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!
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.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
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!
Hummmm tonight.. over cauliflower, or penne noodles..?? decisions, decisions.
This cheeze sauce has helped to curb my dairy cravings, and is so easy to make! Thank you for this recipe, it’s amazing. Bookmarked it for regular use.
So I just learned that I’m allergic to milk, eggs, wheat, and yeast. My absolute favorite meal has always been macaroni and cheese but with my newly found allergies, I cannot have this. I was so excited when I found that you could make an “uncheesy cheese” sauce but it seems that every recipe has yeast in it. Can you come up with a cheesy recipe with no cheese and no yeast? I would be forever grateful to get a version of my favorite meal!
Hi Jenn, Have you tried a cashew cheese sauce? They are quite cheesy tasting and you can often do without the nutritional yeast.
This is really tasty and easy! The only thing is that both times I made it, it’s been very mustardy. I don’t know if the Dijon I’m using is really strong or if it’s supposed to be this way.
Would arrowroot be ok instead of the flour?
Hi Sara, Im sorry I didn’t have great results when using arrowroot (it was a bit slimy in texture), but feel free to try it out if you’d like!
I am just getting back into a healthy lifestyle after having my little one (1 1/2 yrs ago). I was looking for a “mac n cheese” alternative. I didn’t expect to have a cheesy taste but at least that thick, warm dish that my LO may be enticed to eat (over the awful mac n cheese sold in stores)
…perhaps I bought bad nutritional yeast as this just wasn’t palatable & smelled bad. Is there a different with flakes ( It’s all they offered at our little, local health food store)?
So a bechamel sauce done backwards making it needlessly complicated? It’s easier to incorporate flour to soy/almond milk when flour mixture is hot.
So let butter melt in pot. Add flour and whisk it into the butter letting it bubble for a minute. Then pour in the milk, whisking and letting it thicken. And then add the rest of the ingredients (the flavorings for the bechamel).
This was a go! I added taco seasoning to it was a delicious sauce for my nachos. Thanks and be blessed!
I made this sauce today, and found it was FABULOUS. I do eat cheese, but lately have fallen in love with nutritional yeast. I decided to experiment more with nutritional yeast recipes and came across this one. The texture was great, and the flavor was perfect. I added some paprika, which was about all it needed. Thanks for putting the recipe up!
Hi. This comment is also about nutritional yeast. In my case, I not only don’t use it, I don’t even *try* to find it. This is because I am allergic to ALL yeasts, including nutritional yeast. I search a wide variet of online source including books offline and advice from friends via email and so on; and as a result, I cannot credit this to the proper source. But my search produced a wonderful substitute for nutritional yeast that I make right here at home in my own little kitchen: dehydrated carrot flakes. I slice up a whole bunch of carrots trying to keep the slices an uniform thickness (hit and miss at best!), dehydrate them, and when they are *completely* dry, I grind them into powder or flakes (both are fine with me) in my trusty Magic Bullet, bottle, and store them in the spice cupboard with the rest of my seasonings. So far I’ve used them in making an almond cheddar cheese recipe and am VERY satisfied with the results. It tastes great! Give it a try, and I hope you will have as much success with it as I have. :)
Just found this recently and made it yesterday. Very good and very forgiving! (I made a double recipe, misread & put 4 TABLESPOONS Dijon mustard in the double batch and it wasn’t ruined!)
Thanks!
I love this and I am not really a fan of nutritional yeast, at all. Even my very happy meat eating boyfriend said he would eat the Mac and cheese I made useing this sauce. (Just some noodles and broccoli) in my book THAT’S a keeper. He hates my vegan food normally.
Just made this sauce and I added some curry powder – with field roast sausages. SO DELICIOUS especially because I didn’t have cashews. Thanks Angela!
OMG OSG you are a genius. We began a one week vegan challenge 3 weeks ago and it has morphed into a one month vegan challenge. The challenge, it turns out, was not with the adults in the hose- we are convinced- but with the two teenagers in the home who claim veganism is boring. Boring!? I think this mackencheeze will be a winner for lunch today. Thanks!
