The most amazing Vegan Cheese Sauce that is Nut-free and Oil-free, as well as fat-free! It has no nuts and no cashews! It is also is the perfect sauce to make vegan Mac ‘N’ Cheese. This cheese sauce is healthy, creamy and made from potatoes and zucchini.
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NUT-FREE VEGAN CHEESE SAUCE
Are you ready for this? Are you ready for a to-die-for creamy vegan cheese sauce that tastes rich, thick and silky smooth? This is so darn delicious over mac ‘n’ cheese too. There is no nuts, no oil and totally healthy, as it’s made from vegetables like potatoes and zucchini.
In case you are wondering, this one is totally guilt-free. It is even coconut-free and gluten-free. When I’m not stuffing my face with this Vegan Cheesy Mexican Tortilla Bake, I like to enjoy this lighter, lower calorie version.
The majority of vegan cheese recipes are made with nuts/cashews or tofu, etc. Since so many of you readers cannot have nuts, I wanted to create a nut-free and fat-free cheese sauce that we could all enjoy with absolutely zero guilt. It’s totally kid-approved too, my daughter gobbles it up.
CHEESE SAUCE MADE WITH VEGETABLES
To create a whole foods cheese sauce made with vegetables, I took inspiration from 2 of the recipes on my blog that were creamy sauces without containing any nuts. My Low-Fat Nut-Free Creamy Parsley Sauce which is made from potatoes and my Spicy Zucchini Pepper Soup which is made from zucchini! Both are incredibly creamy, so I combined the two for a magic cheese sauce.
Lastly, another key ingredient that really drives home the cheesy flavor is soy sauce. It gives a depth of flavor that salt alone doesn’t give. I tried just lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and salt and none of them gave that cheesy flavor as great as soy sauce. I mean seriously, this entire recipe is basic ingredients that I just got at my local grocery store. So easy.
HOW TO MAKE A NUT-FREE VEGAN CHEESE SAUCE
First, you will need to gather these 8 ingredients (+salt and water):
- zucchini
- yukon gold potatoes
- nutritional yeast
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- smoked paprika
- soy sauce or liquid aminos
- lemon juice
Prepare the zucchini by preheating an oven to 415°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Peel all the green skin off the zucchini and slice into 1/4 inch slices and salt and pepper well. Bake for 15 minutes.
Next, cook your potatoes either by roasting, steaming or in the microwave. Mash them with a fork and measure out 1 cup.
Add the cooked zucchini and potato, along with all of the remaining ingredients (start with 3/4 cup water and add as needed, stopping at 1 cup) to your blender and blend until smooth. You will need to stop and scrape a couple of times from the bottom during. Do not be too eager to add extra water until you’ve really blended it up a couple of minutes on high to get it completely smooth. It will seem too thick at first, but it will start to turn very smooth from all the water from the zucchini.
Whether you use it as a dip or a vegan mac ‘n’ cheese, it’s delicious!
OTHER VEGAN CHEESE SAUCE RECIPES TO TRY:
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Vegan Cheese Sauce (Nut-free and Oil-free)
Ingredients
- 1 small zucchini, peeled and sliced, THEN weigh 130g
- 1 lightly filled cup (220g) cooked/mashed yukon gold
- 3/4 cup -1 cup water (as needed to reach desired thickness (I ALWAYS use 1 cup, so keep that in mind in regards to other ingredients)
- 1/4 cup (20g) nutritional yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2-3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika or regular if you don't like smoked
- 2 teaspoons liquid aminos (or low-sodium soy sauce or tamari, do not omit, this is what gives the cheesy flavor, do not use coconut aminos, it will not yield the correct flavor!)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
NOTE
- It's important to weigh the zucchini and potato, so the flavor turns out correct, too much zucchini and it could have an off taste.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 415°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Peel all the green skin off the zucchini and slice into 1/4 inch slices and salt and pepper well. It's imperative to peel the zucchini, otherwise your sauce will be an ugly green. Bake for about 15 minutes until tender.
Meanwhile, cook your potatoes either by roasting, steaming or in the microwave. Since I wanted a fast dinner, I just cooked them in the microwave for about 5 minutes until very soft. Do not boil them as they will get water logged and make the sauce more runny. I left the skins on since I have a Vitamix, but if you are concerned about getting the sauce smooth, peel them before cooking or blending.
- Mash the potatoes with a fork and measure out 1 cup. If you followed the correct weight measurement, you should get just about 1 lightly filled cup of mashed potatoes. Add them to a high speed blender. Update: Using a food processor will make this too gooey, make sure to use just a blender.
