5-Minute Vegan Cashew Queso

This vegan queso is delicious and one I will be making again. I love how much it yield in comparison to the jars of siete queso sold at the grocer. I made it this evening to pair with tortilla chips alongside our dinner of fajitas. The one thing I did different was boil the cashew for 30 minutes which worked perfectly as I do not have a high speed blender. Other than the following, I proceeded with the recipe as it is written. Thank you for a wonderful and delicious vegan queso.

I made this tonight and what a game changer! I used Gebhart chili spice and a bit of chipotle pepper and this sauce rocks! Even my non vegan hubby liked it. Thank you for a great recipe.

Great recipe, I only had Siracha on hand and I used bottled chopped garlic, cut time down to 3 minutes, still really good, I am sure original is even better.

I just made this and it is so delicious!
I have found my fav cheese sauce.
Thank you so much!

Delicious, creamy, smoky & a little spicy. Made this to top burrito bowls and it’s perfect.

This recipe was SO easy and so delicious! Great on crackers or as a pasta sauce for my daughter!

Turned out perfect both times! I didn’t have harrissa so found some substitutions to help give the kick and color. Thanks for the recipe!

Yum! I really enjoyed making this and how simple it was. I brought it to a small potluck with ~ 8 people and it made enough to be an appetizer for us. As per some comments, mine turned out a little sweet, but I just added some more salt, hot sauce, and another chipotle pepper in adobo.

I’ve made this 3 times so far. So good! Quick and easy with ingredients I already had on hand! Love.

Omg, this turned out So. GOOD! I am shook. This is the best vegan cheese recipe I’ve used, and I’m amazed at how easy and simple it is. I subbed my local hot sauce, and I think next time I’ll add just a touch more salt as well. I’m so happy I can enjoy queso cheese again! Thank you!! :)

Dana and team – this recipe was perfect for a lunchtime craving of something quick made with pantry staples and a little bit of heat.

I subbed jarred minced garlic and hot sauce but along with the other ingredients in the recipe it was just about perfect. A quick 1.5 minutes in the Ninja food processor and I was on my way. Thanks so much for a great recipe!

This is the easiest and by far the best tasting vegan queso I’ve ever made. Will definitely be making this in the future!

I’ve just made this recipe for the first time. I eyeballed all the spices and it turned out perfect and very spicy, just the way we like it. We have never made anything from cashews and this is surprisingly good. Never liked any fake cheese products from the store so haven’t had cheese for year and now we will!!!!!

I love this recipe! I’ve made it several times now. I like varying the types of peppers I throw in for different flavor profiles and spice levels. Recently I’ve been making a habañero queso with freshly picked peppers from my garden! Not for those with aversion to spice but the flavor is excellent! Thanks Dana! :)

This is a delicious recipe! Since going vegan I have been looking for a substitute for queso dip to use in recipes and I have found it! We make this at least once a week. Thank you!

The best vegan queso I’ve had! Can’t wait to put it on my burrito!

All I can say is WOW !! I have experimented with a bunch of these recipes and this is by far the simplest, quickest, and most delicious!

I made this as written and used adobo sauce, and wow, it is SO GOOD.

Ok…this is better than real cheese! I just cannot believe how amazingly delicious this queso is. I’m not plant based & have to admit this is better than the dairy kind. We made ours with harissa & it just ‘makes’ the recipe. Wow, speechless! Thank you for creating this perfect queso.

Would love an updated plant based sour cream recipe without the probiotic capsules, please 😁

Literally love this queso cheese. I’ve recently gone gluten and dairy free and cheese is always a must have for me! It is a fabulous recipe!
I have made in server all different styles but each one came out fabulous!
If like me you crave for a “harder cheese with tang” I cut out the chilli and replace it with half a red bell pepper and a table spoon of apple cider vinegar and a little garlic and onion powder, pop that into the blender and then let it roast in the oven to make it a more thicker consistency. Pop it back into the fridge and it is like a cheddary soft cheese! So yum!

I’ve been after a decent vegan cheese/queso recipe for ages and this is the beeeeeest. Can always rely on Minimalist Baker for the goods!

Absolutely loved this!
I was a little worried my blender wasn’t good enough, so I soaked the cashews in hot water for around 30 mins before making the dip. The only seasonings I adjusted in the end were more nutritional yeast and a dash more cumin. Didn’t have harissa or many of the substitutions suggested, so I added some Valentina (hot sauce) and a few pickled jalapeño slices. Highly recommended! So easy!!

