5 Ingredient Vegan Queso
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Meet the Vegan Queso of your dreams. Made with cashews, no one will guess this DREAMY CREAMY dip is dairy free! It only takes 10 minutes to whip up and 5 simple ingredients.
I have made this vegan queso so many times the last couple of years. I have non-vegan friends who request this dip at every get together, whether it’s for a Superbowl party, Fourth of July or just a Friday night.
This vegan queso is LIFE CHANGING people, and if you’re trying to go vegan or eat more plant based food but are finding it hard to give up cheese, you’ve got to try this recipe!
People can not BELIEVE this queso is non-dairy. It tastes better than the highly processed, dairy containing alternative, I promise! My family and friends love this dip, and I can’t get enough…Just melty, cheesy goodness.
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HOW TO MAKE VEGAN QUESO:
It’s so easy to make vegan queso.
- Soak 2 cups of cashews in hot water. I do this by heating water in my tea kettle, and pouring it over the cashews once boiling. Let them soak/soften for about 5 minutes.
- While the cashews are soaking, to a blender (high powered preferred) add 1/2 cup water, 4 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 teaspoons of salt, 1/2 cup nutritional yeast and drain the juice from the diced tomatoes and green chiles and add it to the blender.
- Drain the soaked cashews and add the the blender. Blend away!
See how smooth and creamy?
Pour the smooth, creamy mixture into a medium saucepan and add the canned tomatoes and green chiles. Heat over medium until warm, stirring frequently. That’s it!
Serve with lots of tortilla chips, or use with any one of these Mexican inspired vegan recipes:
This recipe makes quite a bit, but if there are going to be 10 or more people at an event I would double it just to make sure there would be enough to go around. If you have leftovers, you can refrigerate it and re-warm it either on the stovetop or in the microwave.
If you make this recipe, let me know how it goes! Rate it, leave a comment and tag a photo @nora_cooks_vegan on Instagram. Enjoy!
Adapted from this Detoxinista.
5 Ingredient Vegan Queso
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw cashew pieces, soaked in hot water for 5 minutes
- 1/2 cup water
- 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice; from about 2 small lemons
- 2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 28 ounce canned Rotel tomatoes and green chiles
Instructions
- Add the drained soaked cashews, water, lemon juice, salt and nutritional yeast to a high powered blender. Drain the juice from the tomatoes and green chiles and add the liquid to the blender as well (don't add the tomatoes and green chiles yet). Blend on high for a few minutes until very smooth.
- Add the "cheese" sauce and the Rotel tomatoes and green chiles to a medium pot. Stir well and warm gently over low-medium heat. Be careful not to burn the queso; stir frequently while warming. The mixture will thicken slightly.
- Serve while warm with tortilla chips and enjoy!
Nutrition
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77 Comments on “5 Ingredient Vegan Queso”
Oh my gosh was this good! It did make a lot. I think next time I’ll cut it in half, although I’m not complaining about having to eat all this queso deliciousness. It’s a tough job but someone’s got to do it!
I’m so glad you like it!!
I made this wrong and it still came out FIRE! Tastes just like queso, how I remember it! Oh my god, and it’s affordable. Thank you!!!! This makes so much. I accidentally drained the liquid from Rotel into the sink, and I just blended everything together, literally lol. It’s so good though! <3
So glad it’s good!
I want to try this recipe. It says 28 oz of rotel. I am used to buying it in 10 oz cans. Does it come in 28 oz size. That sounds like a lot of rotel for this recipe.
You could use either 20 or 30 ounces, it doesn’t matter that much. I usually get it in 28 ounces or 14 ounce cans. The recipe makes a lot, and it’s a chunky queso. But I don’t think it’s too much.
I can’t get Rotel tomatoes where I live. What would be a good substitute? What’s special about Rotel compared to other brands of diced tomatoes? Are they seasoned?
Really looking forward to this! 🙂
Other diced canned tomatoes and green chiles work fine, I just prefer the flavor of Rotel brand. But I have used others as well. Hope that helps!
I’m in Australia and not sure what Rotel tomatoes are…can I use a can of plain crushed tomatoes?
Rotel is canned diced tomatoes with green chiles. But you could sub any canned (diced preferred) tomatoes. Fresh tomatoes diced with jalapenos would be good as well.
If I wanted to serve this at a party would it maintain a good texture left on the warm setting of my crockpot?
Yes, that would work. Just give it a stir every now and then. Thanks!
Hey there,
I was wondering how long it stays fresh in the fridge ?
Thank you 🙂
I’d say about 4 days, maybe 5. Thank you!
Thanks for the recipe, made it last night but halved it. It was delicious! The only thing I did differently was to add a little Liquid Smoke, Diced pickled jalapeños and Gardein meatless crumbles! My husband loves the original Rotel/Velvetta dip with hamburger meat and sausage but he thought this was very good! He went back several times for more! Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome! Glad it was good!
Sooo good! It does make a lot, can this be frozen?
It freezes ok thought it’s much better fresh. But by all means if you can’t eat it all, freeze some. 🙂
Took this to a party … huge HIT! So easy and delicious.
I’m so glad!
Hoe spicy is this ? I’m a huuuge wimp when it comes to spice. Is there an alternative to the Rotel tomatoes?
It’s not very spicy unless you use the spicy Rotel, but you could use just diced tomatoes without the green chiles if you wanted.