Healthy Veggie Cheese Sauce (2024)

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This easy veggie cheese sauce is a healthy alternative to cheese that is made with simple plant-based ingredients and pureed into a delicious vegan cheese sauce that will get even picky eaters to eat their vegetables! Made with squash, carrots, and your choice of cashews, beans, or potatoes, this cheese sauce is packed with nutrients and flavor!

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If you want to sneak more vegetables into your kids, or you just want to eat mac and cheese or nachos without guilt, this recipe is for you! It's a thick, creamy, and cheesy sauce packed with plant-based nutrients and 129% of your RDA of vitamin A!

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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
🔪 Helpful tools
🥄 Instructions
🥦How to use the sauce
🥡 How to store vegetable cheese sauce
🔥 How to reheat cheese sauce
🧀 More vegan cheeses

❤️ Why you'll love this recipe

It's quick and easy to make with simple ingredients.
The sauce is full of healthy vegetables.
It's plant-based, gluten-free, soy-free, and easily made nut-free or oil-free too.

🧾 Ingredients and substitutions

Squash - any type of squash will work. I usually use yellow squash or butternut squash, but you can use any type. You will need 2 cups of any variety that you choose.
Carrots - for flavor and color. You will need about 2 medium or 10 baby carrots.
Oil - just a little olive oil, vegan butter, or other neutral-flavored oil to warm the garlic in to bring out the flavor. You can omit the oil to make it oil-free.
Garlic - for flavor.
Vegetable Broth - to give the cheese sauce more flavor. You can also use water.
Nutritional Yeast - to give it a cheesier flavor. You can leave it out if you want, it will still have a nice flavor. Check out this link for more aboutnutritional yeast.
Onion Powder - for flavor.
Paprika - for flavor. Smoked paprika gives a great smokey flavor if you want that.
Turmeric - for color and nutrition. (optional)
Lemon Juice - for flavor and to give the cheese a little acidity.
Cashews, Potatoes, or White Beans - to make the sauce thick and creamy. For this you can choose from 1 cup of cashews, 1 1/4 cups of diced potato, or 1 can of white beans - drained and rinsed. I like to use cashews to give the sauce a rich and creamy texture. (No need to soak the cashews beforehand, they will soften when cooked with the squash.) Potatoes and beans also work great, but they will not be as smooth and creamy as cashews.
Salt - for flavor.

Immersion Blender - or a traditional blender. I prefer to use a metal stick blender aka immersion blender, so I don't have to transfer hot liquid and so that the hot sauce doesn't come in contact with plastic.

🥄 Instructions

Step 1 - Put some oil in a saucepan and add minced garlic. Turn on the heat to the lowest setting and let the garlic warm in the oil while you are preparing the other ingredients.

Step 2 - Peel and cut squash and carrots into bite-sized pieces and toss them in with the oil and garlic.

Step 3 - Add your choice of cashews, white beans, or potatoes.

Step 4 - Add 2 cups of vegetable broth, onion powder, paprika, turmeric, lemon juice, and nutritional yeast. Turn up the heat to medium and allow to boil slowly for about 10 minutes until all the vegetables are soft enough to break apart when you stick a fork in them.

🥦How to use the sauce

Use this plant-based cheese sauce poured over vegan nachos, TVP tacos, tempeh tacos, fajitas, baked potatoes, steamed broccoli, or cauliflower. You can also use it to make healthy vegan mac and cheese.

🥡 How to store vegetable cheese sauce

Leftovers will keep well in the fridge for 3 - 5 days in a sealed container. You can freeze this cheese sauce too. Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.

🔥 How to reheat cheese sauce

Reheat the leftover sauce in a saucepan on the stovetop until warm. You may need to add a tablespoon or two of water to thin out the sauce if it is too thick.

You will find many types of vegan cheeses and cheese sauces on my site. Just as there are many types of cheese, there are many types of vegan cheese as well. This sauce doesn't taste exactly like cheese, but it has a great cheesy flavor that will satisfy your cravings. If you want a cheese sauce that tastes more like real cheese check out my vegan nacho cheese sauce.

🧀 More vegan cheeses

Vegan Smoked Gouda
Vegan Garlic Herb
Vegan Pepper Jack
Melty Vegan Mozzarella
Vegan Cheddar
Vegan Cream Cheese

If you are interested in learning how to make more easy homemade vegan cheeses, check out my cookbook, "The Ultimate Guide to Easy Vegan Cheese Making."

📌 Be sure tofollow me on Pinterestfor new vegan recipes!

4.91 from 11 votes

Print Recipe

Veggie Cheese Sauce

A rich and creamy vegan cheese sauce made from vegetables.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time15 minutes mins

Course: condiment

Cuisine: cheese, vegan

Keyword: healthy vegan cheese sauce, vegetable cheese, veggie cheese

Servings: 8

Calories: 137kcal

Author: Monica Davis

Equipment

immersion blender or regular blender

Ingredients

2 cups butternut squash (or summer squash) cut, peeled and cubed
2 medium carrots or about 10 baby carrots
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic minced
2 cups vegetable broth or water
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspooon paprika or smoked paprika
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup raw cashews or 1 1/4 cup potatoes peeled and cubed, or 1 can of white beans drained and rinsed.
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste (The amount needed will depend on sodium in your broth and personal preference.)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Put some oil in a saucepan and add minced garlic. Turn on the heat to the lowest setting and let the garlic warm in the oil while you are preparing the other ingredients.
Peel and cut squash and carrots into bite-sized pieces and toss them in with the oil and garlic.
Add your choice of cashews, white beans, or potatoes.
Add 2 cups of vegetable broth, onion powder, paprika, turmeric, lemon juice, and nutritional yeast. Turn up the heat to medium and allow to boil slowly for about 10 minutes until all the vegetables are soft enough to break apart when you stick a fork in them.
Blend with an immersion blender for about 2-3 minutes until very smooth and creamy (or transfer to a blender to blend).
Use as you would any cheese sauce. Pour over pasta or use it as a cheese dip, or make loaded vegan nachos with it.

Notes

*Nutrition facts are calculated using butternut squash and cashews.

Omit the oil for an oil-free cheese.
Add 1 tsp of miso paste just before blending for a more cheddar cheese flavor. (Omit the salt if you do this since miso is salty.)

Nutrition

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