The best vegan queso recipe made with dairy free ingredients for that perfect creamy cheesy tangy flavor. It's so easy to make and loved by everyone!
This queso recipe reminds me of the one I get at Mexican restaurants, except it's made without the dairy so doesn't leave me feeling bloated and yuck! It uses 9 simple easy to find ingredients and a much healthier version.
This recipe was originally published on May 2, 2016.
If you love Mexican cheese dip you will absolutely love the taste of this vegan queso! It's a white queso easily made in a blender. If you prefer an orange Mexican cheese then try out my vegan nacho cheese sauce!
Ingredients
I brought this vegan queso blanco to a party, slipped it on the table and watched as it was devoured. No one knew it was vegan (or gluten-free as some recipes use flour). Everyone stuffed their face and it was glorious.
With the right blend of foods, you can create the most amazingly smooth queso dip, without any cheese! My dirty little secret is the pickled jalapeño juice, it gives it that true white queso dip flavor: creamy, cheesy, with the jalapeño tang! Here's what you need:
- Cooked potato
- Roasted garlic
- Raw cashews
- Veggie broth
- Unsweetened cashew milk
- Mild green chiles
- Mild pickled jalapeños
- Pickled jalapeño juice
- Seasonings and spices
How to Make Vegan Queso
This queso blanco dip is incredibly easy to make. Throw it all in a blender and BOOM. Bathe worthy dip at your tongue tip.
- Blend all ingredients until smooth. Pulse in the extra pickled jalapeño slices for some texture .
- Pour into a pot and heat over medium-low heat so it doesn't burn until thick and melty.
- Pour into a bowl and serve with everything!
What to Serve With Queso Blanco
As much as I'd love to eat this dairy-free Mexican white cheese dip like a soup, I usually try to use some self control and pair it with other tasty foods either as a dip or topping. Here's some of my favorites:
- Homemade Oil Free Tortilla Chips
- Crisp veggies like celery, carrots, peppers, or jicama
- Vegan Nachos
- Vegan Taquitos
- Mexican Rice
- Pinto Beans
- Breakfast Burritos
- Loaded Vegan Burritos
- Refried Bean Burrito
- Veggie Burrito Bowls
- Crispy Potato Tacos
- Soft pretzels or pretzel chips
- Oven Baked French Fries
- Crusty bread
- Baked Potato
- Vegan Scrambled Eggs
- Mix with pasta
I also like to use leftovers of this vegan cashew queso to mix into other recipes. You could mix it into a filling for enchiladas, burritos or even taco meat.
Try mixing in things like tomatoes and black beans for a loaded version of this cheesy dip!
Preparation Tips
When making this vegan queso dip recipe over and over and over again (because you will!) make sure to keep these suggestions in mind:
- Add in some extra flavor by mixing in some vegan chorizo, Mexican salsa, or tomatillo salsa verde.
- If you are not using a high speed blender, you can soak the cashews overnight, boil them for 30 minutes or grind the dry cashews into a fine powder using a coffee grinder in order to help get them smooth.
- You can boil, microwave or bake the potato but keep in mind if you boil it there will be more moisture in the potato so you will need to let the dip cook longer to thicken.
- I used red potatoes but any starchy potato will work, just don’t use sweet ones.
- I used a veggie broth without tomato in the base. You can sub water for the broth but the flavor will change a bit and you may need more salt.
- This dip is best enjoyed hot, serve it in a slow cooker on low. (High will likely burn it.)
Make Ahead and Storage Tips
- To prepare this dip ahead of time, roast the garlic, cook the potato, and soak the cashews (if needed) up to 3 days in advance.
- This vegan queso blanco dip will keep in the refrigerator for up to one week.
- You can also freeze for up to 3 months!
- To reheat, take out of the freezer the night before and slowly defrost to room temp. Then heat in the microwave or stove top on low heat whisking well until the smooth creamy texture returns.
- Sometimes freezing can change the texture, simply give it another blend in the blender and you're good to go!
Common Questions
This vegan queso recipe is made from all whole food, amazing ingredients! The creaminess is a combo of potato, cashews and cashew milk, with flavor coming in from all of the other ingredients including jalapeños and jalapeño juice.
