Potato Cheese Sauce
A super delicious and creamy Potato Cheese Sauce, perfect for dipping or in some Mac n’ Cheese! No Nuts or Soy either!
There’s a million different ways to make a Vegan Cheese Sauce. I normally take the easy route and just melt some vegan cheese with some plant milk.
However, vegans have been making cheese sauces using things like Cashews and Potatoes forever, so I thought I’d give it a go, and turns out, it’s actually pretty dang good!
Not only is this one good for dunking some chips or fries, but you can also make some Mac n’ Cheese with it!
And while this isn’t a 1:1 replica of a non-vegan cheese sauce, or even a vegan cheese sauce made with vegan cheese, it’s still really dang good on it’s own! And it’s lighter, and even has more nutrients to boot!
Ingredients for Potato Cheese Sauce
- Potatoes & Carrots – I recommend using some Russet Potatoes. You could probably use Yukon Gold too, but I haven’t tested it with them.
- Unsweetened Plant Milk – If you can, get Ripple Unsweetened for this. Soy Milk might be okay too, though I find it sometimes has a sweet taste even when it’s unsweetened. Otherwise, use your favorite plant milk!
- Nutritional Yeast – This is doing a lot of the heavy lifting for the “Cheesy” flavor. So I can’t recommend a substitute!
- Seasonings – Aside from the Nutritional Yeast, we’ll be using the flavor trinity of Onion and Garlic Powder, and Smoked Paprika.
- Pickled JalapeƱo Brine – I really like the tanginess that this provides, but you can use regular Vinegar instead.
- Optional Ingredients – I like to add Citric Acid for extra tang, as well as some oil for a better texture. But that is totally optional! I tested the sauce with and without Turmeric and found that if you add more than 1/2 tsp you can taste the turmeric, which I don’t mind, but if you are sensitive to it, I would leave it out as it’s not needed except to get a more vivid color.
how to make Potato Cheese Sauce
First you need to cook your potatoes and carrots. You can boil them, but I prefer to microwave them as I’m impatient!
Let the potatoes cool, then peel them!
Microwave the carrots too!
Then you simply need to blend everything in a high speed blender until smooth. Season to taste, adding anything you like to get it tasting good to you!
For Vegan Mac n’ Cheese – Just add some tapioca starch and pasta water to the cheese sauce for a creamy and delicious vegan mac n’ cheese!
storage
You can store the sauce in the fridge for up to 1 week. It’s great to have it on hand for a quick snack or meal!
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Potato Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 Russet Potato (about 350g)
- 2 Medium Carrots (about 200g)
- 2 cups Unsweetened Plant Milk (more if needed)
- 1/2 cup Nutritional Yeast
- 1/2 – 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 – 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 1/2 – 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 2 Tbsp Pickled JalapeƱo Brine (or White Vinegar)
- Salt & Pepper (to taste)
Optional Ingredients
- 1/4 tsp Citric Acid (for extra tang)
- 1/4 – 1/2 tsp Turmeric (for color)
- 2 Tbsp Neutral Oil (for richness)
Instructions
- First you need to cook your potatoes and carrots. The most common way is too peel them, and boil until fork tender. I’m impatient so I microwave them. For the potatoes, I’ll poke them a few times with a knife or fork. Then microwave on a microwave safe plate for 8 – 10 minutes flipping halfway through, or until the internal temp is around 200 F / 93 C. My microwave is 1000 watts by the way! So adjust accordingly.
- Once cooked, cut the potatoes in half and let them cool down for a few minutes. You should be able to peel the skin off, but be careful, don’t burn your fingers!
- For the carrots, I'll peel them, and cut into chunks. Then add them and 1 – 2 Tbsp of water to a microwave safe dish, cover loosely, and microwave for 4 – 6 minutes, or until fork tender.
- Then you simply need to blend everything in a high speed blender until smooth. Season to taste, adding anything you like to get it tasting good to you! If it feels too thick, add some more plant milk until it’s at a consistency you like.
- I like to add Citric Acid for extra tang, as well as some oil for a better texture. But that is totally optional! I tested the sauce with and without Turmeric and found that if you add more than 1/2 tsp you can taste the turmeric, which I don’t mind, but if you are sensitive to it, I would leave it out as it’s not needed except to get a more vivid color.
Mac n’ Cheese
- For 8 oz of Dried Macaroni, you’ll need about 1 cup (250g) of the cheese sauce. Warm the sauce in a pot on low while the pasta cooks. Add 1 Tbsp of Tapioca Starch to a small bowl along with 2 Tbsp of water and stir to make a slurry. Add to the cheese sauce and whisk, as the tapioca starch heats up, it should get thicker and stretchy. If it’s too thick, don’t worry, we’ll add some pasta water to thin it out later.
- Once pasta is cooked, add to the cheese sauce, reserve some of the pasta water. Stir to combine, and like i said, if it’s too thick, add a splash of the pasta water (like 1/4 cup) at a time until the sauce is at your desired consistency. Top with fresh black pepper, hot sauce, whatever you like and dig in!
Storage
- This makes about 4 cups of the sauce. Store in the fridge and enjoy within 1 week. I don't know if it freezes, but I would guess it would be okay, but I can't say for sure, I need to test it!
