Rich Cheddar Sauce
Adapted from “Rejuvenate Your Life” by Serene Allison. I found it on Raw Food Talk.
I find this sauce is creamiest when I use soaked cashews. It can be used for pizza, on top of warmed broccoli, in lasagna, etc.
PLEASE NOTE: I have listed this recipe in the Kids category, but babies and some young toddlers (such as those with a family history of nut allergies) should not eat any nut products. Please consult your pediatrician before serving nuts to your child.
1 cup raw cashews, sunflower seeds or almonds
½ large red bell pepper
¼ cup water
2 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon tahini
1½ teaspoon sea salt
1 clove garlic
2 teaspoon onion powder (or a small slice of onion or 1 Tbsp of green onion)
Blend all ingredients until creamy. Add more water if it is too thick.

91 reponses to "Rich Cheddar Sauce"
1. Not bad. It's my first in
Not bad. It's my first in making nut cheese. It has a similar taste to cheddar, certainly had a good cheddar smell. Excellent on my raw tacos I just made. I'll definitely try it again.
2. my exact thoughts were, "whoa
my exact thoughts were, "whoa it tastes just like cheese. it would go great with nacho's". I'm curious to see if a jalepeno would do the trick to add a just a tad of spice. It sort of tastes like that tostito nacho cheese microwave stuff at superbowl parties.
3. This is dope!!! My body
This is dope!!! My body doesn't react well to dairy cheese but I love cheese... so this it awesome.
4. this has become a staple in
this has become a staple in my house-everyone loves it! it's perfect besides the salt level. i found 1/2 tsp was fine. when i don't have tahini i use almond butter, which is almost as good.
5. Very good! I had it with
Very good! I had it with carrots and a crunchy raw spring roll. Yum!
6. Best recipe EVER! I would
Best recipe EVER! I would love to try it with half pine nuts/ half cashews. I used all cashews.
7. Wonderful! Made it with
Wonderful! Made it with sunflower seeds. We found that it needed extra liquid so we used 1 extra tablespoon of lemon juice, 2 tbs from our fresh veggie apple juice, and 1 tbs olive oil. Cayenne or hot sauce really perks it up. I know hot sauce is not raw but I like it.
8. yummy! wow! you guys are
yummy! wow! you guys are right! my hubby was licking his fingers! i can't believe that it really does taste like cheese! Next time i am going to use all cashews (instead of a mix of sunflower seeds and cashews).... you definitely have to double the recipe! this is great with the mac and cheeze recipe on the site! http://goneraw.com/node/10926
9. This is sooooo yummy! I used
This is sooooo yummy! I used sunflower seeds, acv instead of lemon juice and sesame seeds instead of tahini. So good! The sesame really makes it. Thanks so much! I'd made nacho chez before with sunflower seeds and it tasted too sunflowery but the sesame really fixed it up. I made nachos with it last night with flax crackers, and guac. So decadent! Hugs!
10. I am eating this for dinner
I am eating this for dinner tonight. Cashews don't agree with me anymore, so I used a combo of macadamia and pine. I think the pine is a little stronger flavor so I boosted a nutritional yeast a titch. I must have added a little too much water, cause it was runny, so I threw in an avocado and some salt. Creamy. Fluffy. Excellent on my sliced pepper trio. Threw in some chopped pickled jalapenos as well. Thanks!
11. MMMM I just made this but
MMMM I just made this but used apple cider vinegar in place of lemons and added more water to make it more like an alfredo sauce. I then made zucchini noodles and added broccoli and it was delicious. Thanks for sharing this, it is awesome!
12. I have also done
I have also done this...making a sort of "caprese!" it's awesome!
13. This really *is* rawesome!!!
This really *is* rawesome!!! I skipped the pepper because they make me sick and upped the lemon juice a little. I also threw in a teeny bit of the pulp. I need to play around with making it more "cheesey" but it's a really excellent recipe. Can't wait to have it again tonight with zucchini pasta!
