This is the BEST Vegan Nacho Cheese that you’ve ever tried. Ready in just 10 minutes. Completely plant based, nut free and contains no carrots or potatoes.
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Before going vegan, chips and salsa and chips and nacho cheese were my go-tos for parties, late night snacks, and more. Obviously chips and salsa is still a go, but man oh man I missed nacho cheese. Thus, vegan nacho cheese was a must make creation.
However, I had tried making it with potatoes and carrots. I had tried making it with raw cashews.
Someone recommended that I tried Wayfare’s nacho cheese and instantly I was taken back to that perfect nacho cheese and chips combo. It was absolutely delicious.
I took a peek at the ingredients and the main ingredients were butter beans. Intrigued, I had to try to recreate something amazing.
The result….the best vegan nacho cheese if I do say so myself.
Now you can make it at home, easily, whenever you want and know exactly what the ingredients are that goes into the recipe.
This is so easy to make! Just 10 minutes total time. And can be completely Top 8 Allergen Free.
Vegan Cheese Dip Ingredients
This isn’t a small list of ingredients; however, most of them are spices, so don’t freak out!
- Butter beans
- Nutritional yeast
- Diced Jalapeños
- Lemon juice
- Vegan butter
- Oat flour
- Dairy Free milk
- Salt
- Cayenne Pepper
- Chili Powder
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
- Smoked Paprika
- Cumin
- Turmeric
How to Make Vegan Nacho Cheese without Cashews
We recommended making your vegan nacho cheese in a high powered blender. You literally pour all the ingredients into your blender and then blend for 5 minutes. The result is a creamy vegan nacho cheese that is already warmed.
Can I use all-purpose flour for this vegan nacho cheese?
We have tested this recipe with oat flour and almond flour. You could use other gluten free flours like chickpea also.
However, if you use all-purpose flour, we recommend that you make in a skillet instead of in a blender or food processor so that the flour actually gets cooked and you eliminate the risk of salmonella.
What type of beans are best?
We love butter beans for this vegan nacho cheese recipe. However, any type of white bean would work – such as Great Northern or cannellini beans.
Can I prep this Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce ahead of time?
Yes! You can prep this recipe ahead of time. It heats back up well in the microwave by warming at 30 second intervals.
Vegan Nacho Cheese Recipe Variations
While this recipe itself is amazing, there’s a few ways to switch it up! To the blender with the other ingredients:
- Spice it up! Add in pickled or fresh jalapeños to taste. Start with 2 tablespoons. Want to really spice it up? Swap some or all the vegan cheddar cheese with vegan pepper jack!
- Beer cheese – Add ½ to ¾ cup of a lager or ale to make a beer cheese. Want an official beer cheese? Try our vegan beer cheese recipe.
- Garlicky – If you love a garlic cheese, add 3-5 cloves of roasted garlic (more or less to desired taste). You can also do 1 teaspoon or more garlic powder but it won’t give it as much of an impact as the fresh roasted.
- Caramelized Onion – Add ½ cup of caramelized onions and ½ teaspoon of balsamic vinegar. Not necessary but to make it a bit different, swap ½ or all of the cheddar of a vegan Gouda.
Do I have to use a blender?
While we think a blender is the easiest and fastest way to make this dairy free nacho cheese recipe, it isn’t the only way to make it.
You could also use a food processor by adding all the ingredients together and blending until smooth and thickened.
Another alternative would be to make on the stovetop using a skillet. In order to do this, you would first need blend or mash the beans in some way to make as smooth as possible. Then, melt the butter over medium heat and then add your flour. If you are use all-purpose flour, this is the method you want to use.
Whisk together the flour and butter. Then, pour in your milk and stir together. Finally add the remaining ingredients and let cook over medium low until thickened and well combined.
Can I make this Top 8 Allergy Friendly Nacho Cheese?
Make sure that you are using a soy free dairy free butter like Earth Balance soy free in the red tub. In addition, make sure that you are using a Top 8 Free milk like oat, flax, or hemp. To be honest, we prefer using oat.
