With just eight ingredients, you can have yourself a bowl of warm, dip-worthy give-me-a-kick vegan sweet potato nacho cheese. Steamed sweet potatoes, filtered water, zippy lemon juice, cheesy nutritional yeast, garlic, arrowroot powder, salt, and cayenne pepper are blended to silky smooth perfection. Then, the nut-free nacho cheese is warmed in a saucepan until thick and bubbly. The final touch? A can of green chilis to add spicy warmth and a pop of tangy flavor.
It's not yo' cheese.
Just kidding. It's absolutely yo' cheese.
Dip-able.
Creamy.
Spicy.
Snackable.
Thick.
Dreamy.
Nacho cheesy.
I've mentioned this before but when I first went vegan, I mourned the loss of dairy cheese for quite some time. Those close to me know that cheese was one of my absolute favorite treats, and I ate it almost daily. Little did I know that vegan cheeses, homemade or store-bought, are so good that they wholly and completely fill the void.
Vegan cheeses not only taste amazing, they're also incredibly creative and awe-inspiring. Cheese made from eggplant? Cheese made from cashews? Cheese made from almonds? Cheese made from squash? Cheese made from carrots?
What?! Mind blown.
The first vegan nacho cheese recipe I tried was made from cashews and seriously impressive. The kicker? I fell in love with it about six months before I even went vegan. It was so awesomely delicious, that an entire nacho recipe was built around it. I wish I could take credit for that nacho cheese recipe, but it's the brilliant work of Kid Tested Firefighter Approved. I love that recipe like crazy, but I wanted to come up with a nut- and cornstarch-free alternative.
Given that sweet potatoes already have that lovely nacho-cheese hue, I figured it was worth playing around with a recipe that relied on them as the base. It took me a few tries to perfect this recipe, but the finished product is downright addictive and football-season approved.
With just eight ingredients (salt included), you can have yourself a bowl of warm, dip-worthy nacho cheese. To make it, you'll add steamed sweet potatoes, water, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, garlic, arrowroot powder, salt, and cayenne pepper to a blender, and blend the mixture until it's perfectly smooth. Then, you'll transfer the cheesy goodness to a saucepan and whisk it for just five minutes until it's thickened. The final touch is stirring in a can of  green hatch chilis to add spicy warmth and a pop of tangy flavor.
You can keep things simple and serve it alongside tortilla chips or other nacho-cheese-devouring vehicles or you can create a monster nacho pile with all the fixings.
📖 Recipe
Give-Me-A-Kick Vegan Sweet Potato Nacho Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 cups peeled and cubed sweet potatoes
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 ½ tablespoons arrowroot powder
- ¾ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt or to taste
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 (4-ounce) can hatch green chiles
Instructions
- Steam the sweet potatoes for 25-30 minutes or until very tender. Let cool for 5-10 minutes.
- Add the steamed sweet potatoes, water, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, garlic, arrowroot powder, sea salt, and cayenne pepper to a high-powered blender. Blend on high for 2 minutes or until the mixture is completely smooth.
- Pour the mixture into a medium sauce pan over medium heat.
- Whisk continuously for five minutes or until the mixture has thickened.
- Turn off heat and stir in the green hatch chilis.
- Pour into a bowl and serve alongside tortilla chips.
- Refrigerate leftovers.
Notes
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Meredith @ Unexpectedly Magnificent says
As soon as I saw this recipe, I knew I was going to try it with quesadillas. It looks delicious! I love any excuse to use sweet potato. :)
Ashley says
Using this cheese in quesadillas is such a good idea! I will have to give that a whirl. Thanks for commenting, Meredith!
Celeste Jackson says
This seems too good to be true :) gotta try it.
Ashley says
Aww, thanks! I hope it pleasantly surprises you! :)
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
I have never made my own nacho cheese before.. and I totally am loving your sweet potato version. I am a massive mexican food lover so this recipe will definitely coming in handy. Thanks for sharing it!
Ashley says
Thanks, Thalia! I think you'll be surprised how easily this nacho cheese comes together! I was so intimidated the first time I attempted to make nacho cheese (another recipe), but it was shockingly easy. I hope you enjoy this recipe!
Deryn @ Running on Real Food says
Dude, I can never get enough of your photos. They are sooooo gorgeous. I feel likes stuck right now and not getting any better, so it's always good to pop over and get inspired!
This looks amazing by the way, I must make this asap!
Ashley says
Thanks so much, Deryn!! I can never get enough of your kind words! I totally know that "stuck" feeling, and I was having one of those weeks last week. It can be so frustrating to have so many ideas one week and then nothing at all the next. I wish I could figure out where the inspiration hides away during those "off" weeks! Hope yours has returned to you; you always have such delicious recipes!
Nada says
This looks so good! just wondering what I can use instead of the nutritional yeast in this recipe, its really hard to find! Thanks
Ashley says
Thanks so much, Nada! The nutritional yeast is really important to the flavor of this recipe as it imparts that "cheesy" kick. It can be tricky to find in stores, but there are lots of places to order it online if that's a possibility for you. I've ordered it from Amazon and Abe's Market before, and both have great options. I hope this helps, and I'm sorry I don't have an easier solution for you. All the best to you!
Po says
Hi,
I lives in Australia, I like to try this recipe, but if I don't put the nutritional yeast in, will it come very different taste?
Ashley says
Hi, Po! It really needs the nutritional yeast in order to taste like cheese—it's a key ingredient, and I wouldn't recommend making this recipe without it.
Amy says
What can I sub the arrowroot for?
Ashley says
Hi, Amy! You can use cornstarch but the texture will be a bit different (a bit more jiggly/gelatinous rather than smooth and thick). You also might need to increase the amount as cornstarch is weaker than arrowroot when it comes to thickening power.
Christina says
Can you skip the arrowroot powder?
Ashley says
Hi, Christina! Unfortunately, no. It’s what thickens the cheese and gives it the proper texture.
Anita says
Have you tried to freeze this?
Ashley says
I haven’t!
Anita says
Haha, had no need to freeze! We ate it all-SO GOOD!!
Ashley says
Oh great!! So glad to hear it was a hit, Anita!
yvonne says
Hello! I would love to make this but I don’t know what you mean with the green chili jar. I live in Holland so maybe I don’t understand it correctly... Can I leave this out? Or do you have a brand/example of what I would be looking for? Thank you!!
Ashley says
Hi, Yvonne! Hatch Green Chiles are a type of canned green chiles here in the states (Hatch is the brand), but you should be able to leave it out and have similar results.