R4R
ETA 26jan09: I just made my third batch of this amazing sauce (I add a few drops of Shoyu) and when I tell you I was trying to LICK the blender... DH keeps asking me "and you are SURE there is no "real" cheese in this? Really??"
Really really!
14. nevermind... I just saw you
nevermind... I just saw you got it from there! I thought you posted it earlier at first glance. Anyway, this is my favorite cheese. Whoever created it!
15. Someone has stolen your
Someone has stolen your thunder.....
http://www.rawfoodtalk.com/showthread.php?t=36567
unless you ARE morn.
16. Wow, what I was really
Wow, what I was really wanting for lunch was a grilled cheese sandwich with fresh basil and tomato. Unfortunately ( and fortunately) I had all the stuff to make one in the fridge. Instead I made this cheez sauce and drizzled it over the sliced tomatoes and basil. Much better! Thanks goneraw :)
17. This is truly amazing! I
This is truly amazing! I added some chopped jalepeno and cayenne! I like it spicy!! Yum!!!
18. WOW! I can't believe these
WOW! I can't believe these few simple ingredients yield something that tastes pretty darn close to real cheese! i tried making this the other day, but I doubled the recipe, accidentally spilled some salt in, forgot the garlic, and didn't have the right amount of peppers - tasted good, but not like cheese. This time I kept to the recipe, except I added two jalepeno peppers. YUM!!! I was licking it out of the blender like it was cake-batter!!! I put some of this on a nori roll, and it was really great!
19. Officially. I swear I will
Officially. I swear I will make this within the next few days with avocado instead of cashews. I just need lemon. I'll have to figure out a yeast substitute though...
20.
Amazing! This is one of the best recipes I've ever run across...satisfies my periodic longings for the dairy days of childhood! I didn't use the nutritional yeast, not even sure how it works in this context or how it's different than yeast used in bread. I've asked around my local shops but nobody seems to know either. Am I missing out on something that would make this taste even better (if that's even possible:)?
21.
Oh, wow, this tasted phenomenal! I had it in broccoli cheese casserole last night, and I just ate the rest of it chilled as a dip for raw crackers. YUMM!
22.
pine nuts or sunflower seeds would both work :) I'm making this today with sunflower seeds and no yeast.
23.
I have only been raw a short time and other "cheeses" have just not been right. This, however, was right on! It was amazing! I put a little jalopeno peppers in it to spice it up a bit. OH MY, so good!!!! I made some zucchini pasta and cut up some carrots and broccoli and put on top of pasta, then poured the cheese sauce on top! OH so good! My husband said he felt like he had eaten a meat meal, he is not raw (only partially, breakfast and most dinners). He keeps asking when I am going to make it again! :-)
24.
ok, I'm new to the world of raw and I have to say that I had my doubts, but this is delich!
25.
This is one of my favorites, i make it all the time. I just recently used this sauce to make crackers and it was just like a cheese-it, i use half cashews, half sunflower seeds, more salt, and 1 green onion, and jalapeno for spice. this one is a favorite for my husband who loves cheese!!!
26.
made it today with 1/2 pine nuts, 1/2 cashews, YUM! This is one of those reasons I have "45% calories from fat" days.
27.
made it today with 1/2 pine nuts, 1/2 cashews, YUM! This is one of those reasons I have "45% calories from fat" days.
28.
HOT DAMN, THAT'S GOOD!
29.
This is almost exactly the recipe I have for cooked vegan cheese sauce. I'm very glad I came across this, ultimate (raw!) nachos are in my future...
30.
I just made this and it is quite delicious! Had to modify it slightly, since I only had Lewis Labs Brewer's Yeast, which I don't think is raw. But I'm transitioning and its what I had on hand, so . . .
Tried to rate 5 stars, but website wouldn't let me; so here they are:
*****
=)