Lauren Toyota's Vegan Nacho Cheese

Lauren Toyota joined Tom Power on this week’s episode of What’re You At? to share her famous Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce recipe from her cookbook Vegan Comfort Classics. This nut-free, all-vegetable cheese sauce is made from potatoes, carrots and seasoning — Lauren says, “You can drink this cheese sauce and you’ll feel great about yourself.” 

“Friends who aren’t vegan love it,” Lauren told Tom, “they make triple batches, they freeze it.” 

Pour it all over nachos or on pasta with chopped broccoli for a healthy ‘mac and cheese’, like Lauren does in this video:

Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 C white potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1/2 C carrots, peeled and cubed
• 1/4 C vegetable oil
• 1/4 C nondairy milk
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 6 pickled jalapeño slices
• 3 tbsp jalapeño pickle brine
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 1/2 tsp arrowroot flour
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Preparation

Boil the potatoes and carrots in a pot of water for approximately 10 minutes. Drain them from the boiling water and add to a high-powered blender immediately. If you cook the potatoes for too long, they will become starchy and your sauce will not be smooth. This recipe will not work in a conventional blender. The potatoes need to be whipped at a high enough speed that they break down and emulsify, creating a smooth and creamy cheese-like sauce, with undetectable potato! You’ll need a Vitamix or Blendtec. I’ve made it in a Magic Bullet in a half batch and it also worked well.

Add the remaining ingredients to the blender and combine until smooth. Your sauce may be hot enough to serve immediately, if you’re in a rush, or heat it up in a small pot to thicken it slightly before pouring over whatever food you want to make cheesier! How about chips, chili, broccoli, or cauliflower for starters.

Yield: Makes 2 cups