Vegan Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- ¾ cup peeled and diced Yukon Gold potato
- ¾ cup peeled and diced sweet potato
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¼ cup raw cashews
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt plus more for cooking the potatoes
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup water
Optional Add-ins
- ½ to 1 chipotle pepper from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce
- 1 tablespoon pickled jalapeños
Instructions
- Place the Yukon Gold and sweet potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cold water by about 1 inch. Add a few pinches of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until fork-tender, 8 to 12 minutes.
- Drain and transfer to a high-speed blender with the garlic, cashews, apple cider vinegar, nutritional yeast, onion powder, salt, olive oil, and water. Blend until smooth.
- For spicy vegan cheese, add the chipotle pepper or pickled jalapeños. If you’d like a smoky flavor, add the smoked paprika.
- Serve with tortilla chips for dipping or over pasta to make vegan mac & cheese.
Notes
Note: if you’re using a high powdered blender, like a Vitamix, there’s no need to soak the cashews. If you’re using a less powerful blender, you can soak them for 2 hours. Drain before adding to the recipe.