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.
And if you love this dip you’ll also love our vegan chipotle sauce and our vegan nacho cheese.
How To Make Vegan Queso
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Add raw cashews to a blender jug along with crushed garlic, nutritional yeast, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, canned chopped tomatoes and sliced jalapeños.
- Pour over 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.
Ingredient Notes
Cashews: You don’t need to soak the cashews first unless you think your blender will have trouble with them. 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 ¼ to ½ cup of water (add slowly and only as much as needed) and whisk that in while heating.
Recipe FAQ
Serve it topped with sliced pickled jalapeños and chopped fresh cilantro and of course, lots of corn chips for dipping.
It tastes like rich velvety creamy cheese with just enough spiciness to create a nice little mouth buzz but nothing extreme.
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.
Keep it stored in a covered container in the fridge and it will last 5-7 days.
It is also freezer friendly for up to 3 months if you’d like to freeze it. Thaw it overnight in the fridge and then mix it well or blend it again before serving.
More Vegan Dips
- Vegan Spinach Artichoke Dip
- Vegan Onion Dip
- Cashew Queso
- Vegan Spinach Dip
- Vegan Guacamole
- Vegan Nacho Cheese
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Queso
Ingredients
- 2 cups Raw Cashews (300g)
- 1 tsp Crushed Garlic
- ½ cup Nutritional Yeast (30g)
- 1 tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Onion Powder
- ½ tsp Garlic Powder
- ½ cup Canned Chopped Tomato (120ml)
- 4 Tbsp Sliced Pickled Jalapeños
- 1 cup Vegetable Stock (240ml)
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.
Video
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.
- Keep it stored in a covered container in the fridge and it will last 5-7 days.
It is also freezer friendly for up to 3 months if you’d like to freeze it. Thaw it overnight in the fridge and then mix it well or blend it again before serving. - This recipe makes around 3 cups of queso.
Made this today. I did soak my cashews overnight and decide to try salsa instead of straight tomatoes. Although I don’t have a high power blender to look as smooth as your did, it still turned out well. Certainly does the trick when you want a healthier option for cheese dip for chips, or vegetable sticks.
That’s great to hear Jade! Thanks so much for sharing and for your great review!
Yummy! So good and so easy. Tastes very cheesy. Thank you 🙂
Thanks Morgan!
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