The best vegan “cheese” anything I’ve ever made! I soaked the cashews in hot water for an hour because I had the extra time and why not. I subbed the harissa for an equal amount of Sambal Oelek and it’s AMAZING! I think it would be great on nachos. Thank you for the recipe!

hands down this is the BEST and FASTEST queso I’ve ever made. even my dad – who can’t eat nuts – said that it smelled exactly like nuts and was so sad that he couldn’t try it 😅 will be making this on repeat 100 % 🤤

I had a sudden craving for queso but can’t eat dairy. I figured there must be a vegan queso recipe out there, and lo and behold, this one popped up. It was runnier than I would have preferred (note to self: use less than 3/4 cup hot water to start next time) and it wasn’t as creamy as it looked in the photos. I think it’s my blender because everything I’ve tried with cashews is still too grainy for my liking. However, the taste was excellent and helped with the craving. 😋

Pardon my french but holy s*** this recipe is the BOMB DOT COM!! Move over Siete brand cashew queso in a jar from the grocery store. That used to be my fave but THIS IS 1,000 times better…my mind is BLOWN! I substituted “Sambal Oelek Chili Paste” for the Harissa. I am sure it is the bomb both ways but THIS RIGHT HERE, WOW. Thank you Minimalist Baker for bomb recipes, wow! Oh and did I mention that I am not even vegan and it is still the bomb dot com :)

This is SO GOOD – I basically have it in the fridge at all times if I need a boost in a grain bowl or on some avocado toast or roasted veggies! Thank you, Dana!

With all the rave reviews, I was prepared for my socks to be blown off with this recipe and I was greatly disappointed. It didn’t have any sort of a cheesiness or wasn’t an appealing taste. It just tasted like spicy cashews and not in a good way. I’m happy for all the people who did like it, but also kind of dumbfounded and I suppose a little salty that my cashews were wasted.

Added a tsp or two (depending on one’s taste) of cider vinegar to give it that ‘cheesy’ tang.

Always keep this in my fridge.

Holy moly this queso is BOMB. I’m trying not swear because it’s that good. I soaked my cashews overnight, and used less hot water–maybe 1/4 cup. I went with the Rotel instead of Harissa because I had a can on hand. OMG. It’s smoky and just the right amount of spicy–so satisfying. Thank you for sharing.

This was amazing! I don’t usually love sauces made with cashews, but this was incredible. And so easy. I used a chipotle pepper because I had it on hand. So good.

Yum

Guys, you must make this! I followed the recipe exact. Everytime I make sauces with cashews in them everytime I am slightly disappointed. This is delicious! The regular vegan queso I make takes such a long time with roasted eggplant/aubergine which was so good but too time consuming. This took me 5 minutes and is healthier and tastier! Ah, thank you!

This is so delicious! I used an Adobe pepper and love the smokiness. Also, I ran out of cumin :( so I subbed coriander and it is perfect! Super flavorful.

Made this for my very “I don’t think I’ll like alternative healthy cheese sauce things” boyfriend. Verdict: “you should make this again, it’s awesome and delicious.”

We slathered this on baked potatoes and broccoli tonight and it was the perfect spicy creamy cheesy addition. Love this recipe!

So tasty with so little effort!! I was so excited to try this that I needed to make a couple modifications to use what I had on hand. I used roasted cashews instead of raw and Trader Joe’s Italian Bomba sauce (fermented crushed Calabrian chili peppers) instead of harissa. I will be making this again for sure!

Absolutely a perfect cheese sauce replacement!! 100% my go to from now on!

Oh my gosh, this “queso” is SO addictive. I saw this and had my doubts but decided to give it a try because everything I’ve tried on this site has been great.

I couldn’t believe a fake queso dip, whipped up in literally 5 minutes without soaking the cashews, would be good. I was wrong. It is fantastic!! I was trying to scrape every possible drop from the blender!

I cut the recipe in half but, otherwise, made as is. The flavor is amazing and I can’t stop eating it!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for such a quick and easy queso fix!

This is best queso I’ve ever had…hands down! And I’ve had a lot of queso in my time. I’ve never bought queso from a jar again since making this. It is so simple and so fast. I use my Nuritbullet to blend it smooth, and instead of harissa, I use green pepper Cholula. Even my 3-year-old girls love it, and I feel good giving it to them because it’s healthy. 🤩🏆

it ended up being too sweet for some reason :(

I made this tonight, following the directions to the tee and for some reason mine was slightly sweet tasting and I can’t figure out why. I’m 98% sure my cashews were raw. It lacked a tang from normal cheese, but I will say that it was 1000% better than processed vegan cheese and I will be making it again. It went great with my tacos and I could see it on nachos. It is the perfect consistency…I just need to figure out the sweetness issue. Thanks for the quick recipe!

I didn’t have any harissa so I added a small jalapeno with some of the seeds and a couple tablespoons salsa. Served this on nachos – wow! This in my new go-to queso.

