Nutritional Yeast Cheese Sauce

This vegan cheese sauce is the one that shows up in every plant-based cookbook for good reason. Nutritional yeast flakes bring that unmistakable cheesy, umami flavor that makes this sauce work as a stand-in for melted cheddar on nachos, baked potatoes, steamed broccoli, or anywhere you’d drizzle cheese.

The method is essentially a vegan roux. Flour, nutritional yeast, salt, and garlic powder get whisked with water over medium heat until the mixture thickens and bubbles. That one minute of cooking after it bubbles is what cooks out the raw flour taste. Skip it and the sauce has a starchy, pasty flavor that no amount of seasoning can fix.

Margarine stirred in off the heat adds richness and a glossy sheen. It melts into the hot sauce and emulsifies, giving you a smooth, pourable consistency instead of something that looks like wallpaper paste.

Kitchen Tips

• Whisk constantly while heating to prevent lumps. Once flour hits hot liquid, it clumps fast, and lumpy cheese sauce is hard to rescue.
• Adjust thickness with water. If the sauce gets too thick as it cools, thin it with a splash of water and whisk until smooth again.
• A pinch of saffron or a tiny drop of turmeric gives the sauce a golden-yellow color that looks more like traditional cheese without affecting the flavor.

Variations

• Add a tablespoon of miso paste for a deeper, more complex umami flavor.
• Stir in a teaspoon of smoked paprika for a smoky cheese sauce that goes great on veggie burgers.
• Blend in a roasted red pepper for a creamy red pepper cheese sauce with natural sweetness.