One of the things that has surprised me the most with vegan cuisine is how I’m able to create similar flavours and textures that I used to enjoy while eating animal products. The goal, for me, is not to aim for the vegan dish to taste exactly the same, but to try to bring out something about the non-vegan dish that I really enjoyed, like a rich sauce or a thick chocolaty pudding. This doesn’t apply to all foods however, I have no desire to create a dish that has the texture of meat because I just don’t crave that texture or taste anymore. It really just depends on the food!
[Butternut Squash Mac n Cheeze: Two Ways]
One of the things I’ve always loved about Mac ‘n Cheese is that it’s comforting and creamy. When I make a vegan version of Mac ‘n Cheese, I’m not trying to create a carbon copy, but a dish that gives me that same type of comforting feeling when I eat it.
Over the past couple years, I’ve found that I can create dishes that satisfy my cravings without having to sacrifice. I crave the new dishes that I make, instead of the dishes I used to eat. Now that I’m used to this lifestyle I rarely feel like I’m missing out. The only time I feel left out is when I am eating at a non-vegan friendly restaurant, otherwise I have so many choices the hardest part is trying to decide what I will eat!
One thing I don’t always enjoy about vegan cooking and baking is the often long ingredient list that is required to make some recipes. The recipes tend to involve more creativity, more spices & seasonings, and other ingredients to achieve that outcome that I’m looking for. It’s not necessarily a bad thing per say, but sometimes I just want a quick and dirty recipe that I know I can whip up within a minute’s notice.
This 5-ingredient cheeze sauce is one of those quick and dirty recipes that I know I will keep coming back to again and again! It’s hands down the easiest cheeze sauce I’ve made and it doesn’t require a food processor or other special kitchen tool. Just a stove top and a whisk…gotta love that!
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Low-Fat Vegan Cheeze Sauce
Yield
2/3 cup
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
This is the Lexus of all the cheeze sauces I’ve made to date. It’s extremely smooth, buttery, and comforting!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsweetened, unflavoured almond milk (or more as needed to thin out)
- 6 tbsp nutritional yeast (Bob’s Red Mill makes one in natural food section of most grocery stores or bulk food stores)
- 1 tbsp Earth Balance or other non-dairy buttery spread
- 1 tbsp all purpose flour (or other flour)
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
- In a skillet or pot, melt the Earth Balance over medium heat.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour and milk until all clumps are gone.
- Add milk & flour mixture and nutritional yeast to pot and whisk well. Reduce heat to low-medium.
- Add Dijon, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper to taste and whisk frequently until the sauce thickens up, for about 5 minutes. If it’s still too thin you can add more flour to achieve the thickness you desire. To reheat: reheat in the microwave or on the stove-top (add a splash of milk if it’s too thick) and whisk well. Store in an air-tight container for up to 5-7 days.
Just 5 ingredients and just as delicious as the other sauces I’ve made!
I first made this sauce a couple weeks ago and we’ve been enjoying it a lot! I’ve poured it into pasta, on vegetables, sandwiches, etc. It’s so silky and delicious, you really have to try this. You could also get creative and add some herbs or spices to it to change it up quite easily.
Yesterday, I also made a fantastic lunch with it…
more on that recipe tomorrow!
The Quick & Dirty 7-Ingredient or Less Challenge
Speaking of short ingredient lists, I thought it would be fun to challenge myself to create more vegan recipes with as few ingredients as possible. Quick & Dirty recipes if you will!
My goal is to create more recipes with 7 ingredients or less that don’t require a lot of time or even special kitchen tools. It’s going to be tough, but I’m really excited for the challenge!
I’m curious, what’s your biggest cooking or baking hurdle? Long ingredient lists, hard to find ingredients, special kitchen tools, not enough time?
Leave me a comment below if you have any recipes in mind that you’d like ‘condensed’…no pun intended!