This cashew queso is INCREDIBLE. It was just what I needed—a quick vegan queso recipe that just smacks. I feel like this will definitely become a staple for me : ) I had some with chips and also poured it all over my burrito with rice, beans, peppers, pico and lettuce. Incredible. I made mine without salsa and it was still awesome. I can see adding some zing—tomato, lime/lemon juice, or apple cider vinegar would be yum too. Thank you for this recipe!

I’m trying to navigate veganism in college, and this recipe taught me two adult things 1) cashews are expensive, and 2) a food processor doesn’t serve the same purpose as a blender. I definitely didn’t get the right consistency with my mini food processor. The color is very brown, which throws me off a bit. I think adding a little oil might be better next time!

I’m going to start off by admitting that I am not vegan. I love my cheese. My sister is vegan and shared this with me. I like trying new things. I gave it a try tonight. It took a bit extra water and nutritional yeast to get the consistency desired.
I don’t like it on its own but it made a great addition to my tacos!
I will try this again. I think part of my issue with consistency was that I used a food processor and not a blender.

Commenting to help those who only have a food processor! At first, I was afraid that it would not be smooth enough so I blitzed the garlic and cashews together first to get them into a pulpy texture. I scraped down the sides and then drizzled in hot water as the food processor was running. Once it was runny, I added the remaining spices and harissa and then let the machine rip for a few minutes. Smooth queso achieved! The flavor is VERY good. I ate it with cucumber slices and pita chips. But unfortunately it can not beat nuked velveeta + rotel (the gold standard for Texans like me), but at least I do not feel like a garbage monster after eating it!

I used homemade chili oil (dried chilies, fried garlic, peanut oil, salt blended up) instead of harissa, and that was a solid substitution. I actually thought 2 tbsp of nooch was a bit much; before I overpowered it with other spices (cumin, more chili oil), I found it overpowering. I also thought the recipe really needed some acid, so I added some apple cider vinegar. All in all I thought the recipe was a good springboard for making a queso I liked, but I didn’t care for it as written.

I was skeptical, but pleasantly surprised! I soaked the cashews for seven hours, used a Vitamix and added more nutritional yeast—so yummy!

My dad ate half the batch with a spoon so I guess you could say this was a big hit :) I notched up the chili powder and hot sauce for more heat and it was great!

I love how quickly this can be whipped up (5 minutes, one dish!) and how yummy this comes out! It’s delicious! I used it to top a baked potato with wilted spinach and broccoli. Tastes great just as written, I also tried mixing in extra salsa and that was delicious as well. Thank you for this fast, easy recipe!

Just made this cashew queso! today was an assembling of ‘mexican bowls’ with roasted veggies, tomato quinoa, avocado sauce, and this amazing queso!….
i added more chili powder to give more depth, more nutritional yeast, and about 1/4 teaspoon of tumeric powder–just to add some more nutrition as if this bowl didn’t have enough…
this recipe goes into the “Keep” folder right away : )
xo eva

I was trying all your queso recipes to see which one we liked the best and this one won the vote!! I like all of them, but this was the favorite! I also love how quick it is to make and it only takes one dish!!

Delicious! So good and does indeed take 5 minutes! I used a food processor and it took a few minutes to get smooth but it was great. Will make again!

I was looking for a fast queso recipe as I was short on time and hadn’t soaked the cashews prior. I found your recipe and I must say it came out AMAZING!! I put this on my tofu and veggie stir frys, game changer for sure!!!

I am new to this way of eating and have been trying to find a vegan queso that was good. Well, let me tell you what……I don’t have to look any further! This seriously reminds me of the cheese dip my mom used to make when I was a kid. Soooo delicious!

I was sooo skeptical because I’m a cheese addict but this is way better than any regular nacho cheese!!!

This recipe rules- it’s sooo quick and easy, and the flavor is better than the expensive store-bought cashew nacho cheese I’ve been splurging on lately!! I started with 3/4 cup hot water as directed and felt like I could even have used a little less as it turned out on the liquid-y side. I didn’t have to tweak the flavors at all; it’s perfect.

This recipe is a total game changer. I cut meat out of my diet over a year ago and have been striving to go vegan ever since. Queso has been a downfall, until now. This is hands down the best queso recipe. All the other ones I tried weren’t quite right. This queso is better than the “real stuff.” Thank you SO much for sharing.

I am new to making vegan cheese at home but I don’t think I need to look any further! This was delicious!!

I love this recipe- I love to add leftover taco “meat” to make a cheeseburger queso type of dip

Delicious!

This is so delicious! Since I found the recipe I’ve made this once a week. I haven’t been able to eat dairy for 6+ months and this definitely hits the spot, even for some of my dairy loving family. I found the harissa at Trader Joe’s, sometimes I add a little less cause it is on the spice-y said. I also usually add a little more nutritional yeast for extra cheesiness. I

This was super quick and easy. I skipped the cumin and chili powder in favor of one chipotle pepper in adobo sauce. Soooooo good!!