Alternative preparation method with Rotel – canned diced tomatoes and chilis:
One other note is that you could skip the diced jalapeños alone and do a can of drained Rotel or generic canned diced tomatoes and chilis instead. You are only swapping that so proceed with the rest of the ingredients.
What are ways that I can use dairy free nacho cheese?
Obviously you can just spoon it into your mouth, but you also could use tortilla chips. Some other ideas for how to use this vegan nacho cheese are:
- Instant Pot Vegan Tex Mex Rice
- On top of your Dairy Free Nachos
- Vegan Taco Casserole instead of the shredded cheese
- As a sauce on the best vegan black bean burger
- Vegan Chorizo Burrito Bowls
- Make tacos with our Walnut Taco Meat or Sweet Potato and Black Bean tacos
- Mix in or on top over our Jackfruit and Black Bean Enchiladas
- Make Cheese Dogs with our Homemade Vegan Hot Dog Recipe
- Perfectly on top of our Mexican Stuffed Peppers
Pin this vegan nacho cheese for later:
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Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 15oz can Butter Beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 4oz can diced jalapenos (see notes for spice level)
- 1 cup unsweetened dairy free milk
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- ¼ cup vegan butter
- 2 tablespoon oat flour
- ½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Pour all ingredients into a high powered blender. *See notes if you do not have a blender.
- Blend for 5 minutes or until a thickened, creamy, well-combined sauce.
- Serve warm.
- Top with diced tomatoes and/or jalapenos to serve
- Store leftovers in an air tight container for up to 7 days.
Notes
Video
Nutrition
This was a pleasant surprise. Tastes way better than some other I tried to make. I really like it! Only thing is I forgot to buy a fresh bag of tortilla chips!
Glad you enjoyed it! Would love to hear how you’d improve to give it 5 stars
Can you use Arrowroot flour instead of the oat flour?
No we wouldn’t recommend that
AWESOME!!!!! We love this sauce and have used it multiple times now. We’ve used it to make crunch wraps and a cheesy/sausage/rotel dip. It’s always a big hit. You guys are the best!
So glad that you are enjoying it so much
It truly doesn’t make sense how good this and I can’t tell you how many times I have made this! Lol it’s actually kind of addictive in taste in my opinion! Which is funny because cheese has addictive properties to it. Great job guys! If you haven’t made this yet…you should!
haha, we totally understand! So glad you’re enjoying it
This queso truly lives up to all your promises! I was blown away!! I’ve tried cashew sauce, potato & carrot cheese sauce and everything in between… this is IT y’all! Don’t fool with other recipes! I’ve been plant based for years and I’ve patiently encouraged my husband who has been diagnosed with heart disease and high cholesterol to make the switch. I’ve tried for years (YEARS!) and this queso recipe made him a believer. Can’t wait to explore more of your recipes with him!
Thank you so much!
wow, what an amazing compliment. Thank you so much for sharing
Great. Skipped the jalapeños for Rotel. Blended half of the can and stirred in the remainder.
Yum! Glad you enjoyed
Hi Bernard’s!
I tried this recipe tonight because I have been wanting nachos. I was really nervous about it because I have never tried to make my own nacho cheese sauce and in the past, nutritional yeast is not so good to me. But I bought Braggs this time instead of traders Verizon. And it was awesome! My non vegan family loved it. I used cannelini beans, almond milk and almond flour. The consistency was on point. Thank you so much!
Sorry forgot to rate it.🤦🏽♀️
HAHA thank you
So glad to hear that you found a recipe you love!
what am I doing wrong? I make it as written, but it never gets thickened! I end up putting it on the stovetop to thicken. besides that I just want to say it’s SO. GOOD. I’ve made it a few times now and it’s basically changed my life being dairy free. I put it with noodles. I mix it with taco meat to make a dip. If you’re on the fence, just make it!!!
Glad you enjoyed it overall. Make sure you drain the beans, but otherwise it should thicken. Try use 1/2 cup non-dairy milk and increase after blending – also make sure to run the blender for at least 3 minutes.