This is the best vegan queso recipe EVER. Ready to eat in less than 10 minutes, it tastes so much like the real thing you won’t believe it! Rich cashew cream, a little potato, and a touch of nutritional yeast blend together with traditional Mexican flavors for a dairy-free vegan queso you’ll fall in love with. It’s paleo, Whole30, and low-carb friendly, too!
What’s So Great About This Recipe
- It’s a foolproof copycat. Seriously, it tastes so much like real queso you might worry you’re actually eating dairy.
- It’s really easy to make. A quick blend in a Vitamix gives you a smooth, hot dip that’s ready to eat in less than 10 minutes!
- It’s low-calorie and low-carb, which means you can eat as much as your heart really desires.
- It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, so you can make it ahead of an event or on meal prep Sundays. Store it in an airtight container, and add a little unsweetened almond milk when you reheat it if it’s too thick.
Vegan Queso Ingredients
Cashew Cream – The cashews and coconut milk blend into a rich, thick, indulgent cashew cream that really makes this recipe what it is. The flavor is subtle enough, though, that you don’t feel like you’re eating coconut cashew queso.
Nutritional Yeast – This deactivated yeast is what creates the cheesy flavor of this queso, so don’t skip it, unless you just have to.
How to Make the Best Vegan Queso (Ever)
The full recipe & ingredients list are below, but here you’ll find a quick overview for making this recipe perfectly, along with useful tips and info!
Whipping up this queso is so easy, you’ll feel like you’re missing a step.
Combine everything except for the chopped pickled jalapeños and the can of tomatoes and chiles (aka Rotel) in a high-speed blender, and blend until it’s very, very smooth. I blend mine in a Vitamix long enough that it heats up, but if yours doesn’t, you’ll need to transfer the queso to a saucepan and heat it up on the stove.
Stir in jalapeños and Rotel, then garnish with cilantro and serve with your favorite tortilla chips!
Chef’s Tips
- Tapioca starch is an optional ingredient in this recipe, so don’t worry if you don’t have it. It does make a difference, though. It gives this queso a gooier texture than other vegan queso recipes, making it more like real queso.
- If you don’t have a high-speed blender (like a Vitamix) that’s okay! You’ll just need to soak your cashews overnight in hot water to help them blend more easily. Simply pour hot water over the cashews and let them sit – don’t worry about changing out the water after it cools off. After blending, you’ll need to transfer the queso to a saucepan and heat it through over medium-low heat.
- If you don’t want to use coconut milk, you can leave it out! Increase the cashews to a total of 1.5 cups and use 1.75 cups of water or stock to make up for it.
- For vegan queso blanco, leave out the turmeric and the can of tomatoes and chiles. Still use the small can of green chiles, though!
More Vegan Recipes You’ll Love
- The Best Vegan Alfredo Sauce
- Vegan Chili
- Vegan Nutella
- Quick Creamy Vegan Coconut Chickpea Curry
- Vegan Crème Brûlée
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Best Vegan Queso (Ever)
Equipment
- high-speed blender
Ingredients
- 1 cup boiled potato about 2 medium yellow or red potatoes, see note for Paleo
- 4 garlic cloves peeled
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ cup raw cashews soaked overnight if not using a high-speed blender
- 1 cup vegetable broth see Note if not vegan
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup coconut milk unsweetened, full fat, from a can
- 1 4-ounce can chopped mild chiles
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 4-ounce can chopped pickled jalapeños divided and drained (reserve juice)
- 1 tablespoon pickled jalapeño juice
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon tapioca starch optional
- 1 dash turmeric optional, for color
- 1-2 teaspoons salt
- 1 can tomatoes and green chiles like Rotel, drained, optional
- fresh cilantro chopped, for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Combine everything in a high-speed blender, excluding ¼ cup chopped pickled jalapeños and can of tomatoes and chiles. Start with 1 teaspoon salt. Blend until very smooth.
- If blender does not heat mixture, transfer to a saucepan and heat on the stove over medium-low heat. Heat until desired consistency, stirring constantly to prevent burning.
- Add extra salt if desired. Pour queso into serving bowl and stir in pickled jalapeños and drained can of tomatoes and chiles. Garnish and serve.
Video
Notes
- If you’re not strictly vegan, you can use chicken broth instead of vegetable broth if you want.
- Make it Paleo: If you’re on a strict Paleo diet, or if you must avoid nightshade, swap the potatoes for 1 cup mashed, steamed cauliflower.
- Refrigerate: Store leftover queso in an airtight container in the fridge up to 5 days.
- Reheat: Add unsweetened almond milk if the consistency of the queso is too thick. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave until just heated through.
Nutrition
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Cheryl Malik is the recipe developer, writer, and photographer behind the healthy, flavorful, family friendly recipes at 40 Aprons. She’s been a blogger for 10+ years and is known for her delicious recipes and detailed recipe instructions. Cheryl is a mom of three who lives in Memphis, TN.
Ginna says
We are allergic to cashews. Wondering if you have tried with Sunflower Seeds? Most of the cream sauces I have done I use sunflower seeds and it tastes amazing.
Anna Claire | 40 Aprons Team says
We haven’t, but sunflower seeds are oily like cashews, so it may work. If you try it, let us know how it turns out!
Mary says
My son is dairy free and hesitates eating the purchased versions of dairy free dips and such because he likes to be able to pronounce the ingredients. I made this and served it before a family dinner and it was completely devoured! Great recipe! It’s a keeper for sure!
Anna Claire | 40 Aprons Team says
This is so awesome, Mary! Thanks for sharing. This is exactly what we strive for with our recipes. Healthier homemade versions of restaurant or store-bought favorites may require a but more work, but it always worth it!
