This low-carb, whole30, and paleo cheese sauce or queso is rich, creamy, cheesy, and comforting. Even if you CAN have dairy, this is sure to be a hit!
While we occasionally eat dairy, it's something we generally try to stay away from. I really wanted to make a dairy-free paleo cheese sauce recipe that we could enjoy guilt-free and that was still creamy and delicious.
When creating this recipe, I was determined to get the flavor spot-on that tasted just as good as the dairy-filled version.
To do this, I made the cheese from a box of Annie's Macaroni & Cheese so I could do a side-by-side taste test. It definitely paid off, I was able to get the flavor exactly perfect!!
There were only a few subtle differences between my version and Annie's. The main one being that the dairy-free version just barely had a flatter aftertaste, if that makes any sense.
But trust me, unless you were doing a side-by-side taste test like me, no one would ever know!
It's rich, creamy, cheesy, and comforting - everything you would expect from a good cheese sauce. Even if you can have dairy, I'm sure you will love it and it will leave you wanting more.
🔪 Easy instructions
Start by adding some non-dairy butter or ghee and minced garlic to a saucepan.
Heat over medium heat until the butter melts and the garlic becomes fragrant, about 1 minute. Set aside.
To the jar of a blender, add raw cashews, nutritional yeast, water, non-dairy milk, onion powder, sea salt, paprika, chili powder, arrowroot or tapioca flour, dried mustard, and the non-dairy butter/garlic mixture. Blend until smooth.
I don't recommend skipping the arrowroot (or tapioca) flour or the nutritional yeast.
The flour adds stretch and helps with the texture of the paleo cheese sauce when heated.
And the nutritional yeast is what gives it it's cheesy flavor - so you definitely don't want to skip it!
The cashews
Be sure to use RAW Cashews, not roasted and salted. The roasted and salted variety will leave an aftertaste.
Also, if you don't have a high-speed blender, soak the cashews in hot water at least 1 hour for easy blending.
Once blended, heat on the stove over low heat until heated through. Then, stir in the fresh lemon juice and serve.
Serving ideas
Here are a few serving ideas that would go great with this recipe:
How to store
This paleo cheese sauce can be stored in the fridge for 3 to 5 days. To reheat, place in a small saucepan and heat over low heat until heated through.
The sauce will thicken when stored, so use non-dairy milk as needed to thin.
💭 Top tips
- Use RAW Cashews, not roasted and salted. The roasted and salted variety will leave an aftertaste.
- If you don't have a high-speed blender, soak cashews in hot water at least 1 hour for easy blending.
- Nutritional yeast is a seasoning usually found in the spice aisle of health food stores. It's what gives this recipe it's cheesy taste so don't skip it!
- The arrowroot or tapioca flour adds stretch and helps with the texture of the vegan cheese sauce when heated.
- This sauce can be stored in the fridge for 3 to 5 days.
- To reheat, place in a small saucepan and heat over low heat until heated through. The sauce will thicken when stored, so use non-dairy milk as needed to thin.
If you’ve tried this Low-Carb, Whole30, & Paleo Cheese Sauce or any other recipe on the blog please let me know in the comments below!
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📖 Recipe
Paleo Cheese Sauce {Dairy-Free, Whole30, & Low-Carb}
Ingredients
Nacho Cheese Sauce:
- 1 Cup Raw Cashews - soak in hot water 1+ hours if you do not have a high speed blender
- ½ Cup Water
- ½ Cup Non-Dairy Milk
- ⅓ Cup Nutritional Yeast
- ¾ tsp. Minced Garlic
- 1 ½ tsp. Onion Powder
- 1 ⅛ tsp. Sea Salt
- 1 tsp. Paprika
- ⅛ tsp. Chili Powder
- ¼ tsp. Dried Mustard
- 1 ½ Tbsp. Fresh Lemon Juice
- 2 Tbsp. Ghee or Non-Dairy Butter
- 1 tsp. Arrowroot Flour - or any gluten free starch
Instructions
- Melt the non-dairy butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant and browned, about 1 minute. Set aside.
- In a blender, add the butter/garlic mixture, cashews, water, non-dairy milk, nutritional yeast, onion powder, salt, paprika, chili powder, dried mustard, and arrowroot until very smooth (everything except the lemon juice!). I use my Vita-Mix to get it completely smooth. Add non-dairy milk as needed to thin.
- Return to the saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until slightly thickened, whisking frequently.
- Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice.
- Serve immediately.
Add Your Own Notes
Notes
- Use RAW Cashews, not roasted and salted. The roasted and salted variety will leave an aftertaste.
- If you don't have a high-speed blender, soak cashews in hot water for at least 1 hour for easy blending.
- Nutritional yeast is a seasoning usually found in the spice aisle of health food stores. It's what gives this recipe its cheesy taste so don't skip it!
- The arrowroot or tapioca flour adds stretch and helps with the texture of the cheese sauce when heated.
