The most delicious and easiest Vegan Nut-free Queso ever! This vegan queso is creamy, rich, authentic, dairy-free, oil-free, no cashews and takes just a few minutes to make!
VEGAN NUT FREE QUESO
Everybody loves queso, am I right? Especially, here in Texas. Finally, a vegan queso that doesn’t call for cashews! There are actually several of these recipes online, but they all call for way too many ingredients and to cook a bunch of veggies (potatoes, carrots, etc). Nope! There is zero cooking involved, only 10 minutes, simple easy ingredients for this incredibly delicious nut-free vegan queso!
There is also no oil or butter. This queso is oil-free, made with inexpensive sunflower seeds, salsa, nutritional yeast, a few spices, vinegar and jalapeno slices. Doesn’t get any easier and so quick to make. If you are looking for a classic nut-free cheese sauce, check this one out!
Goes great on nachos, burritos, dipping chips in or dolloped on chili.
I have a reader favorite best vegan queso already that has been a go-to for years. It’s one of my all-time most popular recipes that calls for cashews, yogurt, salsa, spices, etc.
To make this queso without cashews and even easier, we are skipping the nuts and the yogurt!
KEY INGREDIENT DETAILS
- Sunflower seeds. To keep this queso nut-free, we are using sunflower seeds. I found them really inexpensive at Kroger. They were on sale for just $1.34 a bag and they were organic. I couldn’t believe it and bought 4 bags. Sunflower seeds can be quite bitter though, so we make up for that with the rest of the ingredients.
- Nutritional yeast. This helps to amp up the cheesy flavor. I recommend the Sari brand or the Foods Alive brand. They are both non-fortified and have the best flavor. I order them off Amazon.
- Salsa. Salsa is key here for that cheesy flavor and balance of the warm spices. It contains vinegar, which helps with the tang. Vegan cheese without any acidity is going to taste very flat. The salsa is also spicy, which helps greatly here in terms of flavor and a kick.
- Turmeric. A touch of turmeric helps give it that authentic queso color.
- Apple cider vinegar. This provides an extra boost of tang and flavor and drives home that cheesy flavor, so that it stands out when you add it to other recipes.
- Maple syrup. This may seem like an odd ingredient, but just a tiny amount helps to offset the bitterness that sunflower seeds give off. It does not leave any sweetness at all, but it does complete the flavor profile. You can also use agave.
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN NUT FREE QUESO
Add all of the ingredients, starting with the liquids first, to a high-powered blender like a Vitamix. Blend starting on low and increasing to high. You will need to start several times in the beginning to scrape down the sides and stir from the bottom, as it is thick. Keep blending repeatedly and then once it’s smooth, let it run a minute or two to get it very creamy.
Try not to eat it all straight from the blender.
WAYS TO SERVE THIS QUESO
- Tacos
- Burritos
- Mexican Burrito Bowl
- Vegan cheese always taste great on chili: Hearty Vegan Chili, Pumpkin Chipotle Chili or 30 Minute Mexican Chili
- Chips and queso, of course. Just get some chips and go to town! If you want some oil-free tortilla chips, see how to make those here.
MORE VEGAN CHEESE RECIPES
- Vegan Mexican Cheese
- Smoky Baked Cashew Cheese
- Herbed Cashew Cheese
- Best Ever Vegan Mozzarella
- Ricotta Cheese
- Pimento Cheese
Vegan Nut-free Queso
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (100g) raw sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup (120g) HOT water
- 3/4 cup (180g) medium heat salsa (mine was rather chunky)
- 2 teaspoons (10g) apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup or agave (this helps to balance out the bitterness of the sunflower seeds-you DON'T taste sweetness)
- 2 tablespoons (12g) nutritional yeast (I use and love the Sari or Foods Alive brands only, as they are non-fortified and have the best flavor)
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1-2 teaspoons ground cumin, start with 1 if you aren't a huge fan
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 5 or more pickled jalapeno slices from a jar, add as much as you like, to taste
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- If you don't have a high-powered blender, I suggest boiling the sunflower seeds for 10 minutes first to really soften then and make blending easier. I recommend a food processor to make the queso over a standard blender, because unless you have a Vitamix (or similar), regular blenders don't get things as smooth as a food processor will, with small amounts of liquid.
- Add all of the ingredients (except the jalapenos), starting with the liquids first, to a high-powered blender like a Vitamix. Blend starting on low and increasing to high. You will need to start several times in the beginning to scrape down the sides and stir from the bottom, as it is thick. Keep blending repeatedly and then once it's smooth, let it run a minute or two to get it very creamy.
- Add the jalapenos and briefly blend once more.
- I found these measurements to taste perfect, based on the heat level of my salsa, etc. But if you want it more spicy or more tangy, add more jalapeno slices and some of the jalapeno brine if you like. See the post for ways to serve this queso!
- This queso will last 4-5 days in the fridge. To reheat, heat on very low over the stove, stirring constantly, just until warm. I wouldn't recommend the microwave as it can get too thick.
Nutrition
Can I also use cashews instead (which is what I have in the house)? I guess I wouldn’t need the syrup?
Yes! Correct, omit the syrup.
so excited to try this! Can you recommend a salsa brand?? I haven’t found one that I really love 🙂
thanks,
Susan
Great Susan, can’t wait to hear! I’ve tried many. I like the Trader Joe’s brand, although it is quite runny. I’ve also used the Newman Own’s brand that is pretty good. For this recipe, I used the 365 Taqueria brand from Whole Foods and really like that one as well, it has all good ingredients, no preservatives.
