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    Home » Recipes » Vegan Cheeses

    August 13, 2015 397 Comments

    Melty Stretchy Gooey Vegan Nacho Cheese

    14.1K shares
    ↓ Jump to Recipe

    Ok friends, this is it. After all of the love for my Melty Stretchy Gooey Vegan Mozzarella, it's time for a follow-up act: Melty Stretchy Gooey Vegan Nacho Cheese. (I know, I am just so incredibly original with the new name).

    With the help of reader Amanda (hi Amanda!), I toyed around with different spices and flavours to achieve a cheddar-like cheese recipe. No small task, especially when you don't eat cow's milk cheddar to compare. With a little zing and zang, salty and sweet, ooey and gooey, I managed to achieve... are you ready for it?...nacho heaven. Big plate of nachos featuring Vegan Nacho Cheese! Hello again, Nachos. Oh, how I missed you. Now I will devour you!

    Vegan Nacho Cheese! Only 15 minutes to make this melty, stretchy, gooey, dairy-free cheese. Pour it on nachos, serve it on a baked potato, use it in a quesadilla, or wherever you desire. #itdoesnttastelikechicken #veganrecipes #vegancheese

    This recipe is good for more than just nachos. You can load up a baked potato, make a grilled cheese, layer on a veggie patty for a melty cheeseburger, or stir into noodles for quick mac and cheese. Anywhere that you would use melted cheddar cheese, you can now use this recipe.

    Do you want more good news? Of course you do. It's oil, gluten, and dairy free, only 150 calories per serving, omnivores love it, over 10 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber, and only 15 minutes to make. Vegan high fives all around!

    Vegan Nacho Cheese! Only 15 minutes to make this melty, stretchy, gooey, dairy-free cheese. Pour it on nachos, serve it on a baked potato, use it in a quesadilla, or wherever you desire. #itdoesnttastelikechicken #veganrecipes #vegancheese

    Can we see another shot of this ooey, gooey, melty-ness. Ahhh.... there we go.

    Notes about this cheese:

    1. You have to use tapioca starch (also called tapioca flour). Corn starch, potato starch or any other starch won't have the same stretchy quality. If you can't find tapioca starch in your grocery store, you can always order it online here. If you have tapioca pearls, you can use a coffee grinder or a high powered blender to grind them into a homemade batch of tapioca starch.
    2. You can store the leftover cheese in an airtight container in the fridge and it should last for several days. This cheese will never turn into a solid block. It will always remain in a melty state. If you want to return the cold nacho cheese back to dipping consistency, reheat over medium heat while stirring constantly so it doesn't burn. Once it is hot and bubbling it might have thickened up too much. You can thin it out by adding a tablespoon of water at a time, stirring it in until desired consistency is reached.
    3. Please beware, once you make a batch, you will probably eat the whole thing in one sitting. Don't say I didn't warn you!

    Vegan Nacho Cheese! Only 15 minutes to make this melty, stretchy, gooey, dairy-free cheese. Pour it on nachos, serve it on a baked potato, use it in a quesadilla, or wherever you desire. #itdoesnttastelikechicken #veganrecipes #vegancheese

    To make this nacho cheese, first start by soaking the cashews for four hours or overnight. OR if you need to eat this immediately (and I always do), you can skip the soaking, and instead boil the cashews for 10 minutes until soft and tender, then drain before using. Sneaky deaky cashew softening trick.

    Vegan Nacho Cheese! Only 15 minutes to make this melty, stretchy, gooey, dairy-free cheese. Pour it on nachos, serve it on a baked potato, use it in a quesadilla, or wherever you desire. #itdoesnttastelikechicken #veganrecipes #vegancheese

    Toss all the ingredients into a blender and blend until completely smooth. It will be very watery, don’t worry, it will get cheesy!

    If you don't have a high powered blender, you may want to pour the liquid through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth into the pot to remove any cashew bits that didn't grind up. This will ensure a smooth cheese texture.

    Vegan Nacho Cheese! Only 15 minutes to make this melty, stretchy, gooey, dairy-free cheese. Pour it on nachos, serve it on a baked potato, use it in a quesadilla, or wherever you desire. #itdoesnttastelikechicken #veganrecipes #vegancheese

    Put the pan over medium-high heat. Stir to keep anything from burning. You will start to see clumps forming.

    Vegan Nacho Cheese! Only 15 minutes to make this melty, stretchy, gooey, dairy-free cheese. Pour it on nachos, serve it on a baked potato, use it in a quesadilla, or wherever you desire. #itdoesnttastelikechicken #veganrecipes #vegancheese

    Ooo clumpy. Keep stirring!

