This is a recipe for a quick and easy homemade vegan Cheese Sauce. Give this Nooch Cheese Sauce (made with Nutritional Yeast) a try because it’s perfect for lasagne, pizza, mac & cheese or as a dip for tortilla chips! It’s also nut-free and you don’t need a blender!
This is a recipe for a basic Nooch Cheese Sauce. I make this cheese sauce quite often and use it mostly for lasagne, pizza, as a dip for tortilla chips or for mac and cheese.
It’s really simple to make and it comes together quite fast – it will only take about 10 to 15 minutes. Then get your tortilla chips ready because it’s dipping time!
I love this cheese sauce because it’s
- vegan (and therefore dairy-free and lactose-free)
- without nuts (my wallet says thanks!)
- super quick to make
- made with only a handful of ingredients (I always have these at home!)
- so versatile! Lasagna, pizza, mac & cheese, or as a dip are my favorite uses for the sauce!
- ooey-gooey and stretchy
When I started following a vegan diet in 2012 supermarkets didn’t offer any vegan cheeses. So making vegan cheese at home was the only way to go. I have been making this cheese sauce countless times!
Now, there all kinds of vegan cheeses in the stores and I really enjoy trying these new products, however, I still make this cheese sauce a lot because it’s my favorite for pizza and lasagna – I love it!
But wait… What is Nooch?
Nooch is short for nutritional yeast. Nutritional yeast is deactivated yeast and can be bought in the form of powder or flakes.
It is often used for vegan sauces because of its super cheesy taste. Nutritional yeast is something that should not be missed in a vegan household. It’s one of my secret (but not so secret) ingredients for vegan cooking.
How to make Vegan Cheese Sauce with Nutritional Yeast (Nooch)
The Ingredients for the Nooch Cheese Sauce
The ingredients you’ll need are rather basic. You probably have them at home already!
- coconut oil or vegan butter – both will work just fine
- all-purpose flour – makes the cheese stretchy
- spices – I used salt, paprika powder, curry powder, ground pepper, and garlic powder (but feel free to experiment with different spices!)
- nutritional yeast flakes – adds the cheesy flavor!
- water
Most vegan cheese recipes use nuts (oftentimes cashews or almonds). This one doesn’t. So if you’re allergic to nuts (or you don’t want to spend all that $$ on expensive nuts), this sauce is for you!
Step by Step Instructions
This is the process of making the cheese sauce! Basically, it’s like you would make a Bechamel Sauce – but with a cheesy twist!
Step 1: Melt the vegan butter or coconut oil in a pot. Add the spices. Whisk.
Step 2: Add the flour. Whisk.
Step 3: Add the nutritional yeast. Whisk.
Step 4: Add the water. Stir until smooth and creamy.
Tip: If you don’t use the sauce immediately, it will thicken up quite a bit. Add a bit more water and whisk again. Then it’s good as new!
This vegan cheese sauce is ooey gooey and stretchy. Perfect!
My favorite uses for this vegan Cheese Sauce
More Vegan Cheese Recipes
I hope you love this ‘cheesy’ sauce as much as I do! Let me know if you give it a try!
Cheers, Bianca
Nooch Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil or vegan butter e.g. EarthBalance, Alsan,...
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika powder
- ground pepper
- 1 pinch garlic powder
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- Heat the coconut oil or butter in a small pot on low heat.
- Add the salt, pepper, paprika powder, curry powder & garlic powder.
- Add in the flour and whisk.
- Add nutritional yeast, whisk again until clumpy.
- Add the water and whisk on low heat for a few minutes. If it gets too thick you can add a little bit more water and whisk again.
- Use it as a dip, pour it over some lasagne or pizza or whatever you like. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This post was first published in July 2017. Updated in February 2019.
Ryan
Just made this; it’s awesome. It’s been a long time since I’ve had real cheese, so I can’t remember what it even tastes like, but this is delicious in its own right. (Great with tortilla chips.)