Good luck with your challenge!! Glad I could help :)
I am not a vegan, but my niece is. I am trying to be supportive and I have been practicing on some recipes for thanksgiving. I actually like this sauce. I put a little extra onion in it (my preference.) I can see using it on multiple thing and as a dip. I can’t wait to surprise her on Thanksgiving.
DELICIOUS! I bought nutritional yeast on a whim, and while trying to figure out where to use it, found your sauce. It’s perfect. I’m not even Vegan and I love cheese. But I will absolutely use this sauce.
I really like colour, so to boost the yellow in the sauce I added a 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder. It ramps up the yellow and when I used the sauce in a Mac & “Cheeze” recipe I served next to a mixed greens, beet, and cashew salad. It was so bright and colourful–delicious and attractive.
I love your recipe. Thank you so much for sharing. My favorite variation (so far) is adding sun-dried tomatoes as well as, sautéed mushrooms, onions and spinach. Absolutely delicious!
Many thanks. The Quick and Dirty Vegan Cheeze Sauce is exactly what I’ve been looking for. I didn’t have any dijon so it was left out and still fabulous. I am newly dairy free and was so missing “the sauce”. You nailed it.
I just made this sauce to go on macaroni and it’s SO GOOD!
I make this without the earths best and it is still delicious! Thank you! I have been vegan for a couple of months and I have really enjoyed your recipes.
Is there anything I could sub in instead of earth balance? They were just bought out by a huge corporation, And they’ve really lowered the quality… I’m thinking coconut oil or do you think the flavor would be too overpowering?
Hey Robyn,
You might be able to use oil (maybe olive oil), but I haven’t tried it. I wouldn’t use virgin coconut oil because of the flavour (unless you used refined coconut oil which doesn’t have a coconut flavour). Hope this helps! let me know how it goes.
I cannot believe how good this is. This is my first ever vegan home cooked meal and it will not be my last. Amazing stuff! Thanks so much.
Thank you so much for this! I just tried it out right now and it tastes wonderful. :)
My biggest hurdle is two-fold: 1. I’m just starting to branch into cooking things that aren’t the very basics (i.e. boil pasta + add jarred sauce = dinner). 2. I’m a new vegan! That one is especially hard, since I’m still keenly aware of my nostalgia for the taste and texture of creamy/cheesy things. Most vegan alternatives I’ve found so far are unsatisfying at best, or taste bad.
This sauce was a pleasant surprise. Will be coming back to it lots in the future!
Hi I’m a new vegan also wasn’t sure if people’s comments here were people who are used to eating nutritional yeast did you find it strong tasting? This will be my first time eating it also I’ve noticed I seem to have more energy being vegan it’s been almost a month and I am really feeling good.would like to know if you experienced this also and how long it took you to notice
Thanks jackie
Love it! I know where I can buy cheap, tasty vegan creamy cheeses, but because I am allergic to corn I can’t have most of them. This recipe is great because it is so easy to make, tastes awesome and isn’t plotting to kill me.
For a slightly different taste, try adding cumin and/or nutmeg. Just a small amount. I think other spices might go well too, with experimenting.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi,
I love this sauce! I was wondering if you’ve ever frozen it and had it again later?
Do you think this cheese sauce would keep in a jar in the fridge or freezer?
What was the original 5-ingredient recipe? I can’t seem to find it…
Just tried this cheeze sauce and it is LOVELY!!! I don’t like the greasy feeling of Daiya, so this is a wonderful solution. When I added cooked mushrooms and macaroni to the sauce, it tasted almost exactly like a pre-vegan comfort food I enjoyed…now I have my mac n’ cheeze back! Thank you!
Add 1 tsp. corn starch and it will thicken more quickly.
Looks so delicious! Can’t wait to try it and sneak it in with dinner – maybe I can slowly convert my husband :)
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?