This smoky vegan “cheese” sauce is yummy on noodles and veggies. It tastes like it should be really bad for you, but it is low in fat, high in protein, and full of vitamin B-12 from the nutritional yeast. One quarter of this recipe (a heaping 1/2 cup) has 149 calories, 2.75 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, and 12 grams of protein.
- 1 cup nutritional yeast (not the bread kind)
- 1/2 cup organic white flour
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 cups unsweetened organic soy milk
- 3 tablespoons organic tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
In a sauce pan, mix dry ingredients (yeast, flour, paprika, salt). Add the rest of the ingredients (soy milk, tomato paste, and liquid smoke). Whisk well. Place on low-medium heat (4 out of 10 on my stove). Stir CONSTANTLY with a utensil that allows you to scrape the bottom of the pan. Heat until the mixture thickens and is hot (about 10 minutes). Pour over pasta and sprinkle with a bit more paprika.
To build the delicious meal in the photo, I placed noodles on the plate, added sauteed mushrooms, bits of vegan sausage, and then poured on the cheese sauce – YUM!
WOW those nutritional stats are IMPRESSIVE! will def make! thanks!
[...] 1. Smoky “Cheese” Sauce from Healthy Vegan Blog [...]
Sounds amazing! I was just looking at the vegan cheese recipes in the new Vegetarian Times, and they all have at least 1/3 cup of oil, plus up to a cup of nuts. I like your low-fat version much better. I’ll definitely try it!
Glad you guys like the recipe – I hope it turns out delicious for you! Today, for the first time, I actually had leftovers of this sauce and was a bit perplexed how to reheat. I had about 1/2 cup in a container, microwaved for 20 seconds, stirred, microwaved for another 20 seconds, and stirred. It worked well and was just as creamy as the night before. Also, clean up of this sauce is a breeze – it rinses right off with water. (Boy, I don’t miss washing cheesy dishes – one of the many vegan advantages!)
mmm this looks good! just wondering if you use nutritional yeast flakes or the powdered form? i have yet to experiment with nutritional yeast, but have read that if using the powdered type to use less, than if using flakes. thanks!
Sheena – I use nutritional yeast flakes for my recipes because that is the type my health food store carries. I have never used the powdered type. Thanks for the comment.
I am fond of cheese sauce and its looks yummy.
Try this on a sandwich with seitan, spicy bbq sauce, banana peppers, tomatoes, and red onion. You will not be disappointed!
Worked out pretty well. How long do you think the leftovers keep?
Geoffrey – The only times that I have had leftovers from this meal, I ate them the next day. I put veggies, noodles, and sauce in a glass dish and microwaved it all together. It was yummy. I would guess you could keep it up to four days.