Meet your new favorite vegan queso! It’s rich, creamy and ultra cheesy with just enough of a spicy kick. The perfect dip for some tortilla chips!
This vegan queso is so creamy and cheesy your friends won’t believe it’s vegan!
In fact, we served this with chips at a recent gathering of family and friends and it was a massive hit. I mean massive.
It’s also ready in 5 minutes and served with loads of corn chips for dipping will make you the snack queen. 😉
So let’s do this!
How to make Vegan Queso
- Add raw cashews to a blender jug along with some crushed garlic, nutritional yeast, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, canned chopped tomatoes and sliced jalapeños.
- Pour over some vegetable stock (ideally piping hot vegetable stock) and then blend until very smooth.
- Serve immediately. And that’s how easy it to make vegan queso!
Recipe Tips
Cashews: You don’t need to soak the cashews first unless you think your blender will have trouble with it. If you do want to soak them first then place them in a bowl and pour over boiling water from the kettle and let them soak for 15 minutes. Then drain the cashews and continue with the recipe.
Nutritional Yeast: This creates the cheesy flavor. If you leave it out you’ll lose a lot of the cheesy flavor of this recipe. However if you can’t use it for any reason this will still be good without it.
Canned Chopped Tomatoes: We used canned chopped tomatoes in this recipe for flavor and texture. They really work wonderfully here. You can also use marinara sauce in place of the canned chopped tomatoes if that’s what you have on hand.
Vegetable Stock: It’s ideal if you use hot vegetable stock in this recipe so that your queso when freshly blended is warm. This queso can be served warm or cold though.
How To Heat Queso
If you use hot vegetable stock when making this queso then it will already be warm when freshly blended. However, if you want to warm it more, or if it’s cooled down and you want to reheat it, then you can do so.
The best way to heat it is to do it gently over very low heat in a saucepan or over a double boiler. You can make a homemade double boiler by placing a heat safe glass dish over a pot with a couple of inches of boiling water. Then you can heat it gently that way, stirring all the while. Since it will thicken while heating it’s best to add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water (add slowly and only as much as needed) and whisk that in while heating.
How To Serve Vegan Queso
Serve it topped with some sliced pickled jalapeños and chopped fresh cilantro and of course, lots of corn chips and you’ll be the bees knees.
What does it taste like?
Like rich velvety creamy cheese with just enough spiciness in there to create a nice little mouth buzz but nothing extreme.
What to eat with it?
This vegan queso has more uses than just a dip! It is of course also great over some vegan nachos, with fries, on vegetables (hello cheese sauce for broccoli or baked potatoes!), and it’s fabulous as a pasta sauce.
But as a simple dip for corn/tortilla chips, it can’t be beat.
Storing and Freezing
Keep it stored in a covered container in the fridge and it will last around 5 days. It is also freezer friendly if you’d like to freeze it.
More Vegan Dips!
- Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip
- Vegan Onion Dip
- Cashew Queso
- Vegan Spinach Dip
- Vegan Guacamole
- Vegan Nacho Cheese
So what do you think of this vegan queso recipe? Let us know in the comments and please rate the recipe too!
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Vegan Queso
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 5 mins
- Yield: ~3 cups
Description
The best vegan queso! Rich, creamy and ultra cheesy with just enough spicy kick, this quick and easy queso makes the perfect dip for some tortilla chips!
Ingredients
- 2 cups (300g) Raw Cashews*
- 1 tsp Crushed Garlic
- 1/2 cup (30g) Nutritional Yeast
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 cup (120ml) Canned Chopped Tomato
- 4 Tbsp Sliced Pickled Jalapeños
- 1 cup (240ml) Vegetable Stock*
Instructions
- Add the raw cashews to a blender jug along with the crushed garlic, nutritional yeast, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, canned chopped tomatoes and sliced jalapeños.
- Pour over the vegetable stock and then blend until very smooth.
- Serve immediately.
- This dip can be served warm or cold. If your vegetable stock is hot then this dip is warm when freshly blended.
Notes
*We did not soak the cashews first for this dip. However, if you know your blender might have trouble then you can soak them for 15 minutes first. Just place the cashews into a bowl and pour over boiling water from the kettle and leave to soak for 15 minutes. Then drain and continue.
*It’s ideal if your stock is made with hot water and is piping hot when it goes into the blender, this way your queso is nice and warm when you serve. However, this can be served warm or cold.
- Category: Side, Savory, Gluten-Free
- Method: Blender
- Cuisine: Vegan
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 cup
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 1.7g
- Sodium: 308mg
- Fat: 11g
- Saturated Fat: 1.9g
- Carbohydrates: 9.3g
- Fiber: 1.3g
- Protein: 5.4g
Keywords: vegan queso
How many 1/4 cup servings did the recipe yield? It looks great. I’m going to make it this week as soon as my nutritional yeast arrives.
It makes around 3 cups in total.
Delicious! I used red chillies instead of jalapenos, fresh tomatoes instead of canned (as I had some to use up), plus added spinach. Your recipes are so easy to follow and I love that they’re adaptable. I’m learning so much from you and this site! Thanks once again!
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks so much Yalini!
Just made this, damn good. I’m a little offset still by cashew midrange flavor. I am imagining toasting them before vitamix. Great recipe!
Looks great! Can’t wait to try it. Did you use store bought veggie broth? What kind do you prefer? Thank you!
★★★★★
Hi Lisa, yes we use store-bought veg stock. We tend to use the type that is a powder form and you mix with hot water. Our favorite brand is Ina Paarman’s right now but that’s not available worldwide.
I can’t eat tomatoes but your queso recipes look amazing! Any ideas for a substitute? Or can I just leave them out?
Hi Kathleen, you could just leave it out in this recipe. Or you could substitute it for something like chopped red bell pepper. 🙂
This was delicious and super easy. Absolutely loved it! Used 1 serrano pepper rather than jalapeno and it turned our great.
This was so easy to make and my family was surprised they liked it as much as they did!
★★★★★
Yay! So happy to hear, thanks Erin! 🙂
Pure deliciousness😋. I used a bit as salad dressing too. Thanks for the recipe!!
★★★★★
Awesome! Thanks Susan! 🙂
Are the sliced jalapenos used in the recipe pickled or fresh?
Pickled! 🙂
Very yummy!!!
★★★★★
Deliciously cheesy vegan dip
★★★★★