Vegan Cashew Cheese Sauce
Creamy, golden, and packed with savory depth, this cashew-based cheese sauce is the kind of thing that makes you forget dairy was ever part of the equation. Soaking raw cashews in boiling water before blending is the key move here — it softens them just enough so that a high-speed blender can turn them completely smooth, with zero graininess left behind. Nutritional yeast brings that unmistakable cheesy, umami quality, while smoked paprika, dry mustard, turmeric, and a splash of apple cider vinegar layer in the complexity you'd expect from a real cheddar sauce. A quick warm-up in the saucepan thickens everything beautifully and makes it pourable and glossy — perfect for drizzling over pasta, nachos, roasted vegetables, or anything else that deserves a little indulgence. The optional pinch of cayenne is a small addition that makes a noticeable difference if you like a little heat. This recipe makes six servings, so it's just as useful for a weeknight dinner as it is for feeding a crowd.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
- 1 cup raw cashews
- ½ cup water, plus more to thin
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp dry mustard
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Place the cashews in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Soak for 30 minutes, then drain and rinse well.
- 2
Transfer the drained cashews to a high-speed blender. Add the ½ cup water, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder, turmeric, smoked paprika, salt, dry mustard, and cayenne, if using.
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