
Over the past couple years, I’ve made many different vegan cheeze sauce recipes. The initial ones weren’t what I would consider spectacular, but with trial and error I’ve made recipes that not only satisfy my cravings, but make me crave the new recipes instead of actually craving cheese itself.
As a former cheese addict, this is big.
Last year, I fell in love with cashew-based vegan cheeze sauces. When you blend or process cashews with nutritional yeast, herbs, spices, and almond milk, you get this thick and creamy vegan cheeze sauce that can be added to macaroni, casseroles, spread onto sandwiches, and more.
I especially love making this cashew-based Butternut Squash Mac ‘n Cheeze:

This below, is my favourite Cashew-Based Vegan Cheeze Sauce (without the squash).

Lately, my focus has shifted to sauces that I can make without cashews.
The cashew-based sauces are delicious, but they can be quite heavy. I’ve been working on sauces that can be thrown together in just a few minutes on the stove top.
My first attempt was my 5-Ingredient Cheeze Sauce. Just almond milk, Earth Balance, flour, nutritional yeast, and S & P.

Some of you asked for a version that didn’t have as much fat in it. This recipe has 4 tablespoons of Earth Balance, but I knew that I could make it much healthier and lighter with a little work!

This weekend was cold, wet, and gloomy, and it was the perfect weekend to make some comfort food. I decided to make a lighter Butternut Squash Mac ‘n Cheeze.
But of course, I wasn’t so sure if it would work. I figured there was a good chance I’d be eating bad mac ‘n cheese for a week straight while Eric ate cereal for dinner.
But it’s always good to hang onto a glimmer of hope.

I roasted a Butternut Squash, but if you want to save time you can always used canned squash as an option.

How to Roast Butternut Squash
Preheat the oven to 425F. Start by slicing your squash in half (try not to slice your finger off like I almost did). I used a 3.5 pound squash for this recipe, but you only need 1 cup of cooked squash for the sauce (I had 4 cups of squash leftover, fyi). Scoop out the seeds & guts with a spoon.

Peel the two halves and chop off the top and bottom.

Slice into 1-2 inch chunks.

Add the chunks into a large casserole dish or roasting pan. Drizzle on extra virgin olive oil and mix well with your hands. Now sprinkle on a hearty dose of Herbamare or kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.

Roast, uncovered, for about 40 minutes at 425F or until tender.
Again, you can skip this roasting step and use canned squash if you are crunched for time.
Meanwhile, prepare the cheeze sauce on the stove top by whisking together Earth Balance (I cut the fat by 75%!), unflavoured almond milk, nutritional yeast, arrowroot powder (or cornstarch or flour), Dijon, garlic powder, S & P.

If you roasted your squash, blend 1 cup of squash with the cheeze sauce in a blender. If you are using canned squash, you can just stir the squash directly into the pot.

The outcome was incredible. Thick, with a believable cheese flavour.
Best of all, it’s quite low in fat, full of nutrients, and easy to make.
Finger. licking. good.

The sauce makes enough for 4 servings of Macaroni (I used brown rice elbow macaroni).

Mix it up and add in your desired mix-ins. I used kale (help me!), but you can use spinach, peas, broccoli, or any vegetable that tickles your fancy.

I stirred in a bit of leftover roasted squash too.

This recipe is definitely “in the vault”, as we like to say.
Eric was crazy for this mac ‘n cheeze and he’s a big cheese lover so I take that as a compliment. Brownie points earned.

Updated recipe (March 2017):

