Author: 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!
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!
Can we see another shot of this ooey, gooey, melty-ness. Ahhh.... there we go.
Notes about this cheese:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
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.
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.
Put the pan over medium-high heat. Stir to keep anything from burning. You will start to see clumps forming.
Ooo clumpy. Keep stirring!
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.
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Melty Stretchy Gooey Vegan Nacho Cheese
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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 ground turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
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
Nutrition
⭐ Did You Make This Recipe?
I’d love if you left a rating and comment, it helps others find the recipe and makes my day! 💕Bon appetegan!
Sam.
Jess says
I made this for some friends and family tonight and it was a huge hit! We scraped the saucepan clean. Even my committed carnivore/vegan-sceptic brother came back for seconds. The kids adored it too. I looked for white miso in my local supermarket but not sure if what I ended up using was the brown or white variety as it was all in Japanese, was quite miso-y but delicious nonetheless and once we poured it over our quinoa and black beans, brown rice salad and corn chips it was incredible. Thank you, thank you!
Sam says
Yay!! So happy you, your friends, and your family loved the recipe so much! It makes me so happy especially when non-vegans love vegan recipes! We will woo them one delicious dish at a time, muhahaha!
Diane says
Where do you find miso paste, and if it's unavailable what can you substitute?
Guylaine says
You can find miso paste at any health food store
Sam says
Thanks Guylaine,
That's right, it can be found at a health food store, but if you have trouble finding it, it is just a flavour and adds a nice umami. If you needed to skip it, I am sure the recipe would still taste pretty good. Enjoy!
Sherri says
We topped a plate of nachos with this cheese tonight to eat while watching the football game, and we are happy to report that the recipe is a winner!
I didn't have miso paste so I just omitted that ingredient (it tastes salty enough without it so I don't think I'd worry about buying some for the next batch.) I might also cut back the lemon juice ever so slightly, maybe by just a teaspoon, so the flavor is slightly more creamy than tangy.
Thanks for putting the nachos back into football night!
Sam says
Yay!!! So happy you loved the nachos Sherri 🙂 Yes, absolutely, feel free to play around with your own measurements and seasonings to get it just as you like it. So happy you have have nachos on football night again too! 🙂
Olivia says
Hi Sam! This looks aaamazing, congratulations!! 🙂
I only have "Mame Miso" on me and was wondering if you knew if this could work instead of the white. It's a very dark brown miso and ingredients are: Whole soy beans, sea salt, water & koji. Again, incredible job, cannot wait to try this! xx
Sam says
Hi Olivia, Thank you!
Yes I think that will work fine. It might alter the colour a bit, so just be aware of that. Enjoy!
Jim says
Hi
Living in the land of metric, I've converted the cups to grams and ml and tried them out (it worked!)...
35g Raw Cashews
235ml Hot Water
I know I'll be back here for the recipe again, so this is a note to self.
Is it possible to get metric-ized versions of the recipes on the site too, for your European followers?
Jim
Jim says
PS Made the cheese to go with nachos and blackbeans. Excellent stuff, will definitely use again!
Sam says
Haha, perfect!!
Sam says
Hi Jim,
I'm glad it worked! I don't actually have a kitchen scale (I know, shame) but here is a handy dandy chart that converts cups, tablespoons, and teaspoons to Ml. Does that help?
Notes to self in the comments are a great idea. I am sure other people will find it helpful as well. 🙂
Brandy says
Hi, thank you for all your hard work and then sharing with us all! I am dying to try this recipe but I have a ton of allergies... Can the miso paste be left out or is it critical to the cheese flavor? Thank you for your advice!
Sam says
Hi Brandy,
You're very welcome 🙂
Yes, you can leave the miso out and there shouldn't be a problem.
Enjoy!
Sam
Amy says
This was delicious and made a kick @ss grilled cheese sandwich and some very good chips & cheese snacks. It was a bit "sharp" for my taste but I think that's the miso I have. I'll probably reduce the lemon a smidge next time to compensate. SO GOOD! I'm drizzling the last of it over my chili tonight.
Sam says
Yay!!! So happy you loved the recipe Amy, and yes, feel free to adjust the flavours to your own taste preference 🙂
Beth says
You were right. Nothing left to refrigerate! Delicious!
Sam says
Haha, so happy you enjoyed it Beth!!
Meg says
Hi, thank you for this recipe and mozarella recipe. I am in transition from vegetarian to vegan and looking for recipes of my favourite dairy products.
Do you know why it is so high in sodium? Is it because of salt?
