
This versatile recipe can be used in nachos, mac and cheese, or even a grilled cheese sandwich.
Makes about 2½ cups.
Ingredients:
1½ cups finely diced russet potatoes (about 1 medium potato)
¼ cup finely diced red bell pepper
½ small yellow onion, diced
2 tablespoons raw cashews
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
- Combine the potato, bell pepper, onion, and cashews in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the potatoes are very tender, about 10 minutes. Drain the vegetables, reserving ¾ cup of the cooking water.
- Combine the potato mixture, reserved cooking water, tahini, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and arrowroot powder in a blender. Process on high until everything is smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes.
- Store the sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Chef’s Note:
1. The secret to a creamy cheese sauce is in making sure the potatoes are well cooked (they should be very tender when poked with a fork), and then pureeing the potato mixture for several minutes to break down the starch in the potatoes.

Del Sroufe’s passion for cooking began at eight years old and never faded. In 1989, he went to work for one of Columbus’s premier vegetarian restaurants, the King Avenue Coffeehouse, where he honed his craft as a baker and chef. Sroufe opened Del’s Bread, a vegan bakery, before beginning a vegan meal delivery service in 2001, serving eclectic, plant-based cuisine to Columbus residents. During this time, he developed what became a very popular cooking class series, sharing many of the delicious recipes he had created over the years.
Sroufe is the author of Better Than Vegan, The China Study: Quick & Easy Cookbook, and The China Study Family Cookbook, as well as Forks Over Knives—The Cookbook, a vegan cookbook companion to the acclaimed documentary Forks Over Knives.