Butternut Squash Mac 'n Cheese

Yield
3 to 4 servings
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Creamy, cheesy, comforting—and healthy, too—what more could you want from a pasta dish? The original recipe was posted on my blog way back in 2011, and it quickly became one of my most popular recipes. I've now tweaked it slightly (mainly, streamlined the directions and added more flavour to the sauce), and I think it's better than ever. We just can't get enough! If you want a super-fast weeknight option, feel free to use canned butternut squash purée in lieu of the roasted squash.
Ingredients
For the butternut squash:
- 1 large or 2 medium (2 to 3 pounds total) butternut squash, halved and seeded*
- Grapeseed or sunflower oil
- Fine sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
For the cheese sauce:
- 1 cup (180 g) roasted butternut squash
- 1 tablespoon (14 g) vegan butter**
- 3/4 cup (180 mL) unsweetened and unflavoured almond milk
- 1 tablespoon (12 g) potato starch or cornstarch
- 1/4 cup (20 g) nutritional yeast, or more to taste
- 2 teaspoons (10 mL) Dijon mustard
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
- 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 to 3 teaspoons (10 to 15 mL) chickpea miso (or other light miso), to taste
For the pasta:
- 8 ounces (340 g) macaroni, mini shell, or rotini pasta (use gluten-free, if desired)
- Mix-ins of choice (e.g., cooked squash, kale, spinach, broccoli, peas, etc.)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly spray or brush the oil onto the orange flesh of each squash half. Garnish with salt and pepper. Place the halves cut-side down on the baking sheet. Roast for about 35 to 50 minutes, uncovered, until a fork or knife easily slides through the squash. The skin will be lightly browned and the squash may be brown in some spots (which only adds to the flavour).
- When there are about 20 minutes left of the squash’s roasting time, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain.
- After the squash is finished cooking, flip it flesh-side up and let it cool for 10 minutes or so before handling.
- Into a blender, add the cheese sauce ingredients (butter, milk, starch, nutritional yeast, Dijon, garlic and onion powder, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and miso) along with 1 lightly packed cup of the roasted squash (simply spoon it out of the skin and measure). Blend on high until smooth.
- Add the cooked and drained pasta back into the pot and stir in all of the cheese sauce. Chop the leftover squash into small cubes, scoop the cubes out of the skin, and add them into the pot (along with any other mix-ins you like). Heat over medium and stir until thickened. Add more salt and pepper to taste (and more lemon juice if you want a bit more brightness). Serve immediately.
Tip:
* For a quick and easy option, swap the roasted butternut squash for 1 cup of canned butternut squash or pumpkin purée. It works well and is great for time-crunched weeknight meals. Instead of roasting squash halves, you can save a bit of time by purchasing pre-chopped fresh squash, too.
** You can probably substitute the vegan butter for a light-tasting oil, such as grapeseed oil or refined coconut oil.
Make it nut-free: Use a nut-free plant-based milk. Just be sure it's unsweetened and unflavoured.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)Original recipe:
Butternut Squash Mac ‘n Cheeze (Vegan with Gluten-free & Nut-Free options)
Husband approved. Cook approved. Vegan approved. Omnivore approved. ‘Nough said.
Yield: 4 servings or 1.5 cups of cheeze sauce
Ingredients:
- 1 fresh butternut squash* (peeled and chopped) OR 1 cup canned butternut squash OR canned pumpkin
- Extra virgin olive oil, S & P
- 1 tbsp Earth Balance (or other non-dairy butter replacer)
- 3/4 cup unsweetened & unflavoured almond milk (revised from 1 cup)
- 1 tbsp arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
- 6 tbsp nutritional yeast, or more to taste
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/4-3/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2-1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/2-1 tsp kosher salt (to taste) & ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 servings brown rice macaroni (8oz or half a 16oz package) makes 3 1/4 cup cooked
- Mix-ins of choice (e.g., kale, spinach, broccoli, peas, pumpkin seeds, etc)
1. Preheat oven to 425F. Line a casserole dish with tin foil. Mix chopped squash with EVOO, S & P. Roast for about 40 minutes, uncovered, or until tender.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the cheeze sauce in a pot on the stove top. Add Earth balance over low-medium heat. In a bowl, whisk together milk and arrowroot powder (or cornstarch or flour) until clumps are gone. Add into pot and whisk. Stir in remaining ingredients (nutritional yeast, Dijon, garlic, lemon, S & P) and whisk over low heat until thickened (about 5-7 minutes or so).
3. Cook your pasta according to package directions. The sauce makes enough to cover 4 servings of pasta.
4. In a blender, blend the sauce with 1 cup of roasted squash (or if using canned, simply stir 1 cup into the pot).
5. Add cooked, drained, and rinsed macaroni into pot, along with cheeze sauce & mix-ins. Heat and serve.
Notes: 1) My 3.5 pound squash made 5 cups cooked squash, so I had about 4 cups leftover. 2) The sauce does not cut in half well (the blender has a hard time blending it up), 3) I tried this recipe with canned pumpkin and it was awesome!

