Learn how to make this Easy Vegan Mexican Cheese Sauce with ONLY 6 ingredients and 10 minutes! Goes amazing on tacos, burritos or just as a dip. Dairy-free, oil-free and so delicious! RAVE REVIEWS by every reader!
Ok, I’m obsessed with Mexican flavors. I borderline want to carry around cumin and chili powder and salsa around with me, everywhere I go. But I’m not that crazy. This recipe was totally not what I was planning to post today, as I specifically created it as a quick cheese sauce to go with another recipe that a reader specifically requested, which is this Big Time Vegan Mexican Bowl. However, after whipping this up and tasting it, both my hubby and I agreed, it needed it’s own post. I didn’t want it to not get it’s fair share of attention, haha. Plus, can you believe this is my first time ever posting a cashew cheese?
NUT-FREE VEGAN MEXICAN CHEESE SAUCE
If you are allergic to cashews, don’t worry, I tested a nut-free version made with tahini for you too! I would say though, if you hate tahini, it may not be for you. We loved it, not as much as the cashew version, but it does have a slight tahini flavor, so keep that in mind. If you are avoiding fat or allergic to nuts, then be sure to try my super popular Nut-free Vegan Cheese Sauce. I get tagged basically daily on Instagram from you guys making it, so check it out. You could always add some cumin, chili powder, etc. to give it a Mexican flavor.
YOU ONLY NEED 6 TOTAL INGREDIENTS
As you will see, this vegan cheese is incredibly easy, as all my recipes are, but this one is like 10 minutes! Just 6 ingredients, total, including salt & water! I wanted this cheese to have a strong Mexican flavor, so a good dose of cumin and salsa is added to a base of cashews, water, nutritional yeast and salt.
The combo of the nutritional yeast and the acidity and spices from the salsa give an amazing cheese flavor and spiciness. Some people like nutritional yeast, most do, but there are a few that don’t. I personally love it. In fact, I don’t think things taste very cheesy without it, so it’s a must for me in cheese sauces. I think it’s even more important for a Mexican flavor, like with this Easy Vegan Mexican Cheese Sauce.
It’s truly shocking how darn delicious this is, considering how simple it is. It’s creamy, smooth and the perfect dip consistency. I had a couple of non-vegan friends try it and it won over big time! Give it a try. It will be great on tacos, burritos, as a dip, etc.
MORE VEGAN CHEESE RECIPES
- Best Vegan Queso
- Pimento Cheese
- Strawberry Cream Cheese
- Baked Smoky Cashew Cheese
- Baked Herbed Cashew Cheese
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Easy Vegan Mexican Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (108g) raw cashews (SEE NOTES)
- 3/4 cup (180g) salsa (I used Trader Joes medium heat, this makes it spicy, if you don't want it too spicy, use a mild salsa)
- 3/4 cup (180g) water
- 6 tablespoons (36g) nutritional yeast (I highly recommend this Sari brand, it is non-fortified with much better taste.)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon + 1/16 teaspoon salt
- I use this scale.
Instructions
- First, you will need to soak your cashews if you don't have a high-powered blender like a Vitamix. Soak the cashews in a bowl filled with water overnight or 8 hours, drain and rinse and proceed.
- Add everything to your blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Taste and add any more salt if desired. I found the amount to be just perfect, based on the acidity that came from my salsa, but you may need to adjust.
- Add the sauce to a small pot and turn the heat to low. Cook for about 5 minutes, just until it's thickened up some. You will notice it thickening. Whisk occasionally along the sides, so it doesn't stick too much. Don't really walk away while cooking it, as it cooks quickly. Don't worry if it sticks a little, you can always smooth it back out. It's important to cook it on low heat because if it's too high, the cheese will get too thick and turn crusty. About 5 minutes should do it.
