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Home » Appetizer » Instant Pot: Vegan Queso with Cauliflower

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Instant Pot: Vegan Queso with Cauliflower

January 12, 2016 by Kathy Hester 41 Comments

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This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions and the recipe are mine alone. #YesYouCAN #CollectiveBias
Vegan Queso with a Surprise Healthy Ingredient #YesYouCAN

I have the perfect game day appetizer for you today. Your friends and family will be excited to eat their fill of this homemade vegan queso. You will be thrilled because they are actually digging into a big bowl of creamy veggies!

Cauliflower is the surprise main ingredient along with carrots, cashews, and nutritional yeast. The cashews are what make this queso as creamy as the non-vegan version.

If you’re looking for a fancier vegan queso be sure to take a look at my Vegan Torchy’s Queso Copycat Made with Potato and Homemade Rojo Sauce!

Vegan Queso with a Surprise Healthy Ingredient #YesYouCAN

The main ingredients of this queso are cauliflower, carrots, cashews, RO*TEL Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies, and nutritional yeast. Pretty healthy, right?

Vegan Queso with a Surprise Healthy Ingredient #YesYouCAN

I did my cooking in my Instant Pot, but you could also cook the cauliflower, water, carrots and cashews together on the stove. Just cook until the veggies are tender, then pour into a strainer over the sink to drain the extra water. Mostly you are softening the cashews and veggies so they will blend smooth and creamy.

Vegan Queso with a Surprise Healthy Ingredient #YesYouCAN

Put the drained mixture along with the liquid drained from the canned tomatoes, nutritional yeast, and spices into your blender.

Vegan Queso with a Surprise Healthy Ingredient #YesYouCAN

It will blend into a smooth and creamy dip that no one will guess is mostly veggies. From here, stir in the drained RO*TEL Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies plus fresh chopped bell peppers and onions if you want to use them. My favorite mix-in is minced cilantro.

To make clean-up easier and chopping speedier, use your small food processor to do all the work on the fresh peppers and onions. Just pulse until everything is minced up the way you like it. Be sure to pay attention though or you’ll end up with veggie puree!

Vegan Queso with a Surprise Healthy Ingredient #YesYouCAN

Vegan Queso with a Surprise Healthy Ingredient
Print Recipe
4.65 from 31 votes

Vegan Queso with a Surprise Healthy Ingredient

Calories: 155kcal
Author: Kathy Hester

Ingredients

For cooking:

  • 4 cups cauliflower florets 1 small head of cauliflower
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 1/2 cups thick cut carrot coins 3 small carrots
  • 1/2 cup raw cashews

For Blending:

  • 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
  • liquid drained from 2 cans 10 ounce/283 g RO*TEL diced tomatoes and green chilies
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon jalapeno powder optional
  • 1/4 teaspoon mustard powder

Mix-ins:

  • veggies from 2 cans 10 ounce/283 g RO*TEL diced tomatoes and green chilies
  • 1 cup chopped bell peppers optional
  • 1/4 cup minced red onions optional
  • 1/2 cup minced cilantro

Instructions

  • Add the cauliflower, water, carrots and cashews to your Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes, then carefully do a quick pressure release by moving the valve to release the pressure. Or add to a large saucepan and cook on the stove over medium heat until you can pierce the carrots easily with a fork.
  • Pour the cooked mixture into a strainer over the sink and drain the extra water.
  • Put the drained mixture along with the nutritional yeast, liquid drained from the canned tomatoes, smoked paprika, salt, chili powder, jalapeno powder, and mustard powder into your blender.
  • Scrape out the blender contents into mixing bowl and stir in the tomatoes and green chilis and any other veggies you're adding in.
  • You can serve it room temperature or keep it warm in a slow cooker

Nutrition

Calories: 155kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 520mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 5g
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Vegan Queso with a Surprise Healthy Ingredient #YesYouCAN

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Filed Under: Appetizer, Gluten-free, Instant Pot, No Added Oil, Soy-free, sponsored post, Summer Tagged With: cauliflower, queso, Vegan

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Comments

  1. heather @french press says

    January 12, 2016 at 10:54 am

    this looks SO creamy and delicious, I never would have known it was vegan

    Reply
  2. Nichole says

    January 12, 2016 at 11:20 am

    This looks so rich! We try and eat clean/paleo, etc most days and I have always wanted to make a similar dip – i love that you used a staple like Rotel for a little kick. I seriously can’t wait to make this!

