Vegan Cheese

• servings: 4 servings
• active time: 15 minutes
• total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

¾ cup peeled and diced Yukon Gold potato

¾ cup peeled and diced sweet potato

2 garlic cloves

¼ cup raw cashews

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon sea salt (plus more for cooking the potatoes)

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

¼ cup water

Optional add-ins

½ to 1 chipotle pepper from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce

1 tablespoon pickled jalapeños

¼ to ½ teaspoon smoked paprika

Directions

Place the Yukon Gold and sweet potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cold water by about 1 inch. Add a few pinches of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until fork-tender, 8 to 12 minutes.

Drain and transfer to a high-speed blender with the garlic, cashews, apple cider vinegar, nutritional yeast, onion powder, salt, olive oil, and water. Blend until smooth.

For spicy vegan cheese, add the chipotle pepper or pickled jalapeños. If you’d like a smoky flavor, add the smoked paprika.

Serve with tortilla chips for dipping or over pasta to make vegan mac & cheese.