Best Vegan Queso (Ever) (2024)

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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!

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Recipe By: Cheryl Malik

4.92 from 86 votes

Best Vegan Queso (Ever)

Prep 10 minutes minutes

Cook 5 minutes minutes

Total 15 minutes minutes

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!

8 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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Cheryl Malik

In addition to being a certified health coach, certified yoga instructor, and mom of 3, Cheryl is also the recipe developer, editor-in-chief, food photographer, and passionate foodie behind 40 Aprons. Having spent the last 10+ years as a food blogger, she's become known for her flavorful recipes, detailed instructions, gorgeous photography, and down-to-earth approach to food and cooking in general.

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I made this for a gathering to watch football. I’m vegan, no one else is. It was a universal hit; even the meat eaters raved about it.
Reply
1. That’s a big win! So glad everyone enjoyed it! 😊
  Reply
Would white sweet potatoes work place of regular potatoes?
Reply
1. We have not tried white sweet potatoes before, so we can’t say for sure. Let us know if you try it! 😊
  Reply
I recently became dairy free and wasn’t expecting much from a vegan queso, but this was impressive. It has the familiar flavors and the consistency was on point.
Reply
1. So glad you enjoyed it, Jessie! Thanks for sharing! 😊
  Reply
This is literally the BEST vegan queso I’ve ever had! Reminds me of my pre-vegan days of white queso. It was so easy in my Vitamix. I was worried about being able to taste the coconut – not one bit! I added a can of rotel at the end 😉 Love that it’s pretty much all whole ingredients.
Reply
1. Ooh, a can of Rotel sounds like a perfect addition to this! So glad you loved it! 😊
  Reply
What substitute for coconut milk. I have allergies to coconut.
Reply
1. Another commenter mentioned they left out the coconut entirely and liked the texture, so you could try just omitting it, or you could try additional cashew cream in its place. Let us know what you choose and how it turns out!
  Reply

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Meet Cheryl

Passionate foodie, certified health coach, serial entrepreneur, and mom of 3.

I've been developing and sharing delicious, approachable recipes on 40 Aprons for more than a decade. My goal is simple: take the chore out of mealtime by creating recipes that anyone can cook and that never skimp on flavor.