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My sole purpose for creating a vegan nacho cheese sauce was to make nachos. Who doesn’t like nachos? Creamy cheese on salty and crunchy tortilla chips piled high with all the fixings makes any plate of nachos all that much more delectable. It is a dish that has frequented my home quite often, especially on family board game nights. Topping the nachos with great northern beans was an accidental discovery when there was no leftover chili. We loved it! The white beans are soft, buttery, and take on flavors well. Instead of white beans, you can try your favorite chili, plant-based quinoa chili, vegan red lentil chili, or oil-free refried beans. The quinoa from my chili gives it such a hearty texture and pairs great with creamy nacho cheese.

I make my own vegan nacho cheese and the recipe comes together pretty quickly. It can be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator for up to a week, or it can be frozen for 2-3 months. If the cheese is frozen, thaw it first, warm it up in a pot, then stir to combine. The cheese will look grainy at first, but comes back together once warmed and stirred.

Once the cheese is made and the beans are warmed up, top your nachos with all your favorite goodies. The tomato and avocado give the nachos a freshness that brightens up the dish. I opt to not season the avocado because there’s already so much flavor happening with the cheese and other toppings. Finally, top it off with salsa and pickled jalapeños to spice it up a little more. This vegan nacho combination has become a regular Friday night dinner for us. I hope you enjoy it too!

Optional Toppings

Pickled jalapeños
Fresh sliced jalapeños
Fresh cilantro
Mashed avocado or guacamole
Salsa or pico de gallo
Cashew lime crema
Diced tomato
Diced red onion
Black olives

More Vegan Appetizers

Recipe

Vegan Nachos

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Author: Allie
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 people 1x
Diet: Vegan

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Description

Creamy nacho cheese on salty and crunchy tortilla chips piled high with all the fixin’s to make any plate of nachos all that much more delectable.

Ingredients

Scale

Tortillas chips

Nacho Cheese

1 medium potato peeled and cubed
1 large carrot peeled and cubed
½ cup raw cashews (soaked and drained)
1 cup plant-based milk
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
⅛ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon lemon juice
6-8 pickled jalapenos

Beans

1 can (15 ounces) great northern beans (drained and rinsed)
¼ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

Optional Toppings

Pickled jalapeños
Fresh sliced jalapeños
Fresh cilantro
Mashed avocado or (guacamole)
Salsa
Cashew Lime Crema
Diced tomato
Diced red onion
Black olives

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Instructions

Make the cheese sauce

Soak the raw cashews in hot water for at least 10 minutes for a high-speed blender or overnight for other blenders.
Boil the potato and carrot for 10 minutes or until the carrot is fork-tender.
Drain the potato and carrot and add them to a blender.
Drain the cashews and add to the blender, along with all of the other ingredients for the nacho cheese.
Blend until smooth.
If the cheese sauce is still warm from the cooked potatoes and carrots then there’s no need to warm it up, if needed warm up in a small pot.