Bianca
Hi Ryan, thank you so much for your comment! I’m glad you liked the cheese sauce!
Garth
can i use coconut flour instead of regular?
Jake
Excited to make this do you know how long it keeps in the fridge? or is it a make for use immediately type thing?
Bianca
I usually use it immediately. If you let it sit for a while, it thickens up and depending on what you’re using it for, you might have to re-heat it and add a bit of water.
Tiffani
This sauce is SO GOOD. I’ve tried other nooch sauces, but this might be my favorite. I actually licked the whisk! I didn’t have any curry powder on hand, but I’m excited to try it with next time (because I will definitely be making this again)! I can also verify that gluten-free flour works just fine:)
Bianca
I’m so glad to hear that, Tiffani! Thank you so much for the amazing feedback! :) Which gluten-free flour did you use? Rice flour? Buckwheat?
Tiffani
I used a blend from Bob’s Red Mill:)
Bianca
ah, good to know, thanks! :)
Robin
Thanks for that tidbit. I was going to ask if gluten free flour would be okay
merit
have been using this sauce for a long time and works every time, is DELICIOUS with everything!
Bianca
I’m soo happy to hear that, merit! Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback <3
Brandi
Oh my gosh! I just used this to dip baked cauliflower and broccoli! Whoa! So good!
Bianca
Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback, Brandi! I’m glad you like the Cheese Sauce! :)
Lily
Hello! Great idea to add curry powder, I’ll have to try that! I make mine with coconut oil and cornflour (Cornstarch some people call it, the very fine white flour.) It comes out really well :) Yay nooch sauces!
Bianca
Hi Lily! Thank you! I add curry powder for the color and taste :) Your version of nooch cheese sounds really good too, I have to give it a try sometime :)
Christy
Hi can you send me that recipe too? I already have those on hand!
Jaine
Thank you thank you thank you, with 2 vegetarians, 2 lactose intolerant and one gluten intolerant in our family of 5 I’m always looking for ways to satisfy everyone. This web site has done that. I’m going to pin your recipe to my foodie board and sign up to your updates and recipe book. Thank you.
Bianca
Oh thank you so much for your sweet comment, pinning and subscribing, Jaine! I’m glad you like the recipes and I’m always happy to help :)
Ashley
Yay for this cheese sauce! I transitioned to a vegan lifestyle about 8 months ago and cheese was the thing I missed most. I have tried so many different premade cheeses and also another one homemade. I have not liked any of them! I have a 3 year old son who I transitioned as well and while he has loved all of the cheeses I wanted to be able to enjoy something cheesy together. This sauce definitely gave me what I was missing, we made tacos for dinner and this was a great addition. I can definitely see myself making many meals with this sauce & cannot wait to try it for mac n cheese which is my sons favorite. Thank you so much!!
Bianca
Thank you, Ashley! Your comment means a lot to me :)
I’ve made the same experience with store-bought cheeses, most of them just taste super artificial and weird. So this cheesy sauce is a good alternative.
It’s my favorite cheese sauce to put on lasagna and I often use it for pizza too – when I’ve got the craving for cheesy pizza. I’ve also had it in mac & cheese and I really liked it, so I hope you do too :)
Christy
Hi can I sub coconut oil? Vegan butter is hard to find here
Bianca
Hi Christy, I haven’t tried it with coconut oil yet, but it could work :) Although the consistency will probably stay thinner. Let me know if you give it a try :)
Liz
This was so good and unbelievably easy. I also added a little bit of agave to it and it turned out great!
Bianca
So glad you liked it, Liz! I love the addition of agave! This is such a good idea! The last time I made the cheese sauce, I added a bit of liquid smoke and it was so good too :)
Heather
Could you use almond milk in place of water?
Bianca
yep, I think that would be a good substitution. Just make sure it’s unsweetened almond milk :)
Rachel Townsend
Do you think that I could make and store this in the fridge? Will it keep for 4-5 days? Or does it need to be used immediately? I’m new to nooch as a part of my diet so any thoughts would be helpful!
