Vegan Nacho Cheese Sauce with Pumpkin and Cashews

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted cashews (Roasted or raw; unsalted is recommended.)
• boiling water (Enough to completely cover the cashews for soaking; drain and discard after soaking.)
• 0.5 cup pumpkin purée (Canned pumpkin purée or homemade purée; do not use pumpkin pie filling.)
• 0.75 cup water (Cold water may be used.)
• 0.333333 cup nutritional yeast (Provides the sauce's cheesy flavor.)
• 2 tbsp pickled jalapeños (Omit for a milder sauce.)
• 0.5 tsp salt (Reduce to taste if using salted cashews.)
• 1 clove garlic
• tortilla chips (For serving.)

Steps

1. 1

   Place the cashews in a bowl. Pour in enough boiling water to completely cover them.

2. 2

   Let the cashews soak for 1 hour. If using a very powerful blender, such as a Vitamix, this soaking step may be skipped.

3. 3

   Drain the cashews thoroughly and discard the soaking liquid.

4. 4

   Add the drained cashews to a blender along with the pumpkin purée, water, nutritional yeast, pickled jalapeños, salt, and garlic.

5. 5

   Blend until completely smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides if necessary. The finished sauce should have a smooth queso-like consistency.

6. 6

   Serve the sauce warm or at room temperature with tortilla chips.

Notes

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Be careful not to use pumpkin pie filling in place of plain pumpkin purée. Homemade pumpkin purée may be used; puréed carrots or butternut squash are possible substitutions. The sauce can also be served with guacamole, salsa, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, olives, black beans, or diced onions.

Nutrition per serving

• appetizer
• dip
• vegan
• dairy-free
• plant-based
• gluten-free
• no-cook
• Mexican-inspired