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    Home ▸ Vegan Appetizers

    Vegan Mexican Chili Cheese Dip

    Last modified: October 5, 2022. Originally posted: January 29, 2018 By Sophia DeSantis

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Vegan Mexican chili cheese dip

    Forget the unhealthy fat laden dips of the past. This vegan chili cheese dip has all the flavor with all the healthy benefits! Only whole foods in this vegan queso!

    Yellow bowl filled with chili cheese dip and topped with cilantro and a chip

    This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of NOW Foods. The opinions and text are all mine.

    Having the guys over for the big game? Or maybe you just feel like putting on some stretchy pants and digging in all by yourself. I don't judge, that sounds like a dream. Either way, this dip is it.  It's made with all whole foods, no crap and tastes amazing. Realistically, you can call this dinner.

    Close up of Mexican chili cheese dip in a yellow bowl surrounded by chips

    But How Do You Make Chili Without The Meat?!

    Whole foods are the base of this vegan chili cheese dip. I'm talking veggies, beans, nuts...you can sit and eat the whole thing without regret. Well, you'd be quite full with all that whole food goodness, so perhaps share just a tad. Look at how this base reduces into legit looking chili!

    Collage of vegan chili "meat" reducing and cooking in a saute pot

    I based this "meat" off of my vegan taco "meat" in my 7 Layer Taco Dip. The main ingredients are lentils and walnuts.

    The walnuts I use are from NOW Foods, you need GOOD nuts. These are super flavorful, soft and perfect for this chili cheese dip. They are finely chopped in a blender before cooked to a soft tender perfection.

    The other key is the lentils. I use french green lentils and I chop them in a blender BEFORE cooking. This helps achieve my chunky meaty texture. Texture is life.

    Top view of NOW foods walnuts spilling out of their bag used in a vgean chili cheese dip

    But that cheese though?

    This vegan queso dip also uses my fabulous whole foods based creamy cheese sauce from my mac and cheese balls. It is filled with veggies (WHAT?!), and has no nutritional yeast. I know, some of you are wondering if I even know vegan cheese. But, gasp, I am not a nutritional yeast fan.

    And I don't think it is cheesy, more stinky socky. But the veggie cashew combo in my cheese sauce gives this chili cheese dip a gooey creamy consistency. And no stinky sock flavor!

    Hand dipping chip into yellow bowl of gooey vegan chili cheese dip

    So I'm thinking you really should try this vegan chili cheese dip out before you serve it to guests. You know, it's your job to test all foods first. It's what a good host would do. And also invite me over, because I should check it too.

    This recipe was originally published on 2/1/2016

    You might also enjoy:

    • Vegan Taquitos 
    Hand dipping chip into yellow bowl of gooey chili cheese dip

    Vegan Mexican Chili Cheese Dip

    Sophia DeSantis
    Forget the unhealthy fat laden dips of the past. This vegan chili cheese dip has all the flavor with all the healthy benefits! Only whole foods in this vegan queso!
    5 from 9 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 20 mins
    Cook Time 30 mins
    Total Time 50 mins
    Course Appetizer, Snack
    Cuisine Mexican
    Servings 10
    Calories 335 kcal

    Equipment

    • Food processor

    Ingredients
     
     

    • ½ cup raw walnuts , soaked overnight (see note, I use NOW Foods brand)
    • ½ cup French green dry uncooked lentils
    • 1 ¾ cups veggie broth , low sodium if needed
    • ½ cup veggie broth , low sodium if needed (to saute)
    • ½ cup sweet or yellow onion , chopped
    • 1 cup fresh tomatoes , chopped
    • 4 ounces chopped green chiles (1 small can)
    • 2 tablespoons cumin
    • 2 tablespoons chili powder
    • 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
    • 1 ½ teaspoons paprika
    • ½ teaspoon sea salt (may need more or less depending on broth used)
    • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional for spice, adjust for preferred spice level)
    • 4 cups vegan cheese sauce

    Instructions
     

    • Using a food processor, pulse dry uncooked lentils until partially chopped and chunky. Set aside. 
    • Next pulse walnuts until chopped into small pieces. Set aside.
    • In a large pan over medium heat, sauté chopped onion in ¼ cup veggie broth until onion begins to get translucent. About 5 minutes.
    • Add walnuts and 2 more tablespoons broth and sauté 3 more minutes until mixture begins to caramelize.
    • Add chopped lentils and 2 more tablespoons broth to the pan and sauté for 1 minute.
    • Add tomatoes and chopped green chiles and sauté 2 more minutes.
    • Add 1 ¾ cups veggie broth and spices and mix well. 
    • Cook covered for 10-15 minutes until lentils have softened and broth is almost gone. Uncover and turn heat to low.
    • Stir in cheese sauce and allow to bubble. Once bubbling, remove from heat and serve immediately.
    • You can keep warm in a crockpot. Serve with chips or just eat with a spoon.

    Notes

    • Soaking the walnuts overnight helps soften them so they aren’t too crunchy in the overall recipe, however if you forget, you can also soak in hot water for 2-3 hours, boil for 30 minutes or not do anything and be okay with a slightly crunchier end result.
    • You can use brown lentils instead of green but the green will cook a little more “al dente” than the brown.
    Tips to prep ahead:
    • Make cheese sauce, chop onion, soak walnuts.

    Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 335kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 10gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 838mgPotassium: 1388mgFiber: 15gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 1929IUVitamin C: 60mgCalcium: 48mgIron: 13mg

    Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.

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    4.3K shares

    Reader Interactions

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    1. Stephanie Weatherly

      February 01, 2023 at 10:26 am

      Made this for lunch today and it was amazingly delicious!! I love cheese dip, but haven’t been able to find a recipe that hit all the right notes. This is the one! This recipe will be on repeat at my house!

