Silken Tofu Cheese Sauce
Silken Tofu Cheese Sauce is a creamy, cheesy, and incredibly delicious 5-minute low fat sauce that is super easy to make. It’s high protein and super flavorful and you’ll want to put it on everything from pasta to potatoes to veggies and more. Make up a batch and use it all week long!
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If you’re new here, hi! This is one of my favorite vegan cheese sauce recipes because it’s SO easy, SO flavorful, and it’s totally compliant with my way of eating and weight loss plan.
If you’re not new here, you might be thinking “but Liz, you already have a silken tofu cheese sauce recipe.” That’s true.
But my Plant Based Nacho Cheese Sauce has a key word in it: nacho. I specifically formulated that sauce to taste like a queso or nacho cheese sauce sort of flavor profile. It works phenomenally on dishes like Bell Pepper Nachos and my Plant Based Burrito Bowl.
And while I like the kick and the zesty flavor of it, sometimes I just want a regular plant based cheese sauce that I can put on pasta, potatoes, steamed veggies, etc. In fact, this is what I want and make MOST often, and I’d say I only make the nacho cheese sauce once a month.
So I’ve shared about this silken tofu cheese sauce quite a few times over on my Instagram page where I post my daily meals (and have been since the start of my weight loss journey!) and whenever I mention it people always ask for the recipe! Time to bring it to the blog!
This tofu cheese sauce is AMAZING, it’s so creamy but with ZERO NUTS OR SEEDS, meaning it’s fairly low fat. If you need a lower fat cheese sauce, I will be posting my potato carrot cheese sauce soon.
But to be honest, I most often make this cheese sauce because I can just grab a pack of silken tofu from the fridge and throw it in the blender with a handful of other items and I get an amazing thick and creamy cheese sauce in minutes. No chopping or boiling of veggies at all!
This and my Silken Tofu Ranch Dressing (as well as my many oil-free hummus recipes) are my most-made sauce / dip recipes and I highly recommend them.
So let’s make this awesome oil-free sauce already!
Ingredients
See the recipe card below for the full ingredients list (with amounts) and instructions.
- Silken Tofu: This recipe calls for 16 ounces of silken tofu. You can find 16-ounce packages of silken tofu in the refrigerator section at your local grocery store, that’s where I buy mine even in my little town that has almost nothing. But if you can only buy your silken tofu in the shelf-stable 12-ounce aseptic containers, you can either use 1 + ¼ of those, or just use one pack and add 2-4 tablespoons of soaked raw cashews, soaked raw sunflower seeds, cooked white beans, or dehydrated potato flakes. OR use one pack and decrease the rest of the ingredients by 25%.
- Plain Unsweetened Soy Milk: I like to buy shelf stable plain unsweetened soy milk and use that for everything I need non-dairy milk for. I use it for making my Homemade Soy Yogurt, baking, matcha lattes, and more. I like the Edensoy brand because it just has organic non-GMO soy beans and water. That’s it!
- Lemon Juice: I prefer fresh squeezed lemon juice but I have to be realistic and tell you I don’t always have it. Or sometimes I’m honestly too lazy to squeeze it. I LOVE the Italian Volcano brand of lemon juice (it’s organic and so much better than any other brand I’ve tried), which I often purchase in a 2-pack from Costco.
- White or Yellow Miso Paste: This is to replace the salt in the recipe, but I also love the little hint of umami flavors. Per Dr. Michael Greger of NutritionFacts.org, the soy in miso has a protective effect so the sodium in miso paste will not affect us negatively. Please feel free to omit or use a pinch of salt if that is what you prefer.
- Dijon Mustard: I’m not the biggest fan of mustard but it really helps this sauce taste cheesy! And it’s a small amount.
- Nutritional Yeast: This is key in making the cheese sauce taste cheesy. This recipe does NOT have an overwhelming “nutritional yeast” flavor. If you are not a huge fan, make sure you buy NON-FORTIFIED nutritional yeast as I find this has a more mild flavor. Sari makes the best flavor but it’s a little pricy so I often buy cheaper brands like Anthonys which I still enjoy.
- Spices: This vegan cheese sauce uses a fair amount of spices, but hopefully you already have all of these anyway. And if you don’t, these are honestly some of my most-used spices so you may want to start fleshing out your spice drawer / cabinet! This recipe calls for granulated onion, granulated garlic, dried thyme, paprika (regular, but smoked paprika should also work; it will just affect the flavor somewhat), ground turmeric (for color), and fresh cracked black pepper.
