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Sometimes at all times of the day or night, you need a warm bowl of cheesy dip 10 minutes ago, but you also swore off dairy, and furthermore, refuse to cry into a waxy and un-spreadable tub of store-bought vegan queso that smells vaguely like stanky old public bus seats. But don't freak out. Instead, prepare yourself for cashews and potatoes blended into something so creamy and legit, hatch chiles bringing the briny smokiness, and a secret splash of pickle juice that tricks your whole brain into thinking it's real cheese.
Recipe tips tailored to what matters most to you:
Nah, son. Potatoes, cashews, pickle brine and tapioca starch. Zero wheat from the pot to the bowl, so dig in.
Make it up to 5 days ahead. It firms up in the fridge, so rewarm it over medium heat with a splash of water, stirring as you go.
Use the brine from a finished pickle jar instead of buying anything new. Potatoes do half the creamy work, so you need fewer pricey cashews.
Pile serranos, cilantro and red onion on top and ease up on the olive oil. It's already built on potatoes, not dairy.
Tapioca starch lives in most baking aisles and at every Asian market I've ever shopped at. No canned hatch chiles? Canned green chilies or roasted poblanos work fine.
Run the blender long enough that there are absolutely no trace of cashew or potato left in there because those little flecks have a way of showing up in the final texture.
Tapioca starch doesn't activate until heat gets involved so don't skip the warming step after blending.
Oodles more tips, step-by-step recipe photos, info on weird ingredients, and FAQs are all still here. I just tucked 'em out of the way so you can start cooking sooner.
Slow down Chef, what makes this importantly different from my vegan nacho cheese?
Glad you asked, m'dear goose. My nacho cheese is kissed with chipotle, chili powder, and cumin for complexly inauthentic, almost bowling alley nacho vibe. This queso leans hard into hatch chiles and pickle juice for a slightly garlicky, smoky, sharp dairy cheesy flavor. It also skips soaking the cashews entirely and uses tapioca starch for a stretchier, melted cheese texture.
Now let's address the elephant in the room. Traditional queso dip usually means processed cheese, mystery ingredients, and a texture that's either perfect or science-lab questionably weird. In this recipe, you still get that warm, melty vibe, but it's hella cleaner with simple ingredients, more caring to animals, and absurdly tasty to boot. Plus, it blends up in about 60 seconds.
Spoon this vegan cheese dip onto vegan taquitos, use it as a layer in your vegan seven-layer dip, or set it out next to a big bag of chips and some roasted habanero salsa and just stand back and watch your people completely abandon every other snack on the table.
This queso is yummy! We wrapped veggie dogs in corn tortillas and dipped, along with some home grown blush tomatoes. I didn't have pickle juice so I added a combo of lemon juice, vinegar and caper brine. I accidentally dumped in too much smoked paprika, but I love smoked paprika, so it was no big whoop. I use a Vitamix, which is made to actually heat food on purpose if you want to. So I skipped the saucepan step and let it thicken in the blender.
Jump to:
🥰 Why you'll adore this vegan queso recipe
✊ Vegan AF & GF: 100% dairy free, not a drop of dairy anywhere near this perfect dip, or any of my other vegan Mexican recipes. It also happens to fit right the heck into your gluten-free healthy vegan recipes lineup.
⏱️ 15 Minutes Flat: This is a 1-blender, zero-stress operation that comes together faster than it takes to find a parking spot at Whole Foods, or "Whole Paycheck" as my friend affectionately refers to it as.
Tested and Approved Worldwide: Like every vegan dairy recipe I share, this was improved and perfected with feedback from 1,000+ recipe testers from all corners of the world before I published it.
I'm on my knees staring weirdly into your eyes, asking you in a soothing voice to be my taste-testing partner in crime. Sign up for the recipe testing crew and get early access to new recipes before they're published.
🧀 Vegan Queso Ingredients
The Nooch
Nutritional yeast is the cheesy imposter that deserves an Oscar. There is genuinely no substitute for it in this recipe but nutritional yeast flakes or powder both work perfectly fine so grab whichever form you can find.
Got some leftover after making this? Throw it into a batch of vegan taco soup or use them in the coating of vegan elotes because more nooch is a decision you will never regret.
Hatch Chile
The canned hatch chiles from Trader Joe's are what I use every single time I make this and they are doing so much flavor work in this dip it's actually impressive for something that comes out of a can. They are fire roasted and diced, almost the consistency of very chunky salsa.
Of course, other brands are fine to use too.
If hatch chiles aren't accessible to you, I love using canned green chilies or roasted poblano peppers as substitutes even if they're not quite the same vibe.
Pickle Juice
Pickle juice in queso sounds like a dare someone made up at a party but I promise on everything that it works spectacularly and is the reason people take one bite of this dip and immediately go "wait WHAT is that flavor." I actually do the same thing in my vegan cotija cheese recipe.
No pickle juice? Lemon juice, rice vinegar, or apple cider vinegar work as backups, just go slow so you don't accidentally make sour soup.
If you want some spicier queso, you can use pickled jalapeño brine instead and then throw those leftover jalapeños into a vegan torta milanesa, vegan torta adobada, or vegan torta de carnitas.
