Cheesy sauce that you can dip, spread, and mix. Easy to make with no cooking required.
Creating a vegan cheese can seem intimidating, given that most of us don’t make cheese from scratch. Aging it and making sliceable or shreddable consistencies can be really time intensive. But in all my years as a vegan, I found that cheese sauces can actually be very simple to create, they pack tons of flavor, and can be used in a wide variety of dishes.
This recipe was adopted from It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken, adding miso and fresh garlic to create a sharp, salty flavor, and to provide an option to eliminate soaking and stovetop cooking by using a high speed blender. The heat generated from this type of blender is sufficient to thicken the sauce without needing to do extra dishes at the end!
This creamy cheese is really versatile and can be adjusted easily for different dishes. For example, adding a dash of cayenne pepper and chili powder makes this a great queso alternative. Or you can add paprika to make it into a tasty cheesy dip for veggies and crackers. We like to use it for quesadillas, lasagna, and grilled cheese sandwiches.
Creamy Vegan Cashew Cheese
Equipment
- High speed blender (such as a Blendtec or Vitamix)
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 cup tapioca flour
- 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp miso paste
Instructions
- Boil 2 cups of water. Add all ingredients except the miso to a high speed blender. Choose the highest speed or the soup setting, if it is available. Blend 2 times for about 90 seconds each time. You should have a thick, creamy cheese. Add miso and pulse for 10 seconds, just enough to combine.
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