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When we switched to a whole food plant based diet, the one thing I thought I could never give up was cheese. Little did I know… there are SO many good recipes out there for vegan substitutes that are much healthier AND still taste really good!
Skip to Oil-Free Tortilla Chip Recipe >>
Okay… let’s be honest. You’re never going to find a replacement that tastes EXACTLY like cheese. I don’t care for most of the vegan cheese products you find on the grocery store shelves. Most of them are made with oil and don’t taste that great to me. But when I discovered vegan “queso” and “cheese” sauces, I was in heaven.
We’ve been wanting to try out a several vegan “cheese” sauce recipes, so we decided to make them all at once in a Cheese Sauce THROWDOWN! We chose four recipes that all use a different main ingredient – cashews, oats, potatoes and butternut squash. Watch the video and read below to find out which sauce(s) won our votes!
Check out the “Featured Products” section at the bottom of this post for more information about the products used in this video.
Contender #1:
The Jaroudi Family’s Nacho Cheese Sauce
Our first “contender” is The Jaroudi Family‘s Nacho Cheese Sauce. The main ingredients for this one are cashews and roasted red pepper. She also uses miso as a salt substitute – though you can leave it out or use regular salt if you want.
This one made the smallest amount. I think it’s a good single serving for me (LOL – or two people to share I guess). It has a strong red pepper flavor, which I love. It kind of reminds me of my favorite Good Foods Queso in color, consistency and flavor – although it doesn’t taste exactly the same.
It is very simple to make, but we did have a bit of an issue getting our Vitamix to blend it at first. We added the extra 1/4 cup of water she suggests in the recipe and it blended pretty well after that. Our Vitamix has a really wide base, so next time, I will probably make a double batch OR use one of our smaller Vitamix blending cups to make this. I think a “Magic Bullet” type blender would work really well.
I actually like the fact that it makes a smaller amount, because when you are trying to stay on track with weight loss, you probably don’t need a massive amount of “cheese” sauce around 😀
Contender #2:
Jill McKeever’s 5-Minute Game Changer Cheese Sauce
Up next, we have Jill McKeever‘s 5-Minute Game Changer Cheese Sauce. This has to be THE most recommended recipe that we have received from people over the past year. We kept meaning to try it out but never got the chance until now!
The main ingredient is rolled oats, which still just baffles me. The corn starch helps to give this one that nice, super thick consistency you would expect from a regular cheese sauce.
Be warned – this recipe makes a MASSIVE amount of sauce! It would be great for sharing at a party (whenever those become a thing again). It was very easy to make, but you do need a blender that has the ability to blend hot foods. Most “average” blenders can’t blend for 5 minutes straight because there is no release for the steam. But if you have a high speed blender like a Vitamix or Blendtec, that will work just fine.
I did wish this one packed a bit more of a punch when it came to flavor. I like a nice spicy cheese sauce, but I think this one is a great “base” to add your own spice to! After we filmed the video, I mixed in some Rotel with this sauce and it was great.
I am not great at picking up flavors of individual ingredients, but I could definitely taste the oats in this one. Brian didn’t mind the “oat” taste, but it was a bit strange for me at first. However, after it was in our refrigerator for a few days, that oat flavor seemed to lessen and I ended up really enjoying this one.
Contender #3:
Brand New Vegan’s Amazing Vegan Cheese Sauce
The next contender may look familiar as we have made this before. Brand New Vegan‘s Amazing Vegan Cheese Sauce is a fat free, Mary’s Mini compliant sauce that uses potatoes and carrots as its base.
Chuck (aka Brand New Vegan) never disappoints with his flavors and use of spices! This one packs a great flavor that I really enjoy. I think I actually prefer this sauce cold. It has a pretty thick consistency, especially as you let it cool down in the refrigerator overnight.
The process of making it is a little more “involved” than our other sauces, just because you have to boil the potatoes and carrots, but it is worth it if you’re looking for a Mary’s Mini compliant sauce.