Things on my mind…
PUMPKIN Mac ‘n Cheeze. I’m so going there.
When the heck is it going to stop raining?
A 5-minute cheeze sauce without cashews or squash? Coming up tomorrow…
Just made this. holy cow. ah-mazing!!!!!!!! giant thumbs up! thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it Jenn!
is the nutritional yeast essential
can i leave it out? how much will it alter the taste
thanks !
Yes unfortunately it is essential as it is what gives it the cheese-like taste.
I made this last night, I used wholemeal penne, roasted pumpkin and added some peas at the end. It was delicious, and really easy. Thanks so much for this recipe, I will definitely be making it again!
I’m glad it worked with pumpkin!
Now I am HUNGRY!!!!
Yum this looks delicious! I wish I would’ve had this cheese sauce recipe to put over my homemade butternut squash-chili and sweet potato fries! Hmmm I may have some left over..
Seriously is there anything you can’t make!? This looks absolutely amazing and I loved the idea of adding some leftover squash chunks!
Yes…vegan and soy-free pumpkin pie. Details soon. haha
This cheese sauce is so so good! I decided to change it up a little by adding liquid smoke (to create a smoky cheezy flavor, like a smoked gouda cheese sauce I used to love before transitioning to veganism.) Turned out great! And perfect timing too because I had a butternut squash sitting in my vegetable crisper and I’d been wondering what to do with it! What a comforting meal to welcome fall (although it’s not too cool here in Florida!). Thanks for the fabulous recipe!
Hey Jessie, liquid smoke sounds like it would be great in the sauce. I haven’t been able to find liquid smoke anywhere. Where did you buy it? Just curious :)
Glad you enjoyed it!
I found it at Publix (a really great chain grocery store in Florida and Georgia). I have the Colgin brand, which I think is only sold in the US :( If you can’t find it in a store, you could probably order it from Amazon, or request your local grocer to carry it. Some stores will order items on special request. Hope that helps!
Thanks, I will keep looking!
You can get it at pretty much any grocery store next to the barbeque sauce. I actually got mine at superstore, and i know you shop there!
oh really? That’s great! Thanks for the tip :)
bless you! enough said!!
;)
Angela you always make such beautiful and delicious looking recipies– if only I lived in Canada and was your neighbor : )
Thanks! I haven’t had mac and cheese is so long and this takes a healthy spin on it!
xo
Jocelyn
I can’t wait to try this on my kids!
Oh MY GOODNESS! SO SO SO YUMMY! I wanted to eat the whole batch my self but my picky kids wanted some too so I had to share! Loved it so much – def will be making this a lot this fall/winter as a perfect, healthy, yummy comfort food!! THANKS!
Hey Larissa, Thank you for your enthusiasm! It’s always great to hear that others enjoy the recipes that I do too. :) Thanks for your feedback!
I halfed the recipe and didn’t have any Dijon mustard so just used regular mustard, still turned out great and yummy!
Good to know thanks!
this ist looking soooo good!
I would love it for lunch. Unfortunately i roasted my squash last night and eating it for breakfast (roasted butternut squash chia crêpes) was to tempting…
I made this last night for dinner and it was amazing! I am a vegan and my meat loving bf is trying out veganism with me (He said he would give me 15 days! I’ll take it!) We both LOVED it!
haha that’s amazing he’s trying veganism for 15 days!! I’m happy you enjoyed it so much.
This is pretty similar to the way I make “cheese” sauce at home for my son. He can’t have dairy so I have been using butternut squash for creaminess + color since he was about 4 (when pre-school started and he found out about the cheesy pasta dish).
Nutritional yeast is something I started discovered during the past 2 years, and since last year I have been adding to my “cheesy” sauces too.
I tried your recipe yesterday and we loved it!!! As I said, quite similar to how I make mine, but more nutritional yeast then I use and I think that made a nice difference. I also loved using dijon mustard as opposed to dry/powdered mustard that I used to add to my sauce, love the flavor better with the dijon.
Thanks for sharing another awesome recipe Angela! This was a great hit with all of us here, the husband also liked and better than anything my son loved it, was happy with our dinner and asked for me so save the leftovers and put in the lunchbox for the next day, I could not have asked for a better recipe!
Ana
Hey Ana, I’m glad to hear it was a success!
I made this last night and was SO excited to be prepping, cooking and then eating it. I’ve always wanted to make vegan mac and cheese but I never got around to it and this recipe was perfect place to start. I mixed in kale and put breadcrumbs on at the end and broiled it. Amazing! And my boyfriend loved it too. Thanks!
Hey Andrea, I’m so happy you both enjoyed it!
i made this yesterday, except i accidentally used brewer’s yeast instead of nutritional yeast. (i’m new at this… still learning!) fortunately, it STILL earned my husband’s stamp of approval and reaffirmed his love for me. ;) (he really REALLY loved it) didn’t pass muster with the kids, but they’ve been programmed with a love of highly processed foods, so it will take a while to turn them around. thanks again for the recipe, it’s definitely getting saved over here!
I’m glad you and your husband enjoyed it! I agree kids can be tough taste testers!
My favourite cashew cheeze sauce that I linked to in this post was kid-approved in case you are looking for another one to try :)
Man, I really need to find a supplier of Nutritional Yeast that is cheap! I’ve only found it in Whole Foods (aka Whole Paycheck) and it was sold by the OUNCE! Eeek!
As a cheese fiend just like you, I need to cut back and this sounds amazing. Two of my favorite loves: cheese and squash!
Oh, and I would LOVE to take that kale off your hands! ;)
I’m soooooooooooo excited to try this. I feel like Mac and Cheese is the one thing standing in my way from being totally vegan. I’ve tried countless recipes before, and they all tend to be higher in fat than I would like. But this looks amazing. I saw in the post that you made it stove top. But have you tried baking this version of cheeze sauce in the oven? I love a good baked mac n cheese with breadcrumbs on top, just not sure how this sauce bakes up.
Thanks!
Just made a double batch of this to freeze so I can have it for a future busy night, and it tastes so amazing! I used a buttercup squash, since that’s what I had on hand, and to cut the fat I roasted it, unpeeled, face down on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Just wait for it to cool enough to handle, and you can scoop the flesh right out! This is a great method for roasting winter squash when you don’t need it to be in perfect cubes for the recipe, and you don’t need any added fat. Thanks for the great recipe, I will definitely be making this again and again!
Hi! I love this recipe so much and when I make it I end up eating this for almost every meal for the week, and don’t get sick of it at all :)
Question on freezing, I don’t normally make extra stuff to freeze but want to try to do more of this so that I can have it in the future. Would I just freeze the sauce in a container and then leave it sitting out the day I want to make some of it? Can I then re-freeze what’s left? These might be silly questions, but wanted to ask!
Thanks!
Ps. I used ripple pea protein instead of the almond milk since it’s high in calcium and it tastes delicious with this too!