Whether you’re having friends over or making nachos for the family, this vegan nacho cheese recipe is perfect for those with nut, dairy or gluten allergies, since it’s 100% plant-based! Most cheeses will be made from either dairy, nuts or have gluten and I wanted to make a cheese recipe that was accessible for people with allergies or for those who wanted to make their own homemade plant-based cheese! It’s a win-win situation!
Born in Germany and raised by Europeans who love cheese, I grew up loving all cheeses. And when I became vegan 9 years ago, I made it a mission to find or create the best vegan cheese substitutes! (See my Vegan Mozzarella recipe or Vegan Feta recipe)
If you’re looking for melty, gooey and delicious vegan cheese for nachos, tacos or frankly anything… you’ve come to the right recipe website! This recipe is all about using simple ingredients you can find in almost any grocery store and how to turn it into a delicious nacho cheese recipe!
You can share & print my recipe below to make your own Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce! Or you can watch me on YouTube show you how to make it!
Related Recipe: Best Vegan Mozzarella Cheese
Hi, I’m Candice & welcome to The Edgy Veg! Where I veganize popular food recipes for vegans, plant-based diets, eco-conscious eaters & people who are trying to eat more plants over… y’know animals or by-products of animals.
This recipe is part of my 3-Recipe Series on Making Vegan Cheese from TOFU! Check out these other vegan cheese recipes: Vegan Feta Cheese & Vegan Mozzarella Cheese.
How To Make: Vegan Nacho Cheese Recipe
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If you want to view or print the recipe card, just scroll down for the full list of ingredients & simple instructions on how to make this Vegan Nacho Cheese.
Get ready to dip, scoop or dunk your tortilla chips into this delicious vegan nacho cheese! Or feel free to try this recipe on my Vegan Nachos or Tater Totchos Recipe!
Related Recipe: Best Vegan Feta Cheese
INGREDIENTS FOR VEGAN NACHO CHEESE
- 1 cup silken tofu
- 1 carrot, boiled
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp mustard powder
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp vegan butter or olive oil
- 1 shallot, diced
- ½-1 jalapeño, chopped fresh seeded (depending on desired heat)
- unsweetened soy milk as needed to thin out the sauce
INSTRUCTIONS FOR VEGAN NACHO CHEESE
- Add silken tofu, carrot, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder, mustard powder, nutritional yeast, and sea salt to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Melt vegan butter or oil in a medium-size pot over medium heat.
- Add shallots, garlic and jalapeño and saute for 3-4 minutes until fragrant and softened.
- Add cheese sauce mixture to the saucepan and stir to combine, until heated, roughly 2-4 minutes.
- Serve with tortilla chips as a dip, or use on top of vegan nachos, as a spread or as a cheese substitute in a mac & cheese.
Voila! Gooey Vegan Nacho Cheese!
If you want more vegan recipes, click here for my newest recipes.
Recipe for Vegan Nacho Cheese
- 1 cup of silken tofu
- 1 carrot, boiled
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp mustard powder
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp vegan butter orolive oil
- 1 shallot, diced
- ½-1 jalapeño, chopped fresh seeded (depending on desired heat)
- Soy milk as needed to thin out the sauce
- Add silken tofu, carrot, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder, mustard powder, nutritional yeast, and sea salt to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Melt vegan butter or oil in a medium-size pot over medium heat.
- Add shallots, garlic and jalapeño and saute for 3-4 minutes until fragrant and softened.
- Add cheese sauce mixture to the saucepan and stir to combine, until heated, roughly 2-4 minutes.
- Serve with tortilla chips as a dip, or use on top of vegan nachos, as a spread or as a cheese substitute in a mac & cheese.
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You guys must try the Vegan Nacho Cheese & let me know what you think! Once you try it, come back and leave me a comment below with your feedback and 5-star rating! If you make this, let me see on social! Tag @edgyveg on your photo & add the hashtag #edgyveg in your caption so I don’t miss it!
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For more easy, delicious vegan recipes, check out the links below!
- Vegan Nachos
- Vegan Feta Cheese
- Vegan Mozzarella Cheese
- The BEST Vegan Lasagna
- High Protein Vegan Ground Beef
- Easy Vegan Bechamel Sauce
This recipe makes such a light and flavorful vegan cheese! I am really glad to have an alternative to oily, nut-based alternatives.
HI Candice
I made your recipe to top my enchiladas. Wow, the sauce was fantastic, so fantastic that we finished it off and I had to make a second batch for my leftover enchiladas.
The second time around I used a soft tofu rather than a silken tofu and the recipe was just as delicious and creamy.
Thank you for sharing your delicious recipe!
How long will it keep and can it be frozen?
Candice! I tried this out and my sauce ended up being too thing (and I never even added the soy milk). I used one block of silken tofu and exact measurements. Help!
I also found that with those exact measurements I could definitely taste the tofu in there so I tripled the seasonings and added tomato salsa too. Thanks!!
Just made it for a group of friends coming over (one was vegan and another was dairy-free so this was perfect!) and boy was it super easy to make and delicious! Definitely adding this recipe to my roster when family or company come over! Thanks Edgy veg!
Update time: We had veggie taco filling left over so we tossed it with elbow macaroni and made this sauce to go on top. Then we advertised it as “queso” to the meat-etarian child in the house without mentioning that there was no actual cheese in it, and he LOVED it. I loved it too, though I noticed it had a slightly sweet taste that I couldn’t put my finger on. Maybe too much carrot? But the colour was perfect, the texture was nice and smooth, and next time we’re going to try it without the jalapenos to see if it works for mac & cheese. 😀
I’m going to try this today! Is it best used right away or can I make it ahead and then reheat it?
You can reheat it, but I find that the texture is always best when made fresh!
Thanks for watching the videos! Soy milk has more protein and the texture of it works best for this recipe. Using almond milk might make your cheese sauce more watery.
Can you use almond milk or does it have to be soy milk?
Keep cranking out videos, I love them and you’re hilarious!!!
Thanks!
Can you use regular tofu or does it have to be silken?
Silken tofu allows for the sauce to keep it’s smooth texture. Regular tofu may give your cheese sauce a different texture.