Best Vegan Queso

Ultra smooth, this Best Vegan Queso recipe is easy to make and perfect for all your snacking needs. Try it with salsa, chips, and guacamole, or as a ‘cheese’ sauce in any of your favorite Mexican recipes. It’s great on everything from burrito bowls to tacos. It’s also freezer friendly, so whip up a batch to freeze and have on hand at a moments notice.

I feel like trying to use words to tell you how good dairy-free queso is kind of a tough sell! But if I could just pass you one of these chips loaded with queso, guacamole, and pico, you wouldn’t need any words at all.

But since photos don’t have a scratch-and-sniff option, (haha wouldn’t that be fun?) you’ll have to just trust me on this one. I won’t sit here and tell you this dairy-free queso beats the real thing, I’m not that crazy!

After all, cheese is my favorite food on this planet. And in my mind, nothing is better than cheese, not even chocolate. But this dairy-free & vegan queso is as close as you can get to the real thing.

It’s great for snacking with tortilla chips, but we also love this with any Mexican bowl-type recipe. Picture it drizzled over your next taco bowl or burrito bowl – so good!

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Sweet potato – makes a great base for dairy-free queso and it blends up to be perfectly smooth as well.
• Cashews – add richness to this plant-based queso. They combine together with the sweet potato to make the perfect dairy-free cheese sauce without being overwhelmingly cashew in flavor.
• Broth – use vegetable broth to be completely plant-based and vegan, or use chicken broth for more flavor. Either way, I recommend looking for low-sodium broth, that way you can add salt to your taste.
• Onion & garlic – add essential depth of flavor to this sauce.
• Green chiles – canned green chiles give this queso a ‘nacho cheese’ kind of flavor.
• Diced tomatoes – try to find fire roasted diced tomatoes if you can because they add so much flavor.
• Coconut milk – adds a lot of creaminess when you blend up this ‘cheese’ sauce.
• Spices – a mix of cumin, chili powder, smoked paprika, granulated onion, and granulated garlic add plenty of Mexican-inspired flavor to this queso.
• Nutritional yeast – is what gives you the ‘cheesy’ flavor in vegan and dairy-free cheese sauces. You can easily find it at any health food store. It’s inexpensive and an essential pantry item if you’re dairy free.

Step 1: First up prep everything you’ll need. You can use white or orange sweet potatoes here, either one works fine.

Step 2: Next sauté the onion and garlic until golden brown in the Instant Pot or on the stove top.

Step 3: Then add everything except the coconut cream and nutritional yeast to the Instant Pot, or you can simmer on the stovetop. Cook until the sweet potatoes are completely broken down and tender.

By cooking the sweet potato and cashews together, you don’t need to worry about soaking the cashews.

Step 4: Finally add the coconut milk and nutritional yeast, and blend the queso mixture until the texture is completely smooth. I blend mine in a Vitamix, and a high-powered blender will give you the best results.

If you don’t have a high-speed blender, definitely blend this in small batches.

Ways to serve this

• Serve this queso the traditional way with chips for dipping along with salsa and fresh guacamole. When tomatoes are in season, use my Pico de Gallo or use my Restaurant Style Salsa (using canned tomatoes) during the colder months when tomatoes aren’t in season.
• Use this queso dip/sauce to drizzle over any Mexican recipe you love. This works great as a cheese sauce over my Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowls, Carnitas Burrito Bowls, or Sweet Potato Taco Bowls. This vegan queso is made with Mexican spices, so it’s perfect as a ‘cheese’ substitute for anything with Mexican flavors.
• If you’re serving this queso as a snack with salsa and guacamole, try adding any of my 5 Kombucha Mocktails, Strawberry Kombucha Mocktails, or this Mango Blackberry Kombucha Mocktail.

Storing leftovers

• To store – place the leftovers into an airtight sealed container and store it the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
• Make ahead – this queso can be made ahead and reheated gently over low heat on the stovetop. Just keep in mind the leftovers don’t keep as long in the fridge.
• Reheating – place any leftovers into a saucepan and reheat gently over low heat until warm or hot.
• To freeze – this queso freezes really well. Place the leftovers into an airtight sealed container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge in a container to catch any leaks overnight before reheating. The queso will look ‘broken’ as it thaws, but it becomes smooth again when reheated.

What is nutritional yeast, and what are its benefits

1. Nutritional yeast is from the same strain used to make bread or kombucha, but it’s been deactivated.
2. It’s packed with B vitamins as well as traces of other minerals.
3. It provides a nutty cheesy flavor perfect for those who are dairy free.
4. By weight, it’s 50% protein, and a serving size boasts 9 grams.

More Snacking Recipe Inspiration

• Pico de Gallo
• Best Guacamole
• Fresh Mango Salsa
• Restaurant Style Salsa
• Caramelized Pineapple Salsa