Bianca
It depends on what you want to do with it. After a couple of minutes, in the fridge or not, the sauce will set. After that you will want to re-heat it again and add a bit of water to make it pourable again. I haven’t had it in the fridge for 4-5 days, but I’ve had it 1-2 days and it was fine. Just re-heat and add water until perfectly creamy :)
Joann
Love, love, love this!! Really good on a baked potato :)
Bianca
So glad you like it! :))
Luis espada
Can I make it without Curry powder I don’t have any
Bianca
yep, you can add in any spices you like or simply omit it. do you have turmeric at home? it would give it a nice yellowy color!
Peggy
Wow, my vegan daughter and I were just having our eleventeenth discussion on why mommy wasn’t making mac ‘n cheese with vegan cheese but this sauce looks great and it just the ticket since I’m used to making a roux and well, using that hated butter stuff. Thanks so much!
Bianca
Yeay, I hope you guys like it! :) It’s perfect for mac and cheese!
LaTrice
Hi I was just reading that vegan cheese is not good help me I am getting so confused as a new vegan.
I am super excited to try this also thanks!
Bianca
Do you mean that most of the store-bought cheeses are not particularly healthy? They are often still loaded with fats. Homemade cheeses are definitely the better option. There are also recipes for vegan cheeses made with cashews.
Maggie
Would almond flour work ok?
Bianca
I don’t think it will be stretchy at all, because almond flour is gluten-free and very different to regular flour. I haven’t tried it yet! But I’d love to hear if it works if you give it a try!
Bobbi
I made this with coconut oil and coconut flour. The texture is nothing like the picture. It is grainy and not saucy at all. The flavor is still good, albeit very coconutty! It is tasty on the spaghatti squash I cooked to go with the sauce. I also topped the dish with an array of wild mushrooms. I will try this again using a vegan butter and all-purpose flour.
Bianca
Thank you for trying it out with coconut flour! I had the feeling that it wouldn’t work, because it needs the gluten to develop the gooey consistency. But now we know! :)
Erza
Will definitely need to try again. I don’t have flour so I used cornstarch and used a little cumin and Trader Joe’s Mushroom Umami seasoning instead of the curry powder…. It might have been too overpowering as I didn’t taste any “cheesy” and only seasoning :(
Stephanie
I to used coconut oil and coconut flour.Mainly because that is what I had. I used it on Spaghetti Squash.
Tasted good with a smooth texture.
BTW I used the metric method and 20 grams of NutritionalYeast is way more then a third of a cup.
Bianca
I’m glad to hear that it worked with coconut flour as well!
I just checked it again and 1/3 cup of nutritional yeast is exactly 16 grams on my scale. It’s not too far off, but I’ve updated the metric measurement to be more exact :) Thanks for bringing it to my attention!
Shawna
Hi! I just made this sauce tonight…OMG!!!!! So delicious. I didn’t have all purpose flour so I used garbanzo bean flour and it is still yummy 😋. Going to try with the all purpose flour next time to compare. Thank you for posting this recipe!
Bianca
Glad you enjoyed it, Shawna! That’s good to know that it works with garbanzo flour too, I haven’t tried that yet :) Yeay!
Franzi
I was so keen to try this recipe after i finally got my hands on nutritional yeast. Because of an allergy can’t eat dairy products. The result is very disappointing, it wasn’t only far from delicious…for me(and non allergic husband) it wasn’t even edible.
Bianca
I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t like the sauce.
Just to make sure, I often hear people mixing up nutritional yeast with baker’s yeast or brewer’s yeast. You could check if you’ve bought the right kind because that’s essential for the recipe. Other than that, some just don’t like the taste of nutritional yeast. That’s okay. Tastes differ. I appreciate your feedback! :)
Franzi
Hi Bianca,
thanks for your reply.
