This tofu queso recipe is a creamy and flavorful sauce that is ready in 5 minutes in a blender. A rich and cheese sauce that is vegan and gluten free. Great for nachos, burritos, or just as a party dip for tortilla chips. Blend all the ingredients together and fiesta forever!
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This tofu queso recipe saved our party last weekend, and it has a very funny story behind it. I sometimes get samples from brands asking me to try their new products. A company (which shall remain unnamed) sent me two containers of their new vegan queso, so I decided to bust them out for entertaining last weekend. BIG MISTAKE. This company’s queso smelled like feet – it stunk up the kitchen so bad, my husband asked me to cover the bowl. After tasting the pungent queso, we decided that in no way did we want to serve it to our guests… so I had to come up with a quick vegan queso with just a few minutes before our guests arrived! I was inspired from my vegan boom boom sauce last week to make a creamy and delicious queso out of tofu, and it was amazing! No more store-bought vegan queso for us… we’re making this every time now!
This Tofu Queso Recipe Is:
- Creamy
- Cheesy
- A Little Spicy
- Loaded with Flavor
- Bright
- Fresh
- Made in the Blender
- Vegan, Gluten Free, and Dairy Free
A Great Last Minute Vegan Dip Recipe – with Pantry Ingredients
This tofu queso recipe is a fantastic pantry-staple dip! It uses almost all ingredients you would have in your dry pantry or cupboards – most of which you probably have on hand. Keeping a well-stocked pantry makes it easy to come up with delicious and healthy meals using a few staples you can rotate. I made a list of my Top 125 Plant-Based Pantry Staples that always keep stocked. And you can check out all my favorite pantry staple ingredients in my Amazon shop here. By stocking up on healthy whole ingredients you can cook delicious recipes without a trip to the store!
What’s In Tofu Queso Dip?
- Shelf Stable Tofu – I have been LOVING these shelf-stable tofu packs from Amazon. I literally have 3 cases of them in my pantry as we speak. They are an inexpensive and healthy way to get some plant protein in. The texture of this extra firm silken tofu is perfect for this recipe, no pressing required!
- Nutritional Yeast: not to be confused with bread baking yeast, nutritional yeast has a cheesy nutty umami flavor which is great in all kinds of dishes – I even sprinkle it on fresh popped pop corn and WOW! Also great in soups and sauces of all kinds.
- Garlic
- Jalapenos: if you don’t have fresh jalapenos, these jarred sliced jalapenos are a fantastic addition to the dip! I use these in a pinch, they’re great to keep a jar or two in the pantry.
- Vegetable Oil
- Garlic Powder: Also a major pantry staple ingredient that gets used in our house daily! I love this garlic powder and add it to a lot of recipes that I would use fresh garlic in too.
- Smoked Paprika: give an additional depth of flavor to this dish.
- Cumin: also adds a really nice flavor to this recipe – cumin has a lightly smokey flavor found in a lot of chili recipes.
- Lime Juice
The Best Blender Queso
I’ve owned a lot of blenders, but my Vitamix is definitely the best one I’ve owned. This high-speed blender will blend even the toughest of ingredients into pulp. I prefer using my blender to my food processor for sauces like this or homemade hummus, as it’s much easier to clean the Vitamix. This is definitely one kitchen appliance we use on a daily basis!
Is This Vegan Queso Authentic?
For the record, in no way is this a real authentic “queso” dip. Queso means cheese in Spanish, and since this dip has no real cheese in it, I borrowed the mere concept of queso to adapt it and make it vegan. The result is a creamy, spicy, cheesey-tasting dip that is 100% plant-based, but in no way part of traditional Mexican cuisine. If you are looking for a real cheese queso recipe, here is one I found online from a group of local Mexican restaurants by us. They vouch that it is authentic Mexican queso dip, so sharing it here!
How Do I Make Queso with Tofu?
- Add all of the below ingredients to a blender, and blend well to combine, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Transfer sauce to a serving bowl, and top with extra paprika or cilantro for a garnish.
- Enjoy it as a dip, a sauce, or add it to your next burrito!
Other Tofu Dips and Sauces You’ll Love!
Vegan Boom Boom Sauce Recipe (Dairy Free, High Protein, Low Sodium)
Vegan Garlic Sauce For Falafel, Kebab, and Shawarma Recipe
Tofu Mayo Recipe (Vegan, Gluten Free, Egg Free)
Tzatziki Sauce with Tofu Recipe (Vegan, Dairy Free, Gluten Free)
Get the Same Ingredients For This Dairy Free Queso Recipe:
As always, if you make this vegan and gluten free tofu queso recipe be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe, and tag me @theherbeevore on Instagram so I can feature you. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!
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Tofu Queso (Vegan, GF)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 12 ounce block tofu
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 jalapeno seeded
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 lime juiced
- Paprika for garnish
Instructions
- Add all of the below ingredients to a blender, and blend well to combine, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Transfer sauce to a serving bowl, and top with extra paprika or cilantro for a garnish.
- Enjoy it as a dip, a sauce, or add it to your next burrito!
Nutrition
Or tag me @theherbeevore in your photo on Instagram!
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I may earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting the brands that support The Herbeevore and our beehives!
I love it it’s great! I added a teaspoon of salt and a bit more jalapeño and it’s awesome!
I added a tsp of salt and a tbsp of tomato paste. I’m now eating this with a spoon. OMG…my new favourite thing.
Hi Maggie! What great additions – and yes, it’s such an addicting snack, thank you for rating this one 🙂
– Kelly
First time trying vegan queso and this is really great! I love how quickly it comes together and honestly tastes delicious. I added a little salsa to the blender and used pickled Jalapeños instead of fresh. Super easy, healthy and a great queso substitute! Thanks for the recipe!
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This is great! I was looking to sub cashews out for tofu because of tofus benefits. I make a ton of vegan queso and for this one I added the juice of 1 whole lemon, about a teaspoon of salt, and some smoked paprika… oh and about 1/4 cup of water. Perfecto!
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