I’ve tried a lot of different “cheese” sauces, and this is my favorite. It’s becoming a staple in our house. We use it on vegetables, baked potatoes, Mexican dishes, and even as queso with chips. It’s really versatile. I’ve also used this in mac and cheese and thickened small batches up with tapioca starch for grilled cheese sandwiches!
This recipe is for the basic version. If you’re looking for something spicy, like for nachos, add diced jalapeños or some chipotle spice.
This makes about 5 cups.

Creamy Versatile Instant Pot Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups white potatoes peeled (optional) and cubed
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 cup carrots peeled and diced
- ½ cup raw cashews
- 2 cups water
- ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
Instructions
- Add potatoes, onions, carrots, cashews, and water to the Instant Pot.
- Set steam release to Sealing.
- Press Manual and set time to 3 minutes.
- While you wait for the Instant Pot, add all other ingredients to blender — nutritional yeast, mustard, lemon juice, salt, and paprika.
- When the Instant Pot is finished, press Cancel to turn off the Keep Warm automatic setting and wait 10 minutes while pressure releases naturally. After 10 minutes, move steam release to Venting and allow all steam to vent. Once all steam is released and float valve drops down, it’s safe to open the Instant Pot. It’s hard to believe this is about to become cheese, but it is!
- Transfer cooked vegetables and cooking liquid to blender. Blend on high until the cheese sauce is creamy and well blended.
Notes
Did you make this? Well, what did you think? Leave a comment and let me know how it came out, or if you have a question about the recipe, fire away!
Do you have a favorite recipe you’d like to share on KevCooksPlants? Send it to me at kev@kevcooksplants.com and I’ll take a look (and of course credit you when it’s posted).
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