Maybe i fall into the latr category ;)
L
Holy shit. I have just found this recipe on your site and now I have made it about 6 times in a couple of days. I started out very civilised; putting it on vegetables and the like, and am now just spooning it out of the bowl directly into my mouth. THIS IS A REVOLUTION. I even halved the amount of flour to make it a lot more like a sauce, and it’s amazing.
Bianca
omg, you have no idea how happy your comment makes me!! Thank you so much <3
Aja
I read your comment and laughed my ass off because I’ve just finished licking my plate from the mac and cheese I’ve made with nooch, which I am just trying for the first time. ALREADY OBSESSED I’ve just sent my partner a bunch of links describing what nooch is and what the health benefits are ahah. I’m not a vegetarian or a vegan but I like to have a pretty varied diet and every now and then I go off meat and dairy for a while. I’m pretty much immediately convinced that I’m going to replace cheese in my diet with nooch entirely (and I am a cheese LOVER trust me). The health benefits and flavour make it an obvious choice. Looking forward to trying this recipe!
Debby
Insanely good! We made this to use on a falafel sub and ended up eating the leftover sauce straight from the pan.
Bianca
Thank you for the great feedback, Debby!! So glad you like the sauce! :) I’ve never had the cheese sauce with falafel — and I feel like I’ve been missing out :D
Ayana Hargreaves
Can i use olive oil or soyabean oil instead?
Bianca
I haven’t tried those yet, but I’d say soyabean oil would be the better option to try, because olive oil has too much flavor to distract from the cheesy taste. Let me know if you give it a try!
Sherley
Can I use a grain free flour instead of regular all purpose flour ?
Bianca
Hi Sherley,
I personally haven’t used another flour than ap-flour because I don’t think it will have that ooey-gooey consistency but another reader made it with bob’s red mill gluten-free flour mix and she said it works just fine :)
Another one tried it with coconut flour but it was just grainy and not gooey at all.
Lisa
Really want to try this! Wondering if arrowroot flour would be a suitable substitution for the AP flour?? 🤔
May give it a try and see what happens. Also have coconut & almond flour on hand but doesn’t sound like either of those would be a good sub…..
Thanks for the recipe!!
Bianca
Hi Lisa, I haven’t tried the recipe with arrowroot flour yet but I’d love to hear how it turns out if you give it a try.
People tried the recipe with coconut flour and got mixed results. For one reader it turned out grainy and not gooey at all (because of the missing gluten), for another reader, it turned out great with coconut flour.
Lillian
Great Recipe!!
I added a touch of lemon juice right at the end (it looks like its about to curdle but then returns to smooth) and it really helps to bring out the cheesy flavor!!
Bianca
Great idea! :)
Nick
I never comment on blogs but this cheese was so damn good I had to!
I avoid dairy at all costs, and while I loved cashew cheese for a while, it does not agree with me. This is my new favorite!
Bianca
Yeayyy! So glad you like it, Nick! :)
Heather
I didn’t enjoy this. Too much flour for me. The texture was like glue. I prefer a creamy finish. Its quick and doesn’t require a blender but not worth making again.
Bianca
Sorry to hear that you didn’t like it! I appreciate your feedback, though! :)
Jennifer Toops
This was pretty good–the flour flavor was a little strong so I had to double all of the spices and add some sweet dijon mustard and extra salt. I used Pamela’s All-Purpose Baking Flour Mix (gluten-free), so perhaps regular wheat flour would not require as much “fixing”–
I have tried three different variations on vegan cheese now. The best tasting recipe used a pound of raw cashews plus the nutritional yeast, but I am allergic to cashews and I had to throw most of the cheese away when I realized what was causing the reaction. I also tried a recipe that used potatoes, carrots, mustard, and garlic in addition to nutritional yeast. This was quite flavorful, but the veggie taste didn’t work well with the corn chips and I ended up using it in a vegan enchilada recipe.
This sauce will be excellent when combined with other nacho toppings. The consistency is very convincing, and it has a pretty neutral flavor. I might add some chili powder or other seasonings later. Thank you for the recipe!