Because this dip is made from simple whole food ingredients, it is much healthier than traditional queso dip.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week, or freeze for 3 months. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave, whisking often to get to that creamy texture.
Most queso dip is made with white American cheese, but sometimes cheddar, mozzarella, or cream cheese is used as well. This queso blanco recipe avoids all of that for a healthier version!
More Vegan Mexican Recipes
If you're like our family and need Mexican food on a regular basis, you need a variety of recipes to choose from!
All of these plant based dishes are made from only whole food ingredients making them a healthy choice for your family (to learn more about how to figure out what is in those store bought varieties check out this guide on reading food labels):
- Healthy Crunchy Taco Cups
- Vegan Mexican Chili Cheese Dip
- Mexican Tequila Lime Chickpea Soup
- Vegan Enchilada Casserole
- Cinco De Mayo Roundup
Also check out these other vegan cheese recipes:
The Best Cream Vegan Queso
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked potato , about 1 medium sized potato (see note)
- 4 cloves garlic , roasted (add up to 4 more for extra garlic flavor)
- ¾ cup raw cashews , see note
- 1 ½ cups veggie broth (use low sodium to keep the salt low)
- 1 cup unsweetened cashew milk (almond would work too)
- 4 ounces chopped mild chiles (one small can)
- ½ cup jarred mild pickled jalapenos , divided
- 1 tablespoon pickled jalapeno juice (juice from slices above)
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon sea salt (see note)
Instructions
- Place all ingredients except for ¼ cup pickled jalapenos into a blender and blend until smooth.
- Add last ¼ cup jalapenos and pulse until chopped. You can also just add them at the beginning but I liked the flavor of some chopped jalapenos in the dip.
- Pour the liquid into a pot and heat over medium low heat on stove until it reduces and gets nice and thick and gooey. Depending on your stove, you may need to up the heat to get it to thicken nicely, even bring it to a boil then reduce the heat.
- Stir frequently to prevent sticking. It took about 10 minutes for me to get the right consistency but you can make it however you prefer it. Serve hot!
- Serve with everything!
Notes
- Makes 3 cups. Serving is ½ cup per person
- If you are not using a high speed blender, you can soak the cashews overnight, boil them for 30 minutes or grind the dry cashews into a fine powder using a coffee grinder (do not boil them for this method).
- You can boil, microwave or bake the potato but keep in mind if you boil it there will be more moisture in the potato so you will need to let the dip cook longer to thicken.
- I used red potatoes but any starchy potato will work, just don’t use sweet. It also won't work to substitute with something that is not an actual potato (such as another root vegetable).
- I used a veggie broth without tomato in the base. You can sub water for the broth but the flavor will change a bit and you may need more salt.
- The amount of salt needed may vary depending on the sodium in your broth.
- If you freeze this, and you can, take out of the freezer the night before and slowly defrost to room temp. Then heat in the microwave or stove top on low heat whisking well until the smooth creamy texture returns.
Recipe by Veggies Don’t Bite, visit our site for more great plant-based recipes.
Nutrition
Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate.
Jenn
Well, you know I feel about chips and dip! I would totally take this down....all of it...just me!
veggiesdontbite
Yep!! If my family wasn't around I would NOT have shared! Thanks Jenn!
Trish
Just finished eating this 🙂 YUM!!!! So flavorful, so delicious!! The only thing is mine didn't thicken up like yours seemed to get. I got mine to a light gravy consistency. I ended up adding cornstarch to thicken it up. I did have it on med-low heat for at least 15mins so not sure why mine didn't turn out, however, cornstarch did the trick without compromising, at least I don't think it did, the amazing flavor. Whole family LOVED it. Thank you!!
veggiesdontbite
I'm so happy you loved it!!! It's dangerous because I can eat the entire thing. Lol! I'm going to change the directions a bit to say bring it to a boil first, stirring frequently to prevent burning, then reduce to low and let it thicken. My stove is quite strong so it may just be that I get more heat. But it should thicken well. But cornstarch would work too!! Thank you so much for trying it!!
Danielle
OMG looks so good! ironically I never like regular queso but I love the vegan version! Can't wait to give this a try !
