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Best Ever Nacho Cheese!

Plant Based Recipes

Last Updated on January 23, 2024

I solemnly swear this Nacho’s so good. Back in high school everyone looked forward to Wednesday: Nacho Day. Trays of brilliant, radioactive, yellow goop filled the cafeteria.

This recipe is the stuff high school dreams are made of but without the artificial food coloring and crazy preservatives. It’s also without actual dairy – yep you read that right. Dairy Free.

 Real Color, No Modification

Real Color, No Modification

No dairy. 

In fact it’s mostly vegetables… so slather away my friends. No one needs to know it’s actually good for you. 

It’s also extremely versatile. You could use this as a base for broccoli & cheese soup, macaroni, chili dogs, cheesy rice, fondue, really the possibilities are endless. Just switch up the spices to match your region’s cuisine. 

Vegan, Dairy-Free, Nacho Cheese Sauce

This will make roughly 32 fluid oz.

2 Carrots

2 Red Potatoes

1/2 a Red or Orange Bell Pepper

1 Jalapeno

1/2 a Small Red or Yellow Onion

3 Cloves of Minced Garlic

1/2 Cup of Cashews

1 Tablespoon each of Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Chili Powder, Cumin, and Nutritional Yeast and add Kosher Salt and pepper to taste.

*additionally you could add some coriander or other chilies and spices.   

Chop all of the vegetables into strips or cubes for faster cooking. I did not peel them. 

Bring all of the vegetables to a rapid boil in 3 cups of water. Boil until the potatoes are tender (roughly 20 minutes) and your liquid should reduce to roughly 2 cups.

In a blender add your cashews, your spices, your boiled veggie liquid, and veggies. Blend until smooth. Taste and add spices to your liking.

If you’re scared about the salt, add half and then add half after you’ve tasted. It tastes even better second day!  

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    1. It’s also called a new potato. It has red skin with a white inside. It’s not a sweet potato (you know Orange on the inside) you could also use a yellow potato. They’re both small. A little smaller than your fist.

  1. I just made this for dinner and wanted to let you know that it’s great! It’s my first experiment with vegan cheese options so I don’t have much to compare it to… but I’ll definitely be making it again. For those who are sensitive to spice I’d start with half a tablespoon of each!

  2. Does this blend super smooth? My husband has a condition where he can’t digest nuts, beans or any legume really- but he can have nut butters because it’s already processed. I would love to try this but even a fragment of a nut can cause him ER level pain

    1. That depends on how high powered your blender is. Mine is 100% smooth, but I would not want to cause your husband any pain! Soak the cashews overnight to make sure they’re super soft and digestible or I would leave the cashews out. Can he have seeds? You can also soak sunflower seeds overnight. Or just sub with some pre-made cashew cream or nut milk. It might not be as thick, but you could also make a roux or a slurry with arrowroot.

      1. He can’t have seeds either and cashew butter is insanely expensive. I’m thinking about getting a new blender soon- my 8yr old blender is on its last legs. My I can convince my husband to get me a really nice one for my birthday in September.