Bianca
Ah yes, I’m sure it’s because of the gf flour because whenever I use all-purpose flour, I can’t taste the flour at all. Glad you like it! :)
Kate
I just made this. I used olive oil instead of vegan butter, and whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose. I had to add way more water than the recipe called for in order for. it to come out as a sauce rather than a dough. I used curry powder, turmeric, black pepper, cayenne, and garlic powder as the seasonings. It is very tasty and very easy — my favorite combination!
Bri
I had to do the same! I used olive oil, unbleached flour, and turmeric :)
Rebecca
Delicious! I love that I don’t have to pull out my blender to make!
I did use smoked paprika and black garlic in place of the regular but otherwise amazing!
Lex
This recipe is amazing!! I haven’t even tried it but I’m going to, since I already have all this stuff at home!! I’m a vegetarian who eats probably 75% vegan, and I haven’t tried making any vegan cheese yet because I don’t have a good food processor. I’m so happy I found this, thank you!
Bianca
Hope you enjoy it, Lex! :)
Emily
What do you think about replacing all purpose flour with almond flour? Wonder if it would work.
Bianca
I’m afraid it will turn out grainy! I haven’t tried it yet, though. Also, it won’t be gooey at all.
AJ
I used arrowroot powder which brings down the carb count significantly!
Angel Cotton
This nooch cheese was fantastic with the garlic pretzel knots. Spot on Bianca!
Bianca
It’s my favorite ‘cheese’ sauce :) So I’m happy you like it too!
Rhiannon & Roger
Tastes great, good alternative to potato and carrot vegan nacho cheezes. It has an interesting flavour profile, yet super simple to make.
A beautiful bouquet of flavors blossoms upon my pallet.
Bianca
I love that you don’t need to clean (and need) a blender for this vegan cheese sauce! And yep, it’s super quick to make.
Thank you so much for the great review!!
Erin Gibson
“Cheesy” dream come true!!
Bianca
Glad you like it!! :)
Karla
Looks great! I’m on the whole 30 diet. Is there a nooch recipe with a substitute for the flour?
Aria McNeil
I was having a craving for mac and cheese, and this sauce definitely hit the spot. Thank you for this amazing recipe! Also really great with tortilla chips!
Bianca
Yeay!! :)
Liana
Loved it on top of nachos and as a cheese dip (mixed in a few spoonfuls of salsa for a salsa con queso-vibe). Have you ever tried making it by adding all the dry ingredients at once? I was thinking it’d be handy to have a big jar of the flour, yeast, and spices already mixed, then just cooking in the pan with “butter” and adding water.
Sally
I just made a beautiful, luscious batch with olive oil and gluten-free Bisquick. IT WAS AWESOME! I didn’t follow your exact amounts from the recipe because I was sorta-kinda winging it. Didn’t matter, though, because it came out smooth and creamy and spicy. Thanks so much!
Angel
Can you substitute almond flour or arrowroot flour for the wheat flour? How much will it alter the recipe?
Carol anne
Mm it’s delicious can’t believe how much like cheese it tastes thanks for the recipe
Bri
I was so excited for this! It tastes delicious. But gave me a really bad stomach ache 🤕. Wish I knew why! Assuming from the nutritional yeast.
leigha
Really good if you like the taste of flour.
Teresa
I’ve stopped eating dairy about 6 months ago and desperately miss cheese. I stumbled across your recipe this afternoon and decided to try it. I didn’t have curry, but made it anyway. It is delicious and soothed my cheese craving. Thank you!
Judy
An experience with freezing this?
Cedar
I’ve been making this recipe for years and I’ve used it for many different things. Mine never looks like the texture of the original but that isn’t that big of a deal for me. Great recipe and has saved the day when I have nothing else in the fridge. Recently made some bulgur cheesesteak filled buns with this and it turned out great, love this recipe and is a staple in my house!!!!!
Melissa
This was great to use as a base recipe! I swapped oat milk for the water and added 1 tbsp of marmite to add depth and it was absolutely delicious.