Sweet Potato Cheese Sauce (Vegan)
This Sweet Potato Cheese Sauce is packed with wholesome ingredients, amazingly delicious, and diabetes-friendly. Vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, and dairy-free.
Delicious on steamed vegetables, veggie pizza, and so many more recipes, this vegan cheese is going to become a family favorite.
You’ll love this sweet potato sauce because it’s…
- Full of wholesome ingredients
- Creamy
- Healthy
- Low glycemic
- Oil-free
- Vegan
- Amazingly delicious!
Ingredients for sweet potato cheese sauce
Incredibly some of the ingredients used to make this amazing sweet potato sauce are so wholesome and simple, you may even already have everything needed in your kitchen. At my house, we eat a lot of sweet potatoes because not only are they delicious but they are loaded with nutrition.
- Sweet potatoes
- Onions
- Carrots
- Raw cashews (or white beans)
- Nutritional yeast flakes
- Lemon juice
- Few spices
How to make sweet potato cheese sauce
The recipe card at the bottom of the page has the full list of ingredients with measurements and instructions.
Begin by peeling and dicing the sweet potatoes. They can be a little tricky to peel, so a potato peeler may be just what you need to keep those fingers safe.
Dice up the onion and carrots. Personally, we usually have baby carrots on hand for snacking like with my Spinach Artichoke Dip, so I tend to just include a few of those and don’t even cut them up.
Place the diced vegetables in a stockpot with enough water to cover them well. Cook on medium-high heat until they are tender which should be around 15 minutes depending on the size of the chunks of potatoes.
Once they are cooked, drain the water from them but reserve 1 cup of the broth to use in the recipe.
Next, add all the ingredients–cooked sweet potatoes, onions, carrots, and cashews (or white beans), along with the spices and seasonings in a food processor or blender.
I love to use my Vitamix blender because it is so powerful, so I don’t soak my cashews. However, if you’re using another type of blender, it might be necessary to soak the cashews in warm water for about 30 minutes prior to blending. This will help the cheese sauce to be nice and creamy.
Use raw cashews or white beans
The original recipe for this vegan cheese sauce calls for 1/2 cup of raw cashews. However, some folks are avoiding nuts due to allergies or the fat content, so white beans can be used instead.
The white beans will need to be a softer variety such as northern beans, navy beans, or white kidney beans. Garbanzo beans (aka chickpeas) are just not soft enough to allow the sauce to be nice and creamy.
Allow it to process in the blender until creamy and smooth. It will continue to thicken as it cools and especially after refrigeration.
Pro tips for making sweet potato sauce
- You really can use almost any variety of potatoes. I love to use russets, red potatoes, or yellow potatoes, and sweet potatoes. Just make sure they are cooked until soft.
- To reduce a little bit of fat, try using 1/4 cup white beans + 1/4 cup cashews. I like to use at least a few cashews because it comes out the creamiest.
- I have a Vitamix blender and so don’t take the time to soak my cashews. That thing is powerful and everything that goes into it comes out creamy. However, if your blender isn’t jet engine speed, soaking the cashews in warm water for at least 30-minutes will help this recipe come out more creamy.
- One of the steps of this recipe is to boil the potatoes, onions, and carrots on the stove. Remember to save some of that broth for adding to the blender.
- Keeps in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. Freezes well but will need to be put back in the blender for a spin after defrosting to get creamy again.
- If you’re looking for a firm cheese instead of a sauce, check out this Sliceable Vegan Cheese.
Tweaking to your taste preference
Most likely this cheese sauce will come out amazing as soon as you dip that spoon into the blender (after it has stopped, of course) to give it a taste. However, if it needs a little tweaking, first try adding a little more salt or nutritional yeast, as those two ingredients can make a big difference, in my opinion.
Use this deliciously healthy sweet potato vegan cheese sauce in recipes like Nachos, Tacos, Veggie Pizza, and Spinach Lasagna.
*Originally published April 2018.
More amazing vegan cheese recipes
- Best Vegan Cheese Sauce
- Cashew Vegan Mozzarella
- Nacho Cheese
- Vegan Ricotta
- Vegan Parmesan Cheese
- Easy Vegan Cream Cheese
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Sweet Potato Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup sweet potatoes peeled and diced
- 1/4 cup carrots peeled and diced
- 1/4 cup onions chopped
- 1 cup veggie broth from cooked vegetables
- 1/2 cup raw cashews OR 1/2 cup cooked white beans
- 4 tablespoons nutrition yeast flakes
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- pinch paprika
- 1/2 pinch cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Begin by peeling and dicing the sweet potatoes. They can be a little tricky to peel, so a potato peeler may be just what you need to keep those fingers safe.
- Dice up the onion and carrots. Personally, we usually have baby carrots on hand for snacking, so I tend to just include a few of those and don’t even cut them up.
- Place the diced vegetables in a stockpot with enough water to cover them well. Cook on medium-high heat until they are tender which should be around 15-minutes depending on the size of the chunks of potatoes.
- Once they are cooked, drain the water from them but reserve 1 cup of the broth to use in the recipe.
- Next, add all the ingredients–cooked sweet potatoes, onions, carrots, and cashews (or white beans), along with the spices and seasonings in a food processor or blender.
- Allow it to process in the blender until creamy smooth. It will continue to thicken as it cools and especially after refrigeration.
Equipment
Video
Notes
- You really can use almost any variety of potatoes. I love to use russets, red potatoes, or yellow potatoes, and sweet potatoes. Just make sure they are cooked until soft.
- To reduce a little bit of fat, try using 1/4 cup white beans + 1/4 cup cashews. I like to use at least a few cashews because it comes out the creamiest.
- I have a Vitamix blender and so don't take the time to soak my cashews. That thing is powerful and everything that goes into it comes out creamy. However, if your blender isn't jet engine speed, soaking the cashews in warm water for at least 30-minutes will help this recipe come out more creamy.
- One of the steps of this recipe is to boil the potatoes, onions, and carrots on the stove. Remember to save some of that broth for adding to the blender.
- Keeps in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. Freezes well but will need to be put back in the blender for a spin after defrosting to get creamy again.
Nutrition
Disclaimer
To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
About Terri Edwards
Hi guys! I am the content creator behind EatPlant-Based and a licensed Food for Life instructor with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. I am passionate about sharing healthy recipes and tips to empower others to get healthy. I’m so glad you’re here! Read More…
So–the recipe did not say to add the broth in step #5, but it did say to reserve it to add it to the blender so I assume you add the 1 cup of the broth in step#5 or do you do it in increments until you get the consistency you want? Also, someone suggested adding sauerkraut juice for some extra zip and I’m wondering if some kind of vinegar might work and welcome your opinion.
Hi Amelia- You are correct that the broth is added to the blender with the rest of the ingredients in step #5. The recipe already has lemon juice, so I suggest sticking to the recipe the first time (and not adding extra ingredients). If you think it needs something extra after that, maybe play around with it then. Hope you enjoy it!
This is fantastic–I could eat it every day!
Wow! Well done! This is THE best ‘cheese’ sauce!
I’ve made, and shared, this sauce several times now. I’ve used this ‘cheese’ sauce in scrambled eggs, in a vegan wrap, served it with tortilla chips, and used it in a Mac ‘n ‘Cheese’ dish. Because I use my 30-year old VitaMix I don’t need to soak the cashews.