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Vegan ‘Queso’
Updated June 6, 2024
![Vegan ‘Queso’](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/09/11/dining/tr-cashew-queso/merlin_160427208_4d6b367b-aeea-4850-a891-098560678505-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 6ounces tomatillos, husked and rinsed
- 1serrano chile
- 1shallot
- 3garlic cloves
- Fine sea salt
- ½bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped
- 1cup raw cashews
- 1chipotle pepper in adobo
- ¾cup to 1¼ cups unsweetened almond milk
- ½teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1teaspoon kosher salt
- 1tablespoon finely chopped red onion, for garnish
- 1tablespoon finely chopped cilantro, for garnish
- Tortilla chips
For the Tomatillo Salsa
For the Cashew “queso”
For Serving
Preparation
- Step 1
Make the salsa: Put the tomatillos, chile, shallot and garlic on a foil-lined baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. Broil until the vegetables are charred and soft, turning halfway through, about 10 minutes. Once slightly cooled, transfer to a blender or food processor, add the cilantro and purée until smooth. (Reserve a few tablespoons salsa for garnish and leave the remaining salsa in the blender, as you’ll add more queso ingredients to it in a few minutes.)
- Step 2
Make the queso: Toast the cashews in a large skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan occasionally, until the cashews are a light golden brown and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.
- Step 3
Once cooled, add the cashews, chipotle pepper, ¾ cup almond milk, turmeric and salt to the tomatillo mixture in the blender, and purée until smooth. Add more almond milk as needed to get a smooth consistency, but be careful not to add too much or the dip will be too thin. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, if needed.
- Step 4
Transfer the cashew queso to a bowl, drizzle with the reserved tomatillo salsa and garnish with chopped onion and cilantro. Serve warm with tortilla chips.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
Want it to approximate the gooey nacho cheese? I recommend these two tweaks: Soak the cashews overnight in the refrigerator and they’ll give you a creamy base when blended. Add 1/4 c nutritional yeast for extra cheesy flavor.
This recipe convinced me to be fully plant based again. It comes out very spicy with a serrano and a can of chipotle in adobo, which is fine, but you could probably sub half a poblano for the serrano and do half the can of chipotle for a milder version.
I love that you used the whole can and you’re like “it’s very spicy.” But still loved it!
The recipe states "1 chipotle pepper in adobo," not the whole can.
If you soak cashews used less almond milk — 1/3 cup was plenty.
The recipe said to only use one chipotle pepper. Use just that and it's not spicy at all. Just perfect!
Great recipe. I added a bit of chili powder and 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast, per another commenter's suggestion. I also used 3 serranos to kick up the heat. It was, by far, the best vegan queso I have tried in several years of looking for a good one.
This is a very very basic starter recipe for a simple vegan cheese dip. But to get the stretch and cheesiness? Gooey vegan cheese dip needs tapioca flour. For this recipe, about 1 tsp blended in with the other ingredients, then heat over med low while stirring until hot. Test stretchiness by scooping up a large spoonful + tilting the spoon over the pan. Add more tapioca flour (stirred into cold water or milk) as needed. For added cheesy flavor, add 2-4 TB nutritious yeast.
This is a pretty standard vegan cashew cheese recipe, although I’ll note that almond milk is basically water and soy or oat milk will have fat and protein to give your dip more body. But that tomatillo salsa? WOW. Knocked my socks off compared to Pico de Gallo or supermarket salsa. That’s going in the recipe box. Recommend blending with half of the roasted Serrano and tasting before adding the rest.
Just made this! It’s not cheesy, per se, but the recipe isn’t supposed to be queso. Agree with the other comments that you should soak the cashews overnight. I also added nutritional yeast since I had some in my pantry, which some might find gives it more of the cheesiness that’s otherwise missing.
Just finished making this. I've always steered clear of vegan cuz I like meat but I'm cutting dairy out of my diet for now and when I saw this I thought I'll try it. I'm so glad I did! It's pretty darn good. Not eating chips either so I used vegies to dip with. Yummy and satisfying. Made 2 adjustments, I only had coconut milk the 3/4 cup did the trick. Also added cumin. I'm going to the store now to get the nutritional yeast, I've never used it so I'm excited to experiment with it.
