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.
Ashley
I made this, and omg it is delicious! Thanks for your amazing recipe!
veggiesdontbite
Thank you SO much Ashley!!! So happy to hear you love it as much as we do!
Kara
I’ve never cooked with raw cashews before. Do I need to soak them? If so what does that entail?
veggiesdontbite
Hi Kara! If you have a Vitamix you don't need to soak the cashews. It's a high speed blender and can crush anything. If you have a regular blender, either soak the cashews overnight in water, boil them for 30 minutes OR my favorite option is to use a coffee grinder to grind them into a fine powder when they are dry, then use that in the blender with the rest of the ingredients. Let me know if you need anything else!
Wren
The recipe looks so good. But how do i replace the veggie stock/broth? I want to use everything fresh.
veggiesdontbite
Hi Wren! Thanks! I'm not sure what you mean by fresh, but you can always make your own broth. I use a combo of milk and broth here because I thought this gave the flavor I wanted. You could always use all milk, or use water instead of broth but keep in mind it will alter the flavor somewhat. Let me know what you try!
Jessica
Think it would work with soy milk?
veggiesdontbite
Hi Jessica! It should be, just make sure it is unsweetened.
Kellie
Hello Sophia,
If I made this the night before and heated in a small crock pot the next day, how long will it keep in the heated crock pot? Bringing it to work for a pot luck.
veggiesdontbite
Hi Kellie! This is how I serve it at parties. Only thing you need to watch is that it is on low and doesn't burn. You may want to heat it in the microwave first since it will be coming from the fridge. Give it a quick whisk as you slowly heat it up to get it all smooth again, then put it in the crockpot and keep at low temp.
Estee
I've been saying I'm making this for over what seems like a year. Why did I wait??? This is Soo good. Thank you thank you. Hubby and son love jalapenos and heat so this is right up their alley!! We all loved it and I can't wait to use it with all kinds of things. I added it on your black bean burgers with added jalapenos. Perfection.
veggiesdontbite
Haha!! SO happy you love it as much as we do. I make this often for parties and it is a hit. Thank you so much for making it!!
Amy
Hi! I was wondering if there was any subs I could make to make a non-spicy version of this sauce while keeping the flavor profile similar? I’m a total wimp when it comes to spicy (like too much black pepper makes my eyes water and has me panting like a dog level wimpiness).
Thanks!
veggiesdontbite
Hi Amy! There are mild nacho slices available. They don't have much spice to them at all. I would start there. If you can't handle even that then perhaps you could try adding more vinegar? You could try using another pepper that you can handle but the unique flavor really does come from the mild nacho slice juice. Vinegar is an ingredient in it so I would think that may work, but it definitely still won't be the same. Let me know what you try!
Amy
Thanks! I’m making it tonight so I’ll let you know! 🙂
Amy
I’d already gone shopping before I thought to check for a reply, so I ended up subbing white vinegar for the jalapeno juice. The flavor wasn’t right for queso blanco, but it was still a great sauce nonetheless. Since it was off from the intended flavor I added smoked paprika, used smoked salt instead of sea salt, and added a bit of lime juice and cayenne to get a sort of mild chipotle adobo-ish flavor. Next time I’ll make it as written and just adjust the amounts to get a milder heat level.
Two thumbs up! (One for the great base sauce and two for what I’m assuming is going to be a mind-blowing queso blanco next week.)
veggiesdontbite
Ha! Thank you so much. Yes, really you need that tang from the nacho slices because you can't really replicate that. But if you look at your local grocery store, you should be able to find them in mild and they really are mild. At least the ones I get are because my husband is a spice wimp. Same with the diced chilis. Just get mild and you should be good!
Brandy
Were you ever able to find enough substitutes to make this with zero spice level? I love spicy food, but I’ve been dealing with an ulcer for months. I thought I was improving finally and ate a packet of Taco Bell mild salsa each on two tacos. MISTAKE. AGONY. So I can’t do chiles At All. This looks so good though... 😢
veggiesdontbite
Oh no Brandy! I am so sorry!! The chiles and nacho jalapeño slices are the center of this recipe and give it it's flavor. The only thing I can suggest, and keep in mind that this will change the overall flavor, is to use green bell peppers for the chiles and saute them in a pan with oil or broth to soften. Then instead of the pickled jalapeños, you could again use more sauteed green peppers. For the pickled jalapeño juice, I would use pickle juice or vinegar. This will all still give you the overall effect of this dip even though the flavor will be different. If you try this please let me know how it worked! And feel better!!
Donna
Smooth and creamy. Also delish on broccoli or other raw veggies. You will not be disappointed!
veggiesdontbite
Thank you so much Donna!! I'm so happy you liked it!
Lacey
*to... I'm so excited about this recipe I'm making grammatical errors! Lol
veggiesdontbite
Ha!!
Lacey
Oh... My... Goodness! THIS is AMAZING! We're vegan & I've done many other "cheese" substitute recipes before for my husband who was a previous queso addict... This is OUTSTANDING! The only thing I did differently was add a tsp of liquid smoke! All the rest of the items I just had sitting in the pantry so I liked not having to make a run to the store for it either! I can't wait to find out what else I'm going to add this too in the future! Thanks again! Happy cinco de mayo!
veggiesdontbite
Oh wow, thank you so much Lacey!! I am thrilled you love this as much as we do! I am totally going to try the liquid smoke. That sounds delicious!!
Tanya
Hi. I didn’t see what kind of potato to use or even if it makes a difference. Yukon or russet ?
Thanks
veggiesdontbite
Hi Tanya! It says in the notes below the recipe. Any starchy will work, I use red usually. Just don't use sweet!
Tanya
Thank you for the reply. I swear I have read the recipe 6x and I don’t see anything about what type of potato to use. ??♀️ But no worries. Got it ?
Can’t wait to try it!!
veggiesdontbite
OMG, I thought you were replying from my newly updated Ultimate Creamy Vegan Cheese Sauce because that's the recipe I released today. DUH! All I saw was cheese on your comment. I just added it to the notes in this recipe too!! Sorry to make you think you were going crazy ?
Tanya
Is okay. I always think it’s me ?? just started following you on IG!!
Stina
Do you peel to potato or leave skin on?
veggiesdontbite
Hi Stina! If you want it to be a smooth white color then peel the potato. But I have left the skins on before and it makes no difference other than you see the little flecks of skin in the dip.
willow
PLEASE ANSWER QUICK!!! I am hosting a very special ceremony for a very special expectant mother-to-be and she said she has been craving queso and wants to try vegan queso! i found this and im wondering if you think it would hold up with a great consistency if i did all the prep work ahead of time (thru the blender) then brought the sauce with me to her house 2 hours away and heated it up there?
THANKS!
veggiesdontbite
Hi Willow! So sorry but I was away all day yesterday on a media tour for the Disney California Adventure food and wine festival and was not on my computer. I hope you ended up making it because it stays well for a while! Hope your celebration went well!
Samantha Wellnitz
Is this good on burritos or cold?
veggiesdontbite
It's amazing on burritos!! And it is meant to be served hot but I sometimes dip into it cold.
Sara
Best. Dip. EVER!!!!!!!!!!! You're a genius! I have been looking for a good vegan white queso dip forever! THANK YOU!!!! ?????
veggiesdontbite
Oh my gosh you totally made my day!! I'm so happy to hear that you love it! We are obsessed and eat it all the time. Thank you so much for letting me know!!