Craving the flavors of chips and queso but without the cheese? This plant-based queso dip makes a tasty alternative that's completely dairy-free. Using potatoes to create a creamy texture and a blend of spices and ingredients to infuse this cashew queso with plenty of umami flavors so you will never miss the cheese!
There's nothing I love more than a good dip, especially one made with whole foods and easy ingredients. Since going vegan, I have really missed a cheesy dips, so I thought I would make my own vegan queso dip recipe using clean and healthy ingredients.
This vegan queso recipe is made with veggies, nuts, spices, and, of course, the most important vegan cheesy ingredient- nutritional yeast. It's the secret to adding delicious cheesiness to any vegan recipe! Now let's get into how to make this delicious vegan queso dip!
Looking for more vegan cheese and dairy recipes to try? This vegan cream cheese is a great dairy-free option that is also high in protein and super easy to make at home. Homemade vegan sour cream is a great way to not spend a lot of money on a store-bought vegan sour cream!
Ingredients You Need to Make Creamy Vegan Queso
For this easy cashew queso recipe, you will need a handful of simple ingredients available in most grocery stores. Here's a look at what you need to grab at the store.
- Potatoes: We will be using a combination of sweet potato and Russet potato. The sweet potato gives it some cheesy coloring while the white potato gives it a surprising texture that's quite similar to cheese.
- Veggies: Tomato, yellow onion, and a whole bulb of garlic are roasted adding more depth of flavor.
- Olive oil: Just a bit for cooking the veggies.
- Vegetable broth: Adds liquid for blending everything together while also adding some other layers of flavor.
- Soaked cashews: When blended raw cashews turn deliciously creamy creating the best creamy texture for queso.
- Nutritional yeast: The key ingredient for cheesy flavor in your vegan cheese dip!
- Lemon juice: Fresh lemon juice gives a bit of acidity to balance everything out.
- Spices: Paprika, salt, and pepper spice it all up!
Substitutions and Variations
Want to change up your vegan cashew queso recipe? Here are some ideas for inspiration!
- Make it Spicy: Stir in some green chiles, diced jalapeno, a chipotle pepper, or chipotle chili powder to take the heat up a notch!
- Cashews: You can also use soaked almonds with similar results!
- Lemon juice: Freshly squeezed lime juice also works great for adding a bit of brightness to your cashew queso.
- Smoked paprika: Swap out the regular paprika for a bit of smokiness.
- Vegan "beefy" queso: Stir in some meatless crumbles!
- Top your easy vegan queso dip with pico de gallo! Instead of diced tomatoes.
How to Make Cashew Queso
Are you ready to get started? Gather up your ingredients and let's get cooking! Here's an overview of the steps but be sure to get all the details in the recipe card.
- Prep all the veggies. Wash and chop the potatoes, tomatoes, onion, and cut off the top of the bulb of garlic.
- Bake the veggies. Place all of the veggies on a baking sheet and drizzle them with a generous amount of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Then bake until all the veggies have cooked and softened.
- Transfer the cooked veggies to a food processor.
- Add the cashews, nutritional yeast, olive oil, broth, lemon juice, and spices to the blender. Blend everything together for several minutes until super smooth and creamy.
- Transfer the vegan queso to a bowl.
- Top the bowl of queso with fresh tomato slices, jalapeno, fresh cilantro, and chili flakes. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Store leftover queso in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days or freeze it for up to three months. Reheat it in the microwave or on the stove over medium-low heat. If it's too thick you can add a little water.
- Be sure to use soaked cashews for best results. Soak them in room temperature water overnight or in boiling water for thirty minutes.
- Get the best smooth and creamy texture by roasting the veggies until soft, soaking the cashews, and blending the vegan cheese sauce well.
- Serve it up this cheesy dip as an appetizer with tortilla chips and veggies sicks, or use it as a sauce for your favorite vegan tacos and burritos! It's great on these taco wonton cups or one-pot quinoa tacos. It's also great drizzled over burrito bowls or vegan taco salad!
Video
I've made a short little video showcasing how to make vegan nacho cheese if you are more of a visual person like me 🙂
FAQs
It's likely because the cashews weren't soaked long enough or you didn't blend for enough time. You can solve this issue by soaking the cashews overnight or by using a high-powdered blender such as a Nutribullet.
This cashew queso is homemade and doesn't contain any preservatives so it will only last 4-5 days in the freezer.
This cashew queso does a good job of resembling real queso but it's not exactly the same. It has the creaminess and lots of flavor but is missing the "pull" of the cheese. Nutritional yeast, roasted vegetables, and spices layer in lots of flavors to make a dip that's quite delicious!
More Vegan Dips and Sauces
If you liked this vegan queso dip recipe, you might also like these other vegan dips and sauces:
Vegan Cashew Queso Dip Recipe
Equipment
- blender
- pan
Ingredients
- 1 medium sweet potato 230 g
- 1 medium Russet potato 240 g
- 1 medium tomato 120 g
- ½ yellow onion
- 1 bulb garlic
- 1 splash olive oil
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- ½ cup soaked cashews*
- ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
- ½ lemon juiced
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Start by washing and chopping the veggies. Chop the potatoes, tomatoes, onion, and cut off the top of the bulb of garlic.
- Place all of the veggies on a baking sheet and drizzle them with a generous amount of olive oil, salt, and pepper.
- Bake at 450*F/ 230*C for 30 minutes until all of the veggies have cooked and softened.
- Transfer the cooked veggies to a food processor. (Squeeze out the garlic bulb, don't add it in with the skin).
- Add the cashews, nutritional yeast, olive oil, broth, lemon juice, and spices. Blend for several minutes until super smooth and creamy.
- Transfer the vegan queso to a bowl, top with fresh tomato slices, jalapeno, cilantro, chili flakes, and enjoy!
Notes
- Store leftover queso in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days or freeze it for up to three months. Reheat it in the microwave or on the stove over medium-low heat. If it's too thick you can add a little water.
- Be sure to use soaked cashews for best results. Soak them in room temperature water overnight or in boiling water for thirty minutes.
- Get the best smooth and creamy texture by roasting the veggies until soft, soaking the cashews, and blending the vegan cheese sauce well.
- Serve it up this cheesy dip as an appetizer with tortilla chips and veggies sicks, or use it as a sauce for your favorite vegan tacos and burritos! It's great on these taco wonton cups or one-pot quinoa tacos. It's also great drizzled over burrito bowls or vegan taco salad!
[…] vegan queso […]