Your family and friends will be super excited to come to your house to enjoy this party appetizer during the next football game or get together to eat this homemade queso made in the Instant Pot.
This queso isn’t just any regular dip… it’s actually a huge bowl of veggies that they can scoop into and enjoy without any guilt! The vegan queso is made with all time favorites cauliflower and carrots, with a few other additions and is packed with flavor.
We made our dip in the Instant Pot, but if you don’t have an Instant Pot you can cook the veggies on the stove until they are tender, and then rinse over the sink in a strainer before blending.
Start by cooking up the cauliflower and carrots, and then combine with your spices, nutritional yeast and liquid to form a dip that’s creamy and super addictive. The recipe makes a whopping 4 Cups of dip – it does refrigerate well and is perfect to enjoy throughout the week.
Take the dip up a notch by adding a chipotle chile for a little extra smoky flavor (make your own or buy a can), and then garnish with some finely diced bell peppers, green onions and optional cilantro, and get ready to be addicted!
A no-guilt creamy queso sauce that is delicious as an appetizer or poured on burritos or enchiladas.
Ingredients
- 1 small head of cauliflower
- 1/2 C. raw almonds (or, cashews)
- 3 small carrots, cut into coins
- 2 C. water
- 1/3 C. nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 chipotle chile + 1 tsp sauce (make your own or buy a can)
- liquid from 2 cans of Ro*tel green chiles and tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp mustard powder
- 1 tsp salt or more to taste
- optional: 1/4 C. water (as needed for blending)
- minced red bell peppers
- diced green onions
- optional: diced cilantro
Instructions
- Add the cauliflower, carrots, and almonds/cashews to a steamer basket and set in the Instant Pot with 2 C. of water. Cook on high pressure (manual) for 5 minutes and then do a quick release, and remove the cauliflower, carrots, and almonds to your blender.
- To the cauliflower in the blender, add the nutritional yeast, chili powder, paprika, chipotle chile + sauce, liquid from 2 cans of Ro*tel, mustard powder, and salt and blend until creamy. Taste and determine if you need additional spices/seasoning, or if too thick, add 1/4 C. more water as needed to blend easier.
- Spoon the puree into a serving bowl and garnish with minced red bell peppers, and green onions. Serve warm with chips, or forego the garnish and keep warm in a small crock pot if you are hosting a larger party.
- Enjoy with chips as your next appetizer.
Looking for a way to use up the rest of those chipotle chiles? We’ve rounded up a nice variety of 10 recipes!
If you like this recipe, you may want to try these recipes that serve as wonderful appetizers, too:
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