    Vegan Nacho Cheese! Only 15 minutes to make this melty, stretchy, gooey, dairy-free cheese. Pour it on nachos, serve it on a baked potato, use it in a quesadilla, or wherever you desire. #itdoesnttastelikechicken #veganrecipes #vegancheese

    Then all of a sudden, magic! Everything comes together and makes this cheesy, melty, deliciousness. Keep stirring and cooking for another minute or two, to make sure it’s finished firming up. It should take about 5 minutes to cook total. That’s it! Done. So easy.

    Vegan Nacho Cheese! Only 15 minutes to make this melty, stretchy, gooey, dairy-free cheese. Pour it on nachos, serve it on a baked potato, use it in a quesadilla, or wherever you desire. #itdoesnttastelikechicken #veganrecipes #vegancheese

    Print Recipe
    4.98 from 141 votes

    Melty Stretchy Gooey Vegan Nacho Cheese

    Only 15 minutes to make this melty, stretchy, gooey, dairy-free cheese. Pour it on nachos, serve it on a baked potato, use it in a quesadilla, or wherever you desire.
    Adapted from my Melty Stretchy Gooey Vegan Mozzarella.
    Prep Time10 minutes mins
    Cook Time5 minutes mins
    Total Time15 minutes mins
    Course : Snack
    Cuisine : AmericanCanadian
    Servings: 4
    Author: Sam Turnbull • It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken

    Ingredients

    • ½ cup raw cashews, (see notes)
    • 1 cup water
    • 3 tablespoons tapioca starch, (also called tapioca flour)
    • 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
    • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
    • 1 ½ teaspoons salt, (or to taste)
    • 1 ½ teaspoons white miso paste
    • 1 teaspoon paprika
    • 1 teaspoon maple syrup or agave
    • ½ teaspoon onion powder
    • ¼ teaspoon turmeric
    • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
    US Customary - Metric
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • To soften the cashews: Boil them for 10 minutes until soft. OR soak the cashews for four hours or overnight. Drain before using.
    • To make the nacho vegan nacho cheese: Add the softened cashews, water, and all the remaining ingredients to a blender, and blend until smooth. It will be very watery.
    • Pour into a small saucepan and heat over medium-high heat, while stirring. If you don't have a high-powered blender, you may want to pour the liquid through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth into the pot, to remove any cashew bits that didn't grind up. This will ensure a smooth cheese texture. As you stir it will start forming clumps, and then all of a sudden it will become a cheesy gooey mass of yumminess. This takes about 5 minutes. Continue to cook and stir for an additional minute or two to make sure it has firmed up completely.

    Notes

    I originally went with ¼ cup of cashews, but lately I have been loving using a ½ cup for an even creamier consistency.
    If you want to return the cold cheese back to dipping consistency, reheat over medium heat while stirring constantly so it doesn't burn. Once it is hot and bubbling it might have thickened up too much. You can thin it out by adding a tablespoon of water at a time, stirring it in until desired consistency is reached.
    Only tapicoa starchy will give that stretchy texture, but you can prepare the cheese with other starch such as cornstarch or arrowroot powder which will give you more of a suace texture.
     

    Nutrition

    Calories: 144kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 961mg | Potassium: 230mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 245IU | Vitamin C: 2.9mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 1.7mg
    Did You Make This Recipe?Tag @itdoesnttastelikechicken on Instagram and Hashtag #itdoesnttastelikechicken

    Bon appetegan!
    Sam.

    « Skillet Roasted Edamame
    The Best Fully Loaded Vegan Nachos! »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. olya says

      September 27, 2023 at 10:48 pm

      5 stars
      delicious, it will be my go to from now on, thank you for creating it!

      Reply
      • Jess @ IDTLC Support says

        September 28, 2023 at 3:25 pm

        That's great to hear!

        Reply
    2. Alex says

      September 16, 2023 at 2:11 am

      followed recipe as written by I ended up with a giant blob I couldn't really use or work with. Is that how it is supposed to be or are you getting a different texture and consistency?

      I like the flavor but I'm trying to figure out how to make it a more usable consistency.

      Any suggestions on what I should alter? I'm thinking of trying again with half the amount of tapioca starch.

      what if I used 1 1/2 of corn starch and 1 1/2 of tapioca starch?

      Reply
    3. Catherine says

      August 28, 2023 at 3:16 pm

      Hi Sam
      I just made this and had in a tortilla wrap with you tofu chorizo crumbles, salsa and salad. It was amazing. Main challenge is keeping some for tomorrow - I want to finish the whole load up with tortilla chips right now! I’ve pointed a couple of vegan-curious friends to your site and they are really enjoying the recipes too - thanks so much!

