Our vegan queso is so good, you may find yourself forgoing your go-to cheese substitutes (or, dare I say it, cheese?)! Whether you’re looking to eat plant-based, are lactose-intolerant, or just want a healthy alternative, with delicious add-ins like tomatoes, peppers, and vegan chorizo, you’ll never look back.
How to Make Perfect Vegan Queso
The trick to making a good vegan queso is having a heavy hand with a few key spices and flavorings. If you go too light, it’ll taste like what it technically is: vaguely spicy blended cashews with hot water. Blech. Put too much though, and you might just get stuck with unpleasant overpowering flavors.
That said, as a lactose intolerant individual, I’m deeply committed to my fake cheesy spreads, so I’m pretty sure I’ve made the perfect vegan queso. It even got the seal of approval from Sarah, the eternally skeptical cheese-loving omnivore!
The 3 key ingredients are:
- Plenty of nutritional yeast for a cheesy base flavor
- Simple distilled white vinegar for tang
- Your favorite Mexican hot sauce. (I use Valentina, a classic must-have we use for everything from burritos and tacos to rice and beans.)
There’s also plenty of garlic, and a simple blend of additional spices!
Optional Toppings/Add-Ins
So now you’ve got a perfectly creamy and tasty queso. The next conundrum? My constant, subconscious craving for restaurant style queso—that ooey gooey little casserole of cheese baked with greasy chorizo. It’s so good, but it ain’t vegan.
Hence the TOPPINGS. It’s all about the toppings. My favorites are chopped tomato, chopped green bell peppers, a handful of chopped cilantro leaves and stems, and a spoonful of crispy vegan chorizo.
Break out the tortilla chips, or dollop it over a baked russet potato or sweet potato with a side of salad. It’ll become one of your favorite things to make!
How Long Does Vegan Queso Last In the Fridge?
This queso lasts for up to 2 weeks in the fridge, without any add-ins. I store it in resealable jars for when the craving strikes!
When you want to reheat it, simply pop it in the microwave for 1 minute, covered with a plate to catch any splatter. From there, reheat it 30 seconds at a time to bring it up to your desired temperature. It may seize a little, but just stir it until it’s smooth, adding in a splash of hot water if needed.
Ok, on to the recipe!
Vegan Queso Recipe Instructions
Combine the hot water, raw cashews, and garlic in a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth. Add the nutritional yeast, cumin, onion powder, oregano, white vinegar, and hot sauce. Blend until combined, and add salt, additional hot sauce, and/or nutritional yeast to taste.
Transfer the queso to a serving bowl (or store some of it in jars).
And add toppings if desired, and serve with tortilla chips! Here it is with vegan chorizo on top:
Vegan Queso
Ingredients
- 1 cup hot water
- 1 1/2 cups raw cashews
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
- 2-3 tablespoons Mexican hot sauce (such as Valentina, to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
Optional toppings:
- 1/2 small tomato (finely chopped)
- 1/4 cup green bell pepper or jalapeño (finely chopped)
- 3 tablespoons cilantro (chopped)
- 1/2 cup vegan chorizo (if you’re lactose intolerant but not vegan, feel free to use pork chorizo; browned/sautéed)
Instructions
- Combine the hot water, raw cashews, and garlic in a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth. Add the nutritional yeast, cumin, onion powder, oregano, white vinegar, and hot sauce. Blend until combined, and add salt, additional hot sauce, and/or nutritional yeast to taste.
- Transfer the queso to a serving bowl (or store some of it in jars), and add toppings if desired. Serve with tortilla chips.
i love adding a bit of fermented tofu to up the intense cheesy flavor!! thanks for the recipe : )
Ooooooooooooooh. Wowie, excellent idea! We’ll have to try next time.
Wow wow wow. We are vegan about 50% of the year, so we eat a lot of vegan. I’ve had variations on this before but this is easily the best. Thanks much!
I used tapatio btw.
I should add, made this with a stick blender. Worked great but next time I’ll try the Vitamix and see if it’s even smoother.
Awesome, Dumont, I’m so happy to hear it! Also thanks for sharing the tip on the stick blender. One does wonder about such things. Cheers! :)
Wow, I just made this for tomorrows feast, and I can tell you I am blown away! I am sitting here literally licking out the blender jar! This is going to be my go-to from now on!!!
Thank you so much, Penny! I’m so GLAD to hear it. Maybe it’s ego, but there’s a bit of what I like to think is public duty in the mix too to help everyone avoid mediocre vegan queso. ;)
I have not tried this yet. I am hugely lactose intolerant, and doing Keto, so a couple of weeks ago I made Cashew Creamer to mellow out my coffee and it was fantastic, I ended up using it like whipped cream on top of desserts. So, reading this recipe with raw cashews, I have High Hopes!!!
Sounds like perfect timing, I hope you enjoy it, Penny! :)
I have a question regarding how long this keeps. I’m the only one who will be eating this so can this be frozen?
Hi Rosa, I would not freeze it, rather, simply halve the recipe. Whole cashews will keep for quite a while in the refrigerator!
What do you use for nutritional yeast? Does it add flavor ?
The nutritional yeast adds that cheesy tangy flavor! It is a vital ingredient for this recipe, so would encourage you to include :)
Do you have any suggestions for what to use instead of cashews for those who have issues with excessive nut oils (soy is also not a good option)? It sounds tasty, but I know from other vegan nut spreads that my system can’t handle them well.
Hi Sarah, that’s a great question. To be honest, I am not sure about your conundrum. Some form of nut or tofu are typically my go-to’s. You could try white or pink beans and make it vaguely hummus-like? Instead of a “queso” dip it would be more like a cheesy Mexican bean dip. I hope that helps!
Sarah: I came down to the comments to ask the same question (I have a weird reaction to cashews, but can do other nuts), so I googled it and found this article that suggests sunflower seeds: https://www.nomeatathlete.com/sunflower-seed-sauce/
(I haven’t tried it yet.)
Kaitlin: I appreciate the lactose-free recipes! My best friend is lactose-intolerant and gluten-sensitive, so my quarantine project is to find more recipes I can make for her once we can get together again.
This will be great on the days I don’t have any potatoes in the pantry to make the Cook’s Illustrated potato/carrot “cheese.” Thanks!
You’re welcome, Kristina!