A zesty and creamy plant-based and vegan southwest sauce featuring sweet potatoes and cashews – great in taco bowls, nachos, and seven layer dip!
The more vibrant and flavorful the sauce or dip, the better. I use an easy but flavorful Tzatziki Sauce in my Falafel Rainbow Bowl, Easy Vegan Sour Cream on my Crunchy Bean Tostadas and Seven Layer Dip. Romesco Sauce is a smoky chipotle infused Spanish cashew and roasted red pepper sauce that makes a tasty addition to any bowl or salad. And my Red Pepper Hummus, Guacamole, and Salsa Fresca are both super yum in bowls, pita chips, or corn chips.
Then there are the sweet and luscious sauces. Cranberry Orange Sauce is vibrant cranberries infused with orange juice. It’s ideal on pancakes and holiday meals. And my Pumpkin Caramel Dessert Hummus is a delicious dessert hummus made of white beans and pumpkin – great with pita chips, toast, pancakes, graham crackers, rice cakes, fruit, and more.
Though my favorite dessert sauce right now is my Vegan Lemon Curd – a silky smooth and tart luscious lemon topping that tastes incredible on pancakes, yogurt, and ice cream. It also makes a fantastic filling in tarts, trifles, and pie.
Out of the sauces I’ve posted thus far, I think my most versatile is the Mighty Cheez Sauce. Hence the name. Honestly, it’s mighty tasty in just about everything – Layered Fiesta Stack, Baked Mac ‘n Cheez, Garden Veggie Omelet, Grilled Fiesta Bowl, Ultimate Veggie Burrito, and Garden Veggie Quesadillas – to name a few…
Enough with the sauces. By now, I think it’s safe to say that I enjoy using a myriad of plant-based and non-dairy ingredients to create creamy and flavorful sauces and dips to be featured in my meals. This Plant-based Queso is a hybrid of two versatile recipes. It uses soaked cashews, soaked sun-dried tomatoes, and some of the flavors from my Mighty Cheez Sauce. Plus, hearty sweet potatoes from the chocolate frosting on my Healthy Chocolate Birthday Cake is added to the mix. It’s the best of both worlds. Win-win.
So let’s chat about the ingredients used in this Plant-based Queso. You already know that it uses cashews, sun-dried tomatoes, and sweet potatoes to create a smooth and creamy sauce. I like adding a bit of nutritional yeast or nooch, along with some fresh lemon juice, garlic, and smoked paprika before blending in a high-speed blender. If you like spicier foods, I highly recommend adding a little hot sauce or sriracha to your dip. The flavor combination is fantastic.
I’d like to add a note about the tapioca starch used in this recipe. I have made this dip several times, with and without the tapioca starch. If you want to try it with the tapioca starch, you really should use expandex tapioca starch that contributes to a more stretchy cheesy trait.
If you don’t have any, please don’t buy it just for this recipe. I promise you that your queso will still be delicious. If you do have some, I hope you try including it to see if you like the results. It really is a matter of personal preference.
You’ll want to add about a cup of plant milk to this queso. You can use any non-dairy milk; though I typically use unsweetened plain almond milk or Oat + Nut Milk because that is what we have on hand. If your sweet potatoes are on the drier side, you may need to add in a little more milk. It should be somewhat thick after it’s blended, but not too thick.
Speaking of blending. Just like my Mighty Cheez Sauce, I have found that a high-speed blender works best for this dip. A food processor or regular blender will process it, but unless you have a powerful motor and scrape everything down a bunch, you may not get the smoothest queso. For this reason, your best bet is soaking the cashews and sun-dried tomatoes – and using a high-speed blender.
Important!! Please don’t add too much milk until after you have added in the diced tomatoes with green chilies. The tomatoes and chilies add a bit of texture, color, and flavor to the sauce. But they also add quite a bit of liquid.
I like combining the blended portion and the tomatoes and chilies in a saucepan over medium heat. You can also heat it up in the microwave. If you are making this Plant-based Queso ahead of time, you don’t need to heat it up at all. Just stir the tomatoes and chilies into the blended sauce. Then store the queso in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to one week, heating before serving.
So now comes the fun part!! Now that you’ve made this delectable Plant-based Queso, it is ready to be used in a range of dishes! My favorite two ways to enjoy it are my Seven Layer Dip and Grilled Fiesta Bowl. You can use this in many of the dishes that feature my Mighty Cheez Sauce. It’s super simple and quite versatile.
I hope you enjoy this Plant-based Queso as much as I do.
I’m just starting out and would love to see your results. Please leave a comment and rate it down below, tag a picture @pebblesandtoast and #pebblesandtoast on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook! Enjoy!!
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Ingredients
- ½ cup raw cashews, soaked in hot water
- 2 sun dried tomatoes, soaked in hot water
- 1 cup sweet potatoes, cubed
- ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 cup plant milk
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp tapioca starch (optional)
- 1 can diced tomatoes with chilies
- Hot sauce or siracha to taste (optional)
- Salt to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Soak raw cashews and sun-dried tomatoes in hot water for at least 1 hour. Drain.
- Meanwhile, boil sweet potatoes in saucepan until fork tender, about 10 minutes. Drain.
- In a high-speed blender, process all of the ingredients – except the can of diced tomatoes with chilies – on high speed for 1-2 minutes, using the tamper as needed, until very smooth.
- Pour the queso and diced tomatoes with chilies into a sauce pan and heat over medium-low heat until heated, about 5 minutes. Add in hot sauce (if using); adjust seasonings to taste; and add a little plant milk as needed to achieve desired consistency.
- Use immediately or pour into a jar or container.
- Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
This dip is delicious served warm and is a great topping on Super Nachos, Grilled Fiesta Bowl, and Seven Layer Plant-based Dip.
Plant-based Queso Dip
Equipment
- high speed blender
- stove
Ingredients
- ½ cup raw cashews soaked in hot water
- 2 sun dried tomatoes soaked in hot water
- 1 cup sweet potatoes cubed
- ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 cup plant milk
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp tapioca starch optional
- 1 can diced tomatoes with chilies
- Hot sauce or siracha to taste optional
- Salt to taste optional
Instructions
- Soak raw cashews and sun-dried tomatoes in hot water for at least 1 hour. Drain.
- Meanwhile, boil sweet potatoes in saucepan until fork tender, about 10 minutes. Drain.
- In a high-speed blender, process all of the ingredients – except the can of diced tomatoes with chilies – on high speed for 1-2 minutes, until very smooth.
- Pour the queso and diced tomatoes with chilies into a sauce pan and heat over medium-low heat until heated, about 5 minutes. Add in hot sauce (if using); adjust seasonings to taste; and add a little plant milk as needed to achieve desired consistency.
- Use immediately or pour into a jar or container.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.