Anyone who loves traditional queso sauce will go gaga over this vegan version, which is not only dairy-free, but actually rather healthy--especially compared to typical varieties that come prepackaged with a slew of unpronouncable ingredients. This recipe features nutritional yeast and cashews to give it an authentic "cheesy" taste and silky texture. If you have a high speed blender, use it with this recipe to achieve a super creamy sauce that will go great on just about anything. Try it atop nachos, as a creamy base for vegan chili-mac, as a zesty thickener in soups, or even to dip raw veggies into. Truly the options with this simple recipe are endless!

See Also

Zucchini Pasta Salad

Best Ever Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

How to Make Delicious Vegetable Broth

Ingredients

• 2 cups raw cashews (unsalted and unroasted)
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes (or powder)
• 1 1/2 cups to 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 to 2 teaspoons taco or chili seasoning
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 tablespoon dried red bell pepper, or 1 medium bell pepper (orange or red) seeded and pith and stem removed
•  

• Prep Time: 240 minutes
• Cook Time: 5 minutes

• Total Time: 245 minutes
• Yield: 1 quart

Preparation

Place the cashews into a large bowl and then cover with water so that there is about 1 to 2 inches of water on top of the cashews. Cover with a dish and let rest, at room temperature, for 2 to 4 hours. I tend to like to let the cashews rest longer, so that they turn out creamier once blended, but if you're pressed for time, 2 hours will do.

Once the cashews have soaked, drain well and rinse with water.

Place the drained and rinsed cashews into the container of a blender or a food processor, and add the nutritional yeast and 1 cup almond milk. Blend until the mixture is very smooth, scraping down the sides of the container as needed, so that no lumps remain. You may need to add a bit more milk at this point to get it to blend easily.

Add the taco or chili seasoning, the sweet paprika, the dried or fresh bell pepper, and again, blend until smooth. Add the remaining almond milk, a little bit at a time, and blend well in between each addition, until the desired texture is achieved. For a thicker queso sauce, add less almond milk, for a thinner sauce, add more.

 Enjoy! The sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or you can also freeze the sauce in a freezer safe container, up to 3 months until ready to use. To thaw, simply warm in a small saucepan over medium low heat until desired temperature is reached.

This sauce can be used in any recipe calling for queso sauce.

Goes great on macaroni!