Better than Cheese Spread & Queso

1. It’s not full of hormones and artery clogging saturated fat.
2. Unlike dairy, it’s not associated with asthma, high blood pressure, prostate cancer, breast cancer, bone fractures, digestion issues, Parkinson’s disease, acne and heart disease
3. It has endless uses: a sandwich spread, tortilla chip or veggie dip, cooked veggie sauce, loaded potato topping, nacho sauce, pizza topping.. the sky is the limit!
4. It taste absolutely amazing.

“Vegan” cheese has always made me cringe. How do they make it taste cheesy? How do they make it yellow? How does it melt just like cheese? How is the consistency just like cheese? How?!? If you’ve ever looked at a vegan cheese label then you can attest that there’s some weird stuff in it. But sometimes we get a craving for that saturated fat and sodium-loaded “thing” we call cheese. Instead of turning to the store-bought vegan cheese, this recipe is the perfect (and healthier) go-to. It’s super quick and easy to whip up, it actually looks and taste like cheese, and you will feel good about eating it.

Better than Cheese Spread & Queso

You'll find endless uses for this plant-based queso spread and dip: tortilla chip or veggie dip, loaded potato topping, nacho sauce... the sky is the limit! 

5 from 16 votes

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Course: Sauce

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Keyword: Dairy-Free Queso

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 2 cups raw cashews
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 2-3 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1-2 T hot sauce
• 1/4 - 3/4 cup almond milk
• 1/2 - 1 jalepeno, sauteed optional

Instructions

• Puree cashews in a food processor until smooth and no chunks remain, stopping to scrape the sides as needed.. 

For spread:

• Add all ingredients, including 1/4 cup almond milk, and puree into a creamy spread. 
• OPTIONAL: Dice and saute jalapeno. For spicier cheese spread use the entire jalapeno and for mild/medium remove the seeds and only use half. Mix jalapeno into the spread.

For queso:

• Add all ingredients, including 3/4 cup almond milk and puree into a creamy dip. If too thick, add more almond milk, 1 T at a time, until desired consistency is reached. Add additional hot sauce, if desired. 
• OPTIONAL: Dice and saute jalapeno. For spicier queso use the entire jalapeno and for mild/medium remove the seeds and only use half. Mix jalapeno into the queso.

Video

Notes

For a more creamy texture, let the cashews soak in water overnight. Soaking the cashews for a few hours before will make your queso/spread smoother as well.

The longer you let your food processor run, the smoother the queso/spread will be. 

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