Contender #4:
Chipotle Butternut Cheesy Sauce from The Healthspan Solution
Our final contender is the Chipotle Butternut Cheesy Sauce from Ray Cronise & Julieanna Hever‘s book The Healthspan Solution. We weren’t going to post this recipe since it is from a cookbook, but Ray and Julieanna were awesome and uploaded the recipe HERE for everyone to view! Trust us – you’ll want to get the book so you can check out their other recipes. And no, we are not sponsored by them, we just really love this book 🙂
The main ingredient is (obviously) butternut squash, which gives this one a really nice depth of flavor. The squash lends a sweet, nutty flavor to the sauce, while the chipotle powder packs a spicy kick.
We have used pre-cut bags of butternut squash (both frozen and fresh) to make this and it turns out great. The recipe also includes directions for roasting a whole butternut squash, but we find the pre-cut bags to be very convenient and you can find them in most grocery stores.
This one wasn’t quite as thick as some of the others, but in the past we have put this one in a saucepan on the stove on medium heat, stirring frequently until it thickens up a bit. The first time we made this, we only had vanilla almond milk on hand so I used that. Don’t do that. It was weird. LOL.
Make sure you are careful with the chipotle powder if you don’t like things super spicy. The recipe recommends 1/2 to 3/4 of a teaspoon. We stuck with 1/2 teaspoon and it was plenty spicy for us!
The Taste Test
Spoiler alert… ALL of these sauces are delicious!
If we had to pick a favorite, I think both of us agreed on the Chipotle Butternut Cheesy Sauce from The Healthspan Solution, but you should seriously try all of these out!
Check out the video to see us make and test out all of the cheese sauces.
Oil-Free Tortilla Chips
We obviously needed something to dip into all of these cheese sauces, so we made a batch of our Oil-Free Tortilla Chips. I feel kind of bad calling this a “recipe” since it is so simple, but I wanted to share how we make these at home.
We start out with corn tortillas that have only 3-4 ingredients: corn, lime, water and sea salt. Our favorite are these Food For Life Sprouted Corn Tortillas you can find in the refrigerated section at Whole Foods, but they are a bit pricey, so I normally just pick up the 99 cent ones from Trader Joe’s.
I use a pizza cutter to slice them into even chip-sized triangles.
Then we spread them out in a single later on a large baking tray lined with silicon baking mats and bake at 375°F for 15-20 minutes, until crispy!
And that’s it! You have oil-free tortilla chips to enjoy with your cheese sauce.
Easy Oil-Free Tortilla Chips
- Difficulty: easy
Ingredients
Corn Tortillas (try to find tortillas with just corn, lime and water)
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F.
- Cut each tortilla into 6 to 8 triangles, depending on how large you want your chips. I like to use a pizza cutter to do this.
- Line a large baking tray with a silicon baking mat or parchment paper. Arrange the triangles in a single layer.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until crispy, flipping halfway through and checking frequently after 10 minutes. Cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of your tortillas.
- Let cool and enjoy! They will crisp up even more after they cool for just a few minutes.
Featured Products:
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Check out our Amazon Page to see more of our favorite products!
Vitamix A2500 Ascent Series Smart Blender
The Healthspan Solution: How and What to Eat to Add Life to Your Years
OXO 1245380 Good Grips 4-Piece Mini Measuring Beaker Set
Wilton Perfect Results Premium Non-Stick 21×15-inch Mega Baking Pan
AmazonBasics Silicone Baking Mat Sheet, Set of 2
*We have the Silpat baking mats, but the Amazon Basics brand above is basically the same thing for a lot cheaper. Just make sure you find the correct size mats for the baking sheets you have.
Silpat Non-Stick Silicone Jelly Roll Pan Baking Mat (2, 14 1/2-Inch by 10-Inch)
365 Everyday Value, Cashews, 16 oz
Colgin Assorted Liquid Smoke Gift Box
Bragg Organic Raw Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar, 16oz, 2 Pack
Simply Organic Chipotle Powder
