LOADED VEGAN QUESO
The “BIG GAME” is right around the corner! I don’t know about you but my favorite part of that day is always the food. I love bar food and could not wait to get creative with a few recipes to share with you! This week we will highlight three recipes that are sure to spice up your offering of Super Bowl snacks, whether you are solo or with a group of friends.
First in the lineup is the Loaded Vegan Queso! Queso is a staple for any gathering – it’s easy to prepare and can be shared easily. We took our cashew queso recipe, Epic Vegan Queso, and loaded it with a few add-ins to make it even better.
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The recipe
You won't believe how easy this recipe is. To kick things off, we are going to double the Epic Vegan Queso recipe. Add two cups of salted and roasted cashews, two cups of roughly Russet potatoes, five whole cloves of garlic and one roughly chopped jalapeno to a large cooking pot. Add enough water to cover the ingredients, about 5-6 cups. Boil until potatoes are tender.
You will notice that the water has boiled down. This has all the goodness in it so don’t pour it out. Instead, add the ingredients and remaining water into a high-powered blender. Blend until smooth. If the ingredients are not blending well, add a ¼ cup of water at a time until the mix is smooth. Add in a half cup of nutritional yeast, two tablespoons of white vinegar, four teaspoons of garlic powder, four teaspoons of onion powder and four teaspoons of sea salt. Blend the ingredients again until everything is well incorporated. The mixture should be the consistency of cheese sauce.
Pour the queso mixture into a large cooking pot over medium heat, stirring consistently to avoid burning. Now, it’s time to get creative. Toss in your favorite queso mix-ins. I went with black beans, jalapeno, red pepper and sweet onion. Mix in your favorites along with a half cup of water to help the queso thin out a bit. Continue to cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes to help the mix-ins heat through, stirring consistently. Pour into your favorite serving dish with a couple of bags of chips. Sprinkle with cilantro if you want to be fancy!
COOKING TIPS
Here are a few things to keep in mind when you are creating this recipe:
Keep it roasted and salted: If you are using cashews for this recipe (I have an alternative listed below), don’t skip the roasted and salted cashews. They add to the flavor of the sauce, trust me. I’ve tried with raw cashews and it just doesn’t taste the same.
Nut-free option: No cashews, no problem. Swap them for silken tofu. This will provide the same creaminess to the queso. Instead of boiling the tofu, just add it to the blender with a small dash of liquid smoke and the other boiled items. Blend normally.
Keep stirring: I am not joking when I say “stir consistently.” If you leave this sauce unattended on the stove, it will burn similar to its diary-based twin. I’ve done it multiple times! Lol So, this is your warning - keep stirring while the pot is on the stove or, if you are tired of stirring, remove it from the heat until you are ready to start stirring again.
This Loaded Vegan Queso recipe is just the start. Stay tuned for more recipes coming this week. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, @plantbasedslay, where will share short videos on how we made this recipe. Leave a comment if you decided to give it a try.
We are also highlighting a few older (but delicious) recipes to help fill out your Game Day menu. Join the Planted Tribe to stay up to date on all the Game Day recipe posts going out this week.
NOTE: This post includes affiliate links. When you purchase an item using a link, we make a small commission that helps us run this site at no additional cost to you.
Loaded Vegan Queso
Ingredients
- 2 C. roasted and salted cashews
- 2 C. russet potatoes, roughly cubed
- 5 whole garlic cloves
- 1 fresh jalapeno, roughly chopped - destemmed & deseeded
- Boiling liquid
- ½ C. nutritional yeast
- 2 Tbsp white vinegar
- 4 tsp garlic powder
- 4 tsp onion powder
- 4 tsp sea salt
- 1 jalapeno, roughly diced
- ½ sweet onion, roughly diced
- 1 red pepper, roughly diced
- 1 can black beans, 15.25 oz
- ½ C. water
- Cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Add two cups of salted and roasted cashews, two cups of roughly Russet potatoes, five whole cloves of garlic and one roughly chopped jalapeno to a large cooking pot. Add enough water to cover the ingredients, about 5-6 cups. Boil until potatoes are tender.
- Add the ingredients and remaining water into a high-powered blender. Blend until smooth. If the ingredients are not blending well, add a ¼ cup of water at a time until the mix is smooth.
- Add in a half cup of nutritional yeast, two tablespoons of white vinegar, four teaspoons of garlic powder, four teaspoons of onion powder and four teaspoons of sea salt. Blend the ingredient again until ingredients are mixed through.
- Pour the queso mixture into a large cooking pot over medium heat, stirring consistently to avoid burning. Add a can of black beans, diced jalapeno, diced red pepper and diced sweet onion. Mix in your add-ins along with a half cup of water to help the queso thin out.
- Continue to cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes to help the add-ins heat through, stirring consistently. Garnish with cilantro. Serve warm with your favorite chips.