Add the zucchini, potato and the remaining ingredients (start with 3/4 cup water and add as needed, stopping at 1 cup) to the blender and blend until smooth. Stop and scrape a couple of times from the bottom during. Do not be too eager to add extra water until you've really blended it up a couple of minutes on high to get it completely smooth. It will seem too thick at first, but it will start to turn very smooth from all the water from the zucchini. If after blending it's too thick for you, add just a TINY amount just to blend it. If it's a bit thinner than you like, you can reheat it over the stove to thicken it up some.
- Taste and add any extra lemon juice and/or salt/spices if necessary. Add any desired toppings such as red pepper flakes, chopped tomatoes, sliced jalapenos. I like a kick of heat to my cheese so I added red pepper flakes but will totally blend up some jalapenos next time in the sauce. Sauce makes 2 1/2 cups.
To make it as a mac 'n' cheese, just simply boil your pasta and pour as much (a lot!) cheese sauce over the pasta. You can either warm the cheese by running it awhile in the blender or gently warming over the stove. It gives such an incredible cheesy, thick and stick-to-pasta result.
I just made this recipe and it turned out wonderfully! Thank you for publishing it for a vegan who recently went oil-free and is trying to avoid nuts!
That is so wonderful to hear Stefanie, thank you!
Can I use butternut squash or sweet potatoes in place of potatoes? Thanks!
Technically it will work but I don’t know how it will affect the taste, so I can’t say! You can try it!
I’m curious if you have tried incorporating this cheez sauce into soups? I’ve come across other recipes for vegan broccoli cheez soup that uses a sauce along with broth & veggies. This looks amazing! I’m going to have to experiment!
Hi Andrea, no I haven’t yet! I have been meaning to, but haven’t I actually have an incredible broccoli cheese soup that is in my upcoming cookbook, but it’s entirely different than this recipe.
My Vitamix arrived yesterday in the mail, and this is the first recipe I tried. It is delicious!! My husband and daughter loved it too.
That is so wonderful to hear Diane, thank you so much for the lovely review! I really appreciate it!
This cheese sauce is so creamy and delicious–I can’t believe that it’s fat free as well! Your healthy recipes are seriously amazing. Thanks for everything you do!
Thank you so much Penny for the awesome review!
This…blew…my…mind!!! I was skeptical, but at the first taste right out of the blender I started laughing,… it just seemed so ridiculous that potatoes and zucchini could turn into CHEESE SAUCE! I added a few chilli pepper flakes and poured it over some pasta and it was to die for. Try this.. you’ll be amazed!
So awesome to hear Karma!! Thank you so much for the amazing review, it really made my day, haha! Chili pepper flakes sound awesome! Oh would you mind giving it a star rating, that would really help me out, thank you!
I also wanted to say, to those who might be leary of trying ‘yet another’ supposed substitute for cheese sauce:
I’ve probably tried 30 different recipes made up of everything from cashews to tofu and everything in between, in an attempt to find something that actually tastes like cheese. The most successful attempts were tolerable at best, the worst of them ended up in the garbage. This really does taste like cheese to me, and the color, texture and consistency is wonderful as well. Brandi, have you ever tried this on pizza? I wonder how it would work after going into the oven..?
Thank you so much Karma for your kind words! You are so sweet! I have never tried this on pizza actually since it’s a fairly runny sauce, but you are welcome to try! I personally like my newer cheese from my Cheesy Mexican Tortilla Bake because that one is my favorite. Have you tried that one yet? That one is a bit richer and creamier because of the cashews and might work better on a pizza!
Have you ever tried this on pizza? I’m wondering if it works with baking it in the oven afterward? Can’t wait to make this again..!!!
Oh and no, I’ve never tried it in the oven yet!
First off, I want to say that I’ve loved everything else I’ve made from your blog – enchilada sauce, cheesy mexican tortilla bake, rice and black beans with sweet chili mustard sauce, to name a few. However, I just wasn’t a big fan of this one. I have tried potato cheese sauces before and haven’t liked them either, but I thought if I’m going to like one, it would be yours! I’m only leaving this review in case others try this and don’t like it – don’t be deterred by this recipe. Potato-based cheese sauces just aren’t for everyone. I’d love to see you make either a cashew cheese sauce or butternut squash cheese sauce, as those are the two I’ve liked the most and I’m sure you could take it to another level 🙂
Hi Calgal, you are too sweet, so glad you love all the recipes! Yes, you are correct, potato based “cheese” is definitely very different, and an acquired taste, but nonetheless has been a big hit with all the reviews above. But I can’t believe you don’t know about my other cashew based cheese sauces?! They are some of my most popular recipes and are very decadent and rich and the queso has truly been named the best by readers.