Johanna says
This is such a great recipe! I’m not vegan or vegetarian, but I am trying to minimize my dairy intake so I’ve been looking all over for great vegan dishes to make. I love queso, and with this recipe you do not miss the dairy at all! I was shocked at how good this was. I made it for some family friends who are the furthest thing from vegan, and they did not notice there was no cheese in this “queso” until I told them. It’s so easy to make, keeps for plenty of time in the fridge, and you don’t feel icky or overly full after eating it like you might if you had eaten a similar dip made from cheese. I didn’t have pickled jalapeños so I just used regular jalapeños from a jar, diced them up small, and did a little bit less than the recipe called for. I enjoy a bit of heat so this was nice for me. Next time I will try it with the pickled jalapeños though to see how the recipe is actually meant to taste! The only thing I would ask is what the serving size is? It says there are 12 servings in a batch, and 91 cals per serving, but what is the weight in ounces or grams of a serving? I’m hoping somebody knows, because I didn’t weigh the batch after I made it so I have no idea.
Joanna says
I don’t think I saw a bad review on this so I was excited to try this recipe and it did not disappoint at all. I used it in our vegan breakfast burritos over the weekend and today mixed it with some noodles to make a “mac and cheese”. It is fantastic, great flavors, great texture and creamy. I do agree to make it ahead of time and let it sit at least 6 hours or more if you like a thicker style queso. I am so happy I found this recipe and I will be using it again and for everything I can imagine!
Cheryl Malik says
Sounds delicious, glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the awesome review 🙂
Sophie says
It was really good and I really enjoyed it. If you are making for picky kid’s use oat milk instead of coconut milk so there isn’t the coconut flavor. It was off putting up my kids 🤦🏻♀️ But not to me. The texture was perfect and flavor great.
Stacy says
The taste is amazing! I don’t have a vita mix so this is more hummus than queso. Any tips to make this smoother without a vita mix? I soaked the cashews overnight. Any other thoughts? I’m hoping to serve to guests and want to nail this. Thank you!
Charity says
I’m looking forward to making/tasting this recipe. I’m paleo so I will try it with the cauliflower instead of potato.
Stacy, if you’d like a smoother cashew sauce try boiling your cashews for about 15-30 minutes after they soak. This makes them soft and makes the texture silky smooth! I discovered this making cashew Alfredo sauce. I use a nutra-ninja.
Samantha says
This is the mic drop of vegan queso. It was so dang good. Thank you!!
Cheryl Malik says
Thank you for the great review!
Amber says
Can this be made in advance (3 days) and kept in fridge then reheated in a dip sized slow cooker? Or will it break/separate etc or is best just served freshly made?…
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
Sure, that would work! Just make sure to add some unsweetened almond milk if the consistency is too thick. 🙂
Sheila Crain says
Sheila Crain asks:. Can I use almond milk instead of coconut?
Milaca MN
srcrain7@gmail.com
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
Hi! It may not be as thick as it would be with the full-fat coconut milk. You could try substituting unsweetened cashew cream or oat milk!
Michelle says
What brand of canned pickles jalapeños do you use?
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
Any kind we have find from the store! We like to shop organic if possible!
Jacqulyn says
Ummm where has this been all my life?!!!! This was so incredibly good! I’m happy I went all in and tripled the recipe.
Kristi says
I have made this recipe several times now and I absolutely LOVE it!!! I would say as the recipe is written, it could be a bit thicker for my taste, so I usually end up adding closer to 1 Tbsp tapioca starch, also, I have found that the second day is when the consistency is the best – so this is a good dish to do some make-ahead prep for guests and then just re-heat on the stove to serve the next day. But everyone I have made this for has loved it. My pop-tart, pizza and junk food eating step son and his buddies even loved it and ate the whole bowl!! We eat it just as a dip with chips, spread on nachos, baked into burritos, or even put over black bean burgers…yum. I have made a lot of vegan cheese recipes and this one by far is the best…..and it’s so easy! Thank you for sharing and creating it.
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
Thanks for sharing your experiences! All of that sounds amazing. 🙂
Roxanne Teddy says
With so many positive comments, you hardly need mine too, but I had to leave a comment anyway. This is incredible! It is so delicious, I want to find ways to use it. I think it would be great on a baked potato with roasted broccoli. I’m using it tonight to take to a friend’s birthday party. I’m the only vegan there and wanted to make something everyone would enjoy and wouldn’t think was ‘different.’ I’m serving it with pretzel bites and I think I need to only take half of the batch I was planning on taking and leaving the rest home for my husband and I to eat later. No–probably can’t do that, but I’ve sure thought about it. Thank you for such a great recipe!!!
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
Great ideas! Thanks for the kind words. 🙂
Shennandoah says
Absolute best and easiest vegan queso ever! Earned a place in my recipe box.
Amelia Camurati says
Proud to make it into there, Shennandoah!
Jasmine Olds says
Planning on making this and I was wondering if I could use corn starch instead of tapioca starch?
Savannah | 40 Aprons Team says
Sure! The tapioca starch is optional, anyway. 🙂 It just creates a gooey texture.
Joe says
Wow, thank you for satisfying a craving I’ve had since becoming a vegan. Honestly, most vegan cheeses are not good, even store-bought options. You hit the mark with this recipe and I’m now excited to try more. Thanks again!
Cheryl Malik says
I’m glad you loved it! Thanks for the great review!
Beth says
This vegan queso is AMAZING! Why would anyone want the cheesy queso?!
Cheryl Malik says
I’m glad you loved it! I definitely could eat either one pretty much all day, every day. ?