Vegan Queso Dip (Nut-free)

Yellow sauce in a black bowl topped with red veggie chunks, sliced green pepper and green leaves of herbs. A tortilla chips is dipped in it. Other tortilla chips are scattered around.

Vegan Queso Dip (Nut-free)

This vegan queso dip is creamy with the most delicious spicy and tangy flavors for the perfect vegan version of a classic dip. It is tastier and healthier than store-bought alternatives since it is made entirely of plant-based ingredients. What is best is that you can make it in just 20 minutes, and you do not need to plan ahead.

Course Appetizer, Sauce, Side Dish

Cuisine American, Dairy-free, Egg-free, Gluten-free, Nut-free, Soy-free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword dairy-free queso dip, nut-free vegan queso, vegan queso

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Total Time 20

Servings cups

Calories 266kcal

Author Nandor Barta

Equipment

Ingredients

To pre-cook

1 cup Potato (diced) 1 medium
1 cup Sweet potato (diced) 1 small/medium
½ cup Carrot (diced) 1 medium
¼ cup Onion (chopped) ½ small
1 clove Garlic
3 cup Veggie broth

To blend

1 cup Veggie broth aka cooking water
⅓ cup Sunflower seed (raw, unsalted)
2 Tbsp Nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
½ tsp Hot chili powder or flakes
½ tsp Sweet smoked paprika powder
½ tsp Salt
⅛ tsp Pepper
½ tsp Sriracha (or any other chili paste) optional depending on how hot you like your cheese sauce

Add-ins

½ Bell Pepper chopped to small
3 Tbsp Salsa
Jalapeño pepper or other hot chili pepper to taste
1 Tbsp Freshly chopped cilantro to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prepare ingredients

Peel and dice potatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots. The smaller you dice them, the shorter will be the cooking time. Peel and chop onion and garlic.

Pre-cook ingredients

Add diced potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, chopped onion, and garlic to a stockpot and add veggie broth. Cook them until all veggies are soft.
When ready, reserve 1 cup of cooking water.

Blend

Transfer all cooked vegetables into a blender. Add sunflower seeds (no need to soak them), nutritional yeast, lemon juice, spices, and the reserved cooking water. Blend them until you have a creamy sauce.

Add-ins

Add small chopped bell pepper, chunky salsa, and chopped jalapeno or other chili pepper to taste. Top it with freshly chopped cilantro.

Video

Notes

How to thicken the sauce?

If you think the queso you got is not thick enough, add 1 Tbsp of cornstarch and put it back on the stove in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil while stirring until it thickens to the desired consistency.

A quick tip: Sauces with the added starch need to be hot to thicken. It means you have to reheat it to activate the starch properly. Especially if your veggies got cold before blending. The veggies also have starch, so the sauce may be thick enough without adding anything else.

Nutrition