      Reply
      • Jess @ IDTLC Support says

        August 31, 2023 at 11:58 am

        Hahaha it's that good! Thanks for sharing the site with friends! 🙂

        Reply
    4. Gail says

      July 31, 2023 at 9:28 am

      I’m interested to see that this nacho cheese recipe has slightly different ingredients than the one in your delicious cauliflower cheese nachos recipe. How do they differ in taste?

      Reply
    5. BeeH says

      June 16, 2023 at 5:27 pm

      5 stars
      Sam, Sam... you did it again! I have prepared many of your recipes your Seitan steak, your appetizers, your vegan egg, desserts etc.. this time I was looking for a vegan cheddar cheese made with cashews and I went straight to your website and I found it! thankfully. I had another cheddar cheese recipe which is delicious but does not use cashews even though it's also a good recipe, yours is way better. It is so DELICIOUS I made a quesadilla with pinto beans and guacamole it was to die for. I made the recipe exactly as you indicated. However, I found it it was a little salty so I had half a cup of soaked cashews leftover, (I soaked 1 cup overnight) so I blended it with a little bit more water and added into the mixture already on the stop, I used a whisk so it was smooth and gooey.. it was delicious and just the right seasoning.
      Next time I might just reduce the salt and follow the recipe to the tee.
      thank you!

      Reply
    6. Debbie M says

      June 01, 2023 at 12:58 am

      5 stars
      I made this, and it was awesome. However, because of having CKD, cashews don't like me. So I'm wondering, is it possible to replace the cashews with a potato for this recipe?

      Reply
      • Eileen says

        November 05, 2023 at 1:26 am

        Yes, I have made cheese sauce many times using cooked potato and carrot. You will not need nearly as much Tapioca as the potato has starch as well. Be sure to add the other flavorings Sam has listed!

        Reply
    7. Lynn says

      May 13, 2023 at 8:42 pm

      Sam, I’ve easily made over 100 recipes written by you. I can count on your recipes to always taste delicious and perform exactly as you describe. You are one of the websites I return to most often as I plan my family’s meals each week. For these reasons I am baffled as to why the Nacho Cheese recipe does not work for me. I’ve made it twice and both times yielded delicious tasting cheese, but never did the cheese turn out stretchy, gooey, or saucy enough to drizzle onto nachos.

      The first time I made it, I followed your recipe exactly. My cheese came out so clumped up, I added between 1/4 and 1/2 cup of soy milk to try to get it to a useable consistency.

      The second time I made it, I followed your recipe exactly, except I added a 1/4 cup soy milk to the ingredients in the blender. I also removed it from the heat much sooner than I did the first time around - as soon as the cheese got lumpy and started to congeal. These two slight changes improved the consistency, but not so much that I could drizzle the cheese off my spatula, onto my food. Try as I might, I could never replicate the photos on your blog of strings of cheese sauce dripping from a nacho chip.

      I am frustrated and disappointed. Can you please help me understand why my results differ so greatly from yours?

      Thank you, Sam.
      Your fan,
      Lynn

      Reply
    8. Tammy says

      March 14, 2023 at 3:26 pm

      you said only tapioca starchy would work. Sorry for only using this for spelling errors. I am probably going to make the sunflower cheese and the baloney. by.the way the baloney wasn't under vegan meats when I checked.

      Reply
    9. Rich says

      January 06, 2023 at 4:15 pm

      5 stars
      I've been trying various vegan "cheese" sauces over the last couple years, and some taste better than others, but none were actually like cheese. I made this last night, and it is spot on. I tried reheating it today, and had to add water and stir between 20 second rounds of microwave, but it was just fine. I did misread, and added too much garlic powder, but didn't mess anything up. Next time I make it I plan to try reducing the amount of tapioca flour to see if I can keep it a little runnier. Even my wife liked it, and that is saying something for a vegan substitute.

      Reply
      • Jess @ IDTLC Support says

        January 09, 2023 at 3:43 pm

        That's great news, Rich! Thanks for sharing your experience!

        Reply
    10. Hannah says

      January 05, 2023 at 1:35 pm

      5 stars
      I thought I had tapioca flour when I started making this but it was actually xanthan gum. oops! took an educated guess and used 1 tsp xanthan gum in place of the tapioca, and it turned out great—I used it with your nacho recipe. thank you!

      Reply
      • Jess @ IDTLC Support says

        January 09, 2023 at 3:47 pm

        That's great news, very resourceful!

        Reply
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