Delicious Vegan Cheese Sauce - a creamy and silky protein rich cheese sauce alternative perfect for those who are dairy free or vegan.
Dairy Free Cheese Sauce
When you are dairy free or vegan but love that cheesy sauce flavour it can be hard to find a healthy alternative for a sauce you can enjoy at home. But with a few simple ingredients and some nutritional yeast like in this recipe, you can easily create a delicious vegan cheese sauce that you can enjoy any night of the week and make in batch if you want some to freeze.
How do you get that cheesy cheddar colour?
There are so many variations of a vegan cheese sauce recipe out there and so many use many different methods. But for this cheese sauce the colour comes from a couple of ingredients, firstly butternut squash (a delicious healthy vegetable of the winter squash family with a subtle sweet taste that adds a delicious flavour to a variety of recipes), lentils and then a store cupboard spice turmeric.
Can I use green or brown lentils?
I don't recommend it in this recipe, you'll end up with a muddy coloured sauce that is not the right consistency, you must use the dried red lentils for this recipe.
The red lentils are a great way to get some protein into a meal which is especially important for those on a vegan or vegetarian diet.
Nutritional Yeast
So what is nutritional yeast and is it really needed in this recipe? The quickest answer is yes, it's a pretty vital ingredient, without you won't get that cheesy kind of taste.
It's an inactive form of yeast that comes in yellow flakes, granules or powder.
Where to buy Nutritional Yeast?
Most major supermarket stores carry it, usually in the healthy foods section, ask store staff if you can't locate it, it's also available at health food stores and on websites like Amazon.
(As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.)
What is the syn value and smart points value of nutritional yeast?
Nutritional yeast is generally about 20 calories for 1 level tablespoon (which is 5g), different brand may vary ever so slightly, but most are around the same.
The one above is 3 syns for 2 heaping tablespoons (16g) or 1 smart point on green, blue and purple plans for 2 heaping tablespoons (16g)
What can I use this Vegan Cheese Sauce on?
It's great for anything that requires a cheesy kind of sauce, where you are dairy free either through choice or because you can't eat dairy.
Some ideas are:
- Vegan Cheesy Sauce for Pasta
- Cheese Sauce for Lasagne
- As a dip for bread or crackers (I mean why not) - obviously you need to use syns or a HEb for those.
- Over broccoli for a cheesy sauce
- Literally a sauce for anything you like
We had it over pasta and considering I am not vegan or dairy free and eat cheese, we loved it!!
Coconut Milk
The coconut milk adds a creamy taste to the sauce which you expect with anything cheesy.
Use the full fat regular stuff in a can, not the carton drink or light stuff. It's a small amount and divided up into a serving is not going to bust your daily syns, points or calories.
Blending the Sauce
You do need a blender for this recipe, either a kitchen countertop one or a immersion stick blender is fine. While mashing may get it to a kind of sauce consistency it won't be nice and smooth.
I have one of these Vitamix Blenders, which really are one of the best blenders out there. It was on sale on boxing day this year and I have always wanted one, so decide to treat myself. It takes soups, sauces etc to a whole other level, so smooth, velvety and creamy.
Vitamix Explorian Vitamix on Amazon
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More Vegan Recipes
Looking for some other healthy delicious vegan recipes to try? Check out these:
- VEGAN LENTIL DUMPLINGS
- CREAMY VEGAN VEGETABLE CHOWDER
- VEGAN TIKKA MASALA (INSTANT POT OR STOVE TOP)
- COCONUT VEGETABLE CURRY (VEGAN)
- BUTTERNUT SQUASH CHICKPEA CURRY (VEGAN)
or head on over to my Full Recipe Index with over 900 delicious Slimming World and Weight Watchers friendly recipes all fully searchable by meal type, ingredients, syn value and smart points etc
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Delicious Vegan Cheese Sauce
Delicious Vegan Cheese Sauce - a creamy and silky protein rich cheese sauce alternative perfect for those who are dairy free or vegan.
Ingredients
- 90g (3.2oz) onion, diced
- 150g (5.5oz) butternut squash, cubed small
- 350g (12.5oz) of cauliflower broken into small florets
- 3 cups (720ml) of vegetable stock
- ½ cup (95g) red lentils
- 20g (0.8oz) of nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon of paprika (not smoked)
- 1 teaspoon of turmeric
- Sea salt and black pepper
- ½ cup (120ml) of coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
- cooking oil spray (I used avocado)
Instructions
- Spray a deep saucepan over a medium high heat with some cooking oil spray, add the onion and a pinch of sea salt and fry until lightly golden and softened. Add the paprika and turmeric and stir until coated.
- Add the butternut squash, cauliflower, lentils and vegetable stock, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes until vegetables and lentils are softened
- Add to a blender with the nutritional yeast, lemon juice and coconut milk and blend until smooth.
- Add back to the saucepan, taste and season as needed with salt and black pepper and gently heat on low until ready to serve.
Notes
This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, vegan, vegetarian, Slimming World and Weight Watchers friendly
- Slimming World - 2 syns per serving
- WW Green Smart Points - 4 per serving
- WW Blue Smart Points - 2 per serving
- WW Purple Smart Points - 2 per serving
- Gluten Free - use gluten free stock
Increase the flavour: Stir in more nutritional yeast if you want a stronger flavour.
Thicker Sauce: Bubble the prepared sauce for a few more minutes of the stove, the added lentils will thicken up the sauce.
Thinner Sauce: Add a little bit of water or stock to loosen the sauce to a thinner consistency
SUITABLE FOR FREEZING - sauce is suitable for freezing, fully defrost and heat gently until heated through before serving, you will need to add some stock or water to loosen the sauce
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Nutrition Information
Yield 6 Serving Size 1 SERVINGAmount Per Serving Calories 132Total Fat 3.3gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 0mgSodium 398mgCarbohydrates 19.3gFiber 3.9gSugar 3.6gProtein 7.5g
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