A pot of potato and carrot does most of the work in this vegan nacho cheese sauce, which is why it comes out thick enough to cling to a chip without a single cashew. I blend the cooked vegetables with oat milk, nutritional yeast, tomato paste, and a spoonful of cornstarch, then cook the whole thing for a few minutes so the starch thickens properly. The result is glossy, pourable, and ready in about twenty-five minutes.
Most dairy-free sauces I’ve tried fall into two camps. One is a raw cashew blend that tastes nutty and needs a powerful blender to get truly smooth. The other is a flour roux that can turn pasty if you look at it wrong. Using potato for body and cornstarch for gloss avoids both problems, and the sauce still has enough fat from vegan butter to feel rich on the tongue. The starch does the rest of the work, because cornstarch gelatinizes once it heats up and holds the sauce together as it cools.
I use this on nachos, but it also works as a dip for soft pretzels, a pour-over for scalloped potatoes, and a shortcut on mac and cheese night. If you want more heat, stir in extra pickled jalapeno brine at the end. One batch makes about two cups, which is enough for a generous tray of nachos.
Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
Method
- Put the potato and carrot in a small pot and cover them with water by about an inch. Add a pinch of salt, bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, until both vegetables slide off a fork without resistance.
- Drain the vegetables, but save about 1/2 cup of the cooking water first. Transfer the potato and carrot to a blender.
- Whisk the cornstarch into 1/4 cup of the oat milk until there are no lumps left. Add that mixture to the blender along with the remaining oat milk, vegan butter, nutritional yeast, tomato paste, lemon juice, smoked paprika, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and turmeric.
- Blend on high for a full 60 seconds, until the sauce is completely smooth and you can't see any flecks of potato or carrot. Add a splash of the reserved cooking water if the blender struggles to move.
- Pour the blended sauce into a saucepan and set it over medium heat. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly with a spatula, until it thickens enough to coat the spatula and just begins to bubble at the edges.
- Stir in the chopped pickled jalapenos and a teaspoon of their brine. Taste and add more salt, lemon juice, or brine as needed, then serve warm.
Notes
Why This Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce Works
- Potato gives the sauce body – cooked potato adds weight and starch without flour, so the sauce coats a chip cleanly and has no raw-flour taste to cook out.
- The cornstarch gets cooked twice – it hydrates in cold oat milk first, then thickens in the saucepan, which is what creates that glossy pull instead of a gritty or separated texture.
- Tomato paste and nutritional yeast carry the savory note – tomato paste brings depth and a little sweetness, while nutritional yeast supplies the tangy, savory flavor people look for in a dairy-free nacho sauce.
- Lemon juice sharpens the finish – a small amount of acid keeps the sauce from tasting heavy and makes the spices read more clearly.
- Turmeric is there for color only – a quarter teaspoon pushes the sauce toward a warm orange without adding a bitter or medicinal flavor.
Tips for Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce
- Cut the potato and carrot into the same size pieces so they finish cooking at the same time. If the carrot stays firm while the potato goes soft, the sauce ends up with a grainy texture.
- Keep the reserved cooking water instead of pouring it down the sink, since it holds starch and flavor from the vegetables and thins the sauce without dulling the taste the way plain water can.
- Blend far longer than feels necessary, because a full minute on high is what separates a silky sauce from one with tiny visible specks of vegetable in it.
- Cook the sauce after blending instead of serving it straight from the blender, since the cornstarch needs a few minutes over heat to thicken and lose its raw taste.
- Add the jalapenos at the end. Once the sauce has thickened, you can taste the actual heat level and decide whether to add more brine or leave it mild.
- Loosen the sauce right before serving. It firms up quickly as it cools, so stir in oat milk a tablespoon at a time until it drizzles the way you want.
Storage
Keep leftover sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. It will set into a thick paste once cold, so reheat it gently in a saucepan or microwave with a splash of oat milk, stirring until it turns pourable again. Add the splash before you turn on the heat, since a cold, stiff sauce can catch on the bottom of the pan. I don’t recommend freezing this one, because the potato base can turn watery and grainy after thawing. If you need to make it ahead, blend and cook it the same day, then reheat it slowly rather than boiling it hard.
FAQ
Do I need a high-speed blender for this vegan nacho cheese sauce?
A regular blender is all you need, because the potato and carrot are already soft from simmering. Blend for a full minute, and if you still see small specks, push the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve before heating it. The cooked cornstarch will smooth out any remaining texture, and the sieve catches the few fibers the blender misses.
Why did my sauce turn out grainy?
The most common cause is undercooked vegetables, since firm potato and carrot won’t blend smooth no matter how long you run the machine. The second cause is skipping the final cook, which leaves the cornstarch underdone and tasting raw. Simmer the vegetables until a fork slides in easily, then heat the blended sauce until it thickens and just starts to bubble.
Can I make this sauce ahead of time?
You can make it up to three days ahead and store it covered in the fridge. Reheat it over low heat with a splash of oat milk, whisking until it loosens. It may look solid when it comes out of the fridge, but it turns smooth again as it warms, and the flavor actually deepens overnight.
Is this nacho sauce gluten-free?
It is made with cornstarch instead of flour, so the base is gluten-free. Check that your oat milk is certified gluten-free, since some brands process oats alongside wheat. The nutritional yeast, tomato paste, and spices are normally gluten-free as well.
