How to make a healthy nacho cheese sauce—because those chips aren’t going to eat themselves

Nacho cheese sauce seems like it would be hard to make dairy-free. It’s hot, creamy, packed with flavor—basically everything you could ever want in an appetizer. But fun fact: You can make the same thing with plant-based ingredients, and the final result is so convincing no one will believe you that it’s not real cheese.

You can use cashews to create everything from Alfredo sauce to mac and cheese, so it’s only fitting that the nut makes for a great nacho cheese base, too. In a recent Reddit post, one user shared a way to make a vegan version with hardly any effort and only a handful of ingredients—something that’s not only healthier than what you’ll find on store shelves or in restaurants, but also (dare I say it!) even more flavorful.

After soaking a cup of raw cashews in a cup of water for a couple hours, soften a red bell pepper and half an onion in a pan. Then add the cashews, veggies, 1/4 cup nutritional yeast, 1/4 cup hot sauce (or hot peppers), and a twist of lime into a blender and blend until smooth. If you don’t have cashews available, you can also use hemp hearts, raw macadamia nuts, or raw sunflower seeds.

Once you taste it, it’s bound to become part of your meal-prep routine. You can use the healthy cheese sauce all throughout the week on your nachos, in burrito bowls, and more. And pro tip: Costco has huge containers of cashews for all your blending needs, so you’ll never run short.

If you really want to up your game on #TacoTuesdays, make this veganized Crunchwrap Supreme. Then find out the one ingredient your guac is missing.