This Vegan Nacho Cheese Dip may be the best Vitamix recipe ever
New and exciting! This recipe is part of our new Printable Ebook: “7 Vitamix Recipes to Make First.” Check it out!
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This 5-ingredient queso is a hall of fame recipe. So unbelievably, irresistibly delicious. What’s more, it’s:
- Great hot or cold
- Lasts for days.
- So, so easy to make and clean up.
And yes friends, it’s dairy-free (and therefore vegan).
It’s cashew queso. And if there’s a recipe that will have you fall in love with Life is NOYOKE or fantastic vegan food or your Vitamix, it’s this.
Let’s talk about how this cashew queso came to be.
Looking back: The story of Cashew Queso
You know those little moments in history that, today, look like turning points?
Creating cashew queso was a turning point for me (and Life is NOYOKE).
- A signature recipe.
- The return of cheese (after going 100% dairy free).
- A fabulous, non-smoothie use for my Vitamix.
Oh, and the discovery of Nutritional Yeast. A key ingredient in several of our best recipes.
But arguably the most life-changing impact of creating this cashew queso? Publishing this YouTube video; one of my first.
Thousands of people have made this cashew queso
Here are a few comments I’ve received when offering samples to my friends:
- “Can you just leave the bowl with me?”
- “It has a serious kick. Wow!”
- “It’s not cheese, but who cares!”
But here was my personal favorite:
“I can’t eat that. I just lost 50 lbs and now eat super clean…Oh, really? It is super clean? Oh wow. Let me try!”
And everybody asked what was in it. Raw cashews, raw almonds, almond milk, a red pepper, and nutritional yeast. That’s it! Mix that together with some simple spices and you’re done.
The best part? Clean up is really easy, too.
“You should sell this!”
I know. I know.
My cashew queso is the best thing ever. And I should jar it and sell it.
But can I just show you how to make it?
Watch me make it (and get really excited about the steam)
Watch a kids video featuring this queso
Summary
We make this cashew queso weekly, religiously. It’s great as:
- A dip (for chips or veggies).
- A sauce (on tacos or pasta).
- A recipe base (beer cheese soup, for example).
There are a lot of dairy-free cheese recipes out there. This one is very minimalist.
And, of course, it tastes incredible (and has a nice little kick!).
Go make this, guys. Go make this right now.
Other Noteworthy Versions
- Detoxinista: Healthy queso dip
- Allyson Kramer: Quinoa and Black Beans with Cashew Queso
- Vegan Sparkles: Sizzling Veg Fajitas with Cashew Queso
Recipe
Cashew Queso
Legendary, dairy-free queso cheese dip with a kick!
Almonds, Cashews, Nutritional Yeast, Red Bell Pepper,Ingredients:
- almond milk - 1 cup (240 mL)
- nutritional yeast - 1/4 cup (60 g)
- raw almonds - 1/2 cup (70 g)
- raw, unsalted cashews - 1/2 cup (65 g)
- red bell pepper (de-seeded) - 1 whole
- salt - 1.5 tsp (8 g)
- garlic powder - 1/2 tsp (1.5 g)
- onion powder - 1 tsp (2.5 g)
- crushed red pepper - a few shakes (to taste)
Instructions:
- Add liquid ingredients to your Vitamix.
- Then add rest of ingredients.
- Start blender on low, ramp to high.
- Blend on high for 6 minutes (or use preprogrammed ‘Soup’ setting).
- Snap a pic and tag #lifeisNOYOKE
- Be really happy.
NOTE: This recipe requires a Vitamix.
Useful tips for Cashew Queso
Biggest takeaway from this recipe? Don’t hesitate to make it. Every day without it is a day without (dairy-free) cheese!
Allergic to cashews? Substitute them with raw sunflower seeds and sesame seeds. Per our friend Andrew, this substitution works perfectly.
The queso will last refrigerated for up to a week.
Here are some more useful tips:
Take a picture of your cashew queso and tag #lifeisnoyoke. (Here's the original featured image from this recipe post.)
The nutritional yeast needs to say "nutritional." Any other type of yeast won't work. This non-GMO version from Whole Foods worked great. You can also buy it there in bulk (near the coffee and nuts).
I can't speak to dogs' ability to stomach this stuff. But Lucy liked it!
Serve with chips or sliced veggies. Just know it won't last long!
Love this! I’ve made it a few times and find I like a kick of Dijon and lemon tossed in. Today on a whim I added a few baby carrots, which gave it a lovely sweetness. But the original recipe is great as is!
Wow!!!! Just wow!!!! This is so so good. Your right it won’t last long, lol. This will definitely become a regular in our house. I’ve had my Vitamix for about 6 wks and I’m so in love. If I had known what a work horse it is I would of bought it a long time ago. I love your recipes, and YouTube channel. You guys do great work. Thank you!!!
This was one of the first recipes I tried when I got my Vitamix and I almost always have it in my fridge now. I can tell it’s not real cheese, but it’s good enough that it really doesn’t need to. It’s its own delicious thing.
I’m curious if anyone has substituted extra almonds and water for the almond milk. I don’t always have almond milk on hand and was trying to figure out a potential alternative.
Just wondering what brand of almond milk you like to use?
Since I never eat many nuts, do you think I could substitute 1/2 of them with white beans? I also like to add smoke paprika.
I forgot to add the cashews, so it turned out far too runny, but tastes delicious! I might try and thicken it with a little tapioca starch.
I bought a set of US cups to avoid the hassle of translating recipes in my UK brain, but a quarter of a cup of nutritional yeast (which is supposed to weigh 60g according to the recipe) actually only weighed 16g!! So I am a bit confused about this. I decided to throw in loads of nutritional yeast to make it up to 60g but have no idea if my recipe is way off now. In any case, tastes good and will be trialled on the family later today.
What kind of container is this designed for ? Low profile 64 oz ?
You got it! If not specified, it’ll be that one.
Loved it!!! Kids not so much, but I really don’t know why not. Me and Hubby are very impressed.
How do you reheat this ? And how do you thin it out a little? This is delicious
Microwave works. Use a little bit more water to thin, but really only a little.
It’s really awesome!!!! addictive! thank you for sharing this recipe.
I added a little liquid smoke and wow it tasted even better😋
Now this recipe is top notch. I made it with more cashews instead of almonds because my almonds were out of date, but it still turned out amazing. I also threw a bit of a serano pepper to give it an extra kick. This sauce is so good, well done recipe!
Tasted good, thickness was great. Really didn’t mimic the taste of cheese though! Maybe I’ll try more more of the yeast next time?