Do you love melted cheese over tortilla chips, drizzling a cheesy sauce over your tacos, putting out a crowd-pleasing dip for parties? Then this quick vegan queso recipe which has been my go-to is soon to be yours!
What Makes It So Good?
It’s Cheesy
Speedy
Ready In 15 Minutes
All In One-Pot
So So Versatile
And you can even freeze it & shred it!
Whenever I’m looking in my fridge wishing I had something fun to jazz up some leftovers — this is my go-to. It’s quick enough and hassle free because it’s all made in one-pot. I always have the ingredients on hand AND even when I’m getting a little “hangry” I know the 15 minutes will be so worth it!
PLUS… once it’s cooked and cooled, I can freeze it into a block and always have some on hand for shredding!
How To Serve Quick Vegan Queso
Authentic “chile con queso” is a spicy Mexican cheese sauce and most often served as a dip for tortilla chips. My go-to queso is inspired by the traditional version but made with ingredients I always have on hand.
We use it as:
A Cheesy Dip For Chips And Veggies
We Drizzle It Over Tacos
Add It To Our Savoury Breakfast Items
And Even Shred It & Add To Things Like My Chickpea Omelette!
It’s so tasty that we’ve stopped buying store-bought shredded cheese and always use this as a substitute!
Recipe Cost For Quick Vegan Queso
Since we primarily use this as a cheesy drizzle for other dishes, we make a batch that serves up about 1 ¼ cup of queso and costs approximately CAD $2.00. AND…
Because It’s A Melted Sauce,
A Little Goes A Long Way!
If I were serving this as a dip for guests I would double the recipe, making 2 ½ cups and costing CAD $4.00
The Ingredients
Ok… what’s this… nutritional yeast thing? I know it doesn’t sound appetizing at all! And, it honestly looks like aquarium fish food flakes to me.
BUT… it’s a game changer!
A Cheesy Flavour
Instant Savoury Boost
A Very Long Shelf-Life
Vitamin Fortified
And It’s Easy To Find
Where? Your Local Grocery store will likely carry it in the “Natural Food Section” and your Bulk Store is sure to have it as well.
What Does Nutritional Yeast Cost?
It is one of the pricier items in our pantry at approximately CAD $4.49/100g. Stocking up when it’s on sale at our bulk store is definitely the most cost effective option. However…
When we consider that it replaces using cheese in our recipes, it often results in overall savings. And a handy bonus, is that it is a low calorie substitute and fortified with essential vitamins and minerals.
At the end of the day… it’s just SUPER TASTY… when added to recipes that is. I would not recommend eating it by the spoonful!
If you’re still a little wary… The Spruce Eats has a great guide with some more info.
Is This A Roux?
Learning the simple process of making a roux has been just so thrilling for me! Who knew that melting some butter, adding some flour, and whisking in milk could make the creamiest, thickest, sauces and dips? I sure didn’t and I’m sure glad I’ve discovered this handy technique!
I would have felt like a creamy pasta, looked in my pantry, been unable to find a jar of sauce, looked in my fridge… not enough cheese… and sighed. Well, no more! Creamy, cheesy, wonderfulness is a possibility anytime I want!
Using non-dairy milk means we always have it on hand! It’s shelf-stable and doesn’t need to be refrigerated until opened. Always having non-dairy milk in our pantry makes sure we no longer realize we are completely out of milk or that it’s gone bad and isn’t usable! AND… having nutritional yeast in your pantry means you can achieve tasty cheesiness with just a couple spoonfuls!
So get some funky fish food looking nutritional yeast flakes and whip up this extra cheesy, quick vegan queso recipe with a kick! Let us know how you fare in the comments below and if you freeze it!
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Extra Speedy Vegan Queso, My Proven Go-To
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 295 ml 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
My go-to cheesy sauce! A quick vegan queso recipe made in one pot and in 15 minutes! The perfect dip or a cheesy topping!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tbsp vegan butter
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- ½ hot red chilli pepper, deseeded and sliced (or green chiles for a more traditional version)
- ⅛ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cup almond milk
- ⅛ cup nutritional yeast (10 g)
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp turmeric, optional (for deeper colour)
- pinch of black pepper, optional (for better absorption of the turmeric!)
- 1 tsp maple syrup to sweeten if desired, optional
*All the ingredients for this recipe are from our pantry and freezer tips!
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, melt vegan butter over medium low heat until it starts to sizzle. Add the minced garlic and red chilli pepper and cook for 1-2 minutes (turn down the heat if the garlic browns too quickly).
- Slowly add in the flour, whisking to combine. Cook for another minute.
- Slowly whisk in the almond milk ¼ cup at a time. Adding it slowly will allow you to whisk the clumps out of the flour. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Whisk in the nutritional yeast, salt, and any spices you’re adding.
- At this point, you can transfer the mixture to a blender if you want to make sure it’s really smooth and blend down the garlic and chilli pepper. Make sure your blender can process hot liquid, otherwise use an immersion blender. Then add the mixture back to the same saucepan and continue to cook on low and allow to thicken for 5 minutes or so.
- If you decide not to blend the mixture, simply continue to cook for 5 minutes until the queso has thickened and the flavours have melded together.
- Serve warm as a dip, drizzled over nachos, tacos, savoury breakfast bowls, etc! Once it’s cooled you can freeze it and then shred it using a box grater when you need it! Use silicone molds to freeze it or line a container with plastic wrap which will allow you to remove it once it’s frozen!
- Keeps well in the fridge for 4-5 days. Simply reheat in the microwave for a few seconds or in a saucepan over low heat. You can add a bit more almond milk when you reheat it if it gets a little thick in the fridge.
Notes
*Approximate Cost: CAD $2.00
*Double the recipe if you want to make enough to serve as a dip for guests.
*We use hot red chilli peppers because that’s what we usually have in our freezer but for a more traditional version sub green chiles. Alternatively, if you don’t like the heat you can omit the chilli pepper and sweeten the queso with 1 teaspoon maple syrup.
*Queso will tend to thicken as it sits in the fridge so feel free to add a splash of almond milk to it before you reheat.
- Category: Sauces & Dips
- Method: Stove-top
- Cuisine: Mexican
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