    Reply
  3. Lynn says

    January 12, 2016 at 12:20 pm

    this looks fantastic!

    Reply
  4. Terri Cole says

    January 12, 2016 at 12:54 pm

    This makes A LOT! Will it freeze, or should I make a half recipe?

    Reply
    • Kathy Hester says

      January 13, 2016 at 8:54 am

      I’m eating it faster than I thought I would. I think it would freeze ok, but I suspect the cauliflower flavor will be stronger if you do. In other words, make a 1/2 batch. ????

      Reply
  5. Kristina says

    January 12, 2016 at 5:58 pm

    this looks fantastic, Kathy – the consistency is perfect! I can already guess how GOOD this tastes…

    Reply
  6. Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says

    January 12, 2016 at 10:57 pm

    Wow, the texture looks perfect! I’ve been wanting to try making a dip or sauce with nutritional yeast, I bought some several weeks ago and still haven’t gotten around to it. I’ve heard it adds an excellent flavor. I may just need to try this recipe! 🙂

    Reply
    • Kathy Hester says

      January 13, 2016 at 8:53 am

      You are going to fall in love with nutritional yeast!

      Reply
  7. Megan Manson says

    January 12, 2016 at 11:40 pm

    Cauliflower was $6.99 a head for conventional here in Nebraska. Any reason I should not use frozen florets?

    Reply
    • Kathy Hester says

      January 13, 2016 at 8:52 am

      You can totally use frozen cauliflower. It hasn’t gotten that high where I am yet.

      Reply
  8. Deb Adams says

    January 13, 2016 at 5:49 am

    This recipe looks perfect! Easy, full of vegetables, and lots of flavor! Will be making this for the weekend! Thanks for sharing!!!

    Reply
  9. Kim - Liv Life says

    January 13, 2016 at 3:41 pm

    Totally can’t wait to try this recipe!! My son can’t have any dairy and queso is something that he misses. We’ve tried a couple of versions, but just haven’t found a good one. This look like it might be IT!

    Reply
  10. Dianne says

    January 13, 2016 at 4:07 pm

    This looks delicious! I love how sneaky the veggies are!

    Reply
  11. JL Fields says

    January 13, 2016 at 4:22 pm

    Whoa. I want to put this on everything!

    Reply
  12. Levan says

    January 13, 2016 at 4:31 pm

    I’ve never had vegan queso before! Guess what I’m gonna be making this weekend? 😀

    Reply
  13. Kimberly Ann @ Bake Love Give says

    January 13, 2016 at 6:48 pm

    I have been known to polish off entire bowls of queso on many occasions. I’m completely fascinated that the consistency of this looks just as amazing as the original inspiration! This looks fabulous.

    Reply
  14. Natalie Tamara says

    January 14, 2016 at 7:57 am

    This looks so good – I always love the idea of making cheese sauce with fresh ingredients and knowing exactly what is in there!

    Reply
  15. Shelby @ Go Eat and Repeat says

    January 14, 2016 at 4:14 pm

    Just by looking at this I would have never guessed this was Vegan! Awesome job! Looks delish!

    Reply
  16. Amber | Quite Good Food says

    January 14, 2016 at 9:39 pm

    Yum I need to try this! Looks delicious and perfectly creamy.

    Reply
  17. Julia (@Imagelicious) says

    January 15, 2016 at 9:39 am

    I am not vegan, but I love vegan recipes and this one looks and sounds delicious. Pinning.

    Reply
  18. Kristen says

    January 15, 2016 at 1:54 pm

    Okay so I have made cashew queso before but cauliflower??? this is awesome!!! what a way to make it lower in calories. I am in love!!!!

    Reply
  19. Janet LaFara says

    January 16, 2016 at 5:31 pm

    I made a half batch today and it came out delicious! I used the cooking water in a pot of black bean chili and served the chili with a dollop of queso of top. My taste buds went crazy – thank you!

    Reply
  20. Clyde says

    January 16, 2016 at 8:26 pm

    This looks really good. I can eat this all day without feeling guilty.

