Vegan Cheese Sauce

I want to make something clear: I am in no way insinuating that one should not eat the processed, shiny orange queso dip they serve at the ballpark. In fact, I love the stuff. Before America’s baseball stadiums got a gourmet face-lift, the only vegetarian options that appealed to me were roasted peanuts and nachos (these days they have everything from mushroom tacos to veggie burgers…although I still default to nachos and/or fries, case and point).

There was a small food stand by the baseball stadium in college (it closed in 2011, may it rest in peace) with a self-serve nacho station. I spent many evenings smothering my chips in cheese, then layering on pickled jalapenos and salsa. Mm!

You get it. I love queso. But I cannot bring myself to prepare it at home. The thought of scooping cheese from a can makes me gag. And although I love homemade nachos with shredded cheddar, I always miss the mysteriously liquid characteristic of queso.

I’ve looked online for healthy homemade versions, but they often involve scary vegan ingredients like nutritional yeast which – last time I checked – they don’t carry at your average grocery store. No thanks!

The other day I was thinking back to the recipe that started it all – my vegan chipotle mac n’ cheese – and decided to simplify the cheese sauce for easy at-home nachos. Then I decided, since it’s not really bad for you, I would use it in a mac n’ cheese this week, too!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of cashews

1 large carrot

1 chipotle in adobo sauce*

1.5 tsp of tahini

water

About 1/2 cup of almond milk, slightly less

Spices: paprika, salt and/or garlic salt, turmeric

*Canned chipotles are one of my favorite ingredients. I use them one by one in recipes and keep the extras frozen in sandwich bags in the freezer.

Directions:

Soak your cashews in water for at least two hours, making sure they are fully submerged in a glass or bowl of water.

When ready to prepare the queso, place a small pot over high heat with a couple of inches of water. Peel your carrot and chop off the stem, then slice into chunks or circles. Place these in the water and boil for roughly 15-20 minutes, until the carrot softens and is easily pierced by a fork.

Drain the cashews and, using a blender or food processor, combine the carrot, chipotle, cashews, tahini, almond milk, and spices. Blend until smooth. Add tahini if the consistency is too liquidy and almond milk (little at a time) if too thick.

Use as a cheese sauce for macaroni, serve with chips, or build your own nachos with veggies and toppings! I tossed my macaroni noodles with a touch of extra virgin olive oil in addition to the cheese sauce for an extra rich flavor.