liquid and thin but yours looks so creamy. I cannot wait to try it!

[consciousobserver]

I'd like to point out that this sauce could just as easily be eaten on its own as a soup. I make my own version of this, and I always eat several spoonfuls before applying it to a dish. 🤤