What’s Inside: Looking for the best dairy-free cheese sauce? Well, I’m giving you 3 recipes to make on repeat and pour on all the things. There are Paleo, Whole30, and AIP-friendly (nut-free) options. And don’t miss all my delicious recipes to get creative using these sauces with!
The Best Dairy-free Cheese Sauces To Make On Repeat (Paleo, Whole30, AIP-friendly)
When I first eliminated dairy from my diet many moons ago, I felt a lot of things. Firstly, I felt way better, I saw less skin breakouts and irritations, and my digestion improved. But, I also felt a dairy-shaped gaping hole in the depth of my soul, let’s be real now. And so began the search for dairy-free substitutes to be able to have things I missed like mac and cheese, ice cream, and of course… a good ol’ cheese board. This post is all about the sauce though, because sauce can be used in so many different ways! Pouring it on veggies, gluten-free pasta, veggie noodles, using it in casseroles… it’s become quite a staple in my fridge because it’s so easy to make and so tasty.
The 3 best dairy-free cheese sauces in this post are my go-to’s. And 2 of them are AIP-friendly which means they’re nut-free, vegan, and veggie-full. This is also a great way to get kids (or people who eat like kids) to eat veggies in a sneaky way. Double-win, as it turns out, feeling better can (and should) taste delicious.
What’s needed to make dairy-free cheese?
- Nutritional Yeast – different from bakers or brewer’s yeast, this is a pivotal ingredient in dairy-free cheese recipes. It provides a cheesy-like taste. This is the brand I use.
- Lemon Juice or Vinegar – this helps with that little bite that cheese has and brings something acidic to your recipe.
- Cauliflower, Nuts, Coconut, or Potato – something that will be creamy in texture whether it be from fat (nuts, coconut) or starch (like potato or arrowroot starch I like to use).
Recipes to use these sauces with:
- Butternut Squash Lasagna
- Spaghetti Squash Pastitsio (baked ziti)
- Spaghetti Squash Alfredo
- Other ideas:
- Use it as a dip on a platter!
- Use it over nachos!
- Use it on any pasta dish! (this is my favorite gluten-free pasta)
- Use it over broccoli for a cheesy broccoli dish!
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3 Dairy-free Cheese Sauces
Coconut-Cauliflower Cheese Sauce (Paleo, Whole30, AIP-friendly, Nut-free)
Coconut-Cauliflower Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups steamed cauliflower
- 1 cup coconut cream
- 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/4 cup water to loosen
- 2 Tbsp arrowroot starch/flour
- 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a high-speed blender and blend on high until well combined. Use in cooking or store in a mason jar for up to 5-days.
Classic Cashew Cheese Sauce (Paleo, Whole30)
Classic Cashew Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups cashews soaked in water for at least 2 hours & drained
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp salt
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp nutritional yeast
- 1/4 cup filtered water plus more to loosen as needed
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a high-speed blender and mix until well-combined, add more water as needed to loosen. Use or store for up to 5-days in the fridge.
Sweet Potato Cheese Sauce (Paleo, Whole30, AIP-friendly, Nut-free)
Sweet Potato Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked and cooled white sweet potato (skin peeled off)
- 1 cup+ water
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
- 1/2 juiced lemon or 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender until your sauce forms, add more water as needed to loosen and use in cooking or store for up to 5-days in the fridge.
This Sweet Potato Cheese Sauce Recipe was adapted from Rachel’s delicious one @meatified!
will be making all soon for me i dont eat dairy at home will tag you on twitter drooling over my samsung galaxy j4 love your recipes making me hungry Thanks Ramya
I can’t wait to try these different cheese sauces! Anytime I’ve tried to make a dairy-free one before they’ve never tasted good, but these look delicious.
all the goods to try!! yay, hope you enjoy!
Definitely going to try the sweet potato cheese sauce first. It looks delicious. Perfect for that classic mac and cheese crazing.
We made the sweet potato cheese sauce. It is so yummy! I’ll definitely make it again!
awesome!! thanks for sharing, Beth!
They all sound so delicious! Looking forward to making them!
Oh gosh..your pasta looks amazing..drooling just looking at the pics
What brand of nutritional yeast do you use? I’m trying to find a non-fortified one.
I use Bragg’s
This recipe is amazing! We replaced the sweet potato with butternut squash because that’s what we had on hand it turned out amazing. Highly recommend making this! Perfect for pasta, as a sauce or even for nachos!
Perfect and easy swap! Thanks for sharing, Claire!
I have been looking for a delicious dairy free cheese sauce and these sound so good – will certainly be giving them a try.
Wow! I don’t even know which one to start with first. They all look amazing!
I will definitely be trying this dairy-free cheese sauce! I just started eating less dairy, so I need all of these.
Thank you so much for sharing!
My pleasure, hope you enjoy it!
These are all so clever! I can think of so many uses for them – way beyond just draping them over pasta – and I was excited to see that you had some yummy suggestions, too! Thanks for the inspiration!
I love this sauce and I want to put it on everything! Perfect for when my friends that have a dairy sensitivity come over!
This looks so delicious and perfect for my daughter! I can’t wait to show her this recipe! So excited!
Oooh I love these sauces – so easy and tasty and -seeing Im lactose intolerant, these are perfect for me! Thank you!
This is definitely amazing. Perfect recipes. Cant wait to try them all. Cheesy options are my all tie favorite.
Will definitely be making this on repeat!