      Reply
      • Sophia DeSantis

        February 01, 2023 at 5:38 pm

        I am thrilled you loved it Stephanie! Thank you so much for the great review!

        Reply
    2. Nina

      April 26, 2020 at 6:34 pm

      This recipe was the BOMB! I poured it over oven baked sweet potato fries that I sprinkled paprika, garlic and salt on. Your cheese recipe is already my fav, so when I saw this recipe, I knew we had to try it! TEN stars! I made it exactly as you suggested. A nut free option I have to suggest that gives a similar texture is cooked bulgur. I've used it in chili before. It's also a low fat option for those looking to reduce fat as much as possible. Thank you! Im going to make this next time to put on a veggie burger.

      Reply
      • veggiesdontbite

        April 27, 2020 at 7:33 pm

        I am so so happy you liked it Nina!! That sounds amazing!!! Thanks for the nut free idea!

        Reply
    3. Tim

      April 21, 2020 at 7:34 pm

      That amount of vitamin A could cause Hypervitaminosis A. Is that daily percentage correct??

      Reply
      • veggiesdontbite

        April 21, 2020 at 8:33 pm

        Hi Tim! I have many old recipes that were transferred over from another recipe plugin and it auto calculates all the nutrition info. Sometimes it doesn't do it well, so I just updated it. Thanks for catching it! It still isn't necessarily the best accuracy but it's closer.

        Reply
    4. Jamie Meyer

      February 02, 2019 at 2:23 pm

      Oh my goodness....so good. I've made this for almost every pot luck over the last year or so, and there is never any leftover. My sister is allergic to walnuts, so I normally make it with almonds, and it still turns out great. My kiddos love it as chili mac. I however, just need a spoon. Thank you for the great recipes!

      Reply
      • veggiesdontbite

        February 02, 2019 at 9:31 pm

        So happy to hear Jamie!! I'm thrilled it works well with almonds, thanks for letting me know!

        Reply
    5. Dana

      February 15, 2018 at 6:45 am

      We have a nut allergy in our household. Could the whole thing be done with lentils instead and maintain texture? I get the flavor would be slightly different. Thanks for your great recipes!

      Reply
      • veggiesdontbite

        February 15, 2018 at 4:24 pm

        Hi Dana! Sorry to hear about the allergies. You can definitely leave out the lentils but the texture will change a bit. The flavor actually will stay pretty similar. The walnuts give a meatiness to the dip. One thing you could try (I am currently doing this in a new recipe I will post soon) is using dry chickpeas. Soak them overnight, and pulse them like you do the walnuts. Basically follow the same recipe but sub presoaked dried chickpeas. That will give more texture than just the lentils! I'd measure out 1/4 cup dried chickpeas as they grow over double the amount when soaking. Let me know if it works!!

        Reply
    6. Vanessa Cassani

      February 10, 2018 at 12:15 pm

      Oh my! Oh my! This looks amazing! I am a vegan and Hispanic and I think this idea just stole my stomach away. What a great idea to try not just as a dip but for a Mexican casserole, a topping for vegan hot dogs, Frito pies.. it's endless. Thank you for this recipe!

      Reply
      • veggiesdontbite

        February 11, 2018 at 5:18 pm

        Thank you so much for your sweet comment! YES, amazing on many other things! Try chili cheese fries too!

        Reply
    7. GiGi Eats

      February 08, 2016 at 7:03 am

      I am always so impressed with vegan dip recipes because typically dips are dairy-based! This looks pretty dang delicious! 🙂

      Reply
      • veggiesdontbite

        February 08, 2016 at 6:55 pm

        Thanks GiGi!!! I had a dozen non vegans over and they devoured it!!

        Reply
    8. Healing Tomato

      February 07, 2016 at 6:58 pm

      Ok, I am seriously drooling just looking at these photos of the chile con queso dip. The chili looks very authentic and I know I will definitely feel very good after I eat this dip. Great recipe idea.

      Reply
      • veggiesdontbite

        February 07, 2016 at 10:19 pm

        Thanks so much! It was the first to go at our party!

        Reply
    9. Kathy Hester

      February 07, 2016 at 1:53 pm

      I'll have to make this for my picky eater. I bet she'll gobble it up!

      Reply
      • veggiesdontbite

        February 07, 2016 at 10:18 pm

        Thanks Kathy! All the kids at our get together loved it!

        Reply
    10. Sina @ Vegan Heaven

      February 07, 2016 at 11:53 am

      This looks sooo delicious, Sophia! What a great treat! 🙂 Perfect for the game!

      Reply
      • veggiesdontbite

        February 07, 2016 at 10:18 pm

        Thanks Sina! It was a huge hit at my party today!

        Reply
    11. Gin

      February 06, 2016 at 7:21 pm

      This looks so delicious Sophia! I could eat it on everything. I have to try your lentil and walnut "meat," brilliant!

      Reply
      • veggiesdontbite

        February 06, 2016 at 8:03 pm

        Thanks Gin!! I could too. Good thing it's not processed crap. Lol!!

        Reply
    12. Howie Fox

      February 06, 2016 at 2:16 am

      Woahh!!! This chile con queso looks absolutely delish!
      Walnuts it such a great alternative to meat as well, I love to add them everywhere actually 😀

      Reply
      • veggiesdontbite

        February 06, 2016 at 8:32 am

        Thanks Howie! I love walnuts, great source of so many things!

        Reply
      • Howie Fox

        February 21, 2016 at 4:02 am

        Also thanks a lot for adding my article about starting a food blog to your blog post!! Didn't realize it was this one 😀

        Reply
        • veggiesdontbite

          February 21, 2016 at 7:47 am

          You're so welcome! Great step by step guide!

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