Thanks, Brandi! Excited to try this as I have a lot of sunflower seeds to use – not sure why I purchased the quantity I did – perhaps for a recipe I forgot to make? Just curious – is the flavor/texture of this queso similar to your “best vegan queso” or is it quite distinct?
Hi Michele, this one tastes a bit different. It is very delicious, but since my other one has yogurt and no nutritional yeast, this one almost tastes more bold in a different way. This one is a bit thicker than the regular queso, since sunflower seeds thicken up more.
This sounds great, Brandi! I’ll be making it soon.
What kind of a food processor do you think is the best brand? I’d appreciate knowing what your opinion is.
Thank you for your wonderful recipes!
Sandie
Hi Sandie! It’s this one here: https://thevegan8.com/product/food-processor/
This is. Ow my go to cheese sauce… oh so yummy!!
Yay so happy you loved it Ginette!
Can I uses Sunflowers Butter instead of the seeds and what would be the proportion? Thank you 😊
Yes! Use the same 100 grams amount which would equal slightly more than 6 tablespoons sunbutter. Just make sure it’s just sunflower seeds and no added oil or sugar.
This looks excellent; I’m looking forward to making this then eating! I love your recipes/ideas and have given a few of your Vegan 8 cookbook to friends as gift. 🙂
Thank You!
Absolutely delicious vegan queso. I couldn’t stop eating it, it was so good. Simple ingredients, easy to make, the Vegan 8 does it again!
This was so easy and sooo delicious! I love that it’s easy, on-hand ingredients.
This is good but not as great tasting as your “ best vegan quest”. I think I am missing the cashew cream I was. It is very easy to make with your meticulous instructions. On my next batch I may try 1/2 amount of sunflower seeds and add equal amount of cashews. Would this work?
So glad you enjoyed it! Haha, yes, I always tell people nothing will ever beat cashews. They are the most magical creamy ingredient above all others. Yes, doing half of each should work great.
Game changer for me!! I’ve recently needed to reduce my use of nuts in recipes and have tried many many cheese sauces in hopes of finding one that I can embrace. Let me tell you, THIS ONE IS IT!! And it’s so quick and easy, this truly is a game changer for me. Thank you, thank you, thank you Brandi for all you do!
So…I think I ruined my batch. The instructions aren’t clear. Is the 1/2 cup hot water to be added to the food processor w/ everything else? It’s what I did and it’s all very very runny. Was it just to soften the sunflower seeds and then drain off? So confused.
Hi Lynn! Step 2 says to add all the ingredients except the jalapeños, and the 1/2 cup water is listed as in ingredient, so you definitely add it. That’s very odd though that yours would be runny because the sauce is actually super thick! Like, so thick, that it requires lots of stopping and scraping in the beginning. Did you add the full 100 grams of sunflower seeds? Was your salsa super runny? I used a really chunky salsa and mine is really thick like in the photo. No other readers have mentioned having a runny result, so I’m not sure what happened.
I used Pace for salsa and weighed out the sunflower seeds. Maybe I’ll just stick w/ the cashew version as that always works for me.
That may be why since pace is much runnier. I would just start out with 1/4 cup water next time and only add more as needed to get it smooth or to the consistency you want.
This is so amazing and easy to make! It has quite a bite to it, and stores easily to reheat the next day! I had it with raw veggies as a warm dip, and also had it on cooked cauliflower! I would highly recommend this recipe and will be making it again very soon!!! Love it
This sauce is great! We eat nuts, but like subbing sunflower seeds often since they are less expensive than cashews. So this is the prefect recipe! I used it as a sauce over your red quinoa dirty rice. I subbed the cumin for chili powder. I will be making this again and again for sure!
This queso is the absolute bomb! We love it. After having a delicious queso in a vegan restaurant in Asheville, NC, I asked what the base ingredient was and was told sunflower seeds. I had just seen this recipe so knew I had to try it. I’ve made many different versions of queso, but this one will be my all time favorite and is so easy to make! Highly recommend it!
I just made this. I’ve had expensive store-bought queso and I also tried a different recipe. The store-bought stuff is ok but $$$ and the recipe I made was ok but probably needed tweaking.
THIS needed no tweaking. It is fantastic!
So happy this was so perfect for you Tracy!!
Yum! I just made this and couldn’t stop eating it! Just the right amount of heat for me. Plus I love how easy it was to make. Thanks for sharing!
So happy to hear that!
Iam one of those people who don’t like queso even before going vegan but my family does.
This recipe is out of this world delicious!! I’m telling everyone about it!! Thank you for sharing it with us!
This recipe is out of this world! So easy! Delicious! I’ve yet to find a vegan version suitable for my family till now!! Thank you!
How is something this good made from sunflower seeds?! Seriously?! Not even the slightest hint of sunflower seed flavor. You’d think it was cashew based. So good!
Hi Brandi,
Thanks for the recipe. I’ve tried it as written and it’s really good.
I tweaked it a bit to use roasted unsalted sunflower seeds. I think it reduces the bitterness of the raw sunflower seeds a bit and I can leave out syrup.
Have you tried roasted sunflower seeds and no syrup?
This is so easy and delicious! I couldn’t believe how quickly it came together. I really was expecting it to take a bit more time to achieve such delicious results. This will become a go-to recipe for our household.