This queso is sooo good! Tried it warm right out of the blender, and I’m so impressed that it’s healthy because it tastes so rich, creamy and satisfying! I used franks red hot buffalo hot sauce. The only thing is I found the colour of it not amazing… kind of browny-yellow but the taste makes up for it! Will definitely make it again!

I have long been on the quest for a decent vegan queso, and I am just in awe of how yummy this is! It’s a great consistency (reminds me of the queso at Chili’s) and it’s definitely a good base recipe that you can play around with. I used the chipotle pepper in adobo sauce which was a little sweet for my taste but I can’t wait to experiment more with this recipe! Thanks so much for sharing!

I am UNSTOPPABLE now with this recipe! Really achieves the queso effect, and I almost always have these things in my cupboard. So easy!

Love how quickly this queso comes together. I found the flavor a little flat, though, so I added about a tablespoon each of red and white miso, and wow! Those additions gave the queso a salty, umami, cheesy flavor.

I have a ton of unsalted roasted cashews so that’s what i used instead of raw and it still tastes amazing. I think the roasted cashews even helped with the smokey flavor!
I’ve used it as a dip and plan on putting it in my burritos! Thank you so much for this recipe :)

This dip is delicious! Love making a batch and keeping it in the fridge to throw on black bean burgers, tacos, or as a dip. It’s all I can do to keep myself from devouring it with a spoon! Sooo tasty!

Best recipe ever!!! I had time before hand so I soaked my cashews and kept adding spices cause I love that spicy food and my gosh! I am in love! Best queso I have ever tasted and it made so much!!! Defs gking to be using this one alot now!

I think this queso might change my life!! Sooooo good. Super easy and so much flavour. This will be a staple at our house now, for sure.

Have made this a few times now. So delicious 😍!!

OMG this was so EASY!!! delicious recipe, I used the pepper in adobo sauce and It was phenomenal. Thank you for your simple and concise recipes 🙏🏼🙏🏼

Five stars! I whipped this up with a single chipotle in adobo instead of hotsauce/harissa, which was a great suggestion. I almost always have things I’d tweak about recipes, but this one is spot on as written (per usual with Minimalist Baker). Quick, easy, and delicious.

This queso is amazing!! I’ve made it few times already. I usually use less hot sauce and more nutritional yeast. Really good with bell peppers and cucumbers.

Thank you for creating such a delicious dish!!!

I got all the way to a set table before realizing I didn’t have shredded cheeze to go with the tacos. I looked up this recipe and we will never go back! “So good it must be bad for you,” according to my husband. I used half the chili powder and mild salsa instead of harissa for the kids’ benefit, but it was perfect. Everyone loved it.

Seriously so good and so easy to make! I’ve made this at least 6 times and each time I think, “Why am I not making this ALLLL the time!” I have found that if you use water that is just off boil and let the cashews soak for a few minutes, it turns out even smoother.

OH MY GOODNESS! It’s Holy Week for eastern orthodox christians, and a lot of us follow a mostly vegan diet during lent. Which means no cheese. I’ve been craving queso like crazy as we near the end of the fast…and THIS IS LENT-FRIENDLY! This is becoming part of our everyday, non-fasting lineup as well.

Easiest addition to a dairy-free taco night. Really only takes 5 minutes using a Nutribullet – no need to chop anything! I’ve made it many times using chipotle adobo sauce and it always comes out great! Thanks for another great dairy substitute!

So this is amazing. I’ve made some weird vegan quesos before that took far more effort with disappointing results. This is delicious and while I wouldn’t say it took 5 minutes, it definitely took less than 15. I used chipotles in adobo plus a touch of hatch green chile for good measure. I will definitely be using this recipe again! My hubby and I are very happy with this delicious quarantine queso!

I am making this for the second time this week. We are pairing it with the ever so humble rice and beans ?

I am shook! This sauce is so creamy and flavorful. It doesn’t bother your stomachs with such beautiful ingredients. I don’t have harissa so I put some smoked paprika and cayenne pepper. My 8 and 5 year old girls loved it as well ??

Cheese is irrelevant once you try this recipe. I was seriously blown away by how easy it was to make and how much flavor punch it packed! I followed the recipe nearly to the letter, except I used roasted and salted cashews and Ro-Tel for spice because that’s what my hubs bought. It keeps great in the fridge and reheats like a dream! This will be a regular repeater for sure.

Best queso dip I have ever made! It was so easy, simple, and I love that I didn’t have to soak the cashews before. I saved it to make leftover taco salads for lunch the next day (with the quinoa taco meat recipe by Minimalist Baker as well). Highly reccomend!

I just made this recipe, and it is the best! Love the spice and the creaminess. Luckily, I had everything in my pantry when i got started. Now, I am out of harissa so will have to stock up to make it again soon!