I would call this an umami nut dip with a kick, no smoothness even with cashew soaking and long blending. It's also cold: instructions say 'serve warm' after telling you to cool all ingredients and add cold liquid, no heating instructions. So not sure this will conjure 'queso' for anyone, but I still liked it. The next day I turned leftovers in to a pasta sauce by adding vegi stock, lots of kale, peppers and swirled in more salsa. Excellent use of leftovers!
I didn’t have tomatillos on hand so I roasted tomatoes instead. It was delicious!
This is a winner. Soaked cashews overnight (could also do this with boiling water for 30 minutes as I have done for other recipes). Also added nutritional yeast per other commenters. Will make this again.
Yum. Did part of habanero a instead of serano. Twice as much garlic. Super good. But then added some raw garlic and more habanero cause never enough. <3
This is a great recipe that my friends and family enjoyed. However, Minimalist Baker has a five-minute version that is quick, much less labor-intensive, cheap, and, for my money, tastes a lot more like queso. Do yourself a favor!
I was shocked by how delicious the "queso" turned out. It was a huge hit at my holiday party.
A trick if you can't find fresh tomatillos at the store: use a jar of store bought salsa verde instead. Pour about 12 oz. into the blender with the roasted shallot, chile, garlic, and the cilantro, and blend until smooth. Follow the rest of the recipe to the letter (minus the almond milk). Even cheating this way, this queso is totally delicious -- and a real crowd pleaser.
This is a very very basic starter recipe for a simple vegan cheese dip. But to get the stretch and cheesiness? Gooey vegan cheese dip needs tapioca flour. For this recipe, about 1 tsp blended in with the other ingredients, then heat over med low while stirring until hot. Test stretchiness by scooping up a large spoonful + tilting the spoon over the pan. Add more tapioca flour (stirred into cold water or milk) as needed. For added cheesy flavor, add 2-4 TB nutritious yeast.
Great recipe. I added a bit of chili powder and 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast, per another commenter's suggestion. I also used 3 serranos to kick up the heat. It was, by far, the best vegan queso I have tried in several years of looking for a good one.
We couldn't find tomatillos and supplemented yellow tomatoes. This made it too sweet, whoops! We added some nutritional yeast, which helped a lot, but we will definitely be soaking the cashews the night before next time.
Delicious! - Soaked my (roasted) cashews for 2-3 days (poor planning), then drained and toasted them - Food processor yielded a chunky texture w green flecks (not homogenous neon green like the photo) - Added two Tbsps of nutritional yeast for a cheesier flavor, per many suggestions. - Subbed a jalapeno for the serrano -- added only half of the jalapeno and found that to be plenty spicy - Used 3/4 cu flax milk - Skipped the add'l garnishes (lazy) and just added the salsa swirled on the top
I would call this an umami nut dip with a kick, no smoothness even with cashew soaking and long blending. It's also cold: instructions say 'serve warm' after telling you to cool all ingredients and add cold liquid, no heating instructions. So not sure this will conjure 'queso' for anyone, but I still liked it. The next day I turned leftovers in to a pasta sauce by adding vegi stock, lots of kale, peppers and swirled in more salsa. Excellent use of leftovers!
This is a pretty standard vegan cashew cheese recipe, although I’ll note that almond milk is basically water and soy or oat milk will have fat and protein to give your dip more body. But that tomatillo salsa? WOW. Knocked my socks off compared to Pico de Gallo or supermarket salsa. That’s going in the recipe box. Recommend blending with half of the roasted Serrano and tasting before adding the rest.
Wow! Amazing! Used canned tomatillos, excellent salsa.
Incredibly flavorful. Soaked cashews made a silky smooth dish. The tomatillo salsa will be my new go-to recipe. I doubled the it and saved half for other delicious uses.
Any substitutes for the almond milk for someone allergic to almond?
Actually, there isn't any need to add milk, because that cup of soaked raw/roasted cashews is going to turn into a super rich cashew cream. So adding water instead of a plant-based milk is fairly standard in most vegan cheese dips made with nuts.
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