So I have tried the nutritional yeast cheese sauce and man ‘n cheese from other websites and have been very disappointed. I am new to nutritional yeast and it is definitely a strong flavor. But I am lactose intolerant and motivated to make this work. So today for lunch I decided I wanted mac ‘n cheese and set out to find one. Last time I made it I decided there is no way there could be a good mac ‘n cheese recipe without some sort of milk (almond) and butter (non-dairy). So I found your recipe on pinterest and was so pleased with the results. This is going to be my go-to mac ‘n cheese from now on, thank you soo much. Oh and a note for anyone else new to nutritional yeast, I decided to use a little less than recommended until I get used to the flavor ;-)
I used this 5 ingredient cheeze sauce in some vegetable strudels I made tonight. It worked out really well! :)
Made this tonight, it was delicious! Hands down the best “cheese” sauce I’ve tried. For those looking for GF, I used tapioca starch/flour and it came out great (though I barely had to cook it past the point of putting it in, as it thickens quickly.) Thank you!
Hi there, just wanted to say, I liked this post. It was helpful.
Keep on posting!
Wow is this sauce awesome!! We used it to make vegan nachos and even my picky and recently veg husband agreed it is the best!! Can’t wait to try it on broccoli and over noodles for a quick Mac n cheez. The best part is it is made with pantry staples. Thank you so much and congratulations and best wishes to you!!!
Can this sauce be frozen?
I love this recipe! I made it and my friends and family loved it even without the Dijon. Thx!
After looking at a number of other cheese recipes, it seems that OTHER PEOPLE indicate nutritional yeast FLAKES!; I didnt know I would have to research OTHER sites. Anyway, it was a huge waste
I really love this sauce. I used it to make chili-mac and also put some green chilis and tomatoes in it for queso dip. Awesome recipe! My husband never thought he’d be dipping chips in queso again!
I made this last night, but doubled the milk, flour, onion and garlic powders and butter, used only 4tbsp national yeast and barely a smidgen of mustard, mixed it into cooked rigatoni pasta, topped with crunchy breadcrumbs and baked. It was INDISTINGUISHABLE from real mac n cheese. Absolutely amazing, I had 3rds. This will be a staple in my house!
Hi Angela,
Id like to make a broccoli and cauliflower casserole for thanksgiving this weekend. Do you think this sauce would work baked? Also, I dont use veggie butters and avoid oils. Can I omit it? Thanks!
k
Hi Kelly, I haven’t tried baking with it yet but great idea. Please let me know if you try it out. I can’t see why not. Maybe there is a way you can test a small batch first?
This is a lovely sauce. In my hurry to get the ingredients, I accidentally picked up sweetened Almond milk. Saved it with some Aminos which I’ll probably add again next time, but perhaps with the unsweetened. Lovely taste. Thanks for the recipe. So quick an easy. Great stuff.
I’ve been happy eating vegan for two years, but this sauce just makes everything amazing! I make it at least once a week. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
This is great. My daughter and bf both liked it. A few nights after we tried this cheese sauce I tried out another vegan cheese sauce with a cauliflower base. Your recipe won hands down. Thanks!
Would like to know how it would taste without mustard, my husband does not like mustard.
I almost always make this without the mustard and it still tastes just as good. :)
Just curious, but is there any reason why you mix the flour with the almond milk instead of whisking it with the melting butter for a roux?
(Apologies if you already answered–I read a good sample but definitely not all the comments.)
I think either would work fine, whichever you prefer :)
I love this sauce. I recently came up with a vegan hamburger helper recipe and I use this sauce in it. So good. Feel free to check out the recipe @ www.makeallergiesyourbitch.wordpress.com
This sauce tastes great!
I’m not a vegan, so did it with a regular milk and olive oil instead that one weird ingredient. Came out just prefect, cheesy and creamy.
So, on a whim I added 1/2 tsp of turmeric to this recipe and it really brightens the rich color of this sauce to a warm yellow! Plus, you get the added anti-inflammatory health benefits of turmeric.
Try this for quick sweet tooth. Moisten a packet of instant natural flavored oatmeal with 2 tbl spoons of water and mix in vegan chocolate chips. Spray pan with a coconut oil and brown on each side. Top with Agave. Ive had 2 today. Good alternative for Breakfast too. How do I follow youbon Facebook?