Vegan Nacho Cheese With Hidden Veggies
This vegan nacho cheese is an absolute MUST for a movie night, family game night, or a big sports event!
Cheese is one of the hardest animal products to give up, but this recipe will bring you the ultimate comfort. It tastes just as indulgent, except it also packs at least four hidden veggies!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The signature traits of good queso are the creamy texture, deep savory flavor, and of course, the vibrant yellow hue. This vegan nacho cheese is SO MUCH like the real thing, you’ll be shocked!
- In contrast, this recipe is healthier than traditional nacho cheese, because it contains several types of plants. What a great way to trick your kids into eating more veggies!
- Did I mention that this recipe is allergen-friendly? It contains no nuts, soy, or gluten!
- This vegan nacho cheese is super easy to make! Perfect for beginner cooks and anyone who hates spending time in the kitchen.
How to Make This Recipe
We’ll start by roasting the veggies. Don’t worry, this is very easy! Preheat the oven to 400F and line a sheet pan with parchment.
Then, spread the sweet potato, carrot, garlic and red onion on a lined sheet pan. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, until your veggies are soft.
Meanwhile, boil the sunflower seeds for 10 minutes to soften then.
Once the vegetables and sunflower seeds are cooked, add everything to a high-speed blender with the remainder of listed ingredients. Blend until smooth, adding water to thin if necessary. Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed.
Hack It!
- There are many ways to enjoy this vegan nacho cheese! You can serve it as a veggie dip, nacho sauce, or as a delicious pasta sauce.
- One of the cool things about nacho cheese is that it can be served hot or cold depending on your preference!
- This recipe yields a significant amount of queso, but you could always scale up if you’re hosting a large party!
- If you like it spicy, you could add a pinch of cayenne, a dried chilli pepper, or top your vegan nacho cheese with fresh jalapeños.
Other Recipes You’ll Love
- Homemade Vegan Cheese (Sliceable)
- Vegan Mozzarella Sticks
- Almond Cheese Ball
- Homemade Vegan Mozzarella
- Vegan Tofu Cheese
If you love simple, beginner-friendly recipes like this one, you should get a copy of the PlantYou Cookbook! It has a great collection of WFPB recipes for every occasion. I am a visual learner, so it was very important to me that the book is user-friendly. That’s why each recipe is accompanied by a helpful infographic detailing the ingredients. I truly wish I had a book like this when I became plant-based!
And if you prefer a more dynamic way of cooking, check out the PlantYou Planner! It’s a meal planner app with OVER 600 EASY VEGAN RECIPES. You can drag and drop the recipes into your custom weekly meal plan, or use one of the curated meal plans created by the PlantYou team. Additionally, the planner allows you to toggle the number of servings for each dish. Perfect for a household of any size!
The Recipe: Vegan Nacho Cheese With Hidden Veggies
Ingredients
- ½ cup sunflower seeds, soaked
- 1 sweet potato, medium, cubed
- 1 carrot, medium, chopped
- 1 red onion, quartered or chopped
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tsp mustard, omit if allergic
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 2 tbsp pickled banana peppers
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- On a sheet pan, add the sweet potato, carrot, garlic and red onion. Bake at 400F for 30 minutes, until soft.
- In the meantime, boil the sunflower seeds for 10 minutes.
- Once the vegetables are cooked and the sunflower seeds are soft, when safe to handle, transfer to a high speed blender with all remaining ingredients and combine until smooth. Add more water as needed to thin. Enjoy with nachos, or as a delicious pasta sauce.