- This cheese sauce can be stored in the fridge for 3 to 5 days.
- To reheat, place in a small saucepan and heat over low heat until heated through. The sauce will thicken when stored, so use non-dairy milk as needed to thin.
Nutrition
NET CARBS = Total Carbs - Fiber - Allulose - Xylitol
Nutritional information is approximate and may vary. Sugar alcohols, xylitol, and allulose are included in the total carbs and fiber.
Looking for more information on the keto diet? Check out my
Note- After I came up with this recipe I ran across Tessa The Domestic Diva's Cheese Sauce Recipe and it's so similar!! Tessa and I frequently make each other's recipes and we are amazed at how similar our taste buds are. I guess it makes sense that eventually, we would come up with such a similar recipe, lol 🙂
Nicole says
I made this nacho cheese sauce last night for a paleo linguica nacho Friday night dinner. It was perfect. The only change was that I added some Siete taco seasoning to make it a little more zesty, but it was great with out it too. I will be keeping this recipe.
Cassidy says
Thank you, I'm so happy you liked it!!!
XO,
Cassidy
Lucienne says
Is there something that can be substituted for the cashews to make it keto after all?
Cassidy Stauffer says
Even though I haven't tried it, I successfully used 1 head of steamed cauliflower in other recipes to replace 1 cup of raw cashews - such as in my alfredo recipe. While I think it would work, each recipe is different so I'm not positive of the results. You may need to slightly adjust the seasonings and I would start with less liquid and add more as needed because I have a feeling the cauliflower version would be thinner. I hope this helps! And if you try it please come back and let me know what you think!!!
-Cassidy
Alyssa Tulman says
Made this for dinner tonight and created a healthy version of “hamburger helper” using gf elbow noodles. Added a little more chili powder and garlic powder. Turned out fabulous!
Cassidy Stauffer says
That sounds delicious! I'm glad the cheese sauce worked well in the recipe 🙂
-Cassidy
Danielle says
Does this recipe reconstitute well if frozen for later?
Cassidy Stauffer says
I haven't tried freezing it yet, sorry. I plan on making it soon, though, and I'll test out how well it freezes! As soon as I try it I'll come back and let you know 🙂 Sorry I couldn't be of more help!
-Cassidy
Jessica says
Hi how does this hold up if served the next day! My friend wants to try vegan cheese sauce (and for me to make it)! And you reheat it up?
Cassidy Stauffer says
Hi Jessica! It will stay good covered in the fridge for 3 to 5 days. Then, heat over low heat on the stove and add non-dairy milk as needed to thin 🙂
Hope this helps!
-Cassidy
Sarah @ The Fit Cookie says
Yummy, this looks delicious!! I'll have to give this a try sometime, I've been curious about cashew cheeses and cheese sauces but haven't made them yet
KELLY says
THIS LOOKS SO GOOD & HAS A LOT OF GREAT INGREDIENTS, TRYING TO LOSE WEIGHT AND DO A KETO AIP TYPE OF DIET.
Nicole Rouse says
Why is this recipe not Keto? Just curious.
Cassidy says
There aren't any specific ingredients that aren't keto-friendly. It's just a bit high in carbs to be considered Keto, which is why I labeled it as low-carb instead. I hope this helps!!
-Cassidy
Jules Shepard says
We LOVE cheese at our house...vegan please! Looking forward to giving this a try with some macaroni!
Cassidy says
Thanks Jules! I've poured it over gluten free macaroni and it was to die for!!! I hope you love it as much as we do 🙂
-Cassidy
evy says
THIS recipe is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And perfect.
I'm guessing it could be made keto just fine...will experiment with either ground flax or chia or something to thicken it up a bit, and for that matter will try with no thickener first, and guessing it would still be perfectly YUM!
Cassidy says
OH YAY I'm so excited you liked it!!! Let me know if you're able to make more keto-friendly 🙂
-Cassidy
Heather says
Is it the yeast or the arrow root that makes it non keto?
Cassidy says
Hi Heather! Actually it's the cashews, because there are roughly 40 carbs in a cup of raw cashews!!! The nutritional yeast and arrowroot add a few carbs, but it's the cashews that get ya! We personally follow a modiefied Keto diet and don't stick to 20-30 carbs a day so this works fine for us, but the carb cound is a bit high for those who follow a strict Keto diet. That's why I re-labeled it as low-carb instead of Keto. Hope this helps!!!
Lisa says
Not keto 🙁
Cassidy says
Hi Lisa! I posted this recipe right when were starting to learn about keto and you're right - I'm SO SORRY!!! I've changed to recipe to say low-carb instead of keto.
Sorry again,
-Cassidy
Tessa says
I’ll try your version!!!
Cassidy says
The next time I make mac n cheese I'm going to make your version! I can't wait to compare the two!!
Tessa says
Oh my gosh, too funny! Twins!!! I am
Making a batch for my 13 year old’s slumber party Saturday! Yum!!