5-Minute Creamy and Fiery Vegan Queso with Cashews
Jun 19, 2020 (Last updated Feb 25, 2026) by Hannah Sunderani
Today I’m sharing a quick and easy 5-minute vegan queso recipe with you. Made with cashews and nutritional yeast, the ingredients are blended together until it’s a creamy, fiery, and cheesy dip that you can enjoy for dipping tortillas and fresh veggies. Or, stuff into vegan tacos, burritos and my all-time favourite, slathered into a vegan crunchwrap supreme!
You won’t believe how delicious this cheesy vegan queso is given how little effort it takes to come together. Let me tell you exactly how to make this 5-minute recipe.
The ingredients
The ingredients for this recipe are so simple and straight forward, and if you’re used to cooking vegan, it’s likely you already have them in your pantry. Here is what you’ll need:
- Raw Cashews: Is what makes this recipe so creamy and rich. No soaking is required for this recipe. I recipe tested with soaking the raw cashews and without soaking and both options worked amazing for an ultra creamy and smooth queso.
- Nutritional yeast: A vegans secret to adding cheesiness and umami to dishes. The perfect addition for this vegan queso recipe.
- Chili powder: Adds deep sweet flavour and heat to the recipe.
- Hot sauce: Adds more heat to the queso. You can modify this ingredient to add as much or as little hot sauce – depending on how spicy you like things. The hot sauce is a different heat than the chili powder – it’s more direct and instant. It hits the tip of your tongue vs the back of your throat.
How to make vegan queso
Making this recipe couldn’t be easier! Simply add all the ingredients to your blender and blend until smooth and creamy, about 1 -minute. Use the tamper to push down the ingredients to combine, if things get stuck. Or add a splash more water.
Make this recipe with me!
See just how easy this vegan queso comes together on my YouTube Channel!
In this episode, I teach my husband how to make a Vegan Crunchwrap Supreme featuring this delicious vegan queso! (It’s the recipe that convinced my husband to go vegan!)
Vegan Queso Recipe Notes & Tips
The raw cashews and nutritional yeast are what makes this vegan queso so cheesy. I love using raw cashews for cheesy sauces and spreads like my vegan cashew cheese.
Typically, I recommend soaking cashews in advance before using in sauce recipes. But to make this recipe faster, we’re omitting the soaking and adding hot water to the blender with the cashews. The heat will help break things down for a creamy and smooth blend. This way you can make your vegan queso recipe in just 5 minutes. Perfect for when you need a last minute creamy and cheesy dip.
As for the nutritional yeast; this is the secret ingredient that vegans use to achieve cheesy and savoury taste. I use nutritional yeast in so many of my recipes for bold cheesy flavour and umami taste. Certainly, it’s a pantry staple for a plant-based diet.
So there we have it! A simple and easy 5-minute vegan queso recipe that you can enjoy as a cheesy dip, or lathered into tacos and burritos. It’s creamy and smooth, cheesy and fiery. I think you’re going to love this vegan queso recipe as much as we do!
And, if you do make this recipe please let me know in the comments below what you think! I love hearing from you. And of course, tag me on Instagram with the hashtag #twospoons. Nothing makes me happier than to see your recreations.
5-Minute Creamy and Fiery Vegan Queso with Cashews
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 3/4 cup hot water , splashes more if needed
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp hot sauce
Instructions
- Toss everything into a high-speed blender, and blend until smooth and creamy. (Use a tamper to mix things up if it gets stuck, or add up to 1/4 cup more hot water, in splashes, if needed to thin for smoother blending).
Watch The Video
Notes
Approvals
Nutrition
See more step-by-step instructions by visiting the recipe story here!
LEAVE A COMMENT
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This is great and super easy! I added a squeeze of lime at the end and used this sauce in crunch wraps.
Great idea with the lime Rach! This Queso is so yummy in my Vegan Crunchwrap Supreme, so happy you enjoyed it.
This is “THE BEST & EASIEST” queso dip! My 8yr old is such a picky eater & he Loved this. He ran across this video on YouTube. This recipe was so good I subscribed to your newsletter & channel & I plan on purchasing your cookbooks, God willing. Thank you for such an amazing recipe & for sharing your story.
Tiffany you made my day with this comment! Thanks for the very kind review and for all the love and support! Really glad that you enjoyed this queso so much! We love it in our home too – it never gets old!
A substitute for nutritional yeast?
The nutritional yeast definitely adds a nice cheesy and umami flavour! If possible, I would try and keep it in – but you could still make this queso recipe by omitting the nutritional yeast altogether.
I have made your recipes before so I was excited to try this one out and it is so good!
Hi Henna – you are incredibly sweet! Thank you for the very kind comment. I am so glad that you enjoy this queso recipe as much as I do. 🙂
I just made this in preparation for crunch wrap supreme. Wow. It’s deeeeelicious. I can’t wait for dinner… I’m excited.
Oh this makes me so happy Lori! I just made another batch this weekend. We love it so much! Thanks for the sweet reply. 🙂
This is our all time favourite recipe! We put it on tacos and burgers!
I’m so glad you love it as much as we do! It’s truly perfect for tacos and burgers!
I have always eaten the Siete cashew queso, and wanted to find a more affordable way to fuel my habit… this is it!! Took less than 5 minutes, and it is SO delicious.
I added some cayenne for some more kick, but besides that I followed the recipe to a T.
Hi Brittany, I’m so happy that you found this easy alternative to the Siete queso!! It’s such a good one. And I’m happy to hear that you spiced it to taste. 🙂 enjoy!