Nothing livens up a dinner table or appetizer spread like chips and queso. It was my go-to order at Mexican restaurants long before I was plant-based and I still adore a warm bowl of gooey, spicy vegan cheese dip. Luckily, it?s incredibly easy to make your own with a few easy-to-find pantry staples and a couple of items from your fridge. This is my recipe for what I believe is the best vegan queso.

When I thought about what I wanted in a vegan queso dip, a few major requirements came to mind. It needed to be ultra smooth, but not runny. I wanted a dip that would stay on my chip. I also knew it should be a little bit spicy and super savory. While it isn?t essential to the flavor, I also wanted my vegan queso to be orange-ish, like queso you might order at a restaurant. Carrot to the rescue! Just a third of a cup of raw carrot was enough to tint my queso the perfect color without affecting the flavor.
One of the best things about this vegan queso recipe is that you don?t have to soak your cashews overnight. YAY! Right" I am always bummed when I read a recipe and it says to soak the cashews for eight hours. I?m all about that instant gratification! Boiling the cashews, along with the carrot and onion, for 15 minutes is almost like fast-forwarding the soaking process. If you don?t have a high speed blender, you might find that you need to blend your vegan queso a bit longer than the instructions indicate. Don?t give up on that silky smooth consistency.

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