Here are 2 of them!
https://thevegan8.com/2018/01/15/best-vegan-queso/
Easy Vegan Mexican Cheese
https://thevegan8.com/easy-vegan-mexican-cheese-sauce/
Hi! This looks really good, and I would love to try it out, but do you have the nutritionals for this recipe by chance?
What?! Okay just made this. HOW is this oil free and so delicious? My extremely picky 7 year old that eats nothing I give him lately is chowing down. The closest recipe of many I have tried to tasting like macaroni and cheese. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Yay! So very happy to hear that Jamie and the fact your 7 year old chowed down on this speaks volumes! Thank you for the wonderful review and if you get a chance, would you mind star rating it? Thank you!
Holy cats! Who’dathunk zucchini are magic? The texture of this cheezy sauce blows those other straight veg recipes out of the water. Seriously, they feel like mashed potatoes to me. And zucchini are everywhere here in the back water where I live, unlike tapioca flour and agar agar powder, which are sold right next to the unobtainium. Thanks for sharing your secret!
Thank you so much for sharing your creativity! I’m including this recipe in my list of new recipes to try this week and am looking forward to it! Although the 1 cup measurement is clearly visible in your photo of the mashed potatoes, perhaps you would like to slip on and insert the word or number “1” in the list of ingredients when you are describing how much mashed potatoes you should have after cooking and mashing them. (See starred area in below.
“5 small yukon gold potatoes (220 g, use any yellow or “buttery” potato, but not russet! Weigh your ingredients!, you should end up with 1 ***** lightly filled cooked/mashed potato”. Hope this is helpful. LuAnn
Thank you! I will edit it to make more sense!
This mac & cheese receipe was such a big hit in our household! We have been looking for a whole food plant-based mac & cheese recipe that is oil free and made only of whole food ingrediets for so long and boy we are soooooo glad we found your receipe, Brandi! My kids (7 & 5) are the most picky eaters in the world and after having them try this were blewn away by its taste! They even said “Mom, this is far the most amazing and awesome Vegan Mac & Cheese of my life!!!” Now its their “power” dinner before their hockey practice & game! This is definitely the BEST VEGAN Mac & Cheese! Highly recommended! If we can put 10 stars here we will! My family are so grateful for all the healthy and yummy receipes you are creating and sharing here! Thank you for all you do, Brandi! We cannot wait to have your cookbook!
Wow! We have accidentally ( best accident ever !!!) transformed our family into plant base this year after looking to cure husband that was diagnosed with ruumatoid arthritis and two kids with severe eczema . This sauce is SO much more the food for us , especially for my husband . This sauce has set up such a positive and exiting mindset about a plant base diet for him and he much looks forward to every time it is on the table . So much so that I know make it in 6 x batch and freeze . Thanks you 🙂
Hi Marie! Oh that is such wonderful feedback! Thank you so much for sharing and I’m so glad this was a hit!
Absolutely delicious. Best vegan cheese recipe online, thank you for this
Wonderful May! I’m so glad you loved it! Thank you for the feedback! Would you mind clicking the star rating too, they help me out, thank you!
WOW, this is insane good..
I never tried to make a recipe in my life as any sauce or dressing seemed to be loaded with fat..
THANK YOU SO MUCH, I’m so glad I stuck with wanting to make this as it took me a week as I kept forgetting the ingredient list, then on top of that was really skeptical how a vegan sauce could actually taste good or mimic the “original”.. Boy I was so wrong!
thank you
Oh yay, so very happy to hear how much you loved this Stuart, thank you so much for making it and leaving a review!
Brandi, made this yesterday, it was amazing and I used it to make Mac & Cheese. OMG fabulous!
So awesome to hear Debbie! Thank you for the review!
OH. MY. GOSH. I’ve just started a dairy free thing because I am slightly lactose intolerant. I also cannot have cashews. You see my dilemma in finding a dairy free cheese? BUT I came across this page, made it tonight, and it is SO GOOD! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Yay!! Thrilled you loved it so much Nicole, thank you for the awesome review!
Hi Brandi – I am anxious to make this recipe, but I don’t have zucchini squash. I have butternut. I know it’s a good substitute for sweet potatoes, but is it too sweet for this recipe. Can I use it in the place of zucchini squash?
Hi Coletha! I really don’t think butternut squash would work here I’m sorry. It’s a completely different texture and flavor. The zucchini contains a lot more moisture so it really blends well here for a creamy sauce and the flavor is not detectable.
I made this and added sautéd mushrooms and broccoli over garbanzo bean pasta and it was dynamite(and GF)! This would be fantastic with just chips too. I’m sure I will find many many more uses for this recipe, though. Thank you for the joy you have brought to my life with your amazing recipes!