Sam says
Hi Meg,
Your super welcome!!
Yes, most of the sodium is from the salt, and a little from the miso paste. You can adjust those to your preference if you like, it won't affect the texture, only the flavour.
Let me know if you have anymore questions or if there is anyway I can help you with your transition! 😀
Carolyn says
Thank you for the recipe, will try on my Seventh Day Adventist family. They are trying to
lose weight and stay away from most meat. All love Mexican food and Nachos are just
what they love.
Sam says
You're welcome Carolyn! I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Martha says
Thank you for this recipe, I made it and it was actually delicious, so good to have nachos again!
Sam says
Yay! So happy you liked the recipe Martha. Thanks for commenting! 😀
Kristi says
I finally made this tonight. It was so delicious! I made it to use on tacos. One of my kids said it reminded him of queso dip, so I'm seeing something like that in our future.
Sam says
Yay! So happy you and your kids loved it. Thanks for sharing Krisit!
Paige says
This was great, as was the mozzarella! I did not have the tapioca flour or starch. (I live in Costa Rica with limited resources), but used a good organic cornstarch brought back from US. I only used 1 1/2 tablespoons, checked some equivalency charts. As you said, not as much stretch but still very cheesy, and tasty, and gone in a flash! Thanks!, P.s. I harvest my own cashews here as you really can't buy them. I also get cashews when I go to Nicaragua that are harvested and sold buy local families. So, that fact that this recipe uses only 1/4 cup is great!
Sam says
Yay! So glad you loved it Paige and that you were able to make adapations as needed. Harvest your own cashews? That's neat, they are the funniest looking plants! 🙂
Amanda says
OMG, I just looked up images for Cashew plants, lol..... so strange looking! They seem labour intensive to harvest, perhaps this explains why they are so expensive lol
Sam says
Haha right!? Weirdest looking things. I am sure that's exactly why they are so expensive.
christophe says
cant wait to try it! I bet its even better than the other mozarella cheese 🙂
have you ever thought of making one specific for pizza?
Sam says
I have now! haha! That's a great idea. I think a pizza specific cheese would have to get firm enough to grate, and then be melty and stretchy coming out of the oven... now there's a challenge. I love it!
Eibhlin says
I am looking forward to that email 😉
I am trying this one out at the weekend. Your mozarella is already a firm favourite.
Sam says
Haha, great! I will work on that one too.... 😉
Eibhlin says
I love and admire your creativity 🙂 Have a wonderful weekend.
Sam says
Thank you so much Eibhlin! 😀
Kristi says
This looks amazing!!! I'm leaving work and reading email as I walk out. Now I need to stop at the grocery store for cashews. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Sam says
Be careful where you are walking! Haha. I hope you like the recipe Kristi!
Jenn says
There is nothing better than tortilla chips and gooey cheese sauce! This looks incredible! Must try!
Sam says
Agree. Haha! I hope you love it 🙂
Delia says
How did you know what I have been thinking of lately? I can't tell you the last time I ate nachos but earlier this week I made an enchilada bowl (faster than real enchiladas as you don't have to roll up the filling in the corn tortillas and then bake and since I haven't found Non GMO corn tortillas I don't mind skipping that part - instead I just put the yummy stuff on a rice quinoa blend and eat it that way. I was thinking this would make for good loaded nachos. And then I thought heck I would be happy with some plain nachos (with Non GMO corn chips of course). Sounds yummy! Also I would like to have some grilled cheese vegan style. I am at work right now though so I can't make anything so yummy. Bummer! I look forward to making this later on though.
Sam says
Haha, apparently I have magical brain wave sensing powers. That enchilada bowl sounds delish!
Katie says
I had (vegan) nacho's for the first time in a long time at the Toronto Vegan Food and Drink Festival last weekend and I would love to try to replicate that, so this is very timely. Thanks, I will be making this very soon.
Sam says
Oh I was there and I didn't get to try the nachos there. I hope mine are up to snuff!
Honey's Quilling says
Yum! I made a recipe very similar to this, I'll have to try your exact spice ratio! After having the mozzarella version I knew I had to have a cheddar version! It makes delectable grilled cheese sandwiches too!
Sam says
Yes, I love vegan grilled cheese! In fact, I might just have to have one for lunch. 🙂
Emma says
My family LOVES the melty stretchy mozarella, and I've actually been using it on nachos up until now. I can't wait to try this!
Sam says
Yay!! I hope you like this recipe as well. It is a bit more flavourful and is perfect for nachos. Omnomnom.