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.
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 with potatoes and carrots. I had tried making with raw cashews. And no matter what variations of those I tried, it was just meh.
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.
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What are the ingredients needed for dairy free nacho cheese?
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 you make vegan nacho cheese?
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.
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.
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 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.
Can I prep this ahead?
Yes! You can prep this recipe ahead of time. It heats back up well in the microwave by warming at 30 second intervals.
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:
Vegan Nacho Cheese
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.
Stacie M
I couldn’t stop licking the cheese sauce off of the blender. This recipe was amazing. Thank you so much for sharing! Personally, I put a little more salt, seasoning and lemon juice since I love big flavors. I couldn’t find jalapeños at my store so I added some more cayenne. Y’all this is super easy and I made sure to have my tortilla chips ready. This maybe won’t taste exactly like Nacho Cheese by itself, but with the chips, it is banging. This is the only recipe I’m using from now on. Try it everyone!
LarishaBernard
We’re so happy to hear that! thank you for taking the time to leave a review! We really appreciate it.
Deborah
This is delicious and flexible. I can’t take so much heat so i substitute salsa for the jalapenos. Very delicious! I may try to reduce the butter. But I am definitely adding this to my recipe book.
LarishaBernard
So glad to hear you are enjoying the recipe. Great idea with the salsa! We really appreciate you taking the time to leave a review! Have a great day!
Breanna
Such a great recipe! Even approved by non-vegans. It looks like a lot of ingredients but it’s almost all stuff we already have around, so fast and easy. I’ve made it a handful of times already. Yum! Thank you!!
LarishaBernard
So glad to hear you are enjoying the recipe. We really appreciate you taking the time to leave a review! Have a great day!
Yahaira
Amazon I’ve already made it a couple times. Had to tone down the heat because I’m a wimp but delicious nonetheless!
Yahaira
Amazing*****
LarishaBernard
So happy to hear you enjoyed it (even without the heat 😉 ). We really appreciate you taking the time to leave a review! Have a great day!
Jessica Norton
Idk if I’ve commented on this before but it’s my favorite & go-to cheese sauce! Amazing!
LarishaBernard
So happy to hear you enjoyed it. We really appreciate you taking the time to leave a review! Have a great day!
Anne Hernandez
I am so excited to try this recipe!!! It’s Superbowl Sunday and my husband requested vegan nachos for our main snack/supper. I’m running to the store for more noosh just for this.
I would love to review your recipe on my blog. Of course, I will direct everyone to your site and would not publish the recipe. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns.
LarishaBernard
Hope it was a hit!
Gaylene
thank you for making a nut-free cheese! we have a son with allergies, so I’m always trying to adapt things so he can enjoy our food, too!
LarishaBernard
So happy to hear it was helpful for your family!
Eva
Hi,
We can’t get nutritional yeast where we live is these a way to sub it? Or leave it out? I can’t wait to try it though!
Thanks so much!
LarishaBernard
hmm, we haven’t tried. It gives it that cheesy flavor so if you can get vegan cheese, I’d probably add more of that in there
Sonja
This turned out so good I had to come back and leave a 5 star review! Thank you for taking the time to figure this recipe out! Everyone in my house thanks you as well! The flavor is on point.This is the best cheese substitute I’ve made yet. Next time I may try to add some agar powder to make it stretchy, I’ve used it in other recipes and really like the texture of it. Thanks again!
LarishaBernard
So happy to hear that it’s a hit! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review! Let us know if you try the agar!
TAMAR CHOBANYAN
I only have vanilla flavored milk. Can I use water instead of the plant milk?
LarishaBernard
I mean it would work but it would def dilute it
Melanie
I’ve been mostly plant based, vegan for over 2 years. I’ve made a lot of cheese sauces and this one so far is my favorite for a nacho sauce. Only thing I did differently is I added a 7 oz can of drained jalapenos with carrots. My kitchen aid blender did just fine with it.
LarishaBernard
So happy that you like it! Thanks for taking time to leave a review, we really appreciate it!
R Shorts
This is SO SO SO good…poured it over some baked potatoes and sat to myself humming (in that way when you have something yummy and you’re not gonna share, and don’t care if you seem mean…). Enjoyed every bite! Thank you…sooooo, is there a cookbook? Hugs and high fives. You’re a beautiful couple.
LarishaBernard
So happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for leaving a review! We do not currently have a cookbook
Shannon
This looks really good!! Could i use tapioca starch in place of the oat flour? I have never seen oat flour at my local stores. Or could i just turn some oatmeal into oat flour? I want to make this soon! Im craving nachos! Lol!
LarishaBernard
You can totally grind up rolled (old fashioned) oats to make oat flour, in fact that’s what we do. But you could sub with any other non-gluten flour since this isn’t baked – so almond flour too. Tapioca starch may make it too “gluey” we haven’t tried yet.
Shannon
Thank you for responding so quickly!!! I just found your website when i was looking for a vegan nacho cheese recipe. Im going to look at your other recipes now
LarishaBernard
awesome!
Chanthi
Made this tonight for my partner, who can’t have dairy, and we love it!! We did the stovetop method and added some red pepper flakes since we ran out of jalapenos, and it turned out fantastic. Thank you for this godsend of a recipe!!
LarishaBernard
We’re so happy to hear it was enjoyable! Thanks for taking time out of your day to write a review, it’s much appreciated!
Kelly
This is the BEST queso I have ever made. I followed this recipe to a T and it turned out so freaking delicious! Easy and quick to make too which is a plus. 10/10
LarishaBernard
We’re so happy to hear you liked it! Thanks for taking time out of your day to leave a review. We really appreciate it.
Nanci
Hi, I never comment on recipes, but I made this today and it is FANTASTIC!!!! I only had pinto beans on hand and it was delicious! Perfect flavor complement. This will be a new staple for me 🙂 Thanks for posting this recipe!
LarishaBernard
We’re so happy to hear! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review. We appreciate it so much