The good news: This vegan queso is the divinely rich and creamy cheese sauce you’ve been seeking.
The better news: It’s so simple to make and naturally wholesome, there’s no reason not to indulge weekly (daily? hourly?) for the rest of your life.
With just 8 ingredients and almost zero hands-on work, you can whip up a mind-blowingly cheesy, spicy condiment that will level up your burritos, quesadillas, tacos, and nachos, or wow on its own, served hot as a dynamite dip for tortilla chips.
In this post:
Minimal effort, maximum yum
It shouldn’t be possible for something so easy to make—step 1: soak the cashews; step 2: blitz everything in a blender—to be so game-changingly delicious.
It doesn’t make sense that something made from 8 wholesome ingredients can taste like a decadent, guilty-pleasure condiment.
So yeah, this vegan queso breaks all the rules. My advice: don’t question it, just go with it.
Bonus advice: Make a batch of this during your Sunday meal prep and let it jazz up your meals all week.
Note: For even more options, check out my complete guide to vegan cheese! It covers the best vegan cheese recipes to use for every situation (including my Vegan Feta and Vegan Cashew Cheese) and reviews the best vegan cheeses you can buy at the supermarket.
Ingredient notes
- Cashews. The base of our vegan queso. They add creaminess and body but have a mild flavor.
- Nutritional yeast. For those cheesy vibes. Don’t skip it!
- Vegan yogurt. A good coconut based yogurt gives our vegan queso some tang without contributing any coconut flavor. My favorite brands are Culina, CocoYo, or GT’s.
- Salsa and pickled jalapeños. We need some heat and these two work perfectly together. The pickling liquid from the jalapeños give the queso a mouthwatering tart flavor that will keep you coming back for more.
- Spices. Chili powder, cumin, and paprika add flavor, depth, and the Tex-Mex feeling you need for a great queso.
Step-by-step instructions
Soak the cashews in hot water for 15 minutes.
Add the drained cashews and all the remaining ingredients to a high-speed blender. If you’re using a food processor, see the Tips section for how to soak your cashews.
Blend until thick, creamy, and smooth, scraping down the sides as you go. Taste for seasonings, adding salt as needed.
Tips for making this recipe
How to soften raw cashews
There are a couple of different ways to soften raw cashews, depending on how much time you have and how high-powered your blender is.
- If you have a high-powered blender like a Vitamix, you can soak the cashews in boiling water for as little as 15 minutes.
- If you don’t have a high-powered blender, soak your cashews in cool water overnight.
- Regardless of what blender you have, you can also add your cashews to a saucepan, cover with water, and boil for 15 minutes. Boiling is the quickest option and works great to fully soften the cashews.
As spicy as you like
I think the recipe is perfect as-is; it has some spice but it’s by no means overwhelming. However, I also recognize that spice tolerance is deeply personal.
If you love spicy food, I suggest using a hot salsa and adding more pickled jalapeños to taste. If you’re sensitive to spicy foods, you can try adding fewer of the pickled jalapeños and choosing a mild salsa.
Note: It’s easier to add additional heat to this recipe than take it away, so if you’re not sure, add fewer jalapeños than you think you need initially. You can always taste the queso, then add more later if need be.
Serving suggestions
There are so many ways to enjoy this vegan queso (including straight out of the blender by the spoonful).
For starters, try it in buffalo chickpea quesadillas, vegan crunchwrap supremes, breakfast burritos, or burrito bowls.
It’s also the star of these epic loaded vegan nachos. And it pairs well with virtually any taco: spoon it onto Crispy Black Bean Tacos, my Ultimate Vegan Tacos, or these Meaty Lentil Tacos.
If you want to keep it more casual, you can always use the queso as a dip with tortilla chips. It’s something we do not infrequently in my house! Check out the first FAQ for instructions on serving it hot.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you are serving the queso as a dip, it’s even better served warm!
All you need to do is add it to a small saucepan and gently heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes. If it seems too thick, add a splash of plant-based milk or water and stir to incorporate.
While the easiest way to make vegan queso is with a Vitamix or similarly high-powered blender, it is possible to make queso without one.
The key is to make sure you cashews fully soften. For the best results, boil your cashews. Simply add your cashews to a sauce pan, cover with water, and . You can also try soaking your cashews overnight, though they might not pulverize quite as easily.