I would love to try that osea hydrating oil!
veggiesdontbite
Ha! Thanks Danielle! It's a great dip and I bet you'd like it!
The Vegan 8
This looks sooo good lady! And so simple too! I bet it has such a delicious kick of heat with the jalapenos! Is it super spicy? You have 1/4 cup extra broth for sauteing...what is that for, am I totally blind, lol?! It looks amazing...definitely need to get some more jalapenos and try this!
I would totally get the Sea Vitamin Boost...I'm ALL about skin products, borderline obsessed and that one sounds amazing. I use face sprays and hydration mists daily and I really like the sound of that one!
veggiesdontbite
Thanks for catching that error! I was so tired when posting this. LOL. Thanks for the dip love!! And how are you out of jalapeños?! Please tell me you at least have potatoes or I will worry about you. Hahaha! I know you will love the Sea Vitamin Boost!!
Natalie | Feasting on Fruit
This is an awesome giveaway, thanks Sophia!! I would get the oily/combo skin starter kit. And favorite dip is a tie between queso and spinach artichoke.
veggiesdontbite
Thank you Natalie!! Spinach artichoke is awesome too!! You'd love that OSEA starter set. Good luck!!
Leah M | love me, feed me
OMG this dip!!! I need this in my life, it sounds so amazing. My favourite dip is probably hummus, it's just so good with everything!
All of the products on Osea look incredible. I'm always looking for new facial cleansers to try because my skin sorta hates me haha.
veggiesdontbite
Haha! Thanks Leah! OSEA is a great way to get your skin to love you. I know, my skin hated me too! LOL!
Becky Striepe
Oh my gosh, I love queso. This looks fabulous!
veggiesdontbite
Thanks Becky! Me too!!
Gwen Zollars
I'm drooling over thoughts of the queso - heading for the kitchen - LOL!
veggiesdontbite
Haha Gwen!! Love it. Thanks so much!
Cadry
Who can resist a warm queso? Not me! This one looks amazing!
I would get the Atmosphere Protection Cream. We have very hard water that is super drying for the skin. So my skin needs all of the moisturizing help it can get.
veggiesdontbite
I cannot either! You would love the Atmosphere Protection cream! It's amazing!
Jade Maxwell
This dip looks killer! Just in time for Cinco de Mayo! If I won the gift card I would get the cleanser or maybe a sample pack to see what I like. They have a lot of cool stuff!
veggiesdontbite
Thank you Jade!! A sample pack would be a great start!
Mel @ The Refreshanista
Omg I want this queso like right now!!!! It looks so delicious!
veggiesdontbite
Ha! Thanks Mel!
Trish
Family in town, have ingredients, making this stat! 😉
veggiesdontbite
Yay!!! Can't wait to hear how you like it!!
veggiesdontbite
Hahaha! Totally crack me up and think just like me!! Thank you!
Rachel s
I just found your website ! Love love love these recipes! Tried to comment without reply but it wouldn't let me 🙁 hoping I'm not too late for the idea give away! I'm about to be a new mom for the second time and this would be a great gift for myself and my Newly vegan lifestyle (I began eating plant based 3 months before I got pregnant) keep inspiring ?
veggiesdontbite
Hi Rachel! So happy to have you here!! What do you mean you tried to comment without reply? I just want to make sure there isn't anything going on with the site. It's not too late to enter the giveaway! Enter away! Huge congrats on your second baby!!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
I'd totally dig some queso blanco 😉 Mmmm that and some salsa and chips...maybe some avo...a "meal: right there!
veggiesdontbite
YES! It's for sure a meal! Veggies, carbs, protein. Boom!
Kim Henrichs
This looks so good!
I would love to get the Vitamin Sea serum from OSEA!
veggiesdontbite
Thanks Kim! The serums are awesome!!
Sarah
This is gonna happen very soon!
veggiesdontbite
I can't wait!!! SO excited!!
Jennifer
I'm new to vegan/sometimes vegetarian eating. I am so excited to try this recipe because I am allergic to Nutritional Yeast, which a lot of 'dairy-free' cheese sauce/dip recipes call for.
Thanks for your efforts. : )
veggiesdontbite
So glad to hear! I don't really love nutritional yeast, especially in sauces so most of mine don't have any. Let me know what you think!