- The tahini version will take a bit longer to thicken up. The color will darken some after cooking, to a more true cheesy color. Pour in a serving bowl and give it a good stir to smooth out. Pour extra salsa on top if using as a dip, if desired. Mine was spicy, so if yours is mild, it's a great idea to add a little extra salsa on top and it not be too hot. Serve immediately with chips, over tacos, burritos, etc.
- Store in the fridge. It will thicken as it sits in the fridge, so give it a good stir and thin out a little with water if desired (mine didn't need it), but it stays really creamy and smooth. Reheat on low.
Is it possible to replace the cashews with almonds?
Hi Holly! Unfortunately, I have never been able to get almonds nearly as smooth as cashews because they have skins on them and the texture is different so it would really change the taste and texture. I have provided another alternative to the cashews, with tahini that I tested, but those are the best versions.
Amazing!!! I just made a batch for the first time and had to slap my own hand to stop eating it. I was dipping my homemade oil-free corn chips in it. What a great combo! Thanks for your work inventing and protecting good, healthy vegan recipes.
I just made this for a party tonight. I doctored it up by putting garlic powder, pepper, turmeric, and cayenne pepper. I have a tiny crockpot to heat it in. Delicious! I was licking the spatula (after it was all in the crockpot- no double dipping LOL). I boil my cashews for 20 minutes because I never like waiting for them to soak. I also think boiling results in creamier sauce faster.
Wonderful Marni! An extra spicy version sounds lovely! I sometimes add cayenne to mine too for an extra kick, but I have to save it for myself because my daughter and hubby don’t like too spicy, lol!
Wow Brandi! I was searching through your FB page trying to decide what to make for dinner and came across this Mexican cheese sauce. I decided to make tacos with lettuce cups and this sauce. This cheese sauce is SO AMAZING!! I licked the spoon clean! My boyfriend loved it too! Definitely a staple. Cumin is probably one of my favorite spices. You’re a genius!!
aww thanks so much Lindsay! This is hands down my favorite cheese sauce too, so I’m so glad to hear you both loved it so much! I pretty much put it on everything and anything I can find, lol!
This cheese sauce is to die for! I crave it even more than I did dairy cheese. Thank you for sharing such amazing recipes and making veganism possible.
Wow, that is so amazing to hear Nicole, thank you so much for the wonderful feedback!
Just made this for the first time and I loved it! I was only able to use one teaspoon of cumin as that was all I had left but it was still amazing. 😋
I will definitely be making this often. Thank you for all your hard work in these recipes!
Wonderful Linda, I’m so happy to hear that you loved this so much!
This is truly delicious. I’ve tried a couple of other queso recipes and they were not even close to what I wanted. This is it! Thanks!!!
This is amazing, I tweaked with using homemade pico and dash of miso paste, LOVE it! Thanks!
Thank you so much Jenn! SO glad you loved it!
Seriously?! I’ve been looking for a vegan queso to copycat the liquid gold that I can only find at my favorite vegan restaurant…I’ve found it! I can’t believe how good your recipe is! Thank you for sharing!
Yay! So happy to hear that Cheryl, so glad you loved this cheese, it’s our favorite too! Thank you for leaving feedback!
I had the pleasure of serving this to some non-vegans tonight and impressed the heck out of them! Thanks for another wonderful recipe! It’s so good I could eat it by the spoonful (:
Now that is what I like to hear, thank you so much April for the awesome feedback!
I made the vegan Mexican cheese the other night. Love love love it!!! I served it in bowls with black beans around it and a dollop of salsa in the middle! Wonderfully satisfying, tasting and so easy to make!
Thanks so much for the wonderful inspiration you are!
Whoop! So happy to hear that Kay, thank you so much for the feedback (as always) and making this recipe, I really appreciate it!
That was delicious. I just used it on a baked potato with broccoli and chili.
Thank you so much, so glad you enjoyed it!
Delicious as always!
Thank you so much Tiffany! I’m so happy you loved it!
