A while back I posted a recipe for vegan mac and cheese. And although it was the best recipe I had produced at the time, I have to admit that I haven’t been quite satisfied with it.
Recently, I had a craving for vegan nachos with cheese sauce, so I did some searching on and found this excellent recipe on Food.com. This one has a higher proportion of cashews, which results is a rich, creamy texture.
Ingredients*
- 4 cups of filtered water
- 2 cups raw cashews (roasted won’t give you the nice creamy texture)
- Another 2 ½ cups of filtered water
- Strained juice of 1 lemons
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (regular works, too, but smoked provides a deeper flavor)
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- ½ cup of beer (a dark beer, like porter, is preferred)
- 4 slices of whole grain bread, toasted
Directions
1. Soak the cashews in filtered water overnight.
2. Drain the water from the cashews and place them in a blender with all of the ingredients, except for the beer and bread, and blend until smooth.
3. Pour the blended mixture into a saucepan, add the beer and heat for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently
4. Spread over the toasted bread and serve with a salad for a simple, delicious meal!
To make nacho cheese sauce, eliminate the beer, replace the mustard powder with garlic powder and add 1 tablespoon of chili powder.
*Most Welsh Rarebit recipes call for Worcestershire Sauce, but this contains anchovies. If you are not a strict vegan, this adds a nice depth to the flavor.
herban lifestyle 
Thanks for the great recipe! I thoroughly enjoyed Welsh Rarebit during my pre-vegan days so look forward to trying this.
Have no fear, vegan Worcestershire sauce (without anchovies) is easily available. We’ve found it in health food stores, in retailers like Whole Foods, and at many online retailers.
For any Gluten-Free folks out there this recipe could be easily adapted by using GF bread and a GF beer. The quality of GF beers vary widely; my limited experience has found the best ones tend to be pale ales or IPAs rather than porters or stouts. For some added depth similar to a porter or stout you might try adding a few tablespoons of brewed coffee to your GF pale ale or IPA to make that 1/2 cup.
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You’re welcome, Rob! Yes, it was one of my comfort foods growing up. It makes a nice, simple, hearty meal. And thanks so much for the vegan Worcestershire and gluten-free tips!
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Love the idea of this Mary and I will try the nachos. I have this thing for all foods Mexican!
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Thanks, Tammy! The nacho version is delicious. Enjoy!
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Henderson’s relish is a vegan alternative to Worcester sauce.
http://www.hendersonsrelish.com/home.htm
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Thank you for the tip. I have not seen Henderson’s Relish here in the United States. I will ask my go-to British import store, Penny Ha’ Penny in Connecticut, if they can procure some for me.
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