    Reply
  21. Vegan Traveler - Dory says

    January 23, 2016 at 11:04 am

    Thank you for sharing such awesome recipes. Can you tell me where you get these two ingredients? Lemon Oil for the cheesecake recipe and jalapeno powder for this recipe. I love using quality ingredients when I can.

    Reply
    • Kathy Hester says

      January 23, 2016 at 11:50 am

      You can get the lemon oil at Sur La Table or on Amazon here . The jalapeño powder can be found at www,myspicesage.com and an Amazon here .

      I use both of those often. Once you add some jalapeño powder to guacamole you’ll be hooked!

      Reply
  22. Snickerdoodle says

    February 28, 2016 at 2:36 pm

    Does this keep well? I have a queso recipe that I love, but I can only make whatever I plan to use right then because it basically turns to cheesy jello if I put it in the fridge for the next day. This recipe yields 8 cups and I don’t see myself eating 8 cups of queso, no matter how good it is. I don’t mind making a smaller amount if that’s the case, but I don’t want to wind up throwing that much out! 🙂

    Reply
    • Kathy Hester says

      March 1, 2016 at 9:48 pm

      We ate it on everything for about 4 days, but you can easily cut the recipe in half.

      Reply
  23. Zoe EatsLeeds says

    August 19, 2016 at 5:30 am

    This looks delish, I’m not even vegan but I LOVE cauliflower, so I might give this a go anyway!

    Reply
  24. John says

    October 21, 2016 at 1:45 pm

    Made this last weekend as a compliment to vegan tacos and it was incredible! It was just for 2 of us, so I cut everything in half other than the spices. Next time I will probably also use the full 2 cans of rotel. We had more than enough to go with dinner, lunch the next day and more to spare. (Came out really great, much better than I expected honestly!) Will definitely be making this again.

    Reply
  25. Kiera Martin says

    February 6, 2017 at 8:21 pm

    Just made this tonight! My grocery store was out of raw cashews and I couldn’t wait for them to restock to make this. Not sure if it effected the consistency. I used cashew milk to thin it out a bit and used only one can of rotel. The color wasn’t yellow like a traditional cheese based queso it was more orange in color. For not following the recipe exactly I am still pleased with how it turned out. It tastes really good (not like carrots or cauliflower). I added a bit of red pepper to give it an extra kick.

    Reply
  26. Sara says

    August 30, 2017 at 9:03 am

    Looks great!
    But my son has a nut allergy.
    Can I subtitute cannelini beans or sunflower seeds or something else for the cashews?
    Or just skip them?
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Kathy Hester says

      September 2, 2017 at 8:47 pm

      You can just skip them. It makes it a little creamier, but it’s fine with no nuts at all!

      Reply
  27. Jean says

    November 24, 2017 at 7:16 am

    What is the best way to reheat and not effect the flavor of the queso? Microwave ok? or stovetop better? It is delicious!

    Reply
    • Gayla says

      June 9, 2019 at 12:18 am

      I microwave it and that words great. It stores for much longer than you would think and tastes the same fresh or reheat.

      Reply
      • Kathy Hester says

        June 18, 2019 at 11:59 am

        Thanks for letting me know!

        Reply
  28. Gayla says

    June 9, 2019 at 12:16 am

    I have made this recipe many times. It is so quick and easy and it is always a hit. I am vegan but my cheese eating friend never suspect unless I tell them.

    This stuff is as healthy as a salad.

    Reply
    • Kathy Hester says

      June 18, 2019 at 11:59 am

      I love it too!

      Reply
  29. Amber says

    July 4, 2019 at 10:26 pm

    How important is the tomato juice? Are there any substitutes that would work? I’m curious to try making this for a family gathering, but my mother is allergic to tomatoes.

    Reply
    • Amber says

      July 4, 2019 at 10:27 pm

      Well, “juice” isnt the right word… the tomato liquid, I mean.

      Reply
      • Kathy Hester says

        July 4, 2019 at 11:36 pm

        You can leave it out, you may need to add some water or nondairy milk to get it to blend.

        Reply
    • Kathy Hester says

      July 8, 2019 at 10:05 pm

      You can use any liquid, like nondairy milk or water, instead.

      Reply

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