If you follow a vegan diet, you can still eat nachos with queso. This queso recipe is creamy, easy to make, and perfect for chips or nachos.
About this recipe
Years ago, but many years ago, in some nutrition courses I attended, we were taught how to make eggless mayonnaise using potatoes and carrots. And that gave me the idea to develop this recipe.
This vegan queso is made with potatoes, carrots, leeks, sliced almonds or cashews, and a secret ingredient. The consistency of the queso is truly impressive.
It is creamy, delicious, and when hot, it is wonderful. You have to try this vegan queso.
What is queso
Queso is a Spanish word that translates to “cheese” in English. In the United States, queso refers to a specific type of Texan melted cheese, like Velveta, commonly served as a dip for chips or other foods.
This cheese sauce is typically made from processed cheese, chili peppers, and spices and has a smooth and creamy texture. It is often used as a topping for Tex-Mex dishes, such as nachos, tacos, and burritos. Some variations of queso may also include ingredients such as diced tomatoes, jalapenos, and onions.
Vegan queso ingredients
- Potatoes, Yukon gold potatoes are best for this recipe. Their buttery and creamy texture are always great for soups and queso. Substitute with new potatoes or petite gold.
- Carrots, peeled and roughly chopped.
- Leeks white and light green parts only
- Cashews, I use raw cashews; you can substitute them with raw sliver or sliced almonds. Soaking the cashews will do the trick if you want a creamier consistency.
- Garlic powder
- Pickled jalapeños brine from homemade jalapeños or canned pickled jalapeños
How to make vegan queso
Cook the potato, carrot, and leeks with ¾ cup of water. When they are fully cooked and the leek is soft. Pour everything into the blender container. Vegetables and liquid, add the rest of the ingredients and blend until creamy.
Store the cheese in a closed jar in the refrigerator. To reheat, serve in a small bowl and microwave it for a few seconds (20 seconds) or until creamy.
Tips & Tricks
I have the Vitamix, and it is perfect because it has a handle that you can put in the blender to help the ingredients move faster. But, if you do not have a high-speed blender, begin to blend all the ingredients on low speed, turn it off, uncover the blender, and push the ingredients around with a spoon. Repeat until you have the creamy, smooth, and delicious cheese.
As soon as the vegetables are soft, I pour them directly into the blender so the vegan queso is warm and can be poured directly onto the corn tortilla chips.
ideas for serving the vegan queso
Serve on top of air-fried corn tortilla chips, burrito bowls, roasted broccoli, or sweet potato chips.
Imagine roasted broccoli dipped in this sauce … yum. It is super creamy, and it is also perfect for roasted sweet potatoes or baked potatoes.
It is delicious with this “chorizo” tostadas or store-bought vegan chorizo just crumbled on top.
Dip a burrito in a bowl or any other taco-like situation.
Give this recipe a twist
- Add nutritional yeast
- Add raw garlic instead of powdered garlic
- Add a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice if it needs more acid.
- Make it spicy by adding chopped green chilies or cayenne pepper.
Frequently asked questions
Queso, vegan queso
Ingredients
- 2 cups diced potato
- ¾ cup sliced carrot
- 1 cup leek white and light green part only
- 3/4 cup water
- ½ cup cashews or sliced almonds
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup pickled jalapeños brine
Instructions
- Cook the potato, carrot, and leeks with ¾ cup of water.
- When they are fully cooked, and the leek is soft. Pour everything into the blender container.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and blend.
- Blend slowly until everything is well mixed and creamy, try for seasoning and adjust if necessary.
- Serve on top of nachos or roasted broccoli or sweet potato chips.
Video
Notes
- 2 cups of diced potatoes are about two medium-sized potatoes or one large potato
- 3/4 cup of sliced carrots is about one large carrot
- use a small leek, just white and light green parts only
- The best potatoes for this vegan queso are yukon gold or fingerlings.
Nutrition
information
Nutritional information of this recipe is only an estimate, the accuracy for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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