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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.
🧀 What Makes This Recipe So Good
- 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.
👩🏼🍳 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
- The Best Avocado Chocolate Mousse (Vegan, Dairy Free)
- Vegan Nutella
- Quick Creamy Vegan Coconut Chickpea Curry
- Seitan Grilled Chicken with Vegan BBQ Sauce
- Vegan Crème Brûlée
- Crispy Vegan Chicken Sandwich
- Vegan Enchiladas
Best Vegan Queso (Ever)
The best vegan queso recipe ever, it tastes so much like the real thing! Made with potatoes, cashews, and nutritional yeast, this magical combination does not taste dairy-free, paleo, or vegan – but it is!
servings
Equipment
- standard blender high-speed preferred, see Notes
- medium saucepan optional
- Large wooden spoon optional
- serving bowl
Ingredients
For the Vegan Queso
- 1 cup boiled, cubed potatoes approximately 2 medium red or yellow potatoes
- ¾ cup raw cashews soaked if needed, see Notes
- 4 cloves garlic peeled, roughly chopped
- 1 4-ounce can diced green chilies with juice
- 1 4-ounce can chopped pickled jalapeños juice reserved, ¼ cup jalapeños reserved
- 1 tablespoon pickled jalapeño juice reserved from 4-ounce can of jalapeños
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 cup unsweetened, full-fat coconut milk from can not carton
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt more or less to taste
Optional (But Recommended) Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon tapioca starch
- 1 dash turmeric for color
- 1 10-ounce can diced tomatoes & green chilies drained
To Serve
- ¼ cup chopped pickled jalapeños reserved from 4-ounce can of jalapeños
- chopped fresh cilantro to garnish
Instructions
- Add 1 cup boiled, cubed potatoes, ¾ cup raw cashews, 4 cloves garlic, 1 4-ounce can diced green chilies, 1 4-ounce can chopped pickled jalapeños (excluding reserved ¼ cup jalapeños), 1 tablespoon pickled jalapeño juice, 1 cup vegetable broth, 1 cup unsweetened, full-fat coconut milk, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, 1 teaspoon cumin, and 1 teaspoon salt to blender. Add 1 teaspoon tapioca starch and 1 dash turmeric if using.
- Blend ingredients until mixture is very smooth and all ingredients are fully combined.
- If blender does not heat queso mixture while blending, transfer mixture to medium saucepan. Heat saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring queso constantly, until mixture reaches desired temperature.
- Taste queso and stir in additional salt if desired.
- Transfer queso to serving bowl. Add ¼ cup chopped pickled jalapeños and 1 10-ounce can diced tomatoes & green chilies, and gently stir until ingredients are well incorporated.
- Garnish queso with chopped fresh cilantro if desired and serve warm.
Video
- Cashews: If you don’t have a high-speed blender, you’ll need to soak the cashews first so they’ll blend completely. Place them in a bowl and pour 3 cups of hot filtered water over them. Place the bowl in the fridge and let the cashews soak 6-8 hours.
- Vegetable Broth: If you’re not strictly vegan, you can use chicken broth instead 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.
- Leftovers: 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.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Serving Size: 1servingCalories: 171calProtein: 5gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 7gSodium: 725mgPotassium: 353mgTotal Carbs: 12gFiber: 3gSugar: 4gNet Carbs: 9gVitamin A: 370IUVitamin C: 9mgCalcium: 30mgIron: 2mg
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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Has anyone made without nutritional yeast or would there be a substitute?
We haven’t tested this swap, but theoretically you could substitute with liquid aminos. However, we haven’t tested this, and we recommend sticking with the recipe as written, if possible.
Really awful. Way better vegan queso recipes out there. I double checked measurements and used all ingredients. Threw out. Could not be saved due to the overwhelming coconut milk taste. Nothing queso about it at all.
Shannon, we’re sorry you had this experience with our recipe. We strive to create recipes that are heavily tested and easy to make at home. We certainly did not have this experience, but regardless, thanks for sharing your feedback.
This was delicious but I could still taste the coconut. I’ll try a different milk next time, but otherwise it’s superb! I also put1/2 tsp kappa carrageenan once it was super hot to give it a cheesier stickiness.
Glad you enjoyed it!
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.
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!
Did you try it without the nuts? My kids are allergic to dairy and tree nuts, so I’d love to find a good alternative to cashews!
This is fantastic. I have tried so many vegan queso recipes and this is in the top. I found a nacho version of nutritional yeast and it was perfect for this recipe. I could not taste any coconut like some reviewers. I made this to top a bowl of farro, black beans, corn, greens, tomatoes, and avocado. This recipe is the best!
Thrilled to hear it! Thanks for sharing!
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!
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!
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.
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!
Sounds delicious, glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the awesome review 🙂
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.
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!
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.
This is the mic drop of vegan queso. It was so dang good. Thank you!!
Thank you for the great review!
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?…
Sure, that would work! Just make sure to add some unsweetened almond milk if the consistency is too thick. 🙂
Sheila Crain asks:. Can I use almond milk instead of coconut?
Milaca MN
srcrain7@gmail.com
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!