Fauxveeta Vegan Cheese Sauce - Very Veganish % (2024)

Rich, creamy and velvety faux cheese sauce, made using only real food. Totally plant based, vegan and oil free. Decadent, gooey and perfect for mac and cheese, nachos, tacos or queso. Believe me, okay? Just try it. It is not cheese, but it sure does work as a great alternative.

Who ever knew that potatoes would give a vegan, plant-based, oil free cheese sauce such luxuriant richness and creaminess? Not me. For a few months I saw various recipes for creamy sauces using potatoes and scoffed at them. How wrong I was.

I've made Creamy Cauliflower Alfredo Sauce for a long time, which is a vegan white béchamel sauce alternative.

But, for a plant-based mac and cheese, I needed something different.

Something cheesy, gooey, creamy and, while I love using cashews, they are very rich and calorie-dense.

So, I experimented with a vegan, nut-free, oil-free cheese sauce that would be a good, healthy velveeta substitute or alternative.

Presenting... Fauxveeta! (do you see what we did there?) 😉

🧄 Ingredient notes

This sauce is made using:

• Potatoes - The starch in the potatoes make this sauce rich, silky and creamy without the need for nuts or seeds.
• Carrots - The carrots give the sauce a hint of sweetness and add to the color and nutritional value.
• Onion and garlic - The onion and garlic are for aromatic flavor.
• Plant-based milk - The almond milk adds to the creaminess and is needed to thin the mixture in the blender. I use almond milk, but to make this completely nut-free, use soy milk or oat milk. Be sure it's plain, unsweetened, unflavored milk.
• Nutritional yeast - The nutritional yeast gives it the cheesy, umami flavor. Use more to amp up the cheesiness! Some people prefer the flavor of unfortified nutritional yeast (aka nooch), but we like the taste of the fortified nooch just fine. Find nutritional yeast at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Amazon or in the bulk bin of your local health food or well-stocked grocery store.
• Ground turmeric - the ground turmeric contributeshealth benefits and aids in the bright orange faux-velveeta color of this sauce.

Here are some optional, but highly recommended, flavor boosters that can take this sauce to the next level.

Only use ONE to start out with. Taste and then adjust or add another option.

• Smoked paprika - adds smokiness and depth of flavor, but don't overdo it.
• Lemon juice - adds brightness
• Apple cider vinegar - adds brightness and a hint of tang
• Miso paste - adds umami saltiness, but again, don't overdo it. Start with less and see if you like it.
• Cashews - adding raw cashews when boiling the veggies will soften them. Blending them into the sauce will make it richer (both in taste and calories). Sometimes, it's worth it, though! Great for when you're serving company, if you need to gain weight or are not trying to lose weight or if you want a richer sauce without oil.

🔪 Instructions

Here's step by step instructions and photos for how to make this vegan cheese sauce using potatoes and carrots.

Step 1: In a medium-large stock pot, add cut potatoes, carrots and onion. (For a mild garlic flavor, add it now.) Cover with water.

Then, boil potatoes, carrot, onion until fork tender, then drain.

Use a high-speed blender to blend this sauce completely smooth. I recommend Blendtec, Vitamix or Ninja.

Step 2: Blend it up with spices and almond milk. Add cooked veggies to blender with garlic, nutritional yeast, turmeric, salt, almond milk and optional (but recommended!) flavor boosters, if using. (Adding the raw garlic now will give you a stronger garlic flavor). You may need to do this in more than one batch, depending on your blender size.

Blend until completely smooth (I use a Blendtec and press the soup button). If it will not blend, you may need to add a bit more almond milk.

Step 3: Use as you would use any cheese sauce!

12 ways to use this cheese sauce

1. Pour over macaroni for vegan mac and cheese
2. Mix with spicy Rotel or salsa for an easy vegan nacho cheese rotel dip
3. Loaded Vegan Nachos, hello!
4. Vegan choriqueso dip with soy chorizo - great for game day!
5. Cheese fries
6. Drizzle over tacos
7. Drizzle over tostadas
8. Broccoli cheese baked potato
9. Pour over steamed veggies and rice
10. Pour over steamed broccoli for vegan cheesy broccoli side dish
11. Broccoli cheese soup
12. Use chilled sauce in place of fat in Southern biscuit recipes. Your biscuits will be orange, but will be low-fat!

👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 Serving suggestions

This makes enough sauce (about 4+ cups) to completely coat one pound of macaroni pasta, for mac and cheese.

This should serve four people, with a side salad or other type of vegetable side.

Steamed broccoli goes really well with this. Also, green peas.

❓ FAQ

Do I have to peel my potatoes?

• For a smooth sauce, peel your potatoes.
• If you don't mind a speckled sauce and are using Yukon gold potatoes, which have a thin skin, you can leave the skins on (but be sure to thoroughly scrub them when washing).
• If you're using potatoes with a thicker skin (like russets), they should definitely be peeled before cooking.

How long will this sauce last?

This vegan cheese sauce will last up to 5 days in a sealed container in the refrigerator. It will last up to 3 months in the freezer.

Will this freeze well?

• Yes! I've tested this and it keeps in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• To reheat, let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Then, heat it up either in the microwave or on the stove.
  • Microwave: Remove lid and microwave for 1 minute, then stir. Repeat until hot and smooth again, as needed.
  • Stove: Add thawed sauce to a small-medium saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. It will look separated at first, but keep heating and stirring it until the smooth, silky consistency has returned.

Is velveeta vegan?

• No. Velveeta cheese contains animal products, like milk, whey, milk protein concentrate, milk fat, along with a host of other preservatives and other things.
• The ingredients for Velveeta are: Milk, Water, Whey, Milk Protein Concentrate, Milkfat, Whey Protein Concentrate, Sodium Phosphate, Contains 2% or less of: Salt, Calcium Phosphate, Lactic Acid, Sorbic Acid, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Alginate, Enzymes, Apocarotenal, Annatto, Cheese Culture.
• This recipe for Fauxveeta Vegan Cheese Sauce is a real whole food, plant-based alternative to Velveeta. Hope you enjoy it!

🚦 Calorie density score

🟢 This recipe gets a green light on the calorie density chart. All of the ingredients are lower than 600 calories per pound, so eating meals like this regularly may help you lose body fat. Learn more about calorie density from Jeff Novick, MS, RDN.

Get your own printable calorie density chart for your refrigerator and free ebook explaining calorie density in simple terms.

💜 More recipes you'll love

Love this recipe? Please rate it 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below in the recipe card. And, if you make it, please tag me on Instagram or Facebook in your posted photos! I would love to see your creations. 😄

📖 Recipe

Update 9/8/17: I have updated this recipe with more specific measurements. Also, the nutritional yeast has been marked as optional. It imparts a cheesy flavor, but is not necessary to make this sauce. We often make it without and it is still delicious! I hope this helps!

More Vegan, Plant-Based Recipes for Sauces and Condiments