Charred Jalapeño Green Chile Cashew Queso

This Charred Jalapeño Green Chile Cashew Queso is a vegan, dairy free version of your favorite cheesy dip! This one is made with charred jalapeño, diced green chiles, spices, and nutritional yeast for that “cheesy” flavor. It’s incredibly creamy, and incredibly delicious! Perfect for snacking on with chips, or drizzled over salads and burrito bowls!

The things you can do with cashews amaze me. Like, we can make cheese sauce with CASHEWS. And it tastes incredible! I’m not vegan, but I do really enjoy eating plant based most of the time, and experimenting with fun alternatives to dairy. I find that a lot of times, I prefer the taste of alternatives to their dairy-filled counterparts. Not always, but I’ve had some damn good vegan cheese sauces in my day.

You only need a handful of ingredients for this silky-smooth cashew queso, and it starts with cashews! Soaked cashews, that is! I like to soak mine for at least 4 hours, but you can soak them overnight, or, you can pour boiling water over them and soak them for 15 minutes or so, and you’ll get the same result. Soaking them = creamier, dreamier queso. Especially if you don’t have a high powered blender!

I really love charring jalapeños and poblanos under the broiler, and using them in Mexican dishes. It really adds a depth of flavor that I just love!

You literally broil them for about 10 minutes until they’re black and charred all over, then place them in a plastic baggie for 10 minutes or so (this helps steam them and makes the skin super easy to remove), and then you just peel the skin off, and discard the seeds and ribs (or leave them in, if you like things super spicy!)

In addition to the charred jalapeño, I add a can of mild diced green chiles. They’re SO good and I add them to my chili a lot! If you like things on the spicier side, you can totally use a can of the hot diced green chiles instead!

I also love adding nutritional yeast to my vegan queso and cheese sauces because it adds a little bit of a cheesy flavor. And you can find it at health food stores or here!

Can you believe how creamy it is?! It’s pure magic.

This recipe works best if you have a high powered blender, like this one, but if you soak your cashews for long enough, you shouldn’t have a problem using a regular blender!

I love to garnish this with a little bit of cilantro and sliced jalapeños, and a little sprinkle of chili powder. It’s so freaking good and I wish I had some in front of me right now!

Also, get ready, because I’m sharing a recipe on Wednesday that uses this queso. So if you make it tonight, be sure you save some leftovers for tomorrow’s recipe!

I really can’t get over how much I love this. It’s SO freaking good. I love putting it on taco salads, on burrito bowls, and obviously with chips. And just maybe by the spoonful too.

Any way you have it, you need it in your life. And the other wonderful thing about it, is that most of the ingredients are pantry staples, and there’s only 7 ingredients total (I don’t count salt and water!) After you char the jalapeño, it’s made in literally one minute. Or the amount of time it takes you blender to create the silkiest cashew queso!

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Charred Jalapeño Green Chile Cashew Queso

This Charred Jalapeño Green Chile Cashew Queso is a vegan, dairy free version of your favorite cheesy dip! This one is made with charred jalapeño, diced green chiles, spices, and nutritional yeast for that "cheesy" flavor. It's incredibly creamy, and incredibly delicious! Perfect for snacking on with chips, or drizzled over salads and burrito bowls!

Course Appetizer, Sauce, Snack

Cuisine Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Mexican, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword cashew queso, dairy free queso, jalapeño cashew queso, vegan queso recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 4

Author Molly | Spices in My DNA

Ingredients

• 1 medium-large jalapeño
• 1 cup cashews, soaked for 4 hours or up to overnight*
• 1 (4 ounce) can mild diced green chiles*
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 cup water

Instructions

1. Preheat your broiler to high. Position the rack in the upper third of the oven (I usually do the highest). Place jalapeño on a foil-lined baking sheet and place under the broiler for 10-15 minutes, turning every few minutes to ensure it gets charred all over. You'll know it's done when it's black and charred. Place jalapeño in a plastic bag and seal it. Let sit for 10 minutes. Once it's finished, remove the charred skin and discard it. Remove the seeds and stem as well and discard. (I find that doing this under cold running water is the easiest way!)

2. To a high powered blender, add the jalapeño, cashews, diced green chiles, nutritional yeast, salt, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, and water. Blend until completely smooth and creamy. Season to taste with additional salt if desired. Serve with chips, on taco salad, or on burrito bowls!

Recipe Notes

*If you're short on time and don't have time to soak your cashews, place them in a heat proof bowl, boil some water, and pour it over the cashews. Let them sit for 15 minutes or so, then drain them, and you can use them right away!
*I like my queso on the milder side, so I use mild diced green chiles, but if you like things spicy, you can use the hot diced green chiles!

There may be an affiliate link(s) in this post, which means that if you click on a product link above and complete a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission at no extra cost to you! As always, all opinions are my own. Thank you SO much for reading!