Substitutions
- Silken Tofu: If you can only find soft or regular tofu (don’t use firm), you can use this and just add a little plain unsweetened non-dairy milk (just enough to blend). If you don’t want to use tofu at all, you can do 1+½ cups drained and rinsed canned (or cooked from dried) white beans, or 1 cup of either soaked raw cashews or soaked raw sunflower seeds (and you will need water or plain unsweetened non-dairy milk to blend, and how much depends on how long you soaked them so start with equal parts nuts/seeds and liquid and adjust from there.
- Plain Unsweetened Soy Milk: Any plain flavored (not vanilla! I’ve made that mistake, oof) non-dairy milk will work. Actually, water works too! I use that sometimes when I’m looking to lower the calorie count. But what I also love about the soy milk I buy is that it’s very creamy and high protein. So it’s up to you!
- Lemon Juice: Bottled works too! You can use a little white wine vinegar (start with 1 tablespoon, blend, and taste) if you don’t have any fresh or bottled lemon juice on hand.
- White or Yellow Miso Paste: If you’re fine eating salt (or if you eat the potassium chloride salt substitute) you can go ahead and use that. If you are totally avoiding added sodium, you can leave it out. Maybe add an extra tablespoon of lemon juice and/or some dulse flakes!
- Dijon Mustard: I wouldn’t use another mustard in place of Dijon, but you could definitely use ¼ to ½ teaspoon of ground mustard instead.
- Nutritional Yeast: If you can’t eat nutritional yeast, try a little extra miso, onion, and garlic.
- Spices: You can mess around with the spices if you want but I can’t guarantee the results. 😉
How to Make Silken Tofu Cheese Sauce
Watch me make this recipe or follow the step-by-step instructions below.
- Add all ingredients to the blender: I like to plop in the tofu first (scrape the empty container out with a spatula), then add liquids, then spices.
- Blend: Sometimes my spices like to stick to the sides of the blender. If this happens to you, stop the blender and scrape down the sides with a spatula. Then continue blending.
- Taste: Stop the blender and stick a spoon in there. Taste the cheese sauce. If it’s not salty enough, add more miso. Not cheesy enough? Add more nutritional yeast and possibly more granulated onion and granulated garlic. Blend again if you add anything.
- Use: Pour on cooked and drained pasta (below you’ll see it on my favorite pasta, Chickapea brand!), bake potatoes, steamed or roasted veggies, or anything you like! I like to make air fryer French fries (oil-free of course) and make cheese fries. Yum. If you need to heat the cheese sauce, you can microwave it in a microwave-safe dish or pour it into a small nonstick pot and heat gently over low heat until warmed.
- Store: If you heated the sauce, let it cool to room temperature. Store in an airtight jar (if you use a plastic container, the turmeric will stain it! Plus I find food tastes better when stored in glass) in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Use the sniff test if not sure. I store it in a jar and shake up the jar before using. When reheating, pour the amount you want to use either in a small microwave-safe dish or pour it on your food and then heat it up.
Expert Tips
- Silken Tofu Cheese Sauce Too Thick? If it’s too thick, add a little plain unsweetened non-dairy milk.
- Or Too Thin? If it’s too thin, add a little more nutritional yeast (or see my substitution ideas for this ingredient in the section above).
- Want to Use it on Pizza? Add 3-4 tablespoons of tapioca starch to the blender and blend fully. You can pour it on your pizza before baking and it will work great (also works on baked pastas like baked mac and cheese or baked ziti, both coming soon!). See my Portobello Pizzas post for a fun option. This method would also work well for cheesy stuffed peppers (also coming soon).
Serving Suggestions
I can think of soooo many ways to use this silken tofu cheese sauce because I just use it all the time! I’ve been making this exact recipe several times a month for the last year and it’s seriously my favorite.
My absolute go-to way to use this oil-free sauce is on cooked pasta. You can use whole grain pasta, a bean or legume based pasta, or whatever pasta you like. It’s great for mac and cheese! My favorite pasta with this plant based cheese sauce is Chickapea brand shell pasta. Or any shape, hah.
It’s also seriously delicious on cooked potatoes (Yukon gold are my favorite), roasted or steamed vegetables (I love it on broccoli, cauliflower, etc.), grain bowls, and more.
More Delicious Oil-Free Sauces, Dressings, and Dips
- Classic-Flavor Oil-Free Hummus
- Plant Based Nacho Cheese Sauce
- Pizza Hummus
- Edamame Guacamole
- Beet Hummus
- Oil-Free Pesto
- Silken Tofu Ranch Dressing
- Butter Bean Hummus
- Oil-Free Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Spinach Artichoke Hummus
- Sweet Lime Oil-Free Vinaigrette
- 3-Ingredient Plant Based Chocolate Sauce
Silken Tofu Cheese Sauce
Equipment
- 1 Blender or a food processor may be used, but how smooth it gets depends on the strength of your machine
- 1 Blender spatula not necessary, just makes it easier to get all of that vegan cheese sauce goodness out of the blender!
