Loaded Vegan Nacho Cheez Dip
This smooth, creamy, vegan nacho cheez dip is simply addictive. Enjoy with nachos, spoon over veggies, or shovel away spoon after spoon on its own – we won’t tell!
Here’s our version of vegan “junk” food without the junk. This vegan nacho cheez is creamy, and rich thanks to the soaked cashews, with a deep umami twang thanks to the addition of the nutritional yeast. It’s a firm feature on my entertaining snacks roster, beloved by vegan and non vegans alike. The cashews will need an hour to soak and soften, for the creamiest, dreamiest texture, but aside from that the core recipe will come together with 10 minutes of prep, and just 8 ingredients.
Load your nacho cheese up with a variety of topping to really take it up a notch. Serve with crispy tortillas and enjoy.
Simple right? This dish is a great option for a nibbly snack when guests come over as it caters to a variety of common diet restrictions, while being simply irresistible. Serve it as part of a mexican sharing menu alongside some tacos and salad, or drizzle the vegan cheese You can serve it hot or cold with nachos to dip. It’s also fantastic poured over cooked veggies, or eaten straight from the bowl with a spoon (no judgements)!
I hope you enjoy them as much as we have enjoyed brainstorming, testing and eating them!
If you try this recipe, let us know how it goes! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag your photo #theculinarycartel on Instagram so we can see what you come up with. Happy cooking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this gluten-free?
Of course! Simply use your favourite gluten-free Sriracha sauce and nacho chips.
Can I use other nuts instead of cashews?
Cashews are key here, as they provide a creamy, cheese like texture which cant be achieved with other nut varieties like almonds.
Loaded Vegan Nacho Cheez Dip
- Total Time: 1 Hour 15 Minutes
- Yield: 2-2 1/2 Cups Vegan Cheez
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This smooth, creamy, vegan nacho cheez dip is simply addictive. Enjoy with nachos, spoon over veggies, or shovel away spoon after spoon on its own – we won’t tell!
Ingredients
For the nacho cheez
- 1 cup Wellness Warehouse raw cashews
- 1/4 cup Wellness Warehouse nutritional yeast
- 2 Tbsp Sriracha Sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp Smoked Flavours Liquid Smoke
- 1 small clove garlic
- 1 large bag Santa Anna’s Nachos
For the toppings (optional)
The cheez dip is amazing on its own, but take it up a notch and load it up!
- 1/4 cup Fynbos Fine Foods pickled sliced jalapenos
- 100gs cherry tomatoes
- 1 tsp chopped coriander
- 1 sachet pink onion pickle or 1/2 red onion sliced
- 1 corn cob, charred in a hot pan
- 1 lime
Instructions
- Boil a kettle of water and pour this over the raw cashews. Leave to soak and soften for 1 hour.
- Drain the cashews, reserving the liquid.
- Place the cashews and all the other cheez ingredients, except the nacho chips into a blender or nutribullet. Add a bit of the water and blend well, adding more of the cashew water as needed. Once you have the desired dipping consistency run the blender on high for another minute to get a really smooth puree.
Your vegan cheez is done!
We recommend going a step further and FULLY LOADING your nacho cheez.
First, make your salsa.
- Dice up your baby tomatoes and add them to a bowl.
- Remove the charred kernels from the corn and add them to the tomatoes.
- Toss through the red onion pickle or diced red onion and coriander.
- Squeeze in some fresh lime juice and salt the salsa to taste, before spooning a few blobs over your cheese.
- Save the rest as a bonus fresh and zesty dip to accompany your cheez.
- Scatter a few pickled jalapeno slices over your cheez and you are done.
The cheez will keep for 2-3 days in the fridge.
Notes
Chefs tip: You can add the Sriracha to taste after blending if you want to control how spicy the dip is.
- Prep Time: 15 Minutes
- Soak Time: 1 Hour
- Category: Dips & Sauces
- Method: Blender
- Cuisine: Mexican-inspired
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 Cup
- Calories: 577.37kcal
- Sugar: 6.32g
- Sodium: 1320.61mg
- Fat: 32.34g
- Saturated Fat: 6.25g
- Unsaturated Fat: 23.73g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 61.13g
- Fiber: 7.47g
- Protein: 15.23g
- Cholesterol: 2.09mg