Tapioca Starch
Tapioca starch is the whole reason this queso gets that stretchy melty pull instead of just sitting in the bowl like a confused thick slop. It activates when the dip gets warm and suddenly everything gets gooey and clingy in exactly the right way. If you want to take the stretchiness even further the absolute best substitute is kappa carrageenan, which is actually what I use to make the buffalo mozz I teach in my Vegan Dairy Crash course and it is on a completely different level of stretchy.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯 Variations
Spicy Jalapeño Queso
If mild queso is a 6 and you're trying to get to a 10, add fresh or pickled jalapeños, a pinch of cayenne, or just swirl in a couple of tablespoons of my roasted jalapeño salsa and call it a day. Just add the heat to your taste.
Smoky Chipotle Queso
Mince up some chipotle chiles in adobo sauce and stir them into the warm vegan cashew queso a little at a time until it hits exactly the smoky-spicy level you're looking for.
Grab my easy-yo-use app that builds your whole week with real, chef-tested vegan dinners in 30 seconds, customized to your budget, time, and taste, with a shopping list sorted by aisle.
📖 How to make vegan queso
Pretend I'm standing in your kitchen narrating this directly into your ear, but in a non-creepy way. Follow these step-by-step instructions with tips for first-try success. Skip to the printable recipe card below if my company is simply not what you need today.
Step One
Ruth Tater Ginburg:
Add the diced potatoes and raw cashews to a medium saucepan and cover them with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then maintain a steady boil for 8-10 minutes until the potatoes are fork-tender.
Step Two
Strainger Things:
Pour the soaked cashews and potatoes into a wire mesh strainer or colander. Let them sit until cooled and fully drained.
Step Three
Predatory Blending Practices:
Transfer the cooked potatoes and cashews to a blender along with the garlic, nutritional yeast, turmeric, paprika, hatch chile, pickle juice, olive oil, tapioca starch, and salt. Blend on high speed for 60 seconds until completely smooth.
Step Four
Side Ques:
Use a rubber spatula to spoon the contents of the blender into a saucepan, and whisk over medium heat for 4-5 minutes until smooth and heated through.
Step Five
Ques Ventura:
Serve warm and garnish with sliced serrano peppers, chopped cilantro leaves, and minced red onion.
💡Serving Ideas
The chip and queso entry point is classic and I respect it, but the best vegan queso dip you've ever made has way more range than that.
Spoon it over vegan tostadas, use it as the sauce situation for vegan enchiladas, or spread it all the heck over the bread on vegan chicken mole tortas and try to act like that was a normal and reasonable amount of queso to use.
Use it to pad out the filling of your jackfruit enchiladas, or calm your senses and prepare for your queso to enter the chat with a bowl of vegan picadillo.
For game day, rock some vegan fried chicken or vegan drumsticks dipped into warm hatch chile queso. I'm not gonna oversell it. I'm just gonna say that once you do it you're gonna think about it, and how you were too busy healthy eating to notice who won for a very long time afterward.
👉 Top tips
- Blend Long Enough to Erase Texture Clues: Run the blender long enough that there are absolutely no trace of cashew or potato left in there because those little flecks have a way of showing up in the final texture and reminding everyone that this is not actually cheese. Fully smooth or we don't stop.
- Heat Activates the Stretch Factor: Tapioca starch doesn't activate until heat gets involved so don't skip the warming step after blending. Bring it up gently over medium heat while stirring consistently and watch it go from blended liquid to stretchy gooey queso that tastes like the real thing right before your eyes.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Tapioca starch, as well as the starch that's naturally coming from the potatoes continue to set as it cools, which naturally tightens the texture. If it becomes too thick, just warm it gently and stir in a small splash of water until it loosens back up.
❄️ Refrigeration
Let the queso cool completely before storing it in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. It will firm up as it chills, which is completely normal due to the starch content.
🧊 Freezing
You can freeze it for next time in an airtight container for up to 3 months, but the texture may get a wee bit weird because of the starch and cashew base. Reblend before reheating to bring it back together.
🔥 Stovetop reheating
Warm over medium heat while stirring constantly until smooth again. Add a small splash of water if it feels too thick and keep stirring with a whisk until it loosens evenly.
✌️You'll also love these vegan cheese recipes:
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Vegan Queso Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ lb. potatoes peeled and diced (1 medium size russet)
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 1 clove garlic peeled
- ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 4 oz. canned fire roasted hatch chiles
- ½ cup pickle juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons tapioca starch
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
Optional Garnishes:
- Sliced serrano peppers
- Chopped cilantro leaves
- Minced red onion
Instructions
- Place the diced potatoes and raw cashews in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a steady boil and cook for 8-10 minutes until the potatoes are fork-tender.
- Drain the potatoes and cashews in a wire mesh strainer or colander and let them cool and drip dry.
- Add the cooked potatoes and cashews along with the garlic, nutritional yeast, turmeric, paprika, hatch chile, pickle juice, olive oil, tapioca starch, and salt to a blender pitcher. Blend on high speed for 60 seconds, or until completely smooth.
- Use a rubber spatula to spoon the contents of the blender into a saucepan, and whisk over medium heat for 4-5 minutes until smooth heated through.
- Serve warm. Optionally garnish with sliced serrano peppers, chopped cilantro leaves, and minced red onion.
Notes
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Lisa Braithwaite says
This queso is yummy! We wrapped veggie dogs in corn tortillas and dipped, along with some home grown blush tomatoes. I didn't have pickle juice so I added a combo of lemon juice, vinegar and caper brine. I accidentally dumped in too much smoked paprika, but I love smoked paprika, so it was no big whoop. I use a Vitamix, which is made to actually heat food on purpose if you want to. So I skipped the saucepan step and let it thicken in the blender.
Dushenka Silberfarb says
This is the bomb. We love it over broccoli, for dipping chips into, straight out of the blender on a spoon…