Ingredients
- 16 Ounces Silken Tofu, drained, see Notes section below for substitutions
- ½ Cup Plain Unsweetened Soy Milk, or any plain unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice, fresh is best but bottled is fine
- 1 Tablespoons White or Yellow Miso Paste, to taste, see Notes section below for substitutions
- ½ Teaspoon Dijon Mustard, or use ¼ to ½ teaspoon ground mustard
- ⅓ Cup Nutritional Yeast, see Notes section below for substitutions
- 1 Teaspoon Granulated Onion
- 1 Teaspoon Granulated Garlic
- ½ Teaspoon Dried Thyme
- ½ Teaspoon Paprika, I use sweet paprika for this recipe, but smoked paprika should work
- ¼ Teaspoon Ground Turmeric
- ⅛ Teaspoon Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to the blender: I like to plop in the tofu first (scrape the empty container out with a spatula), then add liquids, then spices.
- Blend: Sometimes my spices like to stick to the sides of the blender. If this happens to you, stop the blender and scrape down the sides with a spatula. Then continue blending.
- Taste: Stop the blender and stick a spoon in there. Taste the cheese sauce. If it's not salty enough, add more miso. Not cheesy enough? Add more nutritional yeast and possibly more granulated onion and granulated garlic. Blend again if you add anything.
- Use: Pour on cooked and drained pasta, bake potatoes, steamed or roasted veggies, or anything you like! I like to make air fryer French fries (oil-free of course) and make cheese fries. Yum. If you need to heat the cheese sauce, you can microwave it in a microwave-safe dish or pour it into a small nonstick pot and heat gently over low heat until warmed.
- Store: If you heated the sauce, let it cool to room temperature. Store in an airtight jar (if you use a plastic container, the turmeric will stain it! Plus I find food tastes better when stored in glass) in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Use the sniff test if not sure. When reheating, pour the amount you want to use either in a small microwave-safe dish or pour it on your food and then heat it up.
Video
Notes
- Silken Tofu: This recipe calls for 16 ounces silken tofu. You can find 16-ounce packages of silken tofu in the refrigerator section at your local grocery store, that’s where I buy mine even in my little town that has almost nothing. But if you can only buy your silken tofu in the shelf-stable 12-ounce aseptic containers, you can either use 1 + ¼ of those, or just use one pack and add 2-4 tablespoons of soaked raw cashews, soaked raw sunflower seeds, cooked white beans, or dehydrated potato flakes.
- To Substitute the Silken Tofu: If you can only find soft or regular tofu (don’t use firm), you can use this and just add a little plain unsweetened non-dairy milk (just enough to blend). If you don’t want to use tofu at all, you can do 1+½ cups drained and rinsed canned (or cooked from dried) white beans, or 1 cup of either soaked raw cashews or soaked raw sunflower seeds (and you will need water or plain unsweetened non-dairy milk to blend, and how much depends on how long you soaked them so start with equal parts nuts/seeds and liquid and adjust from there.
- Yellow or White Miso Paste:This is to replace the salt in the recipe, but I also love the little hint of umami flavors. Per Dr. Michael Greger of NutritionFacts.org, the soy in miso has a protective effect so the sodium in miso paste will not affect us negatively. If you’re fine eating salt (or if you eat the potassium chloride salt substitute) you can go ahead and use that. If you are totally avoiding added sodium, you can leave it out.
- Nutritional Yeast: This is key in making the cheese sauce taste cheesy. This recipe does NOT have an overwhelming “nutritional yeast” flavor. If you are not a huge fan, make sure you buy NON-FORTIFIED nutritional yeast as I find this has a more mild flavor. Sari makes the best flavor but it’s a little pricy so I often buy cheaper brands like Anthonys which I still enjoy. If you can’t eat nutritional yeast, try a little extra miso, onion, and garlic.
- Soy Milk: Any unflavored, unsweetened non-dairy milk will work. And in a pinch I’ve just used water!
- Thickens in the fridge: Because of the nature of tofu, silken tofu sauce recipes can thicken while in the fridge. To thin your silken tofu cheese sauce, add a tablespoon or two of plain unsweetened non-dairy milk (any) or water and stir (or place on an airtight lid and shake briefly).
