Just 5 minutes to prep, this super yummy dairy free queso made in a blender will quickly become your favorite game night dip, Taco Tuesday condiment, and snack time favorite!
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Those Midwest Kids…
They’re just built different, yes?! We have just been slammed with snow this week, and my crew has happily volunteered to help with keeping the driveway clear everyday. It cracks me up how “hot” they get, shedding their layers within minutes! They just *love* this weather! I’ve been meaning to get this queso recipe up for the last year, so on Snow Day number 3 (YES…3 snow days in a row!), we decided to have a fiesta night to have some snowed in fun!
What’s so bad about dairy?
Absolutely nothing! Unless you don’t tolerate it! We eat sheep and goat’s milk cheeses in our house, and do fine with raw dairy, but it is harder to find around here without blowing the budget. This super simple method of using nutritional yeast for the cheesy flavor, and blended cashews to give the creamy texture really nails the feeling of having a velvety like cheese dip, just like you remember!
What can I use the queso for?
With an ingredient list like this one has…just about anything! Obviously it works well for Taco Tuesday as a chip dip or taco drizzle. It also makes a great sandwich sauce, veggie dipper, and charcuterie board cracker sidekick!
Let’s make dairy free queso started!
Get your queso started by boiling some water. I love my electric kettle for this since it makes it super fast.
The rest of the queso ingredient line up!
This is it! Add all of these ingredients to the boiling water in the high speed blender cup. You probably have most of the ingredients in your pantry already!
Blend and pour!
Once all of the ingredients are in the blender cup, it just needs to be blended until smooth. Pour it right from the blender into the serving dish you want to use. Or, you can pour it into a jar to keep in the fridge all week long.
A note on the heat
I tend to make our queso without any heat since my youngest isn’t quite there on enjoying heat yet. You can make a big batch without the heat, and then separate some aside for you to add heat if you want. You can easily add heat with a some scoops of jarred hot salsa, chipotle powder, or chopped jalapeños.
Save some for school lunchboxes!
Give this dip a try with some veggie sticks for dipping. It also makes a great taco salad “dressing,” so if you have leftover taco meat from taco night, the kids can pack a big taco salad with this queso as the dressing. My crew also likes it as a sandwich sauce.
5 Minute Prep Dairy Free Blender Queso
Ingredients
- 2 cups boiling water I use my electric tea kettle to make this fast!
- 2 cups unsalted raw cashews
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
- 3 cloves garlic peeled
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
- Optional chipotle powder to taste for heat See Notes
- Optional mix-in's and/or garnishes See Notes
Instructions
- Pour the boiling water into your high speed blender. I use my electric kettle and just use the measuring lines on the blender cup!
- Add the rest of the ingredients (except the optional add-in's), and blend until smooth.
- Taste for seasoning, and pour into a dish to serve, or a jar with a lid to store in the refrigerator. The queso makes about 1 pint jar (2 cups) of queso and will keep in the fridge for 2 weeks.
Notes
- I tend to make our queso without any heat since my youngest isn’t quite there on enjoying heat yet. You can make a big batch without the heat, and then separate some aside for you to add heat if you want. You can easily add heat with a some scoops of jarred hot salsa, chipotle powder, or chopped jalapeños.
- Optional mix-in’s and garnishes: finely diced sweet bell peppers, finely chopped cilantro, sliced jalapeños. To make it a beef queso, stir in prepared taco seasoned beef.