Brandi!!!! This cheese sauce is AMAZING!!!!! I love how simple it was to make and how it goes with pretty much everything! My two favorite ways to eat it (besides with a spoon) is with potatoes and roasted broccoli. So full of flavor and creamy. It’s been thrown into our rotation of cheese sauces and each time we’ve made it, it’s been wonderful. Yet another fantastic recipe, my friend!!
Thank you so much Mandy! I’m so very happy you loved it girl! I loved your pic on IG of it and I pretty much put this on everything now, I’ve yet to find one thing it doesn’t taste good on, hahaha! Thank you so much for making it!
Another hit. I love it when I have to fight to get to the vegan dish I brought to the omnivore party! I posted this comment on Twitter back in January. It is still true!!!
Oh wow, thank you so much for the amazing feedback, so happy to hear!!
How long does this sauce keep? I’m the only vegan in the house and this made quite a bit for just little ol me! I’m new to being vegan and have made this wonderful sauce a couple of times now… it’s excellent to make broccoli mac and cheese. I just added a little bit of pepper jack Daiya to my bowl and bam! Crazy good comfort food! I just need a guideline on how long it’ll keep in my fridge. Thanks!
Hi Cocoa! It lasts at least a week, by then we’ve gobbled it all up 🙂
game changer for sure. Going to a pot luck tonight and I’m making a vegan enchilada casserole. Serving the cheese sauce on the side. It’s simmering on the stove right now and it’s so delicious!
thank you (again)
Oh that sounds absolutely heavenly! I’m so happy you loved this, thank you so much for the feedback!
Oh my goodness!!! This is amazing!! Yesterday our doctor told us we needed to stay gluten free, dairy free & sugar free for at least another 2 weeks. It broke my 11yo son’s heart because he LOVES Mexican food. You just made his next 2 weeks better!! I can’t wait to have enchiladas and all sorts of yummy food we’ve been missing. Thank you!!
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that Cori, thank you so much for the wonderful feedback! So glad to hear it was a hit with everybody, especially your son and this version is so healthy for us too, so I’m glad he loved it!
Yummy!!! I’ve made so many not good “cheese” sauces over the years that my family was very skeptical tonight when I put this sauce in our bean and rice burritos,but they quickly all said “YUMmY! I want more!!! I am going to make quesadillas , nachos, even some Mexican flavored Mac n cheese will be forthcoming! My husband put some on his plate and started dipping chips in it. My 12 year old son even said it was great! And he is in the middle of an attitude that my vegan ways are so annoying to him lately! Well done Brandi! Thank you for making my life a little easier! Also, the sunflower chocolate brownies are now a weekly staple around here. I can not praise your name enough! I have five kids and your great tasting, fast and easy recipes are a necessity if I want to keep feeding my family plant based meals. ???
I made this with the frito pie ! So amazing and easy and a wonderful flavour. Will now be a staple recipe for me!! I like cumin but not overly so i only used 1 tsp. ?
Thank you so much Rose for making this and leaving the awesome feedback, I really appreciate it!
I ordered this yeast from Amazon and I love cooking with it. So much better
than the stuff in stores…thanks
Wonderful, so glad to hear that!
This was fantastic! I used a spicy tomatillo salsa since I didn’t have any red salsa on hand. The finished product wasn’t as orange as the red salsa would have made it but it was killer delicious on Broccoli!
I will be bringing this to a SuperBowl party on Sunday. Thanks for the great recipe!
Thank you so much Denise for the amazing feedback! I’m so happy to hear you loved this so much!
Seriously best cheese sauce ever. I wonder if this would work on pasta. Haha probably not but wow it is so good. As you know I used the tahini version and it came out perfectly delicious in my opinion. Loved everything about it. Thank you so much for this amazing recipe ?
Thank you so much Christina!! I think it would probably be delicious on anything, haha!
OMG! I think someone else said this already, but I could bathe in this sauce. It’s SO good. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
hahaha, yes, you are the 3rd person to mention bathing in it, this is just so funny to me! I’m so happy you loved it, thank you Christina for the feedback!