Spare Spoons Kitchen
The Pantry · vegan · about 10 minutes
Cashew “Cheese” Sauce
A silky, savory vegan cheese sauce from soaked cashews and nutritional yeast — blend, and you've got a pourable sauce for pasta, nachos, steamed vegetables, or a baked potato. A real spare-spoons building block.
Effort ●○○○
Time ●○○○ Anytime
VeganGluten-Free
Servingsamounts scale to match
6
Units
Ingredients
Soak the cashews so it blends truly silky. Cover the cashews with boiling water for 15 minutes (or cold water for a few hours), then drain — that softening is what lets the blender take them completely smooth instead of grainy. Add water a splash at a time to land on the thickness you want.
Easier, if you like
- No time to soak? A high-speed blender can manage unsoaked cashews — just blend longer and add a bit more water.
- Mac & cheese: stir into hot cooked pasta and loosen with pasta water.
Method
Cook's notes
Nutritional yeast is what gives the savory, cheesy depth; the lemon and mustard add the tang.
Texture is yours to set — thicker for nachos and dips, thinner to pour over pasta or steamed broccoli.
Keeps about 5 days in the fridge; it thickens cold, so loosen with water when you reheat.
Provenance: adapted from Wallflower Kitchen's cashew cheese sauce; the ingredients are a standard cashew-cheese formula.
Vegan and gluten-free as written
Vegan / gluten-free: it already is.
Nut-free: raw sunflower seeds (soaked) blend into a similar sauce, with a slightly earthier flavor.