This is nach-yo average cheese, you guys! It’s a dairy-free “cheese” that also happens to be nut-free, gluten-free, paleo, and vegan. It has an unbelievably cheesy flavor. Yes, it ACTUALLY tastes like cheese. You will love this sweet potato nacho “cheese” dip because not only does it have that cheesy nacho flavor, it’s also easy to make and calls for a simple list of ingredients.
My sweet potato “cheese” dip is so good that my junk food loving husband finished the leftover nacho cheese that I was saving for myself! How dairy, right?! (dairy = dare he…)
What’s cool about this dairy-free cheese is that it’s nut-free. I feel like most dairy-free cheese is almost always made with cashews. Don’t get me wrong; I love a good dairy-free cashew cheese (I have a recipe for cashew paneer). But I think it’s nice to have a nut-free “cheese” sauce for those who might have a nut allergy. If you can tolerate nuts, you might be thinking that’s nacho problem… BUT a cashew-less cheese is good for everyone because the cost of cashews can definitely add up.
Yep. I’m going to try and insert the word nacho in this blog post as much as possible. If you haven’t caught on by now, I’m a pretty cheesy person. I’m probably definitely more “eye-roll and groan” funny than I am “actual funny.”
Want to know a secret? At one point in my life (high school), I honestly wanted to be a standup comedian. Everyone around me told me my jokes were no gouda and basically crushed my dreams. In hindsight, I’m glad they did because I would have been awful. I’d be THAT comedian that got booed off the stage. Or worse, maybe people would throw tomatoes at me. Although, if they were organic tomatoes, maybe I wouldn’t mind? AH. See? I did it again. Made a bad joke. You can roll your eyes at me now.
You want to know another secret? When I used to eat processed food, one of my favorite guilty pleasure snacks was from 7-Eleven: nacho chips, smothered in cheese sauce, chili and jalapeños. This is where I’d enter an embarrassed emoji smiley face (if I could figure out how to download emojis to my laptop). I kind of want to try and re-create that now…
The possibilities for how to use this sauce are endless. Keep it simple and serve it with tortilla chips (recipe for those will be on the blog tomorrow! Update: here they are!). Or add some salsa for a spicy cheese dip! Add a little hot water to thin out this sauce, and then pour it overtop zoodles or paleo-friendly pasta or on a baked potato! Add some broccoli and coconut milk to this, and you’ve got broccoli and cheese soup!
Think that a “cheese” dip made out of sweet potatoes is nacho thing? Don’t knock it until you try it!
And finally. I’m sorry for how cheesy this post was. I hope you’ll keep reading my blog ’cause I’m really fondue ya.
Omg. I can’t stop…
Ingredients
- 3 cups diced sweet potato approx. 14 oz
- 1 ½ cups water
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 tablespoon tapioca flour
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne adjust to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon mustard powder
- Crushed red pepper flakes optional
Instructions
- Add the sweet potatoes and water to a saucepan. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are soft. Allow this to cool.
- Pour the contents of the saucepan into a blender along with the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.
- Add the sauce back to the saucepan over medium heat and stir for 3-4 minutes until hot.
- If you want a thinner consistency, add water to the pan and stir.
- Serve warm.
Tameka Laglie says
Hahaha… Your maturity was never a question
Ashley - My Heart Beets says
Some say immature, some say young at heart, lol!
Sarah says
Hey Ashley,
I made another batch of this last week and had the idea to use it in your vegan mac & cheese recipe after realizing that I didn’t have pumpkin thawed. It came out really well with a bit of extra nooch added! I have some frozen now and am going to try it again after it thaws. Such a versatile recipe 🙂
My Heart Beets says
Sarah, that’s awesome and so great to know! Thanks for letting me know how it turned out for you – and in the mac and cheese recipe!
Kayley says
This is only good if you add something like 9 or 10 more teaspoons of ACV to cut the sweet potato flavor, way more garlic and some more salt, mustard powder, and nutritional yeast. 3 cups sweet potato and only 1-1/2 c liquid is too much sweet potato for this recipe. You get a paste, not a cheese consistency, and my Vitamix was having a hard time blending it. I also added chili powder and put this over noddles and some mixed veggies.
Carol says
This is delicious! I added a bit of cumin and used my immersion blender. Yum!
My Heart Beets says
Carol, that’s awesome! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