Vegan Texas Style Queso

Before I was vegan, one of my favorite things about living in Austin, TX was queso. It’s the perfect hangover or lazy day food to eat at any taco stand or during a movie at the Alamo Drafthouse. It’s a brunch staple, and you can’t avoid it even if you try. I’m not 100% sure that velveeta is actually made from dairy, but I am sure it’s made from a whole lot of chemicals and might be made out of plastic. This healthy twist uses white beans, cashews, and of course veggies to give it a punch. This is how we made it:

Vegan Texas Style Queso

Ingredients:

2 cups plant based milk

1 (15 oz) can white beans, drained

1/2 cup raw cashews

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1 tsp paprika

1 teaspoon salt

1 clove garlic

Pinch of cayenne

Pepper to taste

2 roma tomatoes, chopped

½ onion, finely chopped

1/2 Bunch of cilantro, stems removed and chopped

Directions:

In a high powered blender, blend the milk, beans, cashews, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, chipotles, paprika, salt, garlic, cayenne, and pepper and blend until smooth.

Pour the cheese mixture, tomatoes, onion, and cilantro into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sauce begins to boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes until your sauce begins to thicken. Do not overcook it as it will eventually get a little textur-y and beany if you let it cook for too long. It will continue to thicken as it cools.

Serve on top of tortilla chips, tacos, air fried fries, macaroni and cheese, apples, toast…whatever. We’re not here to judge.