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!
This is very delicious, a bit too spicy for my taste but I’ve had people who thought it was perfect spice. I overestimated myself. I was wondering if it’s normal for it to start smelling like alcohol even though I’ve only been storing it in the fridge for a few days. A week has not passed. It still tastes the same. Should I be alarmed and is this sauce freezer friendly?
Hi B, great to hear the queso was well-loved!
And hmm, we’ve never had that issue happen even after keeping it for over a week. The only thing I can think of is that it’s related to the specific yogurt (or salsa) you used. If it still tastes fine, it should not be spoiled. It has always lasted over a week in my fridge. You can freeze it, though the texture changes a bit. You’ll get better results if, after defrosting, you reblend the sauce in your blender.
I defrosted it as normal and texture remained the same. The alcohol smell stopped after freezing it possibly because fermentation can’t occur at that cold of a temperature.
Interesting! Thanks for sharing.
I made this last week as an appetizer with tortilla chips. Totally amazing taste and easy to prepare. My friends all loved it and asked for the recipe. Highly recommended.
Thank you for your lovely comment, Mara! It makes us happy to know that everyone enjoyed the recipe.
Wow!! I’m amazed at how cheesy this tastes!! First time working with nutritional yeast and I’m hooked👍🏻 I was worried my mini bullet-style 2-cup capacity blender wouldn’t be up to the task, but it worked! I followed the tip to soak the cashews overnight, then rinsed them with warm water today – great advice to get the sauce super smooth. Next time I would probably make a half-sized batch at a time just so the machine has room to blend without extra stirring from me. What a delicious recipe that I will gladly make weekly to have on hand.
Thanks for giving the recipe a shot, Carrie! Happy to hear it worked in your small bullet blender. And wow, first time using nutritional yeast?! Congrats- we love it over here at the RPL kitchen so I’m sure you’ll run into many more recipes that include “nooch” (as we like to call it) when you make recipes from the site in the future. Cheers!
Another delicious creation from Rainbow Plant Life going into the weekly rotation. Thank you so much.
Hi Andrea, thank you so much for your kind review! We’re happy to hear it 🙂
Is this able to be frozen, or how long will it last in the refrigerator please?
Hi there Gail, vegan queso can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. It can be frozen, then thawed in the fridge overnight and popped into a blender with some water or veggie broth to make it smooth again. We hope you get the chance to try it!
Oh, forgot to say we bought your cookbook as a result of trying the queso recipe. If you can make queso so amazingly delicious, I’m very excited to see how you’ll have me using my Instant Pot to level up my plant-based repertoire.
Nisha, this recipe was my attempt to get my husband interested in adding some plant-based alternatives to our diet as our doctor is strongly urging us to move in that direction for health reasons. Hubby wasn’t excited about the prospect of plant-based foods, but he acquiesced to this recipe as we both think the recipes you feature on your channel sound tasty, and your sauce-focused video this week was timely. I totally picked the right entry point for us – creamy & spicy, it was far better on our veggie nachos than other alternative quesos I’ve made, and was way better than the non-vegan supermarket queso which had been a cheeky treat. Thank you for posting a recipe that showed us that there don’t have to be compromises when we are choosing healthier options.
WOW! Another phenomenal creation! So quick and much healthier than other cheez recipes out there. I whipped this delicious condiment up while making a breakfast burrito. So many possibilities. I think I can speak for all the vegans out there by saying ‘THANK YOU’ for altering your career trajectory and devoting so much energy to creating these amazing plant-based recipes.
Hey Jamie! Wow that is such a sweet comment, and I can feel your enthusiasm about this queso through the screen! Love it! 🙂
This is so yummy! I didn’t have pickled jalapeños, so I substituted with one Serrano pepper. And I had some cashewmilk yogurt lying around, so I used that instead of coconut yogurt. It was delicious, and it’s so hard to resist eating it by the spoonfuls!
Hi Vidya, we’re so happy you enjoyed it! Thanks for leaving a review 🙂
This queso is otherworldy!!! I make it again and again!