Vegan queso can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for
up to 5 days.
Introducing
Big Vegan Flavor
Techniques and 150 recipes to master vegan cooking.
The Best Vegan Queso
Equipment
- High-powered blender
Ingredients
- 1 cup (~130g) raw cashews
- 1/2 cup (~112g) vegan coconut yogurt (unsweetened, plain)
- 1/2 cup (~120g) of your favorite salsa
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Several cracks of freshly cracked black pepper
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons pickled jalapeños
- 2 tablespoons pickled jalapeño brine
- Kosher salt or sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Add the raw cashews to a saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil for 15 minutes. Drain the soaked cashews. Alternatively, you can soak the cashews in cool water overnight.If you have a high-powered blender like a Vitamix, you can soak the cashews in boiling water for 15-30 minutes.
- Add the drained cashews to a high-powered blender. Add the yogurt, salsa, water, cumin, chili powder, paprika, black pepper, nutritional yeast, pickled jalapeños, and pickled jalapeño brine. Blend until thick, creamy, and smooth. Taste for seasonings, adding salt as needed.Note: the pickled jalapeños are decently salty, so I don't add much salt, but if you skip them, be sure to add salt (1/2 to 1 teaspoon kosher salt).
- To serve warm, add the queso to a small saucepan and gently heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes. If it seems too thick, add a splash of plant-based milk or water and stir to incorporate.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love this? Leave a rating below!
Recipe worked perfectly! Didn’t have jalapeños so I added the salt and a couple squirts of hot sauce before blending.
Allison, So glad to hear you loved this recipe!
ok, I have been looking at this recipe for a year, thinking, this sounds good but I am not a huge queso fan, and I’m not THAT vegan, so why bother? But today I had some old cashews that needed getting rid of, and I had all the other ingredients so I gave it a try. Wow! total game changer – this is great on veggies of all kinds!
Thanks for the lovely feedback, Monika!
It’s creamy, luxurious and tasty.
Easy to make and people love it and so do I. Thanks
Marcy, So glad to hear you loved this recipe!
Absolutely stunning. So easy to make.
This is gonna be a recipe to keep. Having with healthy chips and I didn’t feel I’m missing out
Thank you
Jacqui, So glad to hear you loved this recipe!
This queso is such a crowd-pleaser. I’ve served it with tortilla chips multiple times to friends and family who still eat dairy, and they invariably love it. They even ask me for the recipe! It’s such a great demonstration that veganism does not mean sacrificing tasty and decadent food.
Will, So glad to hear everyone loves this recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Thanks for sharing yet another great recipe. very inspiring.
You can/should be really proud of your work. Helping other people to eat less meat on social media like youtube with a huge potential crowd. is probably one of the better things you can do to help the world.
Also i wanted to express great appreciation for the effort you take to write down the recipe on this blog. A youtube video is great and motivating. And must already take a lot of time. But a page to look back is SO usefull. And you write very clear well. Compliments!!! I think this page really make you standup from other youtube food channels!.
Thank you Maarten! 🙂
This nacho sauce is simply amazing! I have made it time and again and will never try another- no need. It’s so easy. Having a good blender makes it extra easy, no long soaking of the cashews. Keep up the amazing work!
Thanks for sharing, Sarah! Glad you enjoyed!
This recipe is delicious and creamy. It got better over the course of the day, so I’d recommend letting it rest a bit. I didn’t have coconut yogurt, so I used a splash of water to thin it out to the right consistency. I also only used 1 T of the pickled jalapenos because I was using a very spicy salsa.
Kels, So glad to hear you loved this recipe!
OMG this recipe is absolutely amazing! I substituted vegan yogurt with unsweetened oat milk due to lack of availability but the end result was truly delicious~ Ten thumbs up!
Awesome, Alex. Thanks for your comment and for taking the time to review!
I was too lazy to go to the store for salsa so I used a little homemade ketchup (basically tomatoes, peppers and ACV) and a little fresh onion. Added an extra pepper to compensate! I also use sunflower seeds in lieu of cashews as we have a nut allergy in our house. Worked great!
Thanks for sharing your substitutions, Nikki! Glad you loved it!