Yay, so very happy you love this and are loving my recipes Kim, your feedback always means so much!!
Do you peel the potatoes?
Yes
This looks very intriguing. Are the ingredient amounts given anywhere, other than the potatoes? My apologies if it is in the comments somewhere – just too many to read. Thanks.
Hi Annette, the recipe card is in the post, with full instructions. You can click “jump to recipe” from the top of the post to quickly bring you to the recipe.
Too funny – that makes it easy, doesn’t it? Thanks so much for your help!
I am hard to impress, but you truly did it with this recipe. I did make a small mistake, but I didn’t realize it until after I started. I used Russets potatoes instead of Yukon Gold. It was all I had. We are on a WFPB diet (my daughter and I) and we both love potatoes. We eat them quite a bit. I had run out of Yukon gold, so without reading the instructions first and only paying attention to the list of ingredients which you list first away I went with preparing the sauce. The recipe still turned out WONDERFUL!!!!…I couldn’t believe it? Not that I doubted your culinary talents I was just concerned about varying from your recommendation. I own the cookbook the Vegan 8 and we’ve enjoyed quite a few recipes that are now staples in our home. The sauce came out thick and creamy, very tasty, much better than most that I have tried that were made with nuts. My issue with most “cheeze sauce” recipes is the use of mustard. No matter how small the quantity, mustard ruins it for me and I like mustard just not in my “cheeze” sauce. I grew up on southern “soul” food and one thing I missed after becoming a vegan was homemade macaroni like my grandmother made. She used real cheese that definitely didn’t taste even remotely like mustard. My daughter found this recipe on your blog (which we both follow) and sent it in a text to me because she knew I would be interested since it didn’t have mustard. I was afraid if I tried one of my other recipes without adding mustard that it might come out weird and since you had tried and tested it I felt more comfortable. I originally made it for homemade tacos, but now I am torn. I am going to make mac and cheese, which means I gotta make another batch. It’s a good thing I have plenty of zucchini.
This is so wonderful to read Coletha, so happy this recipe impressed you so much!!
I posted it on Facebook making absolutely sure to give you credit (I posted the link from this page). Within 24 hrs approximately 300 WFPB folks liked or loved it. I promised a coworker I would make it and bring it to work for us to sample with tortilla chips.
That’s so wonderful to hear Coletha!! Thank you so much. I’ve been getting so much traffic for this recipe. Which group was it?
Brandi I know I’m always way behind the times with my comments! Usually by the time I comment on a recipe everyone else has made it 500 times already! But I just had to say how PHENOMENAL this is! I have been CRAVING creamy, cheesy plant-based yumminess lately and this completely fit the bill! I am going to take this to work tomorrow for a dear friend who is allergic to dairy. She is not a vegan, but she had a life-threatening infection which left her severely allergic to dairy, and she loves your food! Whenever I make one of your recipes I take it for her to sample and she loves them! You have changed her life and mine! Also, it is very hot in Utah right now, so I steamed the zucchini just briefly rather than heating up the oven and my house, and it worked beautifully! I am in the group who has a tough time with nutritional yeast so I left it out and upped the tamari just slightly. It is DELICIOUS!!!! Thank you so much!!
Thank you so much Heather! What a glowing review! This was so wonderful to read, thank you so much for sharing!!
Instead of weights- zucchini and potatoes, can you measure them ? What would the measurements be ? <
The cup measurement is given for the potatoes, it is mashed lightly filled cup. For the zucchini, I really do not know the cup measurement, as I only used a small zucchini, peeled and then weighed. I would just buy a small zucchini, one that is about 8 inches long I suppose.
I served this sauce over some macaroni last night. I’m partial to cashew based sauces, but I was surprised by how creamy and cheesy this was without cashews. The biggest win was when I served it to my non vegan husband. I offered to put some dairy cheese on his plate after he asked me if it was vegan. But when he actually tasted it, he told me he did need any cheese! This is huge people! Thank you, Brandi!
That is fabulous to hear Karisa! Thank you so much for making it and thrilled to hear how much your non-vegan hubby loved it!!
Hello!
Does the potato weight of 220 grams refer to before or after microwaving??
Thank you for the clarification!
Hi Malloy, it’s 220g of cooked and mashed potatoes. (Without skins)
Thank you for the recipe but my kids and husband really dislike the smoked paprika in it. 🙁
Hi Rita! It states on the recipe to use regular paprika if you don’t like smoked, so just regular instead next time.
This is my go-to fat free vegan cheese sauce (and I have experimented with a bunch of them). A must try. It’s delicious on anything!!!
So happy to hear that, thank you Marie!