Do you know that nacho cheese you get at hockey arenas? This Vegan Nacho Cheese is way better. Like not even comparable. Think warm, slightly spicy, creamy and rich nacho cheese. It’s truly hard not to eat in one sitting. It is perfect for Hockey Night in Canada as an appetizer or as any delicious addition to a Friday night.
When I first made this vegan nacho cheese sauce, I couldn’t stop dipping chips in and enjoying it. It is addicting, I’m warning you. Adam is a big fan of nacho cheese sauce as well. He once got movie theatre popcorn and added nacho cheese sauce on top of it. That was probably one of the messiest, and grossest things I have witnessed. And he forgot to bring napkins into the theatre, so his hands were nasty and cheese covered until he decided to run out and grab napkins. Needless to say, he hasn’t done that since. He now just enjoys the cheese with nacho chips, as normal humans do.
This was one of those recipes that I got on the first try. What you guys don’t see if the struggle I go through experimenting with recipes. So when I get a recipe on the first try, I basically want to cry. I still tested it a few more times just to make sure it actually was that good. And it is.
Dip it good, dip it real good with these other dips: Vegan Spinach and Artichoke Dip and this Basil Butter Bean Hummus.
let’s talk about the creaminess of this vegan dip
You may be wondering what makes this cheese sauce so creamy and delectable? It is the beautiful combination of potatoes, cashews and arrowroot powder. I know some people have trouble digesting cashews. I am fortunately not one of those people and I use cashews in a lot of dishes. The good thing for people with a sensitivity to cashews is that it isn’t the main ingredient, and only 1/4 of a cup is used in this recipe. So perhaps for some, it is a small enough amount that you can still enjoy this dip. But you do need the cashews in this cheese sauce to make is creamy, they are the best supporting ingredient.
here are a few reasons why I love this vegan nacho cheese, so listen up!
- It takes 30 minutes to make. That is it. 30 minutes until you have this vegan nacho cheese dip within your grasp.
- It reheats perfectly. Store this vegan cheese in the fridge if you don’t eat it all right away or you’re saving it for later. Then just reheat it over low heat on the stove and it still has it’s great texture and taste.
- Here’s the dealio on the spice. Nacho cheese is supposed to be a little spicy. Not mouth-on-fire spicy, but it needs to have a little kick. By adding in 1/4-1/2 of your jalapeno seeds, that spice is there. I would recommend starting with adding just a few of the jalapeno seeds if you have a low spice tolerance. Taste test the nacho sauce and decide if you want to add a few more to make it spicier.
Without sounding too cheesy, this is some of the best nacho cheese I’ve ever had. This creamy goodness takes no time to make and it is the perfect dip to entertain friends with. This vegan nacho cheese is amazing with tortilla chips but not so much as a popcorn topper (hopefully Adam has learned his lesson). Let’s just stick to the sea salt and nutritional yeast for the popcorn.
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | 10 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 1 cup russet potato (peeled, roughly 1 small potato)
- 1/2 cup chopped carrot (roughly 2 small carrots)
- 1/4 cup raw cashews (soaked in hot water for the same amount of time the potatoes and carrots are boiling for)
- 1 jalepeno (seeds removed, option to leave a few in for added spice)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth
- 2 tbsp avocado oil/ olive oil
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 1/4 tsp arrowroot powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Ingredients
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- Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Peel and chop the potato into cubes, measure 1 cup. Chop the carrots, measure out 1/2 cup. Add the potatoes and carrots to the pot of boiling water. At the same time, scoop out a little bit of the boiling water and place in a bowl with the cashews to cover. Set aside. Boil the veg for roughly ten minutes or until tender with the poke of a fork. Drain the water and add them to a high-speed blender.
- Drain the water from the cashews and add the cashews to the blender. If you don't have a high-speed blender I would suggest soaking the cashews in the boiling water for 30 minutes total, otherwise, the ten minutes should suffice.
- Add the oil, lemon juice and vegetable broth to the blender. Then the rest of the ingredients. Blend for the first time, until smooth.
- The nacho sauce should still be somewhat warm to enjoy right away. Or you have the option to reheat in a saucepan over low heat.
- Store covered in the fridge. Re-blend and reheat